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| (l-r): Liam Jeffrey (Electrical/Engine), Craig Arthur (Frame/Steering), Brad Marcus (Engine), Albert Murphy (Team Technician), Matt Harding (Team Manager), Carmen McKnight (Main Driver), Julio Militzer, Ph.D., P.Eng., Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Team Supervisor) and Chad Batterton (CAD/Main Designer). |
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Feature Story:
Supermileage Team Wins Communication Award
at 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas®
The Dalhousie Engineering Supermileage Car team has good reason to be proud. Their impressive 332.8 KM/L (782.8 MPG) mileage, at the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas®, in Fontana, California, placed them 10th of 34 entries in the Combustion Leader Board.
In addition, they won the Communication Award.
The team was recognized for making, 'outstanding communications efforts concerning the Shell Eco-marathon.' All actions throughout the year were taken into account: creation of a web site and all other activities that successfully promoted the competition, its name, its founding principle and its educational aspects, in the team’s home country. The award included a trophy and a cheque for $500.
Distance, not speed, was the goal at this competition. The challenge was to design, build and test fuel-efficient vehicles that travel the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel. More than 500 students from North and South America and one team from India stretched the boundaries of fuel efficiency.
The 43 teams represented six high schools and 29 universities. Competition was steep, as new and returning teams vied to beat the 1,208 KM/L (2,843 MPG) record set by Mater Dei High School (Evansville, Ind.) in 2008. The new teams brought fresh innovations and vehicle designs.
Of the 41 entries in the Prototype category, Dalhousie’s Supermileage Car was among the 18 powered by gasoline. There were five using hydrogen technology, one with LPG, three with solar power, and two diesel engines. The Urban Concept entries included two cars with combustion engines and one with solar power.
The Dal car was completely student designed. It was built with the assistance of engineering technicians, Albert Murphy and Mark MacDonald as well as machinist, Angus MacPherson. Faculty supervisor was Julio Militzer, PhD, professor of Mechanical Engineering.
The team chose a Honda 35-cc four stroke overhead CAM engine, commonly used in yard trimmers, but designed and built for high efficiency. The intake and exhaust were tuned, and a new aluminum frame was built. The frame is wider and lighter, with more room for driver, Carmen McKnight, and a larger roll bar. The final touch was to paint the car white, from ‘bat cave black’ - to ward off the intense California heat.
“The challenge was to apply what we learned in class,” said team manager, Matthew Harding. “Making that transition was not a big leap, largely due to our respective co-op work terms.”
In the "Prototype" category, the team from Laval University won the grand prize, with an astonishing 1,172.2 KM/L (2,757.1 MPG). In the “Urban Concept” category, the winning team from Mater Dei High School achieved 184.2 KM/L (433.3 MPG).
Laval and Dalhousie were the only Canadian teams in the competition. The teams were the pride of Canada for their respective wins at this classic event.
Recommendations for next year’s team include building a smaller and even lighter body, and using a fuel injection, rather than a combustion engine. Although it would be expensive, the team would like to see Dal Engineering put in a second car – in the Urban Concept category. As these students are joining the alumni at the May Convocation, one day they just may help to make this happen.
For links to videos, photos, websites and newscasts in the 2009 News & Events section of the web siteclick HERE.
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