American Tour de Sol Reports, 1996
Sponsored by
The AutoAuditorium System
from
Foveal Systems
A Fully Automatic, Multi-Camera System
that Produces Videos Without a Crew
http://www.AutoAuditorium.com
- - - - - - - - -
The following are copyright Michael H. Bianchi. Permission to copy is
granted provided each Report is presented without modification
and this notice is attached. For other arrangements, contact me
at +1-973-822-2024 .
For more on the NESEA Tour de Sol, see the web page at
http://www.nesea.org
Official NESEA Tour de Sol information is available from the sponsor,
the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) at
413 774-6051 , and 50 Miles Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 , and
nesea@nesea.org . All media enquiries should be addressed to ...
Jack Groh
Groh Associates
email: GrohPR@aol.com
401 732-1551 telephone
401 732-0547 fax
401 952-0886 cell/pager
- - - - - - - - -
The 1996 NESEA American Tour de Sol was the eighth and the fourth that I
attended. Before and during the course of the event I interviewed as many of
the teams as I could and typed up those interviews into articles that were
made available on the Internet at NESEA's World Wide Web.
This is a slightly edited version of those articles. The changes are mostly
the removal of redundant material, fixing of a few factual errors, and the
repair of grammatical and spelling mistakes.
The reports are more-or-less in the order in which they were created. In
particular, the race results show a bit beyond the half way mark in the text,
and then we go back to interviews recorded earlier in the week. That was the
way the reports read as the race was in progress, and I've chosen, some what
arbitrarily, to leave them in that order.
My intent here is to help tell the stories of the people and organizations
who choose to participate in this event which is dedicated to promoting the
idea of electric vehicles as examples of transportation which is more
benign to the environment and more sustainable than what we are using today.
I focus mostly on the technology, because that is what interests me most, and
the human stories of the people involved. (If you are looking for the drama
of racing, who is in the lead and who is catching up to who, I'm afraid you
will be disappointed.)
I hope you find these articles interesting and informative.
Mike Bianchi
June 1996
NESEA American Tour de Sol: The Schedule
Here is the schedule for the American Tour de Sol (taken from the NESEA Tour
web page.) If you get to the race and see a overweight, balding, 40 something
bearded guy, come by and say hello!
Mike Bianchi
FRIDAY MAY 10 NEW YORK CITY - SOUTH STREET SEAPORT MARKETPLACE
10AM - 5PM Public Vehicle Display and Sustainable Expo
SATURDAY MAY 11 NEW YORK CITY - SOUTH STREET SEAPORT MARKETPLACE
10AM - 5PM Public Vehicle Display and Sustainable Expo
10AM - 5PM Vehicle Technical Inspections, open to the public, Water Street
SUNDAY MAY 12 NYC TO NJ - SEAPORT TO LAMBERTVILLE ROUTE: South Street Seaport
to Jersey City via Holland Tunnel and 1&9W. Follow 510 thru Newark and
Elizabeth. Follow 27S to Lambertville via Rosselle, Rahway, Colonia,
Woodbridge, Edison, Metuchen, New Brunswick, Franklin Park, Kendall Park,
Blawenders, Woodsville, and Hopewell. (65.4 miles)
10AM - 2PM Public Vehicle Display and Sustainable Expo
1:30PM - 2PM Starting Ceremonies
2:00PM - 5PM Drive New York City to Lambertville, NJ
MONDAY MAY 13 NJ TO PA - LAMBERTVILLE to BOYERTOWN MUSEUM ROUTE: Follow 220W
into Pennsylvania thru New Hope and Buckingham to 313W thru Fountainville,
Dublin and Quakertown to 663 thru Milford, Pennsberg, Layfield and New Hanover
to 73W thru Gilbertsville to Boyertown. Boyertown to Owen J. Roberts School
via 562S thru Colebrooksdale, Upper Pottsgrove, Pottstown, E Coventry,
Bucktown and West Vincent. (67.5 required miles plus extra laps)
8AM - 10:30AM Display, Restart, and Drive Lambertville to Boyertown (51.3
miles)
11:30AM - 6:00PM Public Vehicle Display - Boyertown Museum of Historic
Vehicles
12:30AM - 5:30PM Extra Laps (31 miles on route 100 or 7.1 miles on
secondary roads)
6:00PM - 7:00PM Closing Ceremony and Drive to Owen J. Roberts MS (16.2
miles)
TUESDAY MAY 14 PA TO MD - POTTSTOWN TO CHESAPEAKE CITY ROUTE: Route 23S from
Owen J. Roberts School thru Bucktown, Coventryville, Knauertown, Warwick
and Elverton to 82S thru Conestoga, Loag, Brandywine, Brandamore,
Coatesville, S. Coatesville, Ercildoun and Doe Run to 841S thru Springdell,
Chatham, W. Grove, Lewisville into Maryland, thru Fairhill to rt 213S, Elkton
and Chesapeake City. (63.6 required miles plus extra laps)
8AM - 10AM Public Vehicle Display - Owen J. Roberts M.S., Pottstown., PA
10AM 11:30AM Drive Owen J. Roberts MS, PA to Chesapeake City, MD
11:30AM - 6:30PM NESEA American Tour de Sol Display - Chesapeake City, MD
12:30 -6:30PM Extra Laps (66 miles on highway, or 8.6 on secondary road)
WEDNESDAY MAY 15 MD - CHESAPEAKE CITY TO SANDY POINT STATE PARK ROUTE:
Chesapeake City 213S thru Cayots, Cecilton, Georgetown and Galena to 313S
thru Massey, Millington and Unicorn to 300S thru Dudley Corners back to 213S
thru Church Hill, Starkey Corner and Centreville to 18W thru Queenstown,
Grasonville and Chester to 50W and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Sandy Point
State Park. (71.4 required miles plus Autocross event)
8AM - 9AM NESEA American Tour de Sol display - Chesapeake City, MD
9AM - 10:30AM Restart Ceremonies and Drive to Sandy Pt State Park,
Annapolis,
10:30AM - 6:30PM NESEA American Tour de Sol Display - Sandy Point State
Park
12 NOON Welcoming Ceremony Media Event - Sandy Point State Park
12:30AM - 6:00PM Autocross Event & Acceleration Tests - Sandy Point State
Park
THURSDAY MAY 16 MD TO DC - ANNAPOLIS TO THE MALL, WASHINGTON, DC ROUTE: Rte.
213W from Sandy Point State Park thru Annapolis, Riva and Stewart Corner to
214W thru Davidsonville, Hall, Kolbes Corner, and Largo into
Washington, DC. ( 43 required miles-these miles, though required, do not
contribute to Tour Miles.)
8AM - 9AM Display and Restart - Sandy Point State Park
10:00AM - 11:45AM Drive to Washington, DC
10:30AM - 12NOON Jr. Solar Sprints - on the Mall at 3rd Street
10:30AM - 6PM ARPA Technology Fair open to the public - on the Mall
12NOON - 1PM NESEA American Tour de Sol FINISH LINE & Media Event
FRIDAY MAY 17 WASHINGTON, DC - ON THE MALL AT 3RD STREET
9:30AM - 1PM NESEA American Tour de Sol display - on the Mall
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Entrants list
The following is taken from the list of entrants found in the press kit.
Some of the abbreviations you'll see below are:
Adv PbA advanced lead acid
APbA advanced lead acid
BECO Boston Edison Company
CNG compressed natural gas
GPU General Public Utilities Companies
JCP&L Jersey Central Power and Light
LPG liquid petroleum gas
NAVC Northeast Alternative Vehicle Consortium
NHTI New Hampshire Technical Institute
NiMH nickel metal hydride
NiCad nickel cadmium
NiMH nickel metal hydride
PbA lead acid
PETC Pennsylvania Electric Transportation Council
US DOE United States Department of Energy
--- NAVC PRODUCTION CATEGORY ---
Team Name Vehicle Name (Vehicle Number)
Home Town Vehicle Type (Battery Mfg, Chemistry)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Allegheny Power System, Inc.
Ford Ecostar (17)
Greensburg, PA Ford Ecostar (Sodium Sulfur)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connecticut EV/NAVC Solectria / Horizon (50)
Windsor, CT 95 Solectria Force (Electrosource, PbA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
EVermont / NAVC Nordic Challenger (7)
Waterbury, VT 1994 Solectria Force (Sonnenschein, PbA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
JCP&L Solectria Force (15)
Morristown, NJ Solectria Force (Interstate, PbA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Met-Ed Penelec/JCP&L/GPU Chrysler TE Van (14)
Reading, PA Chrysler TEVan (NiCad)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAVC Solectria E-10 (62)
Boston, MA 1994 Chevy S-10 (GNB, PbA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solectria Corporation Solectria Force NMH (4)
Wilmington, MA Solectria Force NMH (Ovonic, NiMH)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
STAPPA / NAVC Solectria E-10 (34)
Boston, MA 1994 Chevy S-10 (GNB, PbA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technik & Design Twike (12)
Germany purpose-built tricycle (Panasonic, NiCad)
==========================================================================
--- US DOE COMMUTER CATEGORY ---
Team Name Vehicle Name (Vehicle Number)
Home Town Vehicle Type (Battery Mfg, Chemistry)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alternative Energy Regenerative Braking (45)
Glastonbury, CT 1978 Jet Industries Electrivan (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Univ. SEV Team B-U-LLET (24)
Boston, MA Purpose-Built Commuter (Saft, NiCad)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bridgewater Solar Works Solar Bus (33)
Bridgewater, CT 1969 VW Bus/Solar (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CSERT - NVCTC Kineticar (35)
Waterbury, CT Chevy S-10 w/Solar (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EV Moore - CEVA Sparky (39)
Richmond, VA 1986 Mercury Lynx (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FMRHS - Solar Racing Team George the Geo (57)
Landon, NH 1991 Geo Metro (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greenwich H.S. Solar Flair Roadrunner (54)
Greenwich, CT 1979 Mazda RX-7 (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Genesis Team Genesis I (66)
Saginaw, MI Dodge D-50 pick-up (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAVC / BECO / Solectria Solectria Sunrise (63)
Wilmington, MA Pre-production Prototype (Ovonic, NiMH)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neocon / NYSEG OHM Ranger (88)
West Babylon, NY 1994 Ford Ranger (Electrosource, Adv PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHTI Electric Car Team Sungo (72)
Concord, NH Sungo - Purpose Built (Electrosource, Adv PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Hunterdon H. S.
