June 28 AERO Demo
Letter
www.uvmaero.org
Recent News
2010
October
May 17th
Aero recently came back from the 2010
Formula Hybrid competition in Loudin, NH placing 8th in
the overal competition. The 2nd generation car had the
fastest time in the electric only drag race and the 2nd
fastest time in the hybrid run. There were some
technical difficulties, but overal we were able to
compete in every event and learn more about how the car
handles and improvements that can be made.
Improvements will be taking place
this summer before AERO travels to Italy to compete in
the
FEHI competition. We have the speed to do well in
this competition and will be repaining the car to get a
lot of drive time in before flying out in October. To
learn how to help us participate in this unique
opportunity please
contact us.
Follow UVM's AERO Gen-2 Hybrid Car
at the
Formula Hybrid International Competition
The
2010 competition will be held on May 3-6,
2010 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway,
Loudon, NH.
“GreenSpeed” is the 1st UVM hybrid
racing car created by a team of energetic UVM students from the
University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical
Sciences new student organization called Alternative Energy
Racing Organization (AERO).
VSGC was one of the first supporters
of this club; providing funds which enabled the team to eventually
garner several awards at last year's Formula Hybrid International
Competition (FHIC:
http://www.formula-hybrid.org/history/2008-competition.php).
March 19
AERO is very proud to announce that
we were able to run our new drivetrain for the first
time and have captured it on
video.
The carb definitely needs tuning and the exhaust pipe
was covered in oil from the assembly which caused some
smoke, but it ran smoothly and stayed cool. We'll be
working to get the bugs ironed out and to transition the
power source from a bench supply to the battery. Stay
tuned.
January 11
The second semester starts on the
19th and AERO will be quite busy for the coming months.
We recently received word that the welding and
subassembly of our new battery pack has been finished
and it is currently on its way to us. See the picture
below.
2010
See WCAX Coverage of the UVM CEMS_
UVM Students Develop a Hybrid Car
2010
See WCAX Coverage of the UVM CEMS_
UVM Students Develop a Hybrid Car
AERO Hybrid Race Car to Compete in 2009 International
Competition!
The UVM Alternative Energy Racing
Organization (AERO) hybrid car is in final performance
testing in preparation for the 2009 Formula Hybrid SAE
Competition to be held May 4-6, 2009 in Loudon, New
Hampshire. UVM AERO students from the UVM College of
Engineering and Mathematical Sciences will compete
against approximately 30 teams from as far away as India
and Russia.
The UVM hybrid car, GreenSpeed, is
an all-wheel-drive vehicle powered by a small (250 cc)
four cycle gas engine working in tandem with a powerful
electric motor powered by lithium-ion batteries. In
2008, AERO’s first entry won several awards for
innovative design. This competition contains multiple
facets including: General Presentation, Technical
Design, Acceleration, Autocross and Endurance. UVM AERO
will make general and technical design presentations,
with industrial professionals grilling team members on
every aspect of the car.
“Substantial improvements have been
made to the car’s energy storage and control systems,’
says Christopher Farmer, AERO Electrical Lead.
Work has also started on a new
vehicle with a mechanical system that will unify the
drive train into a single “transaxle,” making the
vehicle lighter, nimbler and more efficient. The
Generation 2 vehicle will also feature a new heads-up
display system that will provide valuable information to
the driver.
AERO promotes Green Technologies and advocates for
research and development of alternative energy systems
for mobility engineering. The AERO team has
garnered financial and technical support from many
organizations including the IEEE Green Mountain Section,
VELCO, the Vermont National Guard, Vermont Space Grant
Consortium, Hazelett Strip Casting, Anderson Power
Products, iTherm, MicroStrain, CTS Corp., UVM’s
Instrument Modeling Facility, evdrive.com Elithion, and
PowerStream.
UVM students who have worked on
AERO include:
Brian Leach, junior in mechanical engineering and
AERO President and leader for mechanics on the car,
attended Burr & Burton Academy, Manchester, VT.
