[Buckeye Bullet 2 Update] Fwd: Buckeye Bullet 2 News Update Issue 2

Buckeye Bullet 2 News Update Issue 2: http://www.roadtobonneville.com/BB2%20Newsletters/BB2%20Newsletter%20Issue%20002%2006092007.pdf

To all Buckeye Bullet fans everywhere,

Follow the link above to issue 2 of the Buckeye Bullet 2 News Update newsletter.  In this issue:

• Breaking news: Ohio State, Ford, Ballard and Roush team to advance automotive HFC technology
• Ohio State BB2 and Ford Fusion HySPEED to attempt dual land speed records
• Exclusive: First look at Ford Fusion HySPEED
• BB2 powers to 290,000 watts in first tests
• NSF honors two BB2 teammates
• Much . . . much more

Media contacts:

The Ohio State University - Gina Langen, langen.2@osu.edu , 614-688-4423
Ford Motor Company - Nick Twork, ntwork1@ford.com, 313-598-0481
Ballard Power Systems - Rebecca Young, rebecca.young@ballard.com
Roush Industries - Greg Fraker, gmfrak@roushind.com, 313-425-2970

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Go Bucks! Go even faster!!

Pete Miller

--
Pete Miller - Fundraising Chair
The Ohio State University
Buckeye Bullet 2
Student Land Speed Racing Team
www.BuckeyeBullet.com
www.BuckeyeBullet.Blogspot.com
(614) 284-8563 anytime

Final report from ChallengeX competition

This is the fifth and final of a series of reports that will be issued from the ChallengeX competition to relate the progress of our ChallengeX Buckeyes at the General Motors Milford Proving Ground (MPG).
Please feel free to distribute this report as you see fit.

The final results are in for the 2007 ChallengeX competition!  One more time, the CX Buckeyes are coming home with plenty of hardware…

First, the overall competition scores.

6th, San Diego State University, 657 points (out of 1000)
5th, Pennsylvania State University, 687
4th, The Ohio State University, 734
3rd, Virginia Tech, 809
2nd, Wisconsin, 888
1st, Mississippi State University, 896
 
In addition to a strong 4th place finish, OSU also won the following Special Awards:
 
BEST NOISE (yes, with a Diesel engine!!!  This is what control can do for you…)
DYNAMIC DRIVE QUALITY AND CONSUMER ACCEPTABILITY (yes, with a Diesel engine!!! This is what control can do for you…)
OUTREACH AWARD FOR BEST SPONSORED EVENTS (the team took the vehicle to the UM-OSU football game, and to the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young concert at Polaris.  That was a combined potential audience of about 200,000 people…)
2nd PLACE, MATHWORKS: CROSSOVER TO MODEL BASED DESIGN AWARD
HONORABLE MENTION: BEST STUDENT DRIVER TIME IN HANDLING EVENT (go Squealing John Neal!)
NSF OUSTANDING FACULTY ADVISOR AWARD

The total cash value of these awards is $22,750.  Not a bad day at the office…
 
The team is absolutely delighted with these results.  While it might have been possible to score a few more points here and there and perhaps challenge for third place, the fact is that OSU produced the vehicle that gave the best driving quality experience, combining excellent responsiveness and drivability with very low noise.  The team achieved these goals through the development of effective control strategies, so, even though OSU was not recognized specifically in this category, we know that all the hard work done on the development of the control systems quietly paid off!
 
We will not know the detailed results for some time (for example, actual fuel consumption and emissions).  I may issue a post-event report with the details if they are posted in the next couple of weeks.
 
GO BUCKS!
 
Giorgio Rizzoni

Ohio State ChallengeX Team at GM Milford Proving Grounds

BB2's Giorgio Rizzoni Wins NSF Award

To all Buckeye Bullet fans,

Buckeye Bullet 2 faculty advisor, Giorgio Rizzoni has won the 2007 National Science Foundation Faculty Advisor Award at the National ChallengeX competition.  Read the details on the Buckeye Bullet 2 Blog http://buckeyebullet.blogspot.com/ "Report 4 from ChallengeX".

Dr. Rizzoni is Director of The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research and faculty advisor to the Ohio State Buckeye Bullet 2 and ChallengeX student automotive teams.

