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Written by Webmaster
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Friday, 18 January 2008 |
We are now finished with ChallengeX. The OSU ChallengeX team is proud to announce it has now been accepted into the EcoCAR "The NEXT Challenge" for the 2009-2011 school years. The team finished 3rd place overall bringing home a personal best in vehicle competition for the team. The 1st and 2nd place teams have been in the top three since the very beginning, so we are proud to have now joined them there. See the Blog for the team competition days and details. Click Here to watch the video of the ChallengeX teams as Jay Leno finds out what they are all about! ChallengeX is a four-year competition sponsored by the US Department of Energy, General Motors Corporations, and several other organizations and companies from the US and Canada.
Seventeen American and Canadian universities are now entering their fourth and final year in the race to convert a gasoline-based 2005 Chevrolet Equinox SUV into a hybrid vehicle maximizing fuel economy and emissions ratings and maintaining stock performance.
The Ohio State team's architecture involves replacing the stock engine and transmission with a GM 1.9 liter turbodiesel and a 6-speed automatic transmission. Coupled to the engine is an integrated starter/alternator (a small electric motor at ~10kW); we have chosen to use the KollMorgan IMA. Furthermore, the rear axle is powered by a large 67kW electric drive made by Ballard found in the electric Ford Ranger. For battery power, we are using 1.3 packs from the Toyota Prius hybrid equaling a nominal voltage of 300 volts and about 6 Ahrs capacity.
Teams have access to some of the most advanced tools and design philosophies in industry, and must create a fusion of expertise in:
- mechanical engineering
- electrical engineering
- control and systems engineering
- electronics
- engine and aftertreatment techniques
- management, finance, and public relations.
All these are needed to create the best vehicle possible. The Ohio State team, operating under the auspices of the Center for Automotive Research, is extremely well-funded and comprises of a wide variety of students with many different backgrounds and goals.
This website will log our progress in this competition, for both our own use as well as to encourage Ohio State students of all kinds to contribute and learn from this incredible opportunity.
 Click here to see the new hybrid trucks that GM is now proposing
 
Click here to listen to the hybrid song. Click here to donate to the OSU ChallengeX team. |
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