Lectric Lion (82)
North Hunterdon, NJ 1989 Chevy S-10 (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parkland High School Lightning Volt (74)
Orefield, PA Chevy S-10 (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PETC Utility EV (46)
Allentown, PA Pre-Production Prototype (Electrosource, APbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Polytech Chargers KA1000 (43)
Farmingdale, NY Purpose Built w/Honda body (Deka, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RMAVTS -- Golden Gear Racing Golden Gear Special (42)
Reading, PA 1987 Fiero GT (Deka, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rocky Hill High School SolarSaurus (44)
Rocky Hill, CT 1982 Dodge Rampage (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shadow Mtn. Electric Matadors Porsche 914 Electric Bull (32)
Phoenix, AZ '73 Porsche (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solar Electric Spyder Juice Spyder Juice (31)
Tallahassee, FL Pre-Production Prototype (GNB, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taylor-Dunn Electruck (47)
Anaheim, CA Modified Production Electruck (Trojan, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wallingford AC, Inc.
trans2-AC
Margate, FL Modified Production trans2-AC (Power, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wattsmen Electric Hare (65)
Falmouth, ME 1984 VW Rabbit (US Battery, PbA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wooster's Charge Sparky 2 (38)
Danbury, CT 1972 Saab (Trojan, PbA)
==============================================================================
--- SOLAR COMMUTER CATEGORY ---
Team Name Vehicle Name (Vehicle Number)
Home Town Vehicle Type (Battery Mfg, Chemistry)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CONVAL Solar Car Team Sol Survivor IV (83)
Dublin, NH Purpose-Built Solar Sedan (Powersonic, PbA)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Longhorn Solar Racing Team Texas Native Sun (36)
Austin, TX Purpose Built Solar Commuter (Trojan, PbA)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Newburgh Free Academy Sol Machine (58)
Newburgh, NY Purpose Built Solar (Concord, PbA)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Riverside School Helios the Heron (93)
Lyndonville, VT Purpose Built Solar (Deka, PbA)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Villanova Univ. EV Team Commuter Car (75)
Villanova, PA Purpose Built w/1969 VW frame (Trojan, PbA)
===================================================================
--- CHRYSLER HYBRID CATEGORY ---
Team Name Vehicle Name (Vehicle Number)
Home Town Vehicle Type (Battery Mfg, Chemistry / Fuel)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cornell HEV Maelstrom (3)
Ithaca, NY Hybrid Purpose Built (East Penn, PbA / CNG)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEV Team of Virginia Tech VT Ani mul SL (81)
Blacksburg, VA HybriLumina (Hawker, PbA / LPG)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopper EV Hopper EV (94)
Concord, NH Hybrid Purpose-Built (Optima, PbA / bio Diesel)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mount Everett Project e Project e (96)
Sheffield, MA Hybrid Chevy S-10 (US Battery, PbA / LPG)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Penn State SAE Electric Lion (48)
University Park, PA Hybrid Ford Escort (Exide, PbA / Methanol)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team Hyperion Hyperion (26)
Boston, MA Hybrid Saturn (Optima, PbA / Ethanol)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Univ. of FL HEV Society HEV U Florida (19)
Gainsville, FL Hybrid Neon (Saft, NiCad/CNG)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Tennessee Hy Potential IV (21)
Knoxville, TN Hybrid Neon (Alexander, NiMH / CNG)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
UTEP Miners HI!BRID (29)
El Paso, TX Hybrid Neon (Interstate, PbA / CNG)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Western Washington Univ.
Viking 25 (25)
Bellingham, WA Hybrid Neon (Saft, NiCad / CNG)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Western Washington Univ.
Viking 23 (23)
Bellingham, WA Hybrid Purpose-Built w/Solar (Saft, NiCad / CNG)
============================================================================
--- OPEN CATEGORY ---
Team Name Vehicle Name (Vehicle Number)
Home Town Vehicle Type (Battery Mfg, Chemistry)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team Sunpacer (92)
Cato, NY One-person purpose-built (Deka, PbA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CTC NEastAdvVehTecCtr Electrobike (52)
Westboro, MA Electric Bicycle (NiCad)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech Prep Ottawa Orange IV (37)
Grand Rapids, MI One-Person Purpose Built Solar (PbA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Union College Proteus 1 (64)
Schenectady, NY One-Person Purpose Built Solar (PbA)
====================================================================
And, yes, there is an entrant named "Lectric Lion" and one named "Electric
Lion". And there is a "Sparky" and a "Sparky 2".
I suggest those of you following the NESEA Tour print out this sheet
and keep it handy. "You cannot tell one entrant from another without a
program!"
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Facts and Figures
The day dawned misty and cold at New York City's South Street Seaport, and the
smell of fish was everywhere as the early-morning wholesale selling and buying
of seafood was wrapping up at 8:30 in the morning. The NESEA volunteers were
arriving, finding places to park, getting organized and unpacking the vans
full of banners, books, walkie-talkies, press kits, race programs, and what-
not.
Before long the fish people were gone and the EVs started arriving.
About noon the weather turned suddenly spring-like and as the afternoon wore
on, it got warmer and sunnier. Buses of school kids of all ages arrived and
they quickly surrounded the various vehicles, asking thousands of questions.
Just to tease you with what is coming, before I left I had seen and
interviews with:
<> A General Motors production engineer who is working on the EV-1
(the car that got away -- it will not be here -- wherein lies a story).
<> Half-a-dozen hybrid car teams.
<> A micro-van with > BIG < super capacitors as part of the drive system.
<> A sexy, tire-smoking sports car.
<> Two cars named "Sparky".
<> A solar VW microbus.
<> A purpose-built aluminum-and-composite pickup truck.
<> A 2-passenger car built by > elementary < school students.
So stay tuned. But first some facts and figures ...
Part of the press kit for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)
American Tour de Sol US Road Rally Championship for Electric Vehicles is a
list of facts and figures that show some interesting things, I think.
There are 51 vehicles in the race; 50 from 15 states and 1 from Germany:
MA 8 FL 3 VT 2
CT 8 TN 1 NH 4
NY 6 MI 1 CA 1
NJ 2 TX 1 WA 2
PA 6 AZ 1 VA 2
There are more Production and pre-production prototypes than ever before:
9 in the NAVC Production Category:
Ford Ecostar (#17)
Chrysler TEVan (#14)
4 Solectria Force sedans and 2 E-10 trucks (#50, 7, 15, 62, 4, 34)
TWIKE 3-wheel 2-passenger from Technik & Design, Germany
3 pre-production prototypes in the USDOE Commuter Category:
Solectria Sunrise (#63)
Utility EV, by Pennsylvania Electric Transportation Council (#46)
Spyder Juice, by Simpler Solar Systems
2 modified production in the USDOE Commuter Category:
Taylor-Dunn Truck (#47), extra batteries for extended range
trans-2 (#2), modified with an AC motor and controller
------Battery Type------
Category Sedan Van/Truck PbA Adv PbA Advanced TOTAL
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Production 6 3 4 1 4 9
Commuter 13 10 18 3 2 23
Solar 5 - 5 - - 5
Hybrid EV 8 2 7 - 4 11
Open 3+bike - 3 - 1 4
TOTALS 36 15 37 4 11 51
PbA == Lead Acid
Adv PbA == Advanced Lead Acid
Advanced Battery Types:
2 Ovonic Nickel Metal Hydride (NMH)
1 Alexander Nickel Metal Hydride
7 Saft Nickel Cadmium (NiCd)
1 Panasonic Nickel Cadmium
1 ABB Sodium Sulphur (NaS)
Fuels used in the Hybrid EVs:
6 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
1 Ethanol
1 Methanol
1 bio Diesel
2 Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)
Who built the vehicles:
15 corporations 30%
10 universities 20% |
2 colleges 4% |
4 technical schools 8% |
13 high schools 26% | 58% student built
1 elementary school 2% |
7 individuals/clubs 14%
There are more purpose-built vehicles this year:
18 purpose-built
33 conversions
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `KA1000'
Polytechnic University of Farmingdale NY, on Long Island, is back with their
`KA1000' entry. Originally built in 1979-80 by Karl Acker (hence the "KA")
this metallic blue conversion of a Honda Civic was originally based on plans
published in a 1977 issue of Mechanix Illustrated magazine. As part of the
conversion the car got a "nose-job" which gave it a unique appearance and
presumably cut down on aerodynamic drag. It also holds 6 extra batteries. It
started out with an aircraft starter motor and 12 6-Volt batteries and was
used by Karl as a commuter car. In 1982 it was donated to a technical school
as a security vehicle, but it fell into disuse.
In 1993, Polytechnic acquired the car and students spent a year improving
it. It was given a new motor and controller, 14 new batteries, and new paint.
It was entered in the 1994 NESEA Tour, but they didn't finish building the car
in time. But a new academic year, new students to replace the graduating team
members, new ideas, new sponsors, and a lot of work yielded a car that in
January 1995 was used as a daily commuter, was running errands and was
collecting data.
They entered and passed inspection for the 1995 NESEA Tour, coming in 3rd
in the qualifying slalom and were 7th, out of 22, from the pole at the start.
The first 2 days went smoothly and they were in 2nd place for efficiency in
the Discovery Channel Commuter Class. But their charger was not replacing the
energy used each day and so by the third day they ran out of charge along the
route. The final day was cursed when the charger popped the circuit breaker
over night and the car could not run. They did get a full charge in time for
the autocross race in Portland Maine on the day after the NESEA Tour finished,
and every team member got to drive the car that Saturday.
