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Clean Snowmobile Challenge Coming in March
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Jan. 17, 2005----Thirteen teams from universities across the northern part of North America will roar--quietly--into Houghton in March for the annual SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge.
The sleds will compete March 14-19 at MTU's Keweenaw Research Center, known for its vehicle test grounds and the Midwest's finest winter driving track. This will be Michigan Tech's third year hosting the event, which is being organized by the Keweenaw Research Center and MTU's Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.
The Clean Snowmobile Challenge is the Society of Automotive Engineers' newest collegiate design competition. Teams of engineering students from participating schools take a stock snowmobile and then reengineer it to reduce emissions and noise while maintaining or improving performance.
Michigan Tech placed second last year, with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s innovative hybrid gas-electric sled taking the gold.
“I think Wisconsin will be the one to beat,” predicts Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw Research Center. “They told me they are making improvements and refining their design. Michigan Tech is doing the same with their machine, and McGill is coming back with their electric sled, so we’ll have a very interesting challenge this year.”
Teams will put their sleds through a series of performance and emissions tests, including an endurance run north to Copper Harbor. New this year are ergonomic tests that measure rider comfort. The driver sits on an accelerometer--”like a whoopie cushion,” Meldrum explains--that can record vibration. The less vibration, the greater the score.
Also new is a subjective handling test, in which professional snowmobile drivers rate the sleds on their maneuverability and driving characteristics. “In other words, they’ll tell us if this is a snowmobile someone would enjoy renting,” Meldrum said.
Teams registered for the event are Clarkson University in New York, Ecole de Technologie Superieure in Montreal, Kettering University in Flint, McGill University in Montreal, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State University at Mankato, Montana Tech, the State University of New York at Buffalo, the University of Alberta, the University of Idaho, the University of Maine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
The public will be invited to view the handling and acceleration events, held at the Keweenaw Research Center on Saturday, March 19.
For more information, contact Meldrum at 906-487-3178, jmeldrum@mtu.edu. |
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