Ohio State Wins EcoCAR3 Challenge

The US Department of Energy started EcoCAR3, a four year competition designed to challenge American engineering students, in 2014. The goal is to convert a standard Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid vehicle that maintains the performance of a stock Camaro while introducing the environmental benefits of a hybrid car.

Ohio State engineering students are on a roll. They won the final year of the EcoCAR2 competition in 2014, the first year of the EcoCAR3 competition in 2015, and were winners again in this year’s contest.

In the first year of EcoCAR3, the emphasis was on design and simulation. This year, prototypes were tested for safety and performance under various conditions. Team leader Andrew Huster shared details about his team’s entry with Engineering.com.

The OSU entry uses two powertrains. The car can run on electric power alone for up to 45 miles. Since the average American only drives 30 miles or less each day, that means the Camaro could meet the daily needs of most drivers without using the internal combustion engine. Using both at the same time, the car has a total of more than 300 horsepower and a top speed of 85 mph.

The team chose a Parker Hannifin GVM210-150 electric motor to power the car. It is a variable frequency AC motor that’s capable of providing 150 hp and 250 Nm of peak torque. It weighs only 100 pounds.

The engine is a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine with direct fuel injection. The team chose to run the engine on E85 ethanol. It weighs 225 pounds. Even though ethanol has less energy per unit of mass as compared to gasoline, Huster says the team “conducted a number of simulations for each permitted fuel type (E10, E85, and B20) and determined that E85’s benefits, such as a higher octane rating that allows use of engines with greater compression efficiency, and reduced well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions, outweighed the reduced energy content of the fuel relative to conventional gasoline.”

The motor and engine are connected to the rear wheels via a Tremec T5 five speed automated manual transmission. It has the performance and fuel economy of a standard transmission with some of the convenience of an automatic. At 75 pounds, the transmission brings the total weight of the powertrain up to 400 pounds.

That takes us to the battery. It is an 18.9 kWh lithium ion phosphate battery pack sourced from A123 Systems. It weighs more than the motor, engine, and transmission at 450 pounds. Its battery chemistry eliminates the risk of fire if the battery gets too hot, a problem that sometimes afflicts conventional lithium ion batteries.

In year three of the EcoCAR3 competition, the teams will refine their entries. Year four will concentrate on marketing strategies. Ohio State is looking forward to winning all four years of the contest.

Photo credit: US DOE

EcoCAR 2 winner OSU wins year one of North American EcoCAR 3 competition

The US Department of Energy and General Motors announced The Ohio State University (OSU) as the overall winning team for Year One of the EcoCAR 3 competition, a four-year collegiate engineering program that gives students the chance to design, build, and demonstrate cutting-edge, eco-friendly automotive technologies in the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. Virginia Tech and the University of Waterloo took second and third place respectively.

The judges decided that OSU showed all-around excellence in Year One, demonstrating a highly mature software development process, and as a result received a trophy, $10,000 and repeat winner bragging rights. The team earned a total of 937 points out of 1,000 and also took first place in the Communications and Project Management categories. Judges were impressed by their efforts in identifying a target market for their vehicle and branding strategy, including the tagline: “Classic.Recharged.”

As part of the EcoCAR 3 Competition, each university team chose a different innovation that they will incorporate into their competition vehicle. OSU’s was DRIVE: Driver Recommendation for Increased Vehicle Efficiency—an infotainment system that allows the driver to input a destination, then calculates the most efficient route and velocity to that destination.

This year really lays the foundation vehicle development, which is critical step in the process for future success. We have already begun vehicle dynamic analysis for next year and are excited to share some of our innovative features we plan to integrate into our vehicle.

—M.J. Yatsko, OSU Engineering Manager

The competing 16 North American university teams gathered in Seattle for several days of judged competition. Throughout the events, teams put their designs to the test, giving presentations to industry and government professionals based on their mechanical, electrical, control strategies, project initiation approval, outreach, project management, trade show display, and innovation topics.

The first year of EcoCAR 3 emphasized the use of math-based design tools and simulation techniques for designing a successful vehicle architecture that reduces energy consumption, well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions and tailpipe emissions. Each team will receive their 2016 Camaro this fall.

In years two, three and four, students will rebuild the vehicle based on their new architecture and continue to refine, test and improve the vehicle’s operation.

