The Equinox made it and it is wowing them all the way.  The organizers are impressed the team is pulling together to make everything work like a well oiled machine.  We have been running like a champ taking home the Gold Star for being Reliable and Ready...Well mostly!  We might have had a glitch or two I mean if Toshiba decided to give us a laptop with a BIOS that just fries for no reason, based on their tech support, that is not really our fault right???  We might have had the electric drive cut out from an unexpected condition, but it certainly didn't fail and came back online quite easily with a simple restart.  Then running the events for the rest of the day we ran emissions and AVL drive quality with out a hitch then Dynamic Drive Quality went flawlessly minus the mud puddle that made it look like we had been off-roading.  

So that was leading up to about 2pm so what did we do then??  Well we watched the other teams fix an axle shaft (Uh Oh!!), another was trying to sort out some turbo problems, then others worked frantically on small repairs.  Meanwhile we decided to take the moment to shine our baby!  The Equinox went through one nice little wash and wax and then got a good rub down with various other cleaners to make everything sparkle and shine and bring out the beauty within the beast.  Last item of business was some new stickers to give our sponsors the respectful mention they deserve with some well done cut vinyl stickers.

So how did the day end?  Well we have one beautiful, running car!!!  The touch screen should be fixed in a matter of moments as I write.  The events tomorrow will bring another good day for Ohio State University ChallengeX with more events and some display of our work!!

Stay Tuned!! 

There are always going to be some bumps and obstacles along any road, but what counts is how you handle them. I am proud to say that our team is second to none when it comes to problem solving. When the chips are down and the stakes are high everyone on the team pitches in and things start to happen. Over the last week the Exhaust has completed every stage of testing to verify its functionality and tune it for maximum efficiency. This testing included properly atomising or vaporizing diesel fuel with a high voltage electric heater. Then after finishing this it was necessary to produce a reliable flame with the proper fuel air mixture. Completing this also involved a reliable ignition source.  Before that it had to be determined how to schedule a regeneration cycle based on NOx reduction efficiency.  That was determined using carbon monoxide injection, which is now replaced with a diesel powered regeneration unit.

Then if all these things don't sound like enough fun you have to now determine the proper regeneration timing and cycling to produce a safe and reliable reduction in NOx emissions. All this testing has been completed and the system has produced as high as 95% efficiencies, which when averaged with regeneration efficiencies can produce an overall efficiency of 85%. This all comes with only a 1% penalty in fuel economy!

So what would have been the bumps along the way?? Well where do I start? First the fuel pump broke because the fuel chamber was too tight. Then the glow plug wouldn't get hot enough to ignite the flame. Next the flame was back firing and not mixing correctly due to strange flow and required a nozzle. Following this the valves began leaking and the system had to be pulled down and repaired. Last 2 cartridge heaters fried, one mosfet, and an RTD. So does the system sound faulty??? Well IT WAS!! The GOOD NEWS now is it is NOT ANYMORE! With each problem came a better and brighter solution. The fuel pump was replaced with a small valve and run off the engine fuel pump making a much more compact and reliable solution. Then the glow plug was replaced with a super high energy igniter. Next the valves were resealed with no other solution then a simple well placed weld to hold the seals in place. So what about the heaters the mosfet and the RTD?? Well simple the RTD was damaged on install and failed. The new one is not damaged and therefore will not fail.

What is the result of all this mechanical jargon?? One of the most elaborate displays of automotive engineering at OSU today. From a Ph.D project in the lab to a working system on a vehicle this has been an extraordinary accomplishment for the OSU ChallengeX team!! So everyone cross your fingers and hope that everything goes smooth as silk and the system works like a charm!