For the 1996 NESEA Tour, `KA1000' returns with 16 batteries with HYDROCAP
catalyst battery caps to preserve the electrolyte levels in the batteries. A
BADICHEQ charge management system records data and brings each battery block
to peak charge during each charging cycle, thus eliminating the need to do an
"equalizing" overcharge every so often. They have also lowered the car's
weight by removing extraneous equipment and lighter structures, given it new
wheels and Goodyear low rolling resistance tires, and added a DC-to-DC
converter. A now larger solar panel on the roof powers the radio. ((The
NESEA Tour rules require that every vehicle have a solar panel that provides
power for some useful purpose as a way of promoting the idea of sustainable
energy use. "Sustainable" is, after all, NESEA's middle name.))
Motor: Advanced DC 8 inch
Controller: Curtis PMC 1221
Batteries: 16 Trojan T-145 flooded lead-acid, 96 Volts
DC/DC Converter: Curtis PMC
I spoke with:
Peter Voltz, faculty advisor, EE department
Karl Acker, original builder of KA1000
Mark Strong, former student, driver in 1995 NESEA Tour
Dan Murphy, junior, driver in 1995
Dick LaRosa, retired (read "downsized") engineer
Ted Trask, junior, team member
Coby Lichter, freshman, team member
This is about half of team; there are about 10 consistent contributors.
Mark always loved cars and was amazed how much he has come to love EVs. He
hopes to work in the field, maybe even starting his own company. After last
year's NESEA Tour he purchased a Honda Prelude which he has donated to the
school and hopes to work it up into another EV for next year's NESEA Tour. So
far it is stripped of the ICE components. Last year, while "breaking in" the
new `KA1000' batteries Mark enjoyed the notice he and the car got around town.
Peter says, "What impresses me is how student enthusiasm has grown over
the last year. They do it as a totally extra curricular activity, on top of
their normal course load, without receiving any academic credit. They do all
the planning, design and work and I don't have to do anything." The team
meets once per week for 2 hours and then works on the car at odd hours during
the week. It is an small, enthusiastic, tight group that works real well
together. The existence of the `KA1000' program has caused the university
library to acquire EV related books and start an EV section.
Karl is the driving force for the original project. During last year's
race his camper, "The True Value 1000", was a tools and parts resource for
many teams during the race. "Most people don't realize how much work goes
into the NESEA Tour. It is a week-long car show." The schedule is very
demanding and people find themselves worn out by the time the cars are plugged
in for the night.
Dan is a sophomore who was asked by a professor to research regenerative
braking. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to add regen to the car
because they didn't have the money to get a new controller; maybe next year on
the Prelude.
Dick is a professional engineer with a long term interest in
conservation. His professional background was microwaves and surface acoustic
waves, but now he is learning power electronics and helping to ensure that the
electrical aspects of the car are safe.
Ted heard about the project through IEEE chapter on campus and thinks
"EVs are cool" but is finding it hard to put as much time into the project as
he would like. He plans to be at the testing sessions in New York City.
This is only Coby's 2nd semester on the project, but he is learning as
much as he can. His interest in environmental engineering led him to the
group, and his knowledge of gasoline cars was useful while stripping the
gasoline components from the Prelude in preparation for next year.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `HEVy GATOR'
The University of Florida team is in the Chrysler Hybrid Electric Category
with a bright red Hybrid Neon named `HEVy GATOR'. The team is made up of a
faculty advisor and 25 students divided into sub-teams working on Battery,
Controls, Drive Train, Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC), IC
Engine, and an Executive Board covering Finance, Solicitations, Public
Relations, and Safety. This car also competed in the 1995 Hybrid Electric
Vehicle Challenge where it finished 4th overall. This is the 2nd year of the
project and the teams are mostly new folks drawn from the sophomore, junior
and senior classes, plus one member from a nearby community college.
Brian Skeldon provided me with a pointer to their web
page, http://www.eel.ufl.edu/~skeldon/HEV, from which this report is derived.
I also spoke via telephone with Dr. Gary Matthew, the faculty advisor, and
Brian Skeldon who is working on his BSEE.
Vehicle:
1995 Dodge Neon
Powertrain: (series hybrid)
Electric Motor is the primary mover
APU provides charging capability to battery system
Electric Motor:
Unique Mobility SR218/4.5G
180 VDC brushless DC motor 43hp, 106 hp peak (32 kW, 79kW peak)
Capable of Regenerative braking, Water/Ethylene Glycol cooled
Power Amplifier:
Unique Mobility CA-18/300
180 VDC nominal input, Three phase pulse width modulated output to motor
Batteries:
Saft Aerospace battery Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) Cells
Nominal 1.2 VDC, 35 AH capacity, 3.3 lbs each
150 cells Provide 180 VDC Nominal Peak Voltage
Total pack: 6,300 Watt-hours, 495 pounds
Auxiliary Power Unit (APU):
Kawasaki, 617cc (45ci) stationary industrial engine
V-Twin, 4 stroke, 15 hp output running on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
Fuel System:
36 Liters Compressed Natural Gas, operating pressure 3600 psi
Alternator:
Fisher Electric, Three Phase output - 18kW @3200rpm,
Rectified output charges battery system
DC-DC Converter:
Power source
Converts 180 VDC to 12 VDC, Maximum capacity 900 W (75A @ 12 VDC)
Performance:
Top Speed - 65 mph, Range - 150 to 200 miles (expected)
Drive Train
The drivetrain consists of a three phase brushless DC motor coupled to an
independent differential. The torsion bar mounts and shocks were redesigned
to compensate for the extra weight of the vehicle. The CV-joints were
replaced with double-yoke split-shafts to increase reliability. Coil-over
shocks increase the capacity of the original suspension. The current setup
allows adjustment of camber, toe-in, and ride height.
Controls
The controls group supplies voltage and current specifications for the
desired equipment throughout the car. Each component requires power that must
be included in the overall energy budget and control plan. For example, the
amplifier circuit requires a high-current relay so the driver is not in direct
contact with these high-current levels while turning the key. Meanwhile, the
key switch is also controlling the 12-volt supply to the accessories in the
car.
Other control specifications consist of:
<> Supplying 180 volts for the Heating and Air Conditioning group (HVAC)
to drive their compressor.
<> Supplying 300 amps to the amplifier to drive the electric motor.
<> Supplying power to start the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) in order to
drive the 18-kilowatt generator.
<> Writing software (C language) for the microprocessor so it can monitor
several car operating parameters, including:
Battery voltage and current levels
Vehicle direction and speed
Amplifier and motor temperature
The microprocesor also performs some drive related functions, such as
limiting the regen braking energy when the batteries are fully charged.
Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)
The IC group designs and implements the IC Engine, exhaust system, and
thermal battery.
What is a "thermal battery"? It is a heat accumulator used to keep the
catalytic converter warm. That way the converter can "scrub" the exhaust
gases even when the engine is started cold.
The main objective is to increase the power output of the engine (which
powers a generator to charge the batteries) from 12kW to 15kW while
maintaining very low emissions.
Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
This group removed the original heating and air conditioning equipment and
replaced them with a full functioning heating, ventilating, and air
conditioning system which employs a motor driven heat pump using
environmentally safe R134a to provide efficient heating and cooling with zero
emissions.
The vehicle is unusual in that although it is based on a Neon, which is a
front wheel drive car, the electric motor now drives the rear wheels! The CNG
engine and generator are in the front under the hood, and the motor and
amplifier are in the trunk. A radiator for cooling the controller is below
the rear bumper.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Hopper EV'
I've been to 3 previous American Tour de Sol's, and at each of those Tom
Hopper has brought a version of his `Hopper EV' along. This one-person
designed-from-the-ground-up personal project has transmogrified year to year
and I cannot wait to see what Tom has done this year.
In 1993 it had bicycle-handle steering and thin bicycle-like spoked
wheels under a dull grey body. To get in, Tom had to climb through the window
which was not easy as he is a big man and the window was small. In 1994 the
suspension was "real", the throttle control and regenerative brake control
were on the > steering wheel <, and the body tilted forward so anyone could
get in easily. In 1995 it sported foot throttle and brake, and a new AC
induction transmissionless drive system.
But never one to leave well enough alone, Tom and co-team member Craig
Cushing have added a 2-wheel trailer that turns it into a diesel fueled
hybrid. Quoting Tom, "The specs tell a good deal of the story."
Vehicle Vehicle + Trailer
Length 114 in 180 in
Width 44 in
Wheelbase 72 3/4 in
Weight 1100 lbs 1370 lbs
Frame Aluminum; box-section tube and sheet, welded, epoxy glued
riveted
Body Fiberglass/closed-cell sandwich; hydraulically counterbalanced
for entrance and egress
Solar Array Solectria monocrystalline, 100 watts, permanently roof mounted
Battery Twelve 12 Volt Optima "Yellow Top" spiral core lead acid in
series; 144 Volts; 7700 Wh @ C/5
Motor Solectria AC GT20 induction
Controller Solectria UMoC system
Drive Gates toothed belts (primary and secondary)
Suspension Three-wheel independent; coil-over-shock front, swingarm rear
Wheels Lightweight aluminum alloy
Tires 145/75R-13 Michelin Rainforce MX4 (front);
175/50R-13 Yokohama 72V (rear)
Brakes Three-wheel hydraulic; split system
Charger Solectria 1 kW; onboard
Instruments kiloWatt-hour; speedometer; odometer; trip; total distance
Hybrid Internal Combustion System
System Format Series
Packaging Two-wheel trailer; steel frame, honeycomb Nomex FRP body
Engine Kubota 479 cc 2-cylinder diesel; 11 hp max, 6 hp nominal;
meets 1996 EPA/DOT air pollution standards
Fuel Bio-diesel if available; 6-gallon tank
Generator 3.5 kW charger output continuous; direct-to-battery connection
What the specs don't tell you is that Tom is a professor of Architectural
Technology and Craig is a professor of English at New Hampshire Technical
Institute in Concord. They are also advisors to the NHTI's Electric Car Team,
which is bringing their `Sungo' ((more on that in a future posting)). "We're
both in our sixth decade, and we both retain what I hope is a youthful
enthusiasm for everything we do."