Charley Robinson, graduate student in computer
science, lead the control systems work, and is from
Groton, VT.
Christopher Farmer, graduate student in
electrical engineering, lead the battery system
development, and attended
Colchester High School in Colchester, VT.
For more information
visit:
Formula Hybrid Race:
http://www.formula-hybrid.org
For more updates and to follow
UVM AERO go to their website:
http://www.uvmaero.org/
Be sure to check out our new
AERO Flickr
Page
University of Vermont
AERO project
"Green Speed"
2009
While the car did not run at last
year's competition, students have redesigned the control
electronics and have been testing it around Votey these past
few weeks (see some recent video here: www.uvmaero.org
).
In parallel, the team is working on their second generation
design and it is time to purchase a new electric motor and
controller unit for it. This is a dedicated group of students
who have not only done well in their design but have served as
mentors, student leaders, and ambassadors for UVM.
The UVM AERO made its inaugural participation
in the International Formula Hybrid Competition with other teams
from as far away as Russia, Canada and Taiwan at the New Hampshire
International Speedway in Loudon, NH May 5-7, 2008, and has received
Second Place in Technical Design (behind Embry-Riddle) as well as
awards for:
Best
Hybrid-in-Progress
Chrysler's Best Hybrid
System Engineering Award
Thayer School Dean's Award: Most Innovative
Design
This was not strictly an engineering challenge, but included
managing time, funds, and participants. UVM AERO promotes Green
Technologies and advocates for research and development of
alternative energy systems for mobility engineering. The AERO
Constitution states:
“The purpose of AERO shall be to
mitigate the environmental and political detriments of traditional
energy systems by research, development, and advocacy of alternative
energy systems useful for mobility engineering.” The UVM hybrid car
is designed to run on gas as well as electric with a small 250 cc
four cycle dirt bike engine along with a powerful electric motor.
Dr. Matthew Pointer, a UVM lung specialist and
racing enthusiast, says, “Dirty engines have a negative impact on
human health. Hybrid vehicles could change the air quality
surrounding racing.”
Student team video can be viewed
on UTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9iQZ4D51dI
For more information visit:
www.Formula-hybrid.org
Aero web site:
http://www.www.uvmaero.org
Team officers contacts:
Brian Leach,
Mechanical Enginering, UVM, AERO President,
802-999-4657 bleach@uvm.edu
Christopher Farmer, Team Leader, Battery
System
Ed Johns, Team Leader, Electrical
Thatcher Friant, Treasurer
tfraint@uvm.edu
Advisors:
Jeff Frolik ,Assistant Professor, UVM CEMS School of
Engineering
Phone: 802.656.0732
jfrolik@uvm.edu
Paul Hines, Assistant Professor, UVM CEMS School of
Engineering
Phone: 802-656-9660
Paul.hines@uvm.edu
Technical Assistant:
Floyd Vilmont, UVM CEMS Prototype Lab, 122E Votey Phone:
(802)656-4673
fvilmont@cems.uvm.edu
Sponsorships and donations for the UVM
Hybrid Car
The UVM AERO’s cost is currently approximately
$30,000 which has been made possible by generous donations from a
variety of sponsors.
Financial Support: APR (Anderson Power
Products), Mr. Ronald Brand, CTS Corporation, Hazelett
Strip-Casting, IEEE Green Mountain Section, ITherm Technologies,
MicroStrain, PowerStream Technology, Tyco Electronics, Vermont Space
Grant Consortium, UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical
Sciences, and the UVM Transportation Center.
Individual donors: Carrie and Nathan
Stahler, Charles Lohe, James C. Iatridis, Jeff Frolik, Karyn Roberts
and Saiyid Abu Rizvi.
In-Kind Support: Clarkson University,
Capitol Steel, Hazelett Stri-Casting, Midtown Machine & Tool
Supply Company, NSA Industries, Lyndon, VT, Omron, Tri-Angel
MetalFab, and the UVM Instrumentation and Model Facility (IMF).
Technical Support: eVermont, iTherm
Technologies, and SBElectronics.