Congratulations, Giorgio!!

Media Contact: Gina Langen, langen.2@osu.edu, 614-688-4423

Go Bucks!

--
Pete Miller - Fundraising Chair
The Ohio State University
Buckeye Bullet 2
Student Land Speed Racing Team
www.BuckeyeBullet.com
www.BuckeyeBullet.Blogspot.com
(614) 284-8563 anytime

Report 4 from ChallengeX

This is the fourth of a series of reports that will be issued from the ChallengeX competition to relate the progress of our ChallengeX Buckeyes at the General Motors Milford Proving Ground (MPG). Please feel free to distribute this report as you see fit.

DAY 5 – June 4
Well, the judges decided that selected teams could repeat the trailer tow event (for a variety of reasons), and after the event was completed the OSU time, while very close to the top, ended up being third.  Still an excellent result – one more time the Buckeyes place near the top of a dynamic event, remaining in what is clearly the very top group of contenders. Not much else happened on Monday, other than preparation for the presentations, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Just one note on the drive quality event.  The drivability of our hybrid Equinox was much appreciated: some of the comments heard from the judges: "silky smooth…", "move over Toyota – here comes Ohio State!"…
Overall the team is very upbeat and proud of the results thus far..
 
DAY 6 – June 5
Tuesday was the first day of official presentations.  Our first stint came at 2:20, when Jason Disalvo (ECE senior) and Kerem Koprubasi (ME graduate student) presented the OSU Control Strategy.  This was a very difficult event, as the judges are all experienced control engineers, and the questions at the end of the presentation were quite challenging. The control strategy is one of our strong suits, and we hope to have done well.  Later in the afternoon, John Neal (ECE senior) and Mike Arnett (ME graduate student) gave the Technical Presentation, an overview of the entire vehicle focusing on the advanced technologies. The presentation was extremely smooth and the judges ran out of questions…
In the evening the many sponsors of the competition, including DoE and GM, but also many others such as The Mathworks, BP and Chevron, Ballard, etc. hosted a dinner at a very elegant country club in Plymouth (the adjacent golf course looked particularly attractive to me!).  At the end of the dinner various awards were distributed.  The last was the traditional National Science Foundation Faculty Advisor Award, which comes in two flavors: incoming faculty advisor (3 years or fewer at the helm of a team), and long-term advisor.  Prof. Marshall Molen of Mississippi State won the incoming category, and deservedly so.  He is the proverbial gentleman and scholar and has led Mississippi State from nowhere to a third place finish last year (MSU will be very strong this year as well).  The long-term award held a surprise.  I did not know that the team had nominated me, and was surprised and delighted when my name was called.  Not only is this an excellent "PR moment" for Ohio State, but the award is accompanied by a $15,000 check issued by the National Science Foundation to the team. Our Hybrid Buckeyes make us all proud.  Thank goodness Florida is not in this competition…
 
DAY 7 – June
I am writing these notes as I am getting ready to leave for Detroit Metro Airport.  I am flying back to Italy, and will be back in Pavia a few hours before the final awards ceremony.  There I will be in close contact with the team and I will issue the final report around noon.
Today we have a busy day!  Azher Salikuddin (junior, MSE) and Kris Sevel (ME graduate student) will give the Outreach Presentation.  Mike Arnett and Kerem Koprubasi will give the Mathworks: Crossover to Model-based Design presentation .  Jason Disalvo and Kerem Koprubasi will give the Freescale Semiconductor: Silicon on the Move Award Presentation.  Finally, Kris Sevel and Eric Schacht (ECE sophomore) will be in charge of the static events: Consumer Acceptability and Vehicle Testing Complete, in which a team of judges will inspect the vehicle and evaluate its design and consumer acceptability.
In the evening the organizers have planned a "sports night" in which the students will compete in a variety of games for the fun of it.
Tomorrow morning the final awards…
 
Stay tuned and GO BUCKS!
 
Giorgio Rizzoni

Buckeye Bullet 2 Roars to Life

The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research (CAR), May 31 - June 2, 2007:

Buckeye Bullet 2, the world's first hydrogen fuel cell powered streamliner, roared to life at 9:15 pm on May 31, 2007. The mighty Ballard twin fuel cell modules generated 290,000 watts of power, the equivalent of 390 HP, at the end of the first test series.