Without having the full picture of the attributes of the new 2016 Camaro, the students from The Ohio State University were able to develop a strategy that can turn this high-performance vehicle into a cutting-edge, eco-friendly alternative. Not only does the 2016 Camaro’s leaner, stiffer platform provide an optimal base vehicle for these students to achieve their powertrain goals, the exterior of the vehicle was designed to specifically enhance efficiency.

—Al Oppenheiser, Chevrolet Camaro Vehicle Chief Engineer

Established by DOE and GM, and managed by Argonne National Laboratory, EcoCAR 3 is the latest Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) aimed at developing the next generation of automotive leaders. The four-year program concludes summer 2018.

Additional sponsors joining the DOE and GM include the following: MathWorks, California Air Resources Board, Freescale, Clean Cities, AVL Powertrain Engineering, Robert Bosch, LLC, ETAS, PACCAR, dSPACE, Snap-On, Siemens PLM Software, GKN Driveline, Transportation Research Center, Denso, Champlain Cable, Woodward, Proterra, Ricardo, Mentor Graphics, New Eagle, Tesa Tape, Vector, Delphi, EcoMotors, EPRI, A123 Systems, and Flextronics.

EcoCAR 3 sponsors have provided more than $718 million in software, hardware and cash donations to the 16 participating universities in just the first year. The majority of this contribution is software, stressing the design emphasis of the program’s first year.

BYU Sets EV Land Speed Record

For the past 10 years, engineering students at Brigham Young University have been bringing their battery powered race car – Electric Blue – to the Bonneville Salt Flats to compete for top speed honors. In all, more than 130 students have been involved in designing and building the car, which competes in the under 500 kilogram (1,100 lbs) category for land speed racing, and the team finally broke the 200 MPH broke during their latest attempt, reports Electric AutoSport.

Three years ago, Electric Blue set a land speed record for its class of 155.8 miles per hour. But this year, after a lot of hard work and modifications, the car smashed that record by more than 50 mph, topping out at 204.9. Kelly Hales, BYU student and team captain says “When we set the record three years ago we felt like we left a lot on the table. On paper we thought we could get 200 mph but we never had the conditions just right—until now.” Other electric cars have set higher speeds at Bonneville, notably Ohio State’s Buckeye Bullet, but those cars compete in classes for heavier vehicles. Electric Blue is half as heavy as the Mazda Miata, which is just about the lightest production car you can buy these days.

BYU students have custom-built the lightweight carbon fiber body of Electric Blue over the past 6 years with assistance from computer programs that model wind tunnels. All that aerodynamic work, coupled with power from lithium-iron phosphate batteries, helped the car reach its record setting speed on the salt flats this year. Team captain Hales says that Electric Blue can now retire with a record that should stand for awhile.

Source:  Gas 2.

OSU Wins 2014 DOE EcoCAR Challenge

With an all-electric Bonneville speed record machine and its very own TTXGP/Isle of Man TT contender well underway, the Ohio State University’s engineering program seems like the place to be for talented young people who love the go-fasts. Considering everything OSU has accomplished at the cutting edge of green tech, then, it will probably come as no surprise that OSU has won the DOE’s latest EcoCAR challenge.

The OSU team won the low-emission technical challenge with a late-model Chevy Malibu fitted with an advanced, ethanol-electric hybrid drivetrain that delivered more than 50 MPGe while cutting emissions on the 2013 Chevy Malibu (which is already a super-clean PZEV, according to CARB and the Federal Gov’t) by as much as 50%. That’s nice work for a group of kids who, in theory, know less than the professional engineers who built that Malibu – and the EGR Regal! – in the first place!

You can read more about OSU winning the EcoCAR challenge in the DOE’s official press release, below, and check out some photos of the final judging at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Co. announced the winning team of the competition, The Ohio State, as they took home the overall winners title at the EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future finals.

The team’s exceptionally engineered 2013 Chevrolet Malibu with energy storage, electric drive and ethanol (E85) fueled engine technology, earned them the top honor.

EcoCAR 2 – a three-year competition managed by Argonne National Laboratory and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, GM and 30 other government and industry leaders – gave students the opportunity to gain real-world automotive engineering experience while striving to improve the environmental impact and energy efficiency of an already efficient vehicle – the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu.

