Summer 2007
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Summer 2007 |
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Teams Earn Top Honors, Keep Students & Faculty On Cutting Edge Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology students showcased their design and teamwork skills, along with their competitiveness and ingenuity, to earn team and individual honors at national engineering competitions that concluded the 2006-07 academic year. Successes include: The Challenge X team brought home top honors for community outreach and technical merit after concluding the third year of the Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility, North America’s premier college-level automotive engineering competition. Rose-Hulman was one of only 17 colleges selected to participate in the event, organized by General Motors Corp. and the U.S. Department of Energy. The Rose-Hulman Efficient Vehicles team won the collegiate division of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ annual Supermileage competition, achieving 1,541 miles per gallon in fuel efficiency to top 30 North American colleges and universities. Earlier, the team placed second in the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas Challenge at the California Speedway (Fontana, Calif.), getting 1,637 mpg with another motor configuration. The Human Powered Vehicle team pedaled to a second-place finish out of 23 teams in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ 2007 East Coast championships in Ocala, Fla. The team’s sleek, one-person vehicle sped up to 36 mph in the men’s sprint race while going 26 mph in the female event. Rose-Hulman’s new American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics student organization designed and assembled its first unmanned, electric-powered, radiocontrolled aircraft for the AIAA’s undergraduate Desig/Build/Fly competition in Tucson, Ariz. All four of these teams joined Team Rose Motorsports, a competitive drag racing club, as part of Rose-Hulman’s Advanced Transportation System initiative, which strives to give students valuable educational experiences through hands-on classroom and extracurricular programs. This initiative is supported by several technology-driven company and industry sponsors, and individual donors. Several key components of this year’s student competition teams were developed through classroom and independent study design projects, and teams shared technology and design ideas to give them cutting-edge advantages in their competitions. A new model-based system design curriculum is being developed in four key educational areas: software, processor, integrated processor system and integrated subsystems. The curriculum teaches students how to develop a mathematical plant model and system controller using Simulink and Stateflow software, according to Zac Chambers, associate professor of mechanical engineering. He works with Marc Herniter, associate professor of mechanical engineering, on developing the curriculum. Students Meeting The 'Challenge' More than 150 students spent the past three years developing a biodiesel hybrid electric Chevrolet Equniox –- from an original gasoline sport utility vehicle –- to decrease fuel consumption and emissions production while maintaining stock vehicle performance through the Challenge X competition. The challenge followed General Motors’ real-world Global Vehicle Development Process to design, develop and integrate advanced technology solutions. “Challenge X is different from other competitions because GM has offered students unprecedented access to the world of vehicle design,” states Chambers, one of the team’s two faculty advisors. “Students have taken an industry-standard design approach to deliver a production-ready vehicle on an accelerated timetable.” The first year of the competition (ending in 2005) focused on the vehicle design. Students developed computer simulations to compare the various powertrain options. Once the teams successfully completed the vehicle design process, at the end of year one, they received the crossover sport utility vehicle. Years two and three (2006-07) focused on turning the design into reality. In May of 2006, the team presented a proof-of-concept vehicle which demonstrated clearly that the team could fabricate and control the complex powertrain architecture. This year, aspects in the proof-of-concept were extended into a production-ready vehicle. Rose-Hulman’s SUV was the only vehicle to utilize a custom power split powertrain, similar to the system used in the Toyota Prius, to meet performance criteria. The highly efficient diesel engine operates on biodiesel fuels, such as B20 (20 percent biodiesel), representing near-term approaches to improved efficiency. Comments from Challenge X judges included “Rose-Hulman has developed a real program in hybrid vehicles” and “I can’t believe you did this in eight months.” Team Mentor/Rose-Hulman Alumnus Art McGrew (Mech. Eng., ’81) of Allison Electric Drives added: “I’ve been mentoring this team for three years, and I am amazed at what these students have done in such a short period. They have repeated the requirements for the second and third years in about eight months. I couldn’t be happier.” Students have been creative and innovative to overcome challenges faced by the use of alternative fuels, according to Herniter, the other co-faculty advisor. “The competition has uncovered exciting new technologies for our students that will further the world of automotive design and help us cross over to sustainable mobility,” he said. Electrical Integration Systems Team Leader Joseph “Rusty” Berg, a 2007 graduate, stated, “The practical experiences have been enormous. There are a lot of things you learn while turning a wrench or trying to put everything back together again. The Challenge X project has been the capstone of my college education –- putting everything together in a comprehensive package.” Rose-Hulman received the Outstanding Outreach Award and The MathWorks’ Crossover To Model-Based Design Award, while placing second for Freescale Semiconductor’s Silicon On The Move Award and third for National Instruments’ Most Innovative Use of Graphical System Design. Team member Kristina Lawyer, a senior mechanical engineering major, earned the Incoming Women In Engineering Award from the Lyn St. James Foundation -– the second consecutive year that a Rose-Hulman student has been recognized. The team received $4,750 from Challenge X sponsors for its award-winning efforts. Challenge X has been extended to a fourth year, giving teams the opportunity to focus on customer acceptability, road reliability and the extended durability of their advanced propulsion systems. Efficient Vehicle Team Gets 1,637 Mpg At Shell Eco-Marathon The efficient vehicles team lived up to its name this