This first test validated that the power train can generate nearly 60% of the 500,000 watts and 700 HP that will be needed to power BB2 at 350 MPH at Bonneville.

The Ohio State student engineering team, designers and builders of BB2, pronounced this first test a complete success.

• BB2 teammates from Ballard Power Systems (Michael Procter, Colin Keddie & Paul Mann) and from Ford's Fuel Cell Engineering Group (Chad Allison) checked out the fuel cells that the students installed in the BB2 vehicle.
  
• BB2 student team leader, Isaac Harper, ordered the vehicle integration test to begin.
  
• BB2 electrical team leader, Ben Sensheimer, and data acquisition specialist, Kevin Ponziani, threw the power switch "on" and automotive history took a giant leap forward.

Click here for first photos of BB2 under test in the BB2 Race Shop at CAR.

Go Bucks! Go even faster!!

Penske Technology Honors Buckeye Bullet 2 Students

John Moloney and all of our teammates at The Penske Technology Group, www.pensketechnology.com, have honored The Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet 2 student land speed racing team by emblazoning the BB2 image on their company's race shirts.

PTG has the most advanced wind tunnel facility in North America. Most of the NASCAR teams in NC, as well Penske IRL cars driven by Sam Hornish, Jr. and Hélio Castroneves are just some of the professional and amateur racers who test at PTG.

We are proud to say that Ohio State's Buckeye Bullet is the only land speed team that tests at PTG.


Thank you, Penske Technology, for your support and sponsorship over the past seven years, from Day 1 of BB1 to today, on the brink of BB2 going 350 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Go Bucks! Go even faster!!

News from the ChallengeX Competition - Report 3

This is the third of a series of reports that will be issued from the ChallengeX competition to relate the progress of our ChallengeX Buckeyes at the General Motors Milford Proving Ground (MPG). Please feel free to distribute this report as you see fit.

DAY 4 – June 3
Well, the on-road emissions test was completed uneventfully. We will know the outcome in a few days. Immediately after the emissions event, the CXBuckeyes were off to the AVL Drive Quality Event. The goal of this event is to objectively evaluate the driving quality of the vehicle through a set of driving modes that include acceleration, cruising and braking. Vehicle longitudinal acceleration and perceived acceleration in the cabin are measured and used to assess the vehicle "drivability". This event was a real success for our team. The electric launch, engine start-stop and torque blending features worked seamlessly, and we received repeated compliments on the vehicle drivability from GM and AVL engineers. While the final scoring has not been decided yet, the consensus was that our vehicle was rated the best of the ones to have completed the event.
Next in line, after another fine GM lunch (I do not believe that GM staff experience the same quality on an average day…), was the Trailer Towing Performance Event. The main feature of this test is to demonstrate the ability to tow a 2,500-lb load over a 16% grade at reasonable speed. Each team is to repeat the test three times. Kris Sevel (ME graduate student) had started the third loop when a violent thunderstorm hit the proving ground and the organizers decided to abort the attempt and reschedule the trial. Kris had already beaten the fastest time up the hill (held by Wisconsin until then) by over 1.5 seconds (19.5 vs. 22) in one of the previous runs. We will have to repeat the entire event when the roads have dried up some. Oh well. In all fairness, given that rivers of water were pouring down the 16% grade, this was probably the right decision.
The rain did not seem to create any problems with respect to the Dynamic Consumer Acceptability Event, so the vehicle moved on to this event, the only other dynamic test left. The objective of this test is to assess and score, subjectively, the vehicle noise, vibration and harshness, and ride and handling. This test is conducted by two independent (GM) evaluators. Being a subjective test, it is hard to tell how the vehicle is judged – we think our vehicle drives like a production Equinox! Both runs were completed successfully in just under one hour.
At the end of the day, the organizers requested that OSU attempt the trailer tow again, even though the ground was still quite wet at the time. The result of the test was excellent – this event is scored on the worst run, and Kris drove the vehicle with similar results each time, scoring a worst time of 20.5 seconds, which is about 4 seconds better than the next best time. Unfortunately, though, this result is not final, as Wisconsin filed a complaint about having to do the test in the rain (they ran earlier today when the ground was slightly wet – long before the downpour), and asking for a repeat trial. We'll see what happens. Sounds like a case of a poor loser to me...
In summary, the team exceeded all expectations by completing all dynamic events one day ahead of schedule. We are now working on the technical presentations, which start on Tuesday.