Over the course of three years, The Ohio State consistently met incremental goals that strengthened their position against the other university teams. Their series-parallel plug-in hybrid Malibu excelled at GM’s Proving Grounds in Milford, Michigan, earlier this month, where it was put through a series of strenuous technical and safety tests similar to those used for real-world production vehicles.

“The EcoCAR 2 competition has been an incredible journey and learning experience for everyone at Ohio State, and that’s what really matters – winning the top spot is just a bonus,” said Katherine Bovee from Ohio State. “We are all excited to take everything we have learned into the workplace after graduation.”

The team’s unique design achieved 50 miles per gallon gas equivalent (MPGGE), while using 315 Watt-hours per mile (Wh/mi­) of electricity. The vehicle impressed the judges with stellar numbers and even lessened the amount of criteria emissions by half, compared to the base vehicle.

“Ohio State met and exceeded the EcoCAR 2 goals at every point in the competition,” said Dr. Michael Knotek – Deputy Under Secretary for Science and Energy, U.S. Department of Energy. “Their innovative work has contributed significantly to the future of energy efficient technology in the automotive industry, and we wish all members of the team the best as they move forward in the next step of their careers, whether in the classroom or in the professional world.”

The second-place team from the University of Washington demonstrated the most energy-efficient vehicle, a B20 biodiesel parallel plug-in hybrid reaching 60 MPGGE and 333 Wh/mi of electricity, as well as the lowest well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions. Pennsylvania State University placed third with their E85 series plug-in hybrid.

“For the past three years all 15 EcoCAR 2 teams have worked tirelessly to design the next generation of clean vehicles and we have seen exceptional outcomes,” said Ken Morris, vice president, global product integrity, General Motors. “Ohio State stood out amongst the competition and truly did an outstanding job. All of the teams have helped advance innovative vehicle technology and improve the automotive industry and we thank them for their hard work, dedication and enthusiasm for this program.”

Source | Photos: EcoCAR 2 Communications.

Ohio State University Fields Electric Motorcycle Race Team

College ain’t what it used to be, and that’s a good thing. Ohio State University introduced a program that allowed engineering students to build a TTZero/TTXGP class electric motorcycle that- one day- may make it to the grid at the legendary Isle of Man TT.

The updated RW2 motorcycle shown here is the second all-electric racing motorcycle to come from Ohio State since the program’s inception in 2010. The first bike, the RW1, had a top speed in excess of 140 MPH- and the RW2 promises to be even faster thanks to its reduced weight, improved aerodynamics, and more powerful electric power unit. OSU’s RW2 is packing the equivalent of 70 HP (plus LOTS of torque) and battery capacity roughly equal to that of a Chevrolet Volt, necessary to traverse the 37.7 mile course at the Snaefell Mountain round of the TTXGP Championship.

You can read more about the program from OSU’s website …

During the academic year, the team designs and builds a two-wheeled electric racing motorcycle to participate to the Time Trial Extreme Grand Prix (TTXGP) Championship. TTXGP is currently a set of three international circuits (North America, United Kingdom, and Europe). Each circuit is comprised of approximately four different races, with the top teams from each circuit competing in Spain for the World Championship.

This project promotes leadership in electric transportation conversion, energy storage systems, advanced traction system, and system integration. At the same time, team members gain vital engineering, business, and communication skills applicable to real-world jobs.

… and check out some of the Ohio State University’s TTXGP engineering team, along with the RW1, in the photos below.

Ohio State University Engineering

Source | Photos: the Ohio State University, via Torque News.

Ohio State team moves EV Salt Flats speed tests back home

The Ohio State Center for Automotive Research (OSU CAR) may be moving speed tests for what may be the world's fastest electric vehicle about 1,700 miles away from its original Utah destination, but, hey, that's theoretically just a tidy four-hour drive at full speed. This month, Ohio State, which earlier this year said it was working with Venturi on setting a land-speed record for electric vehicles, will test its third Buckeye Bullet, otherwise known as the Venturi VBB-3, at Ohio's Transportation Research Center to better give the building team a chance to perfect the car's operations.