year, topping 1,500 mpg for top finishes in two national competitions. The SAE championship was the first event victory in four years of fuel-efficient vehicle contests, and the 1,637 mpg achieved at the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas Challenge was the best-ever competition performance. The competitions provide students with a challenging design project that involves the development and construction of a fuel-efficient vehicle. Vehicles are powered by a small onecylinder, four-cycle engine provided by Briggs & Stratton, or a Honda 25cc taken from a weed whacker. Significant engine modifications are allowed. Rose-Hulman’s team added a head piston and camshaft from a Honda XR50 engine, along with a specially designed electric fuel-injection system. “The exciting aspect of designing an efficient vehicle is squeezing an extra 100 miles out of a drop of gasoline,” stated Elliot Goodman, a 2007 mechanical engineering graduate. Rose-Hulman’s three-wheeled vehicle had a lightweight body made from carbon fiber, with honeycombed Nomex core and aluminum framing, covered with a clear PETG body shell. The vehicle was eight feet and four inches long, 26 inches wide and travels one and one-fourth inches off the ground. The driver lies flat on the back and steers the car by adjusting independent front wheel mechanisms. The vehicle is driven by a single rear wheel attached to the motor. “This year, the car was really reliable so that, as drivers, we were able to concentrate on getting the smoothest route around the track,” said Danielle Steinke, a senior civil engineering major who served as one of four drivers this year. The team, which included 20 students, concluded the year’s competition schedule in early July at the Shell Eco-Marathon UK Challenge near Corby, England. Team Puts Pedal To Metal In Competitions In only its second year, the human-powered race team has risen to become a national contender as quickly as its vehicle has raced around the track. Besides its second-place finish in the ASME regional, the team was the only college team that participated in the Nissan One Hour Challenge during Spring Break in Casa Grande, Ariz. Human-powered vehicles are recumbent bikes with aerodynamic shells. The bikes can go about 45 mph. During competitions, teams are judged in sprints, endurance tests, design reports and oral presentations. Rose-Hulman earned a perfect score in the design and innovation category of the ASME competition, took second place in the endurance and men’s sprint races, and was third in the women’s sprint race. “We had a better overall performance this year because of experience from last year,” admitted team project manager Tommy Roberts, a senior mechanical engineering major. “We have made big strides during the first two years of this project, and we’re already looking ahead to next year.” Second-year improvements included the installation of a lightweight composite body shell, which improved aerodynamics; familiarity with driving the vehicle, through extensive testing; and experience in vehicle development. The single-rider, two-wheeled vehicle is 9.8 feet long, 23 inches wide and is four inches off the pavement. The driver is almost parallel to the ground while driving. A mechanical landing gear, which helped stabilize the vehicle during turns, earned rave reviews from judges and members of competing teams. “Our vehicle was more stable this year and that improved our performance,” stated lead male rider Danny Sing, a senior mechanical engineering major. Aviation Team Gets Off The Ground American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics club’s Design/Build/Fly project got off the ground -– literally –- this year. The 15- student team designed and demonstrated the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electricpowered, radio-controlled aircraft to meet a unique mission profile under affordable manufacturing requirements. The contest, sponsored by Raytheon Missile Systems, provides real-world aircraft design experience for engineering students by giving the opportunity to validate their analytic studies, according to faculty advisor Calvin Lui, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Created from scratch materials in approximately five months, Rose-Hulman’s aircraft had a seven-foot wide wing span, had 17 pounds gross takeoff weight and carried two payloads: a mock surveillance system (five pounds) and a mock air sampling system (three pounds). The aircraft had to be assembled and ready to fly within five minutes. “We’re entering a world where the top teams have been competing for nearly 10 years and have a lot of experience working in the area of aerodynamics and astronautics,” said team co-leader Steven Schmitz, a 2007 mechanical engineering graduate. “It’s a difficult design challenge. We certainly learned a lot during the first year.” The team experienced mechanical difficulties at the competition and failed to complete a successful flying attempt. Also, the team learned that this year’s design challenge favored small, light aircraft. Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s winning two-foot span biplane weighed less than two pounds. “We invented some new, creative design elements that other teams had not thought about and came away with a lot of ideas that the team hopes to incorporate in the future. We’re quick learners, and I suspect that we’ll be more competitive in the near future,” said team co-leader Michael Richardson, a 2007 mechanical engineering graduate. Team Rose Motorsports Off To The Races Rose-Hulman’s oldest organization for racing enthusiasts and weekend speed demons, Team Rose Motorsports, helps students develop and expand their passion for motorsports while applying engineering skills learned in the classroom. The club has continued to evolve from its roots as Rose- Hulman’s Racing Club in the 1970s and 1980s. Three vehicles are used to compete in area Sports Car Club of America and National Hot Rod Association events. The reconditioned racers are a 1985 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE, a 1984 Ford Mustang GT and a dragster, with a 5.7 liter (350 cubic inch) Chevy small block engine. Team members also bring their own vehicles to compete in events. Off the track, team members attended the SAE Conference on Motorsports Engineering in Dearborn, Mich. Fundraising Information The Advanced Transportation System Fund provides financial and gift-in-kind support to all of the initiative’s student projects. Individual and corporate donations can be made by contacting Richard Boyce, director of corporate and foundation relations, at (812) 877-8443 or Richard.Boyce@rose-hulman.edu. Web Resources Learn more about each of Rose-Hulman’s student projects teams through the following Web sites:
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