Dawn Densmore, Director, Outreach & Public
Relations
UVM, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Phone: 802-656-8748
Update 2008
While the car did not run at last
year's competition, students have redesigned the control
electronics and have been testing it around Votey these past
few weeks (see some recent video here: www.uvmaero.org ).
In parallel, the team is working on their second generation
design and it is time to purchase a new electric motor and
controller unit for it. This is a dedicated group of students
who have not only done well in their design but have served as
mentors, student leaders, and ambassadors for UVM.
The UVM AERO made its inaugural participation
in the International Formula Hybrid Competition with other teams
from as far away as Russia, Canada and Taiwan at the New Hampshire
International Speedway in Loudon, NH May 5-7, 2008, and has received
Second Place in Technical Design (behind Embry-Riddle) as well as
awards for:
Best
Hybrid-in-Progress
Chrysler's Best Hybrid
System Engineering Award
Thayer School Dean's Award: Most Innovative
Design
“Congratulations to our UVM AERO team who have
created possibilities for both engineering and non-engineering
students to explore new technology applications”, says Domenico
Grasso, Dean of the
College of
Engineering and
Mathematical Sciences. “The University and College are truly proud
of their hard work, creativity and persistence!”
“This new hybrid car uses both gas and lithium
batteries, and burns gas more efficiently through regenerative
braking with a smarter engine that gets more gas joules onto the
road,” says Andrew Laing, chair of IEEE and AERO team leader. The
car, sporting Hosier racing wheels and Weld racing hubs, is really
two cars in one!
Hard work
The team worked in earnest since January
welding and building the chasis. “One of the most exciting moments
was when the hybrid intellectual property connection of gas motor
joined with the hybrid drive system,” says Laing. “The culmination
of our team’s hard work occurred when the engine started -- it was
just incredible!”
This was not strictly an engineering challenge, but included
managing time, funds, and participants. UVM AERO promotes Green
Technologies and advocates for research and development of
alternative energy systems for mobility engineering. The AERO
Constitution states:
“The purpose of AERO shall be to
mitigate the environmental and political detriments of traditional
energy systems by research, development, and advocacy of alternative
energy systems useful for mobility engineering.” The UVM hybrid car
is designed to run on gas as well as electric with a small 250 cc
four cycle dirt bike engine along with a powerful electric motor.
Dr. Matthew Pointer, a UVM lung specialist and
racing enthusiast, says, “Dirty engines have a negative impact on
human health. Hybrid vehicles could change the air quality
surrounding racing.”
New
Hampshire International
Speedway
The
2008
competition held May 5-7, 2008 at the New Hampshire Motor
Speedway, Loudon, NH, was organized
by Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and carries the endorsement of the Society of
Automotive Engineers, Inc. (SAE) and the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
(IEEE). The event included an
educational
program for high school students interested in learning more
about Formula Hybrid.
Schools registered were:
California Polytechnic State University- SLO,
Dartmouth College, Drexel University, Embry-Riddle Aerio University
Daytona Beach, Florida Institute of Technology, Illinois Institute
of Technology, MADI State Technical University, McGill University,
National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan; North Carolina State
University- Raleigh, Tufts University, University of California,
Irvine, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Yale University.
SAE Formula Hybrid Competition
The SAE Formula Hybrid Competition challenges
undergraduate and graduate college and university students to
design, build, and compete in an open-wheel, single-seat racecar.
Cars must conform to a formula which emphasizes drive train
innovation and fuel efficiency in a high-performance application.
Formula Hybrid builds on the Formula SAE Program and takes it to the
next level by adding a new layer of complexity and an additional
technical challenge. Typical SAE cars are small and light with high
performance motorcycle engines that run at 100 miles an hour, and
can go to 60 mph in 3-4 seconds.
2006 Hybrid Vehicle, Thayer
School of Engineering,
Dartmouth College
The Beginning
Project GreenSpeed began when Doug
Fraser, director of the Formula Hybrid Project from Thayer School of
Engineering at
Dartmouth
College, contacted Prof.