"I derive great satisfaction in working with alternative energy, from
my stand-alone home which is totally off-the-grid, to wind-powered watercraft,
to human powered vehicles, to my solar-electric vehicle projects over the
years. I'm convinced that leadership (and thus teaching) is also a product of
example - `do what I do'. That's a big part of my motivation in solar-
electric vehicle development, coupled with a desire to do a small part in
making a cleaner natural environment."
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Solectria Sunrise'
((The following is based on an interview with Karl Thidemann, Director of
Marketing of Solectria.))
The Solectria Sunrise returns to the NESEA Tour for its second year,
having won the Commuter Category last year and taken home the Range Trophy
with 238 miles per charge. Naturally they hope to do even better this year.
Superficially, the Sunrise is a lightweight, full size, four passenger
electric sedan, with interior space comparable to a Ford Taurus. The
amenities include air conditioning, AM/FM stereo radio ((and I think I saw a
CD player last year)), power brakes, dual air bags, and cruise control.
But in detail, it is unlike any production car on the road today. It has
almost no metal in the body or frame. The monocoque structure is a single
piece of advanced composite materials (laced with carbon and glass fibers)
designed to be both light and strong. How strong? Last November it was
subjected to a standard frontal crash test and Solectria is enthused by the
results. ((I saw a video of the crash and it was quite impressive. If you
think plastic cars > have < to shatter when in a collision, think again. The
passenger compartment not only held together, but it kept its shape and
nothing came in. The windshield didn't even crack! All the energy was taken
up in the front "crumple zones".)) The goal is to preserve the normal safety
requirements or even improve them over conventional cars. The main reason for
the composite material construction is to make the car lighter and give it
advanced aerodynamics, thus it takes less energy to move down the road. The
low weight and drag means that > any < battery pack will deliver double the
range it would have in most conversions.
Once again the Sunrise features a Nickel-Metal Hydride battery pack, the
ability to recharge rapidly or use a standard low power overnight charger, and
a battery thermal management system for cold-weather operation.
The Sunrise is not a converted anything. It was designed from the ground
up for mass production and so they are paying close attention to issues that
will make it cost effective to build. They also want to make sure that all
the manufacturing processes are "green" and environmentally responsible.
The funds for the Sunrise project were provided by NAVC (the Northeast
Alternative Vehicle Consortium), by ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency)
through NAVC, the Boston Edison company, and several automotive and advanced
materials related companies.
Will it be for sale, you ask? Karl says that the target date for sales
is 1998. Before that they expect to have a small batch, limited production
runs. ((Last year James Worden, CEO of Solectria, was saying that if they
could get the production up to 20,000 cars per year, they could probably sell
them for $20,000.))
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Hyperion'
`Hyperion' is an entry of the Wentworth Institute of Technology in the
Chrysler Hybrid Category. Wentworth is a co-op engineering and technology
school in Boston MA which tries to give its students both the hands-on
learning and book learning needed to in today's industries.
Shawn Newell is the faculty advisor to Team Hyperion and he tries to
ensure that the experiences help them "see the equations at work". The group
is currently about 16 students, 10 of which will actually get to go to race
and, like the car, they are a hybrid. Academically, they include the
disciplines of industrial design, civil engineering, mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, electro-mechanical engineering, and computer
engineering. They are also an international group, with members from all over
the Unites States, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, and China. In addition to exercising
their engineering skills, the students learn the human skills and teamwork
needed to work effectively with the other disciplines, personality styles and
cultures. Although they don't receive any academic credit for their work,
Newell says the students become "addicted to seeing the direct fruits of their
labor. Their level of commitment to the project is remarkable." As the race
deadline approaches every spare minute and late nights go into getting ready.
It seems someone always winds up sleeping in the lab. But they love it, "they
keep coming back for more," say Newell.
The black and gold (school colors) `Hyperion' is a rework of a Saturn
1991 SL2 4-door sedan. While it still has the original body, it has a totally
new front-wheel drive train. The fueled engine is a 3-cylinder from a Geo
Metro (donated by Solectria) reworked to provide 89-to-100 horsepower burning
E-85 (a mixture of 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol) with a 12.5-to-1 compression
ratio. The engine is connected through a clutch to two 28-horsepower AC
induction motors in tandem. The pair of motors are then connected through a
second clutch and transmission to the front wheels. With this arrangement the
car can run in 3 modes: as a Alternative Fueled Vehicle (AFV), a parallel
Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), and as a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV). When in
the HEV and ZEV modes the electric power comes from twelve Optima 12 Volt
lead-acid batteries which can provide 8 kiloWatt-hours of energy. Either one
or both electric motors can be engaged. When in ZEV mode, the car has a range
of about 55 miles.
While the car has regenerative braking, technical problems, which
probably won't be resolved in time for the race, keep the car from charging
the batteries while under way or idling. A plug-in charger is still needed to
charge the batteries.
In the creature-comforts department, the car sports a custom interior
and a "killer sound system," including 4 100-Watt amplifiers driving Bose
speakers.
The car was started 3 years ago and has raced in the 1994 Hybrid
Electric Challenge, finishing 8th in its class, and in 1995, again finishing
8th in its class.
Projects like this involve more than just the engineering challenges;
the business and finance issues must also be addressed. "We are still raising
money so we can go to the race," Newell told me. The students have raised
most of the funding by creating formal funding proposals to sponsors, whose
names and logos give `Hyperion' that race car look.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Viking 23' and `Viking 25'
Western Washington University, in Bellingham WA, about 1.5 hours from Seattle,
entered the only hybrid in the 1993 NESEA Tour, `Viking 21'. It was a
"practice car", with a steel tube frame, fiberglass body, and a parallel drive
train. The front wheels were electric and the rear wheels were driven by an
internal combustion engine (ICE) running on propane ((if I recall correctly)).
WWU returns to the NESEA Tour with two vehicles, both entered in the
Chrysler Hybrid Category. The cars are among the latest (they're up to number
26) in a series of experimental vehicles built under a program started by Dr.
Michael Seal, director of the Vehicle Research Institute of WWU. I spoke with
Gavin Campbell, a faculty advisor for both cars, and Dan Greenberg, a student
and team captain on `Viking 25'.
`Viking 23' is a blue, 2 passenger car designed and built from the ground up.
It is constructed with an all carbon-fiber and composite chassis and body.
The race team consists of 5 people.
The rear wheels are driven by a water cooled Honda 900 racing
motorcycle engine with 4-cylinders, dual overhead cam, and a 6 speed
transmission. In the NESEA Tour, the ICE will run on compressed natural gas
(CNG) but the car has two fuel tanks, one for CNG and the other for gasoline.
They expect they can get 500 miles on CNG and 360 miles on gas.
The front wheels are driven by a tandem pair of air cooled, brushless
DC electric motors from Unique Mobility, rated at 10 horsepower each at 4400
rpm. The motors connect to the front wheels through a 4-speed transmission
and differential off a Honda 4-TRAX all terrain vehicle. There is the ability
to apply regenerative braking, controlled by the brake pedal.
The battery pack is 120 Volts worth of SAFT nickel-cadmium (NiCd)
cells carrying 4.6 kiloWatt-hours of energy.
The tires are Goodyear Invicta GAs on rear and Firestones on front.
(They couldn't get Invictas in the correct size for the front.)
The charger, made by Xantrex in Vancouver British Columbia, can
deliver 3 kiloWatts from a 208 Vac, 3 phase circuit.
The entire body, including the area that normally would be the rear
window, is covered with 760 Watts worth of silicon solar cells. The driver's
view of the rear is provided by a television camera and monitor.
I imagine the vehicle is a bit tricky to handle, since both the front and rear
drive systems are under the driver's manual control. On the left side of the
steering wheel are the ICE controls, including a rocker switch that selects
between gasoline and CNG. On the right side are the electric vehicle
controls. There is only one shifter, but it has two gates (shifting
patterns), ICE and electric, side-by-side. One clutch pedal activates both
front and rear clutches.
So how would you drive such a thing? In purely ICE or Electric Vehicle (EV)
mode, it would be pretty straight forward, although in EV mode you would
probably just use 2nd and 4th gears. But in hybrid mode, it's a bit different
and you have to be experienced. For example, let's say you want to accelerate
hard. "To start with," Campbell said, "you would just put the EV side in 4th
gear. It will just give you a steady boost during acceleration." Then you
would just shift up through the 6 speeds on the ICE side. They expect this
will let them get from zero to 100 mph in 1/4 mile.
As you can see the driver must be totally aware of what is going on in
two drive systems. Eventually the two systems will be placed under computer
controls, possibly before NESEA Tour starts.
`Viking 25' is a red conversion of a Dodge Neon. It was entered in the 1995
Hybrid Electric Vehicle challenge and won the award for best Consumer
Acceptability, meaning it came closest to being a car anyone could just jump
in and drive away. It also won 1st place for range. The current team is 6
people, and specific efforts on the car can be used for independent study
credit.
`Viking 25' is still a 5 passenger vehicle with stock interior. Like
its stable mate, it runs on CNG and electricity. But the drive system is very
different.
The ICE is a stock 2.4 liter, 16 valve engine, running the stock
9.8-to-1 compression ratio, and a stock power control module (PCM). To
accommodate the different fuel, the injectors have been changed to Siemens
natural gas injectors, and customized circuits on things like the oxygen
sensor and throttle position sensor "fool" the PCM so that the injectors are
fired appropriately for CNG. Also, the PCM learns as it runs, trimming the
algorithm that pulses the injectors. The result should be that the car
adjusts automatically for peak fuel performance.
On the EV side, the 5-speed transmission's input shaft was extended to
accept the contribution of a 43 horsepower Unique Mobility brushless DC motor.
It in turn is controlled by a custom built "bunch of MOSFETs" (Dan Greenberg's
term).
The battery is made up of 144 SAFT NiCd cells (that's a lot of
connections!) providing 180 Volts. The charger is a 1000 Watt unit from
Xantrex.
