Engineering Students Gear Up for National Vehicle Competition
22 March 1999
Engineering Students Gear Up for National Vehicle Competition
ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORIES--We don't brake for Spring Break. Students from 14 top U.S. and Canadian colleges will skip Ft. Launderdale and other popular Spring Break destinations this year to work on trucks of the future.
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Time is quickly running out for more than 200 students whose teams will compete May 19-26 in the 1999 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge, a seven-day event that tests pickup trucks that have been converted from gasoline-powered engines to vehicles that run on E85 (a blend of 85 percent denatured ethanol and 15 percent gasoline primer). The competition began in November when student teams took possession of fourteen 1999 four-wheel drive Chevrolet Silverado pickups donated by the GM Truck Group. The U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors Corporation and Natural Resources Canada are the major sponsors of the competition.
"For the students, this challenge offers a valuable learning experience which complements their formal education," said Tom Stephens, GM vice president and group director of engineering for the GM Truck Group. "Converting Silverados from gasoline power to ethanol power will offer challenges to the student teams and is an exciting platform to highlight their technological skills."
The teams will compete at the GM Proving Ground in Milford, Mich. The week-long Ethanol Challenge will test exhaust emissions, fuel economy, acceleration, driveability, handling, range, and cold- and hot-start performance. Off-road and trailer towing events will focus students on design challenges unique to trucks. Teams also will be judged for a written design report and an oral technical design presentation.
After five days of competition, the teams will embark on a two-day trip from the GM Milford Proving Ground to Springfield, Ill. The motorcade will make stops along the route at the state capitol building in Lansing, Mich., the GM assembly plant in Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Williams Energy Corp. in Peoria, Ill. The over-the-road event will conclude at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, here the winners will be announced.
Schools competing in the 1999 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge include: Minnesota State University (Mankato, Minn.), University of Texas at El Paso, Wayne State University (Detroit, Mich.), Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, Ill.), Idaho State University (Pocatello, Idaho), Cedarville College (Cedarville, Ohio), University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Kansas at Lawrence, University of California at Riverside, Kettering University (Flint, Mich.), University of Texas at Austin, Crowder College (Neosho, Mo.) and University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