Testing was originally to be done at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, where the team will try to set a world speed record in mid-September but apparently, there's still more work to be done. In April, the team said its 3,000-horsepower EV was already able to reach about 373 miles per hour and was shooting to add another 60 mph or so to that mark. The original Buckeye Bullet reached a top speed of about 301 miles per hour in 2009.

Read the team's rapidly written press release below.

Show full PR text

News Source: Ohio State Center for Automotive Research (OSU CAR)

In which an EV1 rises from the dead as a modified Honda Insight

Leave it to the builder of an electric vehicle called "White Zombie" to dream up a scenario straight out of a horror movie. In this case, it's an old General Motors EV1 electric vehicle seemingly brought back from the dead in the guise of a first-generation (and nearly carbon copy) Honda Insight hybrid, according to Plug In Cars. John Wayland, whose White Zombie is an all-electric 1972 Datsun he's been known to race from time to time, is taking cobbled-together pieces of an old EV1 given to Brigham Young University, among other sources, and creating an all-electric Insight whose single-charge range will approach 400 miles.

Wayland is about 80 percent done with what he dubs the "Silver Streak," whose relatively light weight (less than 1,100 pounds) enables that "extended" range. Wayland sourced an EV1 transaxle motor and wheels to make his so-called "EV2" happen.

GM made about 1,100 EV1s between 1996 and 1999 but took them back from their leaseholders in 2003 and crushed them (the process was memorably recounted in the film Who Killed the Electric Car?). The automaker did donate about 40 disabled vehicles to Ohio State, the University of Wisconsin, Western Washington and other universities, including BYU. There's also an EV1 in the Smithsonian.


Source: Autoblog

Crippling Lithium-Ion Battery Flaw Revealed

The first step to solving a problem is diagnosing it, and in this case, a huge step was taken for electric vehicles.

Researchers at Ohio State University discovered that in lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ions accumulate inside a sheet of copper known as the current collector. Lithium-ions should not permanently accumulate on the current collector like this, as they are necessary for battery function, therefore this decreases battery performance, as there will be less lithium-ions available.

This is why discoveries like this are often accidental, because they didn’t think that happened, so they didn’t look for it: “We didn’t set out to find lithium in the current collector, so you could say we accidentally discovered it, and how it got there is a bit of a mystery. As far as we know, nobody has ever expected active lithium to migrate inside the current collector,” according to Bharat Bhushan.

Shrikant Nagpure, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio State University, conducted this research as part of his doctoral degree. He collaborated with the university’s Center for Automotive Research and examined worn batteries to discover this with the help of Gregory Downing, a chemist at the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) that happens to be an expert at impurity analysis using NDP (Neutron Depth Profiling).

In this case, the impurity is lithium-ions. The test showed that there was one 1 lithium atom for every 1250 copper atoms in the copper collector. While that is a very small ratio, it is enough to affect performance.

This may be due to the fact that lithium-ion batteries operate using small amounts of lithium. So little that lithium comprises 1.5% to 3% of a li-ion battery’s weight.

While this isn’t a technological advancement per-se, it is an important discovery because scientists can start working on a solution that leads to longer-lasting batteries.

Source: Autoblog Green

Ohio State discovery reveals flaw that may shorten lithium-ion battery life

Just because winter break is coming up for many students doesn't mean bad time for a chemistry lesson. This one comes courtesy of Ohio State University and poses new questions about the functional lifetime of a typical lithium-ion battery as used in a hybrid or battery electric vehicle.

A couple of Buckeye engineers found that, over time, a battery's lithium accumulates on the sheet of copper that serves as a "current collector" that transfers energy. With lithium ions traveling between the anode and cathode, lithium was previously thought to collect only on the anode's surface as the battery ages.

The issue of battery life and energy retention has been a major one as automakers offering electric-drive vehicles need to assure potential buyers that the newfangled car's battery life will equal or exceed the timeframe of typical vehicle ownership. General Motors gives an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the batteries in the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in (longer in California), while Nissan has said the battery pack for the all-electric Leaf will have 80 percent capacity after five years and 70 percent after a decade. Nonetheless, Nissan has been getting flak from a group of Leaf owners in Arizona who said their cars' battery capacity was shrinking more quickly than advertised. Perhaps OSU's research will help future electric vehicles avoid similar complaints.


Source: Autoblog Green