An air conditioner pump is attached, through a clutch, to the shaft on
the back of DC motor.
The driver has the choice to select ICE, Zero Emission Vehicle (pure
electric), or Hybrid Electric Vehicle (both) operation. There is also the
choice of having regenerative braking or not.
The only tricky bit of driving is when up- or down-shifting. Because
the electric motor is tied to the transmission input shaft, there is more
inertia, and the mechanical synchronizers within the transmission have a hard
time making the input shaft slow down or speed up to match the speed of the
gear you are shifting into. As a temporary fix, there is a rocker switch
mounted on top of the gear shift lever to speed up or slow down the motor to
help the synchronizers find a match.
Of course, they want to replace the rocker switch with some smart
circuits that will automatically do the gear speed matching. If successful,
this electronic solution could eliminate need for mechanical synchronizers.
This approach could be also be useful in large trucks.
To demonstrate the practical potential of hybrid vehicles, Dan Greenberg told
me they intend to drive `Viking 25' all the way home after the race.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Texas Native Sun II'
Katherine Duval heads the corporate team and is the public relations maven for
the `Texas Native Sun II' from the University of Texas in Austin. It will be
racing in the Solar Commuter Category. These notes are based on a
conversation between her and Jack Groh.
Built from the ground up, at first glance the `Texas Native Sun II' looks
like a normal economy car, with its rounded front and full size windshield.
It measures 1.2 meters high by 4.4 meters long by 1.8 meters wide. Closer
inspection reveals that it is a one person vehicle with solar panels on top,
sides and hood. It is painted white with navy cells.
Katherine is a petroleum engineer who got interested while building the
carbon fiber body. Since she had some free time and got interested in staying
with project, she now handles the PR. The team, a student organization known
as the Longhorn Solar Race Car Team, currently has existed for about 18 months
and has 17 active members, although in the past up to sixty have been involved
in the design and construction. Some have graduated and others have moved on;
you know how it is. The membership is all undergraduates, predominantly from
the engineering disciplines, although there is one geologist, and a business
major. They work on campus in the basement of the science building.
The faculty adviser to the project is electrical engineering professor
Dr Gary Hallock. Before him, the project was advised by Dr Fred Gilliam, now
at University of Tennessee at Knoxville. As it turns out, Dr Gilliam will
will be accompanying the team to the Tour de Sol, since Dr Hallock cannot be
there.
The project is funded by corporate donations. Dow Chemical, the Project
Management Institute, Autodesk, National Instruments, the City of Austin, the
Lower Colorado River Authority, Motorola, and the Schleicher Group (a systems
control firm) are the major contributors. They figure the car will cost
$500,000 from design through construction and they are still raising money.
It will have its debut at the NESEA Tour and then will race in the
Winston Solar Cup Challenge in Dallas later this summer. Next year they
expect to be in the Sunrayce and maybe maybe go to Australia for the World
Solar Challenge.
I got the car's specifications from Chet Krushefski, BSEE student of the class
of 1996, who serves as project manager.
The chassis is a space frame of welded 6061-T6 aluminum tubing
weighing just 48 pounds. It is designed to withstand an impact of 5 Gs and a
rollover acceleration of 3 Gs. The front suspensions are unequal length,
double wishbone arms, with the coil over the damper (shock absorber). The
rear suspensions are trailing arm, also with coil-over-damper.
The body is made from 3/8 inch balsa inside a sandwich of 0.02 inch
carbon fiber vinylester, shaped to a prototype mold using a SCRIMP vacuum
process (and no, I don't know quite what that means).
The motor is the result of 2 years of research and development. It is
a custom-built in-hub DC brushless PM motor on the right rear wheel. There
are 6 magnets on the rotor, and of course it has to be designed especially
thin to take a reasonable tire. Hub-motors present some special problems as
they can raise the unsprung weight of the wheel and they are subject to severe
shock. This design uses some possibly patentable techniques to deal with
those issues, so Chet wasn't willing to describe it further. The team figures
it will deliver about 5 horsepower (peak) at between 60 and 96 Volts (they
hadn't decided on final configuration when we spoke).
The controller is also a custom-built unit, using Motorola MOSFETs
driven by the MC33035 controller chip. They plan to have regenerative
braking, but that might not be ready in time for the Tour de Sol.
Since this car is racing in the Solar Commuter Category, the solar
cells are very important. They are using terrestrial grade silicon solar
cells totaling about 1000 Watts, and the peak power tracker (which keeps the
solar cells at the best voltage and current for maximum energy collection) is
from Solectria.
The batteries are Trojan flooded 12 Volt blocks, totaling between 60
and 96 Volts (again, not finalized at the time of this interview). At 60
Volts they would hold 5.7 kiloWatt-hours of energy.
There will be a charger, as backup for cloudy days, but which one is
not yet determined.
`Texas Native Sun II' will weigh about 900 pounds with driver and batteries.
Chet says they have calculated the range to be between 120 and 150 miles per
charge, with a top speed well above 60 mph; it should be able to do 75-80 mph.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `HI!BRID'
((One of the joys of this job is to read a well-written paper, either about a
team or a technical explanation of a car. This report is based on the paper
"The UTEP Hybrid Neon Conversion Entry into the 1995 HEV Challenge" by Juan
Aguirre, Benjamin Gonzalez, Debbie Marquardt, Billy Olson, Anthony Perez,
Ernesto Ramirez and Simon Vega.))
The `HI!BRID' is entered by the UTEP (University of Texas at El Paso) Miners.
Originally built for the 1995 HEV Challenge, it is a conversion of a Chrysler
Neon to a series hybrid. The electric half is based on a 100 kiloWatt AC
induction motor and controller from AC Propulsion, and the fueled half is a
1-liter, 3-cylinder 1991 Geo Metro engine modified to run on Compressed
Natural Gas (CNG). The project was sponsored by the El Paso Sun Metro transit
authority as a response to the poor air quality of the region. Sun Metro
already has half of its bus fleet running on natural gas, and the project is
considering using the components of this car in a later demonstration bus.
A series hybrid uses fuel to run an engine, which in turn runs a generator,
which charges batteries. The energy in the batteries is then used to run the
electric motor that pushes the car down the road. (A parallel hybrid has both
the engine and the motor directly connected to the wheels.) The UTEP Miners
decided that a series drive train had the best chance to achieve low
emissions.
Before they even started the Neon conversion, they decided to first convert a
golf cart from pure electric to hybrid operation. That exercise taught them
about the problems of interfacing electrical systems that have different
reference grounds.
They also built a mock up of the Neon's engine compartment and
attempted to place cardboard versions of both the engine and motor in it.
That proved to them that the engine would have to go in the back.
Finally, they did detailed vibration measurements on the Geo engine to
help them design the engine mounts for the rear.
The electric side is an AC-100 motor and controller pair that weighs 77
pounds. They are driven by anywhere between 240 and 400 Volts dc. Because
the motor delivers a flat 110 foot-pounds of torque from zero to 5000 rpm,
they decided to just use one gear ratio between it and the wheels optimized
for 55 mph. They modified the stock transaxle by removing all the internal
pieces associated with the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and reverse gears, locking the
2nd gear so that it is always engaged, and removing the shifting forks and
linkages. When they attached the motor to the transaxle, they included a
phenolic insulator to separate the motor's ground from the chassis ground.
The batteries are 28 Concord PVC-1234s which deliver 11.1 kiloWatt-
hours of energy at 336 Volts. In pure Electric Vehicle (EV) mode, the car
should do 120 miles at 30 mph.
The AC-100 controller has recharging circuits built in, both for
regenerative braking and plug-in charging from between 110 Vac to 240 Vac.
The batteries can be recharged from a 50% depth-of-discharge in 1 hour!
A special circuit attached to each of the batteries automatically
equalizes the charging. Once a battery reaches 14 Volts a small amount of
current is shunted around it by this circuit. The charge cycle is stopped
when the batteries reach 14.4 Volts. The same circuit provides the driver
with block-by-block indications of when 14.4 Volts and 11.1 Volts ("full
discharge") are reached.
To accommodate the batteries, the CNG tank and the engine, the car had its
original floor pan, from the dash board to the rear bumper, removed.
Extensive structural modifications provided support for the batteries and the
fuel tank, bracing of the body, seat belt attachments, and a new floor that is
2 inches lower than the stock floor. Stiffer column springs recovered the 1/2
inch clearance loss in all that.
The Geo engine in the rear was used (budgets, don't you know), so they coated
the valves, pistons, and combustion chamber with a ceramic to help achieve a
higher compression and to cut down on heat loss.
The engine drives a Fisher Technology Inc. 3-phase alternator,
externally rectified, rated at 18 kiloWatts.
To keep the alternator speed at 3000 rpm, a universal aftermarket
cruise control, sensing the speed of the flywheel, manages the throttle.
The car switches between Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) and Zero Emission
Vehicle (ZEV) modes automatically, although the driver can force it manually
to be one or the other. Fully charged and fueled, the car starts out in ZEV
mode running only on the batteries. When the voltage of the battery pack
reaches a minimum level, selected by the driver, the CNG engine is started,
generating electricity to both run the car and charge the batteries. Once the
batteries reach a higher voltage the engine is shut down.
The whole operation is under the control of a Motorola 68H11 8-bit
microprocessor, without an operating system, running a custom built control
program that fits in 32 kilobytes. It monitors various HEV and ZEV functions
and provides the driver with information via light emitting diodes and vacuum
fluorescent displays.
For creature comforts, the car has a 1850 Watt resistance heater and
the stock air conditioner compressor is driven by a 5 horsepower, 240 Volt,
single-phase AC induction motor driven by a home-made DC-to-AC inverter.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profiles - `Roadrunner'
In past NESEA Tours, Greenwich CT High School's Solar Flair Team ran a VW
Rabbit conversion (called `Solar Flair') with the roof lowered 6 inches. This
year they have a red 1979 Mazda RX-7 they are calling `Roadrunner' (number
54). I spoke with Mark Smith, Christian Anderson, and Raphael Llamas.
