JMU AFV Lab Blog

This article came across on the “Gas2.0″ blog on October 16. Students at the University of Kansas have produced an interesting hybrid vehicle. They took an old VW Super Beetle and converted it to electric power by replacing the conventional gasoline engine with an electric motor and batteries. (Wow, you’re thinking that’s not really original, is it?) But they went a step further and installed a diesel engine/generator in the front compartment of the VW to charge the batteries. But the students didn’t stop there, either. They designed the system in such a way that an ethanol, fuel cell, or gas turbine engine/generator could be substituted for the diesel setup with minimal alterations. Impressive, don’t you think?

To see this article, go to http://gas2.org/2009/10/16/kansas-students-run-retro-vw-beetle-on-batteries-and-biodiesel/

To view the students report on the project, go to http://groups.ku.edu/~ecohawks/IMECE2009-10247.pdf
(JMU AFV Lab students should take notice of this file and consider it when they report on their own projects.)

Kansas Students Run Retro VW Beetle on Batteries and Biodiesel

Written by Andrew Williams

A group of University of Kansas students have rigged up a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle to run on a mix of biodiesel and battery power.

The team, calling themselves the Ecohawks, claim the quirky hybrid is capable of getting 50 MPG from a series of 10 lead-acid batteries and a biodiesel generator.

Performance-wise, although quite cool looking in a retro kind of way, the car isn’t exactly what you’d call a speedster, topping out as it does at a leisurely 30 mph.

That doesn’t seem to bother team-leader Prof. Chris Depcik though, who told reporters, “We have driven it around and reached approximately 30 mph, but this was more of a proof-of-concept drive without pushing the boundaries. We are currently getting the vehicle into road-ready shape to be driven safely in order to determine these values.” (More pics after the jump).

• » See also: Update: Breakthrough Biodiesel Process Now Running At Commercial Scale
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Depcik says that given the mass availability of Beetle parts, (VW built 21.5 million of them before ceasing production in 2003), the choice of car was a no-brainer and estimates that it will be ready to pass a Kansas state inspection “with flying colors” by May 2010.

This article was on the gas2.org blog this morning. This is quite a project for any group, much less a high school group. Perhaps our AFV Lab group can come up with something like this? Go to http://gas2.org/2009/10/05/teenage-built-diesel-hybrid-does-0-60-in-4-seconds-soon-to-break-100-mpg/ to see the article

Teenage-Built Diesel Hybrid Does 0-60 in 4 Seconds, Soon to Break 100 MPG

Written by Jerry James Stone

Published on October 5th, 2009

2 Comments

Posted in Diesels, Hybrid-electric EVs

Students from West Philadelphia High School have built a diesel-hybrid race car that goes from 0-60 in four seconds. While the car currently gets 60+ mpg, they hope to soon break 100 mpg.

Why? They are competing for $10 million in the Automotive X-Prize .

Called the Hybrid Attack, the car was built by kids from West Philly’s Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering. And if that alone doesn’t make them cool, they are the only high school team competing out of 90 different teams from the U.S. and overseas.

• » See also: Hyundai Enters The Green Auto Market With a Bang | IAA Frankfurt Auto Show
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The students were inspired by the gasoline-electric Prius they saw at the 2003 competition. But their car had to meet the proverbial requirements of a teenager: fast and cool-looking! “The Prius, it’s OK,” said Chris Millsip, a 17-year-old in his third year with the academy. “But it needs to go faster.”

Kids believe they can do anything. And I have to say I believe these kids can. According to Autoblog Green they are a top 10 contender for the prize.

“We didn’t design the car to win but to break the stereotype of what a hybrid car could be,” said Simon Hauger, the academy’s director since its inception in 1998.

In order to make the cut they must get the Hybrid Attack up to 100 mpg, make it road safe and easily mass produced.

In 2002, 2005 and 2006, the team won the Tour de Sol, a competition for alternative vehicles to drive at least 150 miles while getting 100 mpg or better. In fact, in their first attempt they beat out 40 other teams including one from MIT.

“I know we’re going to win,” said 15-year-old student Stefon Gonzalez. “We’ve got a good history of winning competitions and we’ve got the engineering background and the experience.”

Though, this time their competition includes a team from Cornell University, engineers from Ottawa and Silicon Valley, and a group led by an inventor created the voice-recognition software for the BlackBerry.

Stiff competition aside, these kids aren’t just holding their own against the likes of MIT… they are doing what the auto industry can’t (or won’t).

For me, that’s the real win.

Source: http://gas2.org/2009/10/05/teenage-built-diesel-hybrid-does-0-60-in-4-seconds-soon-to-break-100-mpg/