Published: July 15, 2008 09:47 pm            

Rose-Hulman experimential vehicle posts 1,631 miles per gallon

TERRE HAUTE — Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Efficient Vehicles Team continues to live up to its name, posting an all-time best 1,631 miles per gallon to have the top performance by a U.S. college at this year’s Society of Automotive Engineers’ Supermileage competition on June 5-6 at the Eaton Proving Grounds near Marshall, Mich.

Overall, Rose-Hulman placed second to Canada’s Universite Laval (3,169 mpg) in the collegiate division and received the Best Demonstrated Overall Team Attitude Award. Ecole De Technologie Superieure, another Canadian team, was third (1,319 mpg). The annual competition had 22 teams from throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and India.

This year’s performance surpassed the 1,541 mpg that Rose-Hulman achieved to win the 2007 collegiate division.

Rose-Hulman’s team overcame 90-degree temperatures, harsh humidity and problems with the fuel system to post the top U.S. finish.

The hot weather was especially challenging to driver Katherine Snider, a 2008 mechanical engineering graduate. The vehicle has a clear body cover, exposing the driver to the sunny skies, and little internal ventilation. Snider also laid flat on her back while steering the car by adjusting independent front wheel mechanisms.

“As always, it was a pleasure to work with these students. They spend a lot of time helping other teams by loaning equipment and supplies, as well as offering technical advice to other colleges that were new to the Supermileage competition,” stated the team’s faculty adviser Allen White, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. “The students’ selflessness and spirit of fairness in competition earned them the Best Overall Team Attitude award.”

Joining Snider at the SAE competition were team president John Cergnul, a senior mechanical engineering major; secretary Blake Lin, a senior mechanical engineering major; and Aren Thompson, a senior mechanical engineering major.

“John, Aren and Blake spent a great deal of time tuning the engine Thursday night and Katie endured hours inside of the car on a tremendously hot, sunny day without complaint,” observed White. “It is a joy to work with these students. They exemplify the best of Rose-Hulman students: dedicated, spirited and selfless.”

Rose-Hulman’s team includes 15 students majoring in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, civil engineering and physics.

The SAE Supermileage competition provides students with a challenging design project that involves the development and construction of a fuel-efficient vehicle. The REV project gives Rose-Hulman students the opportunity to learn about vehicle development and design, along with increasing public awareness about fuel economy.

Vehicles are powered by a small, one-cylinder, four-cycle engine, provided by Briggs & Stratton. Significant engine modifications are allowed. Rose-Hulman’s team has added a head piston and camshaft from a Honda XR50 engine, along with a specially designed electric fuel injection system.

Rose’s three-wheeled vehicle has a lightweight body made from carbon fiber, with honeycombed Nomex core and aluminum framing, covered with a clear PETG body shell. The vehicle is 8 feet and 4 inches long, 26 inches wide and travels 1.25 inches off the ground.

Other U.S. colleges passing the Supermileage competition’s vehicle inspections and competing in this year’s races included University of Akron, Arkansas Tech, California State University-Los Angeles, Cedarville University (Ohio), University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Michigan Tech, Northern Arizona, University of Tulsa and Youngstown State University. Foreign competitors included Binghamton University (Canada), Rayat Institute of Engineering Information Tech (India), Delphi College of Engineering (India), Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, University of Toronto (Canada) and University of Windsor (Canada).

The Efficient Vehicles Team is part of Rose’s Advanced Transportation System initiative. For more visit www.rose-

hulman.edu/RHEV/ and http://students.sae.org/competitions/supermileage/about.htm.

        

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