I've heard of several people dreaming of converting an RX-7, but this
is the first time I've seen on done. The guys said it was quite a challenge
finding places for all the batteries. They had to cut out the floor of the
trunk and fabricate the battery boxes to fit and still keep the body strength.
They got it running a week or two ago. They expect the aerodynamic lines will
help their efficiency and they know the sexy lines will turn more heads than
the Rabbit.
They > drove < the car to the display on Friday, and expected to drive
it home that evening and back on Saturday again. Then they'll charge. On the
way down they had a brake problem, but a garage helped by fixing the right-
rear brake cylinder.
Specs
Batteries 20 Trojan T-145, 120 Volts
1 12 Volt accessory battery
Motor Advanced DC, 60 HP
Controller Curtis 1221B
Solar Panel 65 Watt, charges accessory battery or
4 of traction batteries
Range 120 - 150 miles
The old Rabbit is going on to another phase of its life; it's now being
converted to a hybrid.
They also have a project building a solar car. They have finished to
two sides of the frame of the car, which next need to be welded together.
They expect it to be ready for next year's NESEA Tour.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Sparky'
I spoke with Jim Robb and Ernie Moore of the Central Virginia Electric Auto
Association (CEVA), two of the members of "Team EV Moore".
The base vehicle is a 1986 Mercury Lynx converted in 1994 by Mark
Laidlow, Paula Laroure and Ernie Moore, all of Richmond VA. The conversion is
based on a kit for Solar Car Company in Melbourne FL, with some other parts,
including the transmission adaptor, from KTA in California. It sports 20
Trojan T-125 6 Volt batteries, a 28 hp Advanced DC motor and they say they
expect between 70 and 90 miles/charge. "The conversion itself was relatively
easy," says Ernie. "The hardest part was figuring out where to put all the
batteries. We ended up with 12 under the hatchback and 8 under the hood."
Ernie is a nuclear engineer and has always been interested in
tinkering with things and alternatively powered vehicles. When he saw a
newspaper article about the CEVA where Jim was interviewed, he joined the club
and within 3 months was starting his own project. About 4 months and $7,000
later the car was done. It now has 13,000 miles as an electric. Ernie
averages 200 miles per week commuting to work and back.
This is not the first event `Sparky' has entered. In 1995 they went
to the "Sunday Challenge" in Daytona Beach FL and won the Commuter Category.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Sparky 2'
Immediately after interviewing the people with `Sparky' (number 39) from
Virginia, I ran into Christen Johansen with `Sparky 2' (number 38) from New
York City. `Sparky 2' is run by a team known as "Wooster's Charge" from the
Wooster School in Danbury CT. They were also in the 1995 NESEA Tour when we
went from Waterbury CT to Portland ME. Christen was a member of the Wooster
Class of '68, and so he loans the car to them for the race. Why `2' you ask?
Because their race application form arrived later than that for the Virginia
team.
The vehicle is a conversion of a 1972 Saab 96, picked because of "my
family's need for commuter transportation and fond memories of my first car.
The conversion ... to electric power was a practical means to [avoid]
maintaining a twenty-five-year-old engine." Originally it had a 96 Volt
battery pack. That was extended to 120 Volts in 1995 to get the additional
range needed for the race (at the expensive of the back seat), and this year a
new Curtis PMC 1231C controller increases the power and efficiency. An
Advanced DC FB1-4001A motor connects to the Saab 4 speed manual transmission
(with the free wheel position; remember that?). It weighs in at 3080 pounds.
I'm discovering that the EV world is highly interconnected. At one
time Christen had planned to carry the extra batteries needed to go from 96 to
120 Volts in a trailer that would roll behind the car. "The more I thought
about it and that shift weight in the back, the less attractive that idea
became to me. I decided to put the extra batteries on board. However, I sold
that trailer to Fred Whitridge of the Blue Sky Club (who entered his converted
VW Cabrolet in the 1995 NESEA Tour) and that's what he ran last year. He did
OK with that, but we came in just one ahead of him. Maybe that was the
difference." Christen still thinks he is better off keeping everything on
board and keeping the added weight low and between the wheels.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: The `EV-1' almost shows up, but ...
This is a story about the one that got away. Would you believe that a GM
`EV-1' was in New York City, for an appearance on the "Today" show (which
didn't happen), and here it is the first day of the NESEA Tour. What could be
more logical than to display it?!
The `EV-1' that was in New York is one of the first production units.
It is being used as a training vehicle for the Saturn service departments.
But I ran into the next best thing, I think. Donald Lasell (LA sell) is a
Senior Project Engineer in the Exterior Body Systems area of GM Advanced
Technology Vehicles, Troy MI. An `EV-1' lapel pin caught my eye and we talked
Friday morning before the race vehicles started to arrive.
Donald was originally from Vermont, and was involved with the 1994
race, when his son was in the high school team that entered the solar racing
vehicle known as the `Patriot'.
Donald was also involved with the manufacturablity studies for GM's
`Impact' prototype. Now he is a "release engineer", directly responsible for
the hood, deck lid, and roof, and several other fiberglass reinforced parts.
He is about to also join the project engineering team supporting the
production of the `EV-1'.
The `EV-1' body structure is made of aluminum stampings, foldings and
extrusions, assembled in Lansing MI using a process called "weld-bond" that
was developed by Alcan. This space frame has the fenders and quarter panel
attached to it. These elements are reinforced-rim reaction injection molded
urethane. The whole point of using aluminum and composites is to get a strong
yet light body structure. Don says that technique is exceptionally effective
at reducing the weight. The `EV-1' weighs a little under 3000 pounds,
including the 1300 pound pack of 26 lead-acid batteries.
Don spoke about the satisfaction of seeing the results of the crash
testing program. They spend a lot of time figuring out how to make the energy
absorbing features of the frame and body, and it was quite comforting to see
things crush and fold where they were supposed to. Now the design is into
three life-cycles of durability testing where they slam the doors, trunk and
hood repeatedly. One lifecycle for a door is 65,000 slams. One body just
came off a shake-stand that simulated 300,000 miles of shake, rattle and roll.
Another was drowned in water. Another was tested with a simulated
catastrophic battery failure which evolves hydrogen.
The `Impact' PrEView fleet of 50 cars has accumulated 700,000 miles of
use, and the couple-of-dozen `EV-1' models in proving-ground testing have
accumulated about 200,000 miles.
We talked for about 20 minutes about all sorts of details of the car,
but Don's final thought was, "It is the most impressive car I've ever been
involved with. (Although I'm prejudiced.) I think the time is coming when we
will all be driving electric cars and I'm fortunate to be in one of the
programs that will make it happen."
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Nordic Charger'
Harold Garabedian is with the car carrying the Vermont license plate "EV-7",
also known as the `Nordic Charger' (number 7), racing in the Production
Category. This 1994 Solectria Force was in last year's NESEA Tour and took
NESEA's Efficiency Award in the Production Category and also Best Sedan using
Lead-Acid Batteries. When not winning races, it is in daily use in Vermont
and now has accumulated about 20,000 miles. Their handout shows a picture of
the car charging at a solar array in Middlesex VT.
It is one of the EVermont demonstration program cars. "It is given to
people to use the way they drive cars. It's not dedicated to any [particular
type of use]. It's been a commuter; it's been traveling; it's been
everywhere." They currently have 18 vehicles in the program, evaluating how
EVs work in Vermont's cold climate and hilly terrain. They put data loggers
in the cars and have shown that 12,000 miles a year uses about as much
electricity as a home refrigerator.
The batteries are the original 12 Sonnenschein gelled electrolyte
lead-acid batteries (manufactured under license in the US by East Penn
Manufacturing, Lyons PA). They have required no maintenance so far. This car
has been through Vermont winters. It has seen 20- to 30-below-zero weather,
goes through slush and ice very well, and has driven up and down Mount
Mansfield. A thermal management system keeps the batteries warm, and "an
onboard, fuel-fired heater is for the depths of winter."
I found the heater particularly interesting. It is installed in front
of the rear battery box, where the back seat might have been at one time, and
looks like a DustBuster for the BatMobile. It's a black cylinder about a foot
long and 7 inches in diameter. Cabin air is drawn at one end, heated using
kerosene, and then directed through a flexible pipe to the front of the car
and into the usual driver controls. I was a bit concerned that the exhaust of
the heater just went into the passenger compartment, but Harold said that 3
gallons of kerosene would last one Vermont winter season, which implies a very
modest burn rate. (I guess it's like having a gas stove in a house.) The
unit is made by a company called Espar.
EVermont has a newsletter, "The Electric Voice". For a copy, write
The Electric Voice
EVermont
103 South Main Street, #3 South
Waterbury VT 05671-0402
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Project e-'
Mr. Everett High School of Sheffield MA returns with their `Project e-' pickup
truck. In 1994, `Project e-' was a pure EV that came in 9th in the American
Commuter Category. For the 1995 NESEA Tour it was converted to a propane-
fueled Hybrid EV. It took first place in the Hybrid Category and the NESEA
trophy for Best Overall Hybrid. Asked why they were coming back to the NESEA
Tour, they said, "We feel that we are a part of a large group of others trying
to make the next generation of automobiles better for the environment, and
consume less energy than the cars of today." I'd say the evidence of last
year's performance supports that.
The team consists of:
Paul O'Brien Tech. Ed. Dept. Head, Mt. Everett
Arthur Batacchi community member
Stan Dupont community member
Bob Fedell student, Mt. Everett
Jake Dupont student, Mt. Everett
Jason Cross student, Mt. Everett
B. J. Law student, Mt. Everett
Robert Martin student, Mt. Everett
Schools take on such projects to provide hands-on learning experiences, and
nature has a way of supply them. A few weeks ago, a battery in the front of
the truck had exploded while no one was around. "It taught us all to be more
safety conscious and to definitely wear safety glasses when in the shop at all
times."
When asked what they wanted from their participation in the NESEA Tour,
they said, "We want people to remember that we helped to make vehicles that
use less energy and that are safer for the environment."
