JMU AFV Lab Blog

This article was on the ScienceDaily website today.  From below:  “The team hopes to improve on the current Dalhousie record of 420 kilometres per litre on regular unleaded gas, with a vision to beat the record at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas of 1,445 kilometers per litre.” 420 km/l equates to 988 mpg and 1445 km/l equates to almost 3400 mpg.  Maybe the AFV Lab Supermileage team can get some ideas from this article.

Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218223151.htm

Engineering Students Build And Design A Fuel-Stingy Vehicle

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Dalhousie University mechanical engineering students and the “Maritime Mileage Machine.” (Credit: Image courtesy of Dalhousie University)

ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2009) — With its light body made of Kevlar, sleek aerodynamic design and three Olympic-racing wheelchair tires, it looks like something that escaped from the Batcave.

But actually it’s a school project by a team of six Dalhousie University senior mechanical engineering students.

The ultimate in fuel efficiency, the “Maritime Mileage Machine” will be entered in the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas taking place on April 15 to 18 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The event challenges high school and post-secondary students across Canada, the U.S., Mexico and South America to design and build a vehicle that will drive the farthest using the least amount of energy.

The students who win will have a chance to make history and take home thousands of dollars in prize money.

“The main thing is to keep it simple and efficient,” explains Matthew Harding, the team’s manager. Other members include Liam Jeffrey, Craig Arthur, Chad Batterton, Brad Marcus and the driver Carmen McKnight. “The whole point of the competition is maximum fuel economy.”

The vehicle runs on a 35-cc engine—“It’s basically a big weed whacker,” says Mr. Harding.

The team hopes to improve on the current Dalhousie record of 420 kilometres per litre on regular unleaded gas, with a vision to beat the record at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas of 1,445 kilometers per litre.

“Considering the average car is getting about 30 miles per gallon (or 13 kms per litre), that’s pretty drastic.”

Carmen McKnight, selected for her petite size, will drive the vehicle while lying in a hammock-like seat with a headrest to prop up her head. She steers the car using handles on either side of her body.

Circuits are about seven miles long and the race will last roughly 45 minutes a circuit.

The team’s goal is to fine-tune their model and get in some practice time to be ready for the competition in April.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218223151.htm

Saw this article on the Autobloggreen blog this morning and thought you may be interested. The 3 wheel “leaning” concept is not new; as the article mentions, Piaggio has had it for quite a while. What fascinates me is the concept of having electric motors/alternators in each front wheel, which charge their battery only from regenerative braking. It has a conventional, but supercharged125cc ICE driving the rear wheel.  Two separate drive systems.  I’m also fascinated by the horizontal spring arrangement of the front suspension.  I’m reserving judgment on this concept, mainly because I wonder what effect it will have on handling when the inside wheel drops in a pothole in a turn and the other wheel makes a sudden move upward, with attendant loss of traction when it is needed most.  I foresee skids in turns as a result.  Back in the late sixties early seventies, a British firm (BMC I think it was) sold a car with “hydraulic suspension.”  It had antifreeze/water filled rubber bags at each wheel, all connected with water lines.  This had a disturbing action that when one wheel dropped in a pothole, it was felt at all four wheels, like all four wheels had hit potholes simultaneously.  It also was prone to total loss of traction when something, like a pothole, disturbed the balance.  In a curve on a wet road , they would “turn end for end” if the driver was a little too aggressive.

Source: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/10/04/peugeot-unleashes-118-mpg-hymotion3-compressor-concept/

Peugeot unleashes 118 mpg HYmotion3 Compressor Concept

Posted Oct 4th 2008 at 8:03PM by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Hybrid, MPG, Peugeot, On Two Wheels, Paris Motor Show

We really dig Peugeot’s new HYmotion3 Compressor Concept. It’s got three wheels — two up front and one in back, our preferred arrangement — and a hybrid drivetrain. The two front wheels are independently powered by individual wheel-mounted hub motors and have no connection to the supercharged four-stroke 125cc engine that powers the rear wheel. Regenerative braking is all that provides power to the scooter’s battery pack. Like the Piaggio MP3, the HYmotion3 is a leaning machine. Besides that radical powertrain, the scooter features a full safety cage that encompasses both the driver and passenger. A real windshield sits at the front with a second large sunroof overhead.

The engine shuts down when it’s not needed and the electrically-driven front wheels are capable of powering the machine by themselves. The HYmotion3 is extremely fuel efficient, recording 118 miles per gallon. Could it see production? It’s not beyond the realm of possibility, as the supercharged engine is already sold in other Peugeot scooters and the aforementioned MP3 has proven that the design can be a success on the sales floor. In other words, stay tuned.

Source: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/10/04/peugeot-unleashes-118-mpg-hymotion3-compressor-concept/