GO BUCKS!
Giorgio Rizzoni

One note about Saturday evening – In my second report I neglected to mention that at the completion of the Vehicle Dynamics Handling Event, GM hosted an unusual event they called the Student Driving Experience . Thankfully, faculty were also invited! MPG made available 51 GM vehicle in current production, plus a few that will be hitting the showrooms next model year. The teams spent the next two-plus hours test driving a variety of GM products including five different hybrid vehicles (Aura, Malibu, new and old Saturn Vue, Tahoe – with the 2-mode hybrid system to be introduced in the fall). It was a very successful experience, capped by a very nice barbecue by the side of the test track.

News from the ChallengeX Competition - Report 2

This is the second of a series of reports that will be issued from the ChallengeX competition to relate the progress of our ChallengeX Buckeyes at the General Motors Milford Proving Ground (MPG). Please feel free to distribute this report as you see fit.
 
DAY 3 – June 2
The On-Road Energy Use Event was completed successfully.  The vehicle – driven by Eric Diamond, ECE senior – behaved as intended, and having driven it myself for a few miles I must say that the engine automatic start-stop feature coupled with the rear axle electric launch must have saved a fair amount of fuel.  Anyway, the unofficial refueling (in which the tank is removed from the vehicle and weighed) amounted to approximately two gallons for a test that covered over 70 miles of stop and go traffic, highway driving, and which also included some hilly terrain.  We will not know the official figure until the end of the competition, but our impression is that we improved significantly over last year's fuel consumption figures, which were already 30% better than the production Equinox.
After lunch (graciously hosted by GM in their cafeteria), the teams moved to "Black Lake", the vehicle dynamics testing area, where team pictures were taken and the Vehicle Dynamics Handling Event took place.  This event is an autocross contest, in which each vehicle has three attempts at completing a winding course marked by pylons (cones).  Penalties are given for knocking down pylons and for not stopping in the designated area at the end of the run.  Each team could take advantage of a professional driver supplied by GM for one of the tree runs.  A GM pro took out a production Equinox recording a time of just under 65 seconds.  A second driver followed in a Corvette Z06 recording a time of 56 s.  That was fun to watch!  At the end of the trial, three teams were very closed to one another: Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Ohio State, with times of approximately 65, 66 and 67 seconds, respectively.  The next best was about 70 seconds. Needless to say, the best time was recorded by the GM driver in each case.  However, OSU's John Neal, ECE senior, had a personal best time of 70 seconds, by far the fastest time recorded by any student!
One more time, the OSU vehicle has demonstrated performance very close to that of the production vehicle. At this time the three teams mentioned above are the ones that are consistently outperforming the others. It is a long way to go yet, but so far the Buckeyes are looking good!
One note for the technically inclined.  All three of the top performing vehicles have similar architectures, employing an advanced Diesel engine (all Opel 1.9 JTDs) and a dual electric architecture.  Hmm… Maybe there is something to be said about this powertrain configuration.
 
 
DAY 4 – June 3
As I am writing these notes, the team is in line to participate in the On-Road Emission testing Event.  GM has chosen to use a Semtech in-vehicle gas analyzer system for this test, so emissions will be measured during a real-world driving cycle.  We are now waiting to have the system connected to our vehicle exhaust system, and should complete the event this morning (it's 8:15 local time). This is a very important event with a score equal to the energy use event, and is a particularly difficult test for all Diesel equipped teams because of the NOX emissions, which tend to be the biggest hurdle for a Diesel engine.  Since last year the team has refined the engine control strategy, using the electrical powertrain to reduce the load on the engine (and hence the NOX emissions), improving the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) strategy, and eliminating idle emissions through the start-stop system. Further, the team has also implemented a dual lean NOX trap exhaust system.  We hope to see significantly reduced emissions figures with respect to last year.