They chose a pickup truck because of the safety factors of having a strong
frame on which to hang the heavy batteries, the fact that the batteries were
outside the passenger compartment, and because the school district could use
the truck as a maintenance vehicle. Originally a pure EV in 1994, in 1995
they converted it to series hybrid operation running on propane. Last year
they won the Hybrid Category, but the competition is much stiffer this year,
with 11 Hybrid entrants. Still the students I spoke to are confident they can
"take the category" again.
I spoke with Robert Martin, Jason Cross, and B. J. Law, students who
helped out on the truck. Robert removed the original inside door panels and
replaced them with lighter plastic, to help reduce the truck weight. They
also replaced the 3-year old batteries with a new set of 20 6 Volt US Battery
blocks. Jason told me that they tuned the regulator to use less propane and
B. J. said they had replaced the controller with a newer Curtis model.
Last year they got about 9 miles per kiloWatt-hour (kWh). Their tests
this year show them getting 13 miles/kWh, a big improvement. In hybrid
operation they are hoping for 200 to 300 miles range.
Specifications:
Vehicle 1985 Chevy S-10 pickup truck
Transmission 4 speed, 4:56 rear end change
Steering converted from power to manual
Motor 28 HP DC brushed motor
Engine Kohler propane 22 HP (12 kW output)
Alternator Fisher 3 phase (12 kW, 120 Volts, 92 Amps)
Solar Panel three 50 Watt panels in series
Regen Braking 30 Amp alternator with electric clutch
Charge Time 6-8 hours for full charge
Range 300+ miles
Top Speed 70 miles/hour
More info at 413-299-8734.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Other Vehicles - `RAV4-EV'
Frank Fontana is Consolidate Edison of New York's Manager of Alternative
Fuels. He was displaying a Toyota `RAV4-EV' that they got just about 3 weeks
ago and they are evaluating as a company vehicle. The car looks like a scaled
down sports utility vehicle, with 3-doors and 4-seats. The back two seats can
be folded down to make room for more cargo. When the back seat are up, there
is only a small amount of room for cargo between them and the rear door. The
car is quite high, over 5 feet, so you sit relatively high up.
Under the hood is very clean and neat. A long radiator for the heat
pump sits low, behind the front bumper, leaning forward. Two fans force air
through it. A second, tiny (about 9 inches square) radiator with fan is for
the coolant from the electronics box which dominates the center of the
"engine" area.
The regen braking is controlled both with the accelerator pedal and
the brake pedal. When you take your foot off the accelerator pedal you get
regen braking comparable to compression braking in a gas car. Then the first
portion of brake pedal travel adds more regen braking. There is a "shifter"
(there is no transmission) has a "heavy regen" position which adds
considerably to the regen braking effect.
There are two recharge ports on the passenger side front fender, each
behind its own "gas cap" door. One is for normal charge and the other is for
quick charge. (My impression is that normal charge uses an on-board charger
and quick charge uses an external charger. The normal had what appeared to be
a normal male AC plug (or maybe it was a 220 Vac plug), while he quick had a
pair of round female sockets.)
There is a State of Charge meter that looks very much like a gas tank
gauge in the instrument cluster.
From the handout and interview:
Dimensions 145.5 in long, 66.7 in wide, 63.4 in high
86.6 wheelbase, 57.9 front tread, 57.3 rear tread
Motor Permanent Magnet, air cooled,
20 kW (26.8 hp) continuous, 45 kW (60.3 hp) peak
Battery valve regulate lead-acid,
12-Volt, 60 Ah (@ 3 hr rate),
24 blocks, 288 V, 17.3 kWh
or
valve regulated nickel-metal hydride
12-Volt, 90 Ah (@ 5 hr rate)
24 blocks, 288 V, 25.9 kWh
HVAC Heat pump (for air), plus electrically heated seats,
plus electrically heated windshield (defrosting)
ConEd also has been involved with EVs for some time and also have Solectria
Forces, Chrysler TE Van, and Ford Ecostars.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Other Vehicles - `Sewanhaka Central High'
At the South Street Seaport display for the NESEA Tour, there are vehicles on
display that are not in the race. One of those is a restored and converted
Chevy S-10 pickup from Sewanhaka (sea WAN e ka) Central High School District
in Floral Park NY. I spoke with Myron Rock, Director of Occupational and
Continuing Education, Bill Ragona of the faculty and students Joe Simon,
Joseph Loeven, Mike Sowinski. The truck was a 3-year project for the
technical education school. The body was saved from the crusher and the
students did a complete body and chassis restoration first, which took a year.
The second year went into modifying the chassis to accept the batteries and
installing the EV system components. Battery support frames were welded into
the chassis under the truck bed which was hinged to allow easy access. (The
welding job is very clean and professional looking.) The electric system
components are from Bob Batson's Electric Vehicles of America and are typical
of his systems. 20 Trojan T-145s that make up the 120 Volt system that power
a Curtis 1221B controller which drives a Advanced DC 9 inch 120 Volt motor.
The electronics are all contained in a removable box. All the connections in
to and out of the box are connectorized to make isolation and removal easy.
They added a large vacuum booster from a police car which provides the extra
braking power for the added weight. A professional paint job was donated by a
former student.
Joe and Joseph were new on the truck team this year, but Mike was
there in the very beginning, when he was in 10th grade. Now he graduates with
the entire experience of the restoration and conversion in his resume. He
plans to work a year and then go on to either Ohio Auto Diesel or Universal
Technical Institute (UTI).
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Snippets and observations
I ran into Dan Greenberg, team captain of the `Viking 25' (number 25), a
hybrid conversion of a Dodge Neon that uses Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as
it's fuel. He was explaining the advantages and disadvantages of CNG (which
is compressed methane) to a visitor, and made an important point, I think,
about the current infrastructure for alternative fuels. At the moment there
are only about 1,100 CNG stations in the United States, run by about 25
companies, so you have to plan your trips and stops. For example, Western
Washington U. is in Bellingham WA. They drive up to White Rock, British
Columbia, about 40 miles north of the campus. In Canada, CNG is much more
available.
(This reminds me of the late 1960s, when I owned my first Diesel-
fueled car. Every truck stop had Diesel, but they were not always along-the-
way. To this day, I carry 5 gallons with me, though I haven't needed it in
years. Old dogs and all that.)
At one point they had a tank of CNG and compressor on campus, but it
was not built correctly. One day they unplugged after a fill-up and squirted
compressor oil all over the car. Some oil also got into the tank. Those non-
methane hydrocarbons gave them really bad emissions. Dan says, "Compressor
technology and maintenance is very expensive, which is one of the limitations
to CNG stations. That will have to be overcome in the future."
But when it is done right, CNG gives a very clean, fuel economic
vehicle. "I believe we passed the ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle)
standards. The methane is CH4 (one carbon and 4 hydrogen atoms), a very
simple molecule that breaks up very readily."
- - - - - - - - - -
Eric Wong is mechanical engineering major with the `HEVy Gator' (number 19),
listed as `HEV U Florida' in the official lists. He was responsible for the
heating and air conditioning on the car, which is provided by a heat pump.
Unlike a regular car, where the air conditioning compressor is connected to
the engine with a clutch, here the heat pump compressor is driven by a Fisher
electric motor.
Inside the trunk lid I found the signatures of team members; Eric's
was accompanied by the slogan "The Wong Way or No Way". Other slogans
included "$3 Bill", "The Lawnmower Man", "Troll 1", "The Funk", "Oh My God, Oh
My God, Oh My God", "Disco Joe/Sidetrack". (Ever since the Apple folks signed
the inside mold of the Macintosh case ...)
- - - - - - - - - -
Janet Sapadin is the Pollution Prevention Coordinator for the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2, which serves New York, New Jersey, Puerto
Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. EPA Region 2 funded the NESEA Tour through
two different programs; the Environmental Education Program, to develop
materials for student visitors to the race, and the Pollution Prevent Program.
They have a booth that is part of the display area.
Janet's program funds efforts to prevent pollution generation. The
whole idea is to avoid creating the pollution at the source, so that it does
not have to be cleaned up or even recycled. They also publish a newsletter on
various EPA sponsored pollution prevention efforts. To get on the mailing
list, or to apply for a pollution prevention grant, write:
Janet Sapadin
US EPA Region 2
290 Broadway, 26th floor
New York City NY 10007-1866
US EPA Region 2 has a home page at:
http://www.epa.gov/Region2
- - - - - - - - - -
Cruising Equipment Corp's "E-Meter" is in evidence just about everywhere since
this is the way the US Department of Energy (DOE) plans to collect in-vehicle
energy use data from the race. It's a bit more than 2 inches round, and has
the ability to display Volts, Amps, Amp-hours and time remaining. An RS-232
option can deliver, at 9600 Baud in ASCII, second-by-second readings of:
time since last Amp-hour reset
kiloWatt-hours
Amps
Volts
Amp-hours
Peukert Amp-hours
Peukert Amps
time remaining
Connect it to your laptop PC or a Cruising Equipment Memory Module and you
get data coming out your ears!
For more info, call 206-782-8100.
- - - - - - - - - -
I ran into Nick Karditsas of Ovonic Battery Company (aka Ovonics) who is
accompanying the Solectria team. Solectria's Sunrise has Ovonic Nickel Metal
Hydride (NiMH) batteries, same as last year, and they have a Force NMH sedan
which is also running NiMH.
The Force NMH will be carrying 23 kiloWatt-hours on board, in a 200
Volt string of 15 modules. The energy density of the modules is 70 Watt-hours
per kilogram (which calculates to about 330 kg (728 lb) of battery) and they
expect to get 600 cycles from the battery pack.
Nick said that the batteries now are available, although they are very
expensive because they are still in pilot production. But they are working
with GM Ovonic to bring the price down. They think they can get to $200 per
kiloWatt-hour.
And things are getting better. There are modules in early development
delivering over 80 Watt-hours per kilogram (that includes packaging). Along
with improved energy density, they are also making improvements in lifecycle,
and cost reduction.
