Good to the last drop: U of A aims to squeeze rivals in eco marathon
For vehicles on the extreme range of energy efficiency, every little bit of modification helps.
That’s the lesson a team from the University of Alberta is applying to its two cars in this year’s Shell EcoMarathon Americas.
“There were a lot of things we saw during the competition last year that we thought we would improve on,” said project manager Natasha Pye, a Calgarian. “We made a lot of modifications to the electrical system to reduce power loss in the circuits.”
With some big improvements on their highly efficient cars, the team hopes to move up the ladder as the most fuel-efficient vehicle.
Competitors can choose from three types of energy sources: internal combustion (gasoline, diesel and ethanol), hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric technology.
The winning prototype car last year, from Quebec’s Universite Laval, recorded 2,731.1 miles per gallon.
Alberta’s EcoCar team will be using the same vehicles, and similar hydrogen fuel technology, that competed last year but with major modifications.
Pye said their cars Sofie, which competes in the prototype category, and Alice, which will be competing in the UrbanConcept category, are more efficient this year. “I think all the small changes that we made will probably add up to a noticeable difference in efficiency.”
The winning UrbanConcept car achieved 723.4 miles per gallon last year.
Pye and her team of 50 will be among 20 travelling to California, for the competition. She is joined by fellow Calgarians Howard Huang, Jerry Han, and Aishwarya Venkitachalam.
The event, involving 1,000 student competitors, will be held April 19 to 22 at Sonoma Raceway.
“Shell Eco-marathon Americas brings together young engineers to design, build and drive ultra-efficient vehicles, that stand to serve as blueprints for future transportation technology,” says the Shell website.
For regional finals the teams will be marrying energy efficiency with speed in a race. The winners will be crowned regional champions and travel to London to compete in the Drivers’ World Championship Grand Final.