Jeffrey Frolik in the University of Vermont College of Engineering
and Mathematical Sciences, with news of a new hybrid competition he
was initiating with The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and
the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
designed to give engineering students the opportunity to explore
hybrid technologies.
The major UVM students who have
worked on AERO include:
Andrew Laing, senior in engineering management and electrical
engineering (originally from Foxboro, Massachusetts),
attended Lyndon Institute, in
Lyndon Center, Vermont.
Brian Leach, sophomore in mechanical engineering and AERO
Leader for mechanics on the car, attended
Burr & Burton
Academy, Manchester, VT.
Ed Johns, senior in electrical engineering, worked on control
systems and is head of electrical team, and is from
Groton, Vermont.
Christopher Farmer, senior in electrical engineering, created
the battery system, and attended
Colchester
High School in Colchester
Vermont.
Student team video can be viewed
on UTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9iQZ4D51dI
For more information visit:
www.Formula-hybrid.org
Aero web site:
http://www.cems.uvm.edu/~aero
2008 Team officers contacts:
Andrew Laing, Team Leader of Executive Team: 861-2443
alaing@uvm.edu
Brian Leach, Vice President & Technical Team Leader
802-999-4657 bleach@uvm.edu
Christopher Farmer, Team Leader, Battery
System
Ed Johns, Team Leader, Electrical
Thatcher Friant, Treasurer
tfraint@uvm.edu
Advisors:
Jeff Frolik ,Assistant Professor, UVM CEMS School of
Engineering
Phone: 802.656.0732
jfrolik@uvm.edu
Paul Hines, Assistant Professor, UVM CEMS School of
Engineering
Phone: 802-656-9660
Paul.hines@uvm.edu
Technical Assistant:
Floyd Vilmont, UVM CEMS Prototype Lab, 122E Votey Phone:
(802)656-4673
fvilmont@cems.uvm.edu
Sponsorships and donations for the UVM
Hybrid Car
The UVM AERO’s cost is currently approximately
$30,000 which has been made possible by generous donations from a
variety of sponsors.
Financial Support: APR (Anderson Power
Products), Mr. Ronald Brand, CTS Corporation, Hazelett
Strip-Casting, IEEE Green Mountain Section, ITherm Technologies,
MicroStrain, PowerStream Technology, Tyco Electronics, Vermont Space
Grant Consortium, UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical
Sciences, and the UVM Transportation Center.
Individual donors: Carrie and Nathan
Stahler, Charles Lohe, James C. Iatridis, Jeff Frolik, Karyn Roberts
and Saiyid Abu Rizvi.
In-Kind Support: Clarkson University,
Capitol Steel, Hazelett Stri-Casting, Midtown Machine & Tool
Supply Company, NSA Industries, Lyndon, VT, Omron, Tri-Angel
MetalFab, and the UVM Instrumentation and Model Facility (IMF).
Technical Support: eVermont, iTherm
Technologies, and SBElectronics.
Dawn Densmore, Director, Outreach & Public
Relations
UVM, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Phone: 802-656-8748
2008
Andrew Laing, Electrical Enginering, UVM,
AERO President
AERO Progress Report
and VSGC's Involvement by Sponsorship
UVM Students Building Hybrid Race Car
By Tim Johnson, Burlington Free Press
Some automotive design contests for hybrids
feature cars that get hundreds of miles to the
gallon on long, somnolent test drives at 20 or
30 mph. The contest that the AERO student club
has entered is decidedly not one of those.
The hybrid car they are building at the
University of Vermont is going to be fast. Zero
to 60 in 4 seconds, á la Formula 1.
more
UVM's
Alternative Energy Racing Organization (AERO)
is buiilding a race car, Project :Green Speed"
for entry in the 2008
International Formula-Hybrid competition
sponsored by IEEE
and SAE
UVM Students Race to Save Our Environment
(Article from CEMS Enewsletter Spire)
Andrew Laing, Electrical Enginering, UVM, AERO
President
For more information, please contact Laurel Zeno:
e-mail:
zeno@cems.uvm.edu
