Posted on 07/14/2004 8:56:01 AM PDT by forsnax5
TERRE HAUTE, Ind., June 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Engineering students at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology designed a fuel efficient one-person vehicle that achieved 1,194 miles per gallon of gasoline in the Society of Automotive Engineers' Supermileage Competition, conducted last weekend near Detroit.
That performance placed third out of 24 teams in the collegiate division, a remarkable achievement for a first-year team in the competition, according to Tom Edelmayer, a technical specialist for Eaton Corporation's Engine Air Management Operations. Eaton hosted the annual engineering contest at the company's vehicle proving grounds in Marshall, Mich.
Rose-Hulman engineering students designed and constructed a one-person vehicle that is powered by a highly modified single cylinder 3.5 horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine. The vehicle is eight feet long, 26 inches wide and weighed approximately 80 pounds. It has two wheels that provide steering in the front and a single drive wheel in the middle of the back. The main structure of the vehicle is provided by a honeycomb carbon-fiber panel which rests approximately a half inch above the pavement.
The vehicle completed six laps around the proving grounds (9.6 miles) while maintaining a minimum average speed of 15 miles per hour. Edelmayer said that a typical 9.6-mile run burns an average of about 14 grams of fuel, which weighs about as much as 14 paper clips. Each team's fuel is measured before and after each run. The difference is calculated to determine the contest winner.
The University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) finished first in the collegiate class with 1,747.4 mpg. The California State University-Los Angeles placed second at 1,615.5 mpg. There were 24 teams in the division this year from the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Other colleges on the list included the University of California-Berkley, University of Toronto and Virginia Military Institute.
"People certainly took notice of our performance this year. Achieving over 1,000 mpg is quite an accomplishment, especially for the first year," stated Rose-Hulman Supermileage Vehicle Team President Matt Neisen.
Nine of the team's 25 members traveled to the competition. Joining Neisen were vice president Rob Lally, driver Brittney Elkins and members Tim Berowski, John Frey, Elliot Goodman, Michael Haughney, Joshua Persels, and faculty advisor Richard Stamper.
Rose-Hulman's team is supported by Caterpillar, Rose-Hulman Ventures and Rose-Hulman's Student Government Association.
Society of Automotive Engneers' Supermileage Competition Web site:
http://www.sae.org/students/supermw.htm
What really makes this interesting is they did not do this on a dynometer, but actually put it on a test track.
That's only about 27 mpg for a 3200 lb car. What's the big deal here?
Let's see my 1983 van got 16 MPG 20 years ago.
Today, however, my 2003 Chevy van gets.....16 MPG and costs twice what the 83 did.
The Segway folks ought to look into building a hybrid...
You've hit the nail square.
They could have saved a bundle just putting an umbrella on a scooter. Geesh, what a load.
Is this a wide bodied bicycle? Where do I sit???
"eight feet long...main structure...rests approximately a half inch above the pavement.
You got anything that will work on Tennessee Roads? Where do you drive this thing, a skating rink?
With that tiny slow POS they might as well declared that they have a model with infinite MPG...the walking shoe.
This thng is only good in a ketchup mansion.
> ... powered by a highly modified single cylinder
> 3.5 horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine.
All the contestants had to use this same engine, so this was
no ground-breaking bleeding-edge MPG competition. This was
sponsored by the SAE, after all.
Anyone expecting to read about a diesel-electric hybrid
with regenerative braking and solar assist, fueled by
composted lawn clippings, needs to seek elsewhere.
Hillary's ass is out of luck.
"...That's only about 27 mpg for a 3200 lb car. What's the big deal here?.."
Agree, yet I can see Libs being quick to praise the 1100 MPG vehicle without taking into consideration the practicality of it. They would have Hollywood elites on parade around in them (though they would drive their SUV's back to their mansions). Lib Congresscritters would demand more funding for it and blame Bush for not having discovered the technology itself. Michael Moore would produce a film to "expose the truth."
Hardly, she will be riding in the "limo" version 10 feet long and 4 feet wide.
Ha! Yeah, my friend's boat can travel for weeks maybe months or years without re-fueling. In fact, it doesn't even have an engine....
This is great learning and practice experience for budding engineers, I think. They don't get mired into this as they advance year to year. About 14 years ago my friend was on a hybrid engineering team in his senior year.
I'll reserve judgement until after they complete the "off-road" and "quarter mile dragster" segments of the competition.
Fred Flintstone did much better......(grin)
Yaba, Daba, Doooooooo!
> This is great learning and practice experience
> for budding engineers, ...
Exactly. It's "Soap Box Derby" for undergrads. Level
playing field - common key components - modest room for
innovation and risk-taking.
If it were an "unlimited" MPG competition, too many teams
would be tempted to develop designs that either wouldn't
work, or wouldn't get done before they graduate.
Consider DARPA's autonomous vehicle challenge - despite
the big $$ prize, none of the entrants even finished the
course this year. Many failed at or shortly past the Start
line, and many didn't even show up. Failure is a learning
experience too, but it's a good deal less motivating.
nice catch, thats what i can count on with you guys, nothing gets past ya!
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