- - - - - - - - - -
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Spyder Juice'
Among the US DOE Commuter Category entrants we find `Spyder Juice' (number
31), a pre-production prototype of a car Al Simpler intends to market. They
finished building it in 1995 and took it to the "Sunday Challenger" in Daytona
Beach FL, and won two First Place prizes and set new track records. Next stop
was Phoenix for the EV 500 where they took 2nd place in the under-300 Volts
drag race and 2nd place in the 40 km, and 3rd in the 80 km. Al says, "It has
never been beaten by a street legal car, and it is street legal. It is also
SCCA qualified." `Spyder Juice' is featured in an article in "Kit Car
Illustrated"'s June issue, out now.
The car is a bright yellow two-place sports car, set very low to the
ground, custom built with a tubular frame and fiberglass body. It is
configured for racing with a roll bar, impact bars, padding, and 6-point seat
belts. (It looks fast just standing still.) It weighs 2700 pounds.
The batteries are from GNB. Because the batteries are sealed,
absorbed electrolyte technology, some of them can be, and are, mounted
sideways, with their terminals on the side. They add up to 216 Volts and 18
kiloWatt-hours. The controller is a custom-made unit that can handle 120
kiloWatts, drawing up to 600 Amps from the pack and deliver as much as 800
Amps to the motor.
The gear box is a Volkswagen transaxle, flipped upside down, mounted
with an SHO clutch to a DC, 8-brush, high torque motor, a prototype from
Advanced DC Motors. There are 4 forward gears, although they almost never use
first.
They intend to build a coupe; information on that will be available
soon.
More info: Solar Systems of Tallahassee FL, Inc. 904-5-SOLAR-5
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Nancy Hazard - Race Director
The American Tour de Sol is one of NESEA's two big electric vehicle events;
the other is the Sustainable Transportation and Solar & Electric Vehicles
conference in the fall. Nancy Hazard is responsible for making both these
events happen.
The NESEA Tour is a bigger undertaking because of all the logistics of
lining up people, places and organizations to handle all the things that have
to happen at each of the seven stops we will make this year. It helps to have
significant sponsors.
"This year we have four Title Sponsors: the US Department of Energy
(US DOE) through Argonne National Labs, Chrysler Corporation, the Northeast
Alternative Vehicle Consortium (NAVC), and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
This kind of partnership indicates the growing interest in the electric
vehicle industry. I see this as evidence that EVs are `taking off'," Nancy
says.
"This year we have 30% industry built vehicles, and 60% student built
vehicles, both up from past NESEA Tours. The number of entries built by
individuals has gone down.
"We are also seeing 18 purpose-built vehicles this year, which I think
is more than we have ever seen before.
"Two modified production vehicles are particularly interesting. One
is the `trans2' which represents an important niche market; off-road vehicles.
That company is just taking off. They started production last October and now
have over 800 orders. They've modified a `trans2' so it can do the long legs
and cross country legs of the NESEA Tour, and are also going to be exhibiting.
And the Taylor-Dunn vehicle is also modified to make it through the race."
Nancy also pointed out the huge representation of hybrid vehicles.
"We have 11 hybrids this year, up from 3 last year. And we are seeing many
different fuels."
The rules for the Solar Commuter Category are totally reworked from
the solar categories of the past. Before there was a huge penalty for
charging from the electric grid, to the point that some teams figured it was
better to trailer over some legs of the race if they didn't get enough sun.
"Now the rules expect that teams will charge from the grid, but the scoring
will favor those with higher fractions of their energy coming from the sun."
Three different groups are giving NESEA money to research and
development studies this year; US DOE, NAVC, and the Electric Vehicle Research
Network (EVRN) which is a part of the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI).
The EVRN sponsored study will be looking at power quality issues
associated with chargers that are of interest to the electric power companies.
These include things like induced line noise, harmonics, and power factor, all
of which effect the ability to deliver electricity from the power plant to the
ultimate user without loss or interference.
The US DOE study is focused on vehicle efficiency, collected from
instruments installed on the cars. The NAVC study complements the US DOE
study by looking at the power inputs to the individual chargers. Between the
DOE and NAVC studies, we should be able to determine efficiencies of the
chargers, the batteries, and the vehicles overall.
All this information together will help in determine the winners of
the NESEA Energy Challenge, where the prize is for "the vehicles that use the
least amount of energy to travel down the road." The calculation provides an
equivalent-miles-per-gallon comparison with today's fueled vehicles.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Twike'
Again this year we have an example of a human assisted electric powered
vehicle (or is that an electric assisted human powered vehicle? I can never
remember). Last year it was a special racing vehicle ridden by a professional
bicycle racer. This year it is the `Twike' (number 12) racing in the
Production Category. Wolfgang Moscheid of Rosenthal Germany explained the
"twin bike" to me.
The `Twike' was first designed for the "Innovative Vehicle Design
Competition" during the Expo '86 in Vancouver, Canada. The vehicle brought to
the race is the prototype of a series of vehicles which they will build and
sell when they have 200 orders. (See below.)
The idea is a two-passenger recumbent tricycle, 1-front wheel, 2-rear,
with a pair of pedals for each passenger plus an electric drive system.
The body is a low, wide, molded "tub" of "Luran S" made by BASF (which
appears to be an ABS plastic), with a high rear and a wide, clear windshield.
When closed, the result appears to be quiet aerodynamic. The tub is on an
aluminum space frame for rigidity and strength.
The pedals connect to a 5-speed hub and coaster brake, thus pedaling
backwards applies the rear brake. The left hand passenger has a handle to his
or her left which includes the parking brake and the front hand-brake. It has
a 7 meter turning circle. Both rear wheels are driven, through a
differential, by both the pedals and the electric drive.
The passengers sit side-by-side, with a steering tiller sticking up
between them. Either passenger can steer and operate the buttons on the end
of the tiller. A pair of buttons control acceleration and deceleration, with
the deceleration performing regenerative braking. Also between the
passengers, on another stalk coming up from the floor, is an instrument panel
with an speedometer, controls for windshield defrosting, windshield wiper,
turn signals, head lights or running lights, and horn.
The electric power system uses a combined charger/controller that
manages a battery of 218 cells totaling 336 Volts offered in either a 2 kWh or
3 kWh pack. (The vehicle they are racing has 5 parallel strings.) The
batteries are NiCads used in electric screwdrivers and other hand tools. The
power is delivered to a 5 kW AC induction motor. They expect they can get
about 62 miles of range on the batteries.
The system can be run just people-power, just electric, or both. They
expect that most people will provide about 10% of the power from pedaling and
the rest will be electric.
All 3 wheels have independent suspension with shock absorbers. The
brakes are hydraulic drum rear, mechanical drum front, and regenerative (aka
"recuperation) braking from the electric motor.
The vehicle is for sale, if they can get enough orders, and the price
on the flyer is listed at sFr 21,000, including batteries.
For more information contact:
Moscheid Automotive (umlaut over the `o' in Moscheid)
Solartechnikburo (umlaut over the `u')
Felgasse 6
35119 Rosenthal
Germany
phone: 0049 6458 388 fax: 0049 6458 1388
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Helios the Heron'
When I was in elementary school, a couple of friends and I built "Bolts", a
robot made out of Erector set parts, cardboard boxes, a speaker and a tape
recorder. We thought is was neat (the word "cool" hadn't been invented yet)
and we got our picture in the local paper. Maybe that's why I have a special
place in my heart for the kids from Riverside School in Lyndonville VT and
their `Helios the Heron' series of vehicles. `Helios the Heron III' (number
93) is a rework of `Helios the Heron II' which was in the 1995 NESEA Tour. I
spoke with Nina Berryman (6th grade), Andra Hibbert (7th grade), Daniel Wilson
(6th grade), Karen Budde (English, Latin, Physical Education teacher/driver),
Topher Waring (Science, Shop teacher).
`Helios the Heron III' is a much more mature car than either of it's
predecessors. HHI never ran at all. HHII had a personal best of 16 miles and
placed 4th (ie last) in it's division. HHIII has already run 145 miles on it!
The outside shell is new, made from Kevlar and fiberglass and plywood. There
are eight 12-Volt batteries, plus a another accessory battery charged by the
100 Watts of previously owned (read "used") solar panels. The car frame, the
solar panels, dash board and mirrors are from last year's car. New seats
(made from plastic school chairs) are new. There are two new doors, made of
plywood and Styrofoam. Topher emphasizes that the materials have to be things
the kids can handle.
There are now two seats in the car. For the first time the kids
actually get to ride in the car while it is moving. Karen Budde will drive
and one of the children will act as navigator.
A wire loop on the outside of the car pulls an emergency disconnect
inside the car that disables the drive system.
Above the windshield on the roof is a 2-inch tall, silver painted wood
carving of the school mascot, the Heron, made by one of the team members last
year, a Russian exchange student named Vesilli Germoloe. A larger, hand-
painted version of the Heron-on-wheels logo was painted on the noise of the
car, again by one of the students.
11 kids are on the A team for Friday to Tuesday, they swap
The entire class of 46 kids, grades 5 through 8, worked on the car.
Specifications (taken from their flyer, written by student Colin Browne):
Battery 9 Deka Dominator Jell Cells
Motor General Electric 20 hp traction motor, 6000 rpm
Drive Chain drive of rear wheel
Top Speed 60 mph (but I'd never want to see it try)
Chassis Ford Festiva front end,
aluminum and plywood frame held together with rivets,
industrial glue, and duct tape.
Body light-weight aircraft foam and fiberglass
The flyer also speaks of some of the challenges:
Getting globs of industrial glue off one's hands.
A brake pedal that beeped the horn.
Rapid fire turn signals that made no distinction between left and right.
Headlights that only turned on when they felt like it.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Regenerative Braking'
William Glickman, of Alternative Energy in Glastonbury CT, has been doing EVs
since (what seems) forever. I first met him at the 1993 NESEA Tour when he
entered his `Lightning Bug' VW conversion. This year he has a Subaru microvan
he calls `Regenerative Braking' (number