If all goes well, we should also be able to attempt the rest of the dynamic events today.  These include the AVL Drive Quality Event, in which vehicle drivability is measured, and the Trailer Towing Performance Event , which include a 16% grade and a 2500-lb trailer.  The last dynamic event is the Dynamic Consumer Acceptability.  More on all these in the next report.  Meanwhile, let's have a cheer for our high-performance, energy-efficient and low-emissions Buckeyes!
 
Stay tuned for updates, and GO BUCKS!

Giorgio Rizzoni

--
Pete Miller - Fundraising Chair
The Ohio State University
Buckeye Bullet 2
Student Land Speed Racing Team
www.BuckeyeBullet.com
www.BuckeyeBullet.Blogspot.com
(614) 284-8563 anytime

News from ChallengeX Competition - Report 1

This is the first of a series of reports that will be issued from the ChallengeX competition to relate the progress of our ChallengeX Buckeyes at the General Motors Milford Proving Ground (MPG).  Please feel free to distribute this report as you see fit.

ChallengeX is a four-year competition sponsored by the US Department of Energy, General Motors Corporations, and several other organizations and companies from the US and Canada.

17 American and Canadian universities now entering their second year in the race to convert a gasoline-based 2005 Chevrolet Equinox SUV into a hybrid vehicle maximizing fuel economy, reducing emissions ratings and maintaining the safety and performance of the original vehicle.

The Ohio State team's architecture involves replacing the stock engine and transmission with a GM 1.9 liter turbodiesel and an automatic 6-speed transmission. Coupled to the engine is a belted starter/alternator (a small motor); further, the rear axle is powered by a 50kW AC induction drive.  The electrical systems are powered by a 300-V NiMH battery pack.

The team has had access to some of the most advanced tools and design philosophies in industry, and must create a fusion of expertise in:

mechanical engineering
electrical and electronics engineering
control and systems engineering
engine control and exhaust aftertreatment
management, finance, and public relations.

DAY 1 – May 31
The team, led by Dr. Shawn Midlam-Mohler, arrived at the competition to find that the vehicle – shipped separately – was ready to pass final technical inspection.  The team passed technical inspection on the same day without any difficulties.  After passing tech inspection the team started to prepare for qualifying, including braking and dynamic safety evaluation – tests aimed at determining the safe operation of the vehicle.  Unfortunately, the engine refused to start.  The day ended at 8pm without any resolution of the problem.

DAY 2 – June 1
On the morning of the second day the team focused on troubleshooting the source of the problem; after independent testing determined that the fuel pump and injection system operated correctly, it was determined that the source of the problem was a tap made in to the crank position sensor to provide a feedforward system for the belted starter-alternator active vibration damping system was not viewed very favorably by the engine control unit.  As soon as the signal splice was eliminated the engine started without any problem, and the team could proceed to qualifying and to the acceleration test.   Qualifying: braking and dynamic safety evaluation was completed without any problems, and the acceleration test was especially successful, recoding the fastest ever 0-60 for the vehicle: 9.95s, slightly better than the published 0-60 time for a stock Equinox.  Unfortunately, at the end of the acceleration run, one of the half shafts on the front axle sheared off.  We can thank the aggressive driving of "hot shot" Eric Schacht, ECE undergraduate, for the outstanding acceleration performance...

The half shafts had been friction welded from two parts, one from the original Equinox, the other from an Opel Vectra.  The vehicle had to be towed back to the pits, but the acceleration event was successfully completed.  The support staff of the GM MPG took charge of the needed repairs immediately, and the broken half shaft was in the hands of the welding shop by 11AM.

Just before lunch, Rick Wagoner, President and CEO of General Motors, paid a visit to the teams, and gave a brief but inspirational speech.  He then answered various questions from the students and joined the team captains (including our own Kris Sevel) for lunch.  We were told that he was having so much fun he ended up being late for all his engagements the rest of the day...

Well, the lunch break was what it took for the GM welding wizards to return a fully functional half shaft.  By 4:30 the vehicle was back in one piece, and heading out for the next challenges; the traction control and noise events.

The Traction Control Event measures vehicle traction on a low coefficient of friction surface by accelerating the vehicle from a complete stop and best accelerating through a straight line while maintaining vehicle control.  The CXBuckeyes recorded a very low time (second lowest at that time, but more vehicles need to complete the test).

The Noise Event involves measuring exterior noise using the SAE J-1470 test, and interior noise using a binaural measuring system inside the vehicle.  The OSU vehicle had excellent noise characteristics, comparable to those of a gasoline engine powered vehicle, in part thanks to the extent of electric launch on start up, to the excellent sound insulation package, and to Kris Sevel's active noise and vibration cancellation system based on the belted started alternator.  Kris recently defended his M.S. Thesis on this subject, and has already published a couple of papers on his work.

That pretty much wrapped the day, and the team enjoyed a quiet dinner in Milford before retiring for the night.

DAY 3 – June 2
This morning the team divided into two groups.  One group went to the MPG to continue with the dynamic events.  The other half stayed at the hotel to work on various presentations that will be delivered on Tuesday and Wednesday.

At the time of writing this note, the vehicle has been on the road completing the On-Road Energy  Use Event. This event consists of over two hours of driving under a variety of conditions simulating real-world driving.  The introduction of the automatic engine start-stop system and the fine tuning of the energy management strategy should result in improvements over last year's energy consumption figures.  If the test is completed successfully,

OSU will be one of only two or three teams that have completed these many events.  West Virginia and Tennessee also left with OSU at 8 this morning to complete the event, but both returned to the pits due to technical problems.If this event is successfully completed, there may be time to complete another event in the afternoon, possibly on-road emissions testing.

Stay tuned for updates, and GO BUCKS!

Giorgio Rizzoni

--
Pete Miller - Fundraising Chair
The Ohio State University
Buckeye Bullet 2
Student Land Speed Racing Team
www.BuckeyeBullet.com
www.BuckeyeBullet.Blogspot.com
(614) 284-8563 anytime

CX Competition update

All

As promised, here's the first update from Milford….

As the end of the second day of competition approaches, all of the 17 teams have passed technical inspection, and almost all are dome with the pre-qualifying events.

Tech checks not only for mechanical and electrical safety, but also ensures that the airbag, computer, and air conditioning systems are active and functioning without error. Once tech is completed, each team must first pass the braking event (proving that the vehicle will stop without regenerative braking, and also that the anti-lock system is still functional); and then proceed to dynamic safety. This entails a professional GM driver putting the vehicle through low and high speed serpentine courses and more. The goal of this event is to certify that the vehicle is safe and controllable both at low and high speeds.

The final prequalifying event, and the first that counts towards dynamic event points is the 0-60 and 50-70 mph accelerations. During the accelerations, the teams are graded not only against each other, but also the control vehicle (a stock Chevy Equinox), and their Vehicle Technical Specifications (VTS) derived from computer simulators.

The OSU team passed tech inspection with relative ease then proceeded to the other above mentioned events. Braking and controllability went well, with no problems reported. On the first 0-60 attempt, Eric Schacht drove the vehicle  to an impressive 9.95 sec. time; then followed with a 6.64 sec 50-70 time. As Schacht rounded the track and prepared for the second of the five runs allowed, tragedy struck! Using the planned method of power braking (holding both the brake and accelerator until the turbo charger spools up, then releasing the brake) the driver's side half shaft was twisted in two at the place that has been named "half shaft alley" as several other schools have also broken shafts at the same place. The reason for the common failure is simply because there is no production shaft that will mate to both the Equinox, and whatever choice each team made in transmission.

All is not lost, as I write this, thanks to the excellent craftsmanship of the GM welders, and the speedy wrenches of the team, the Equinox is back on the road in a matter of a few hours, competing in the limited traction event. This event takes place on a watered basalt tile surface that offers the traction of snow. Once given the OK, the vehicle will break the beam of a timing light, then proceed down the course. The goal of course is to make it to the other end of the course as fast as possible.


A new addition to the competition this year is the LIVE UPDATE WEBSITE http://media.gm.com/us/powertrain/en/news/events/challengex/2007/index.html


John Neal
Challenge X Electrical Systems
President OSU Chapter of SAE
www.osuchallengex.com
john@osuchallengex.com
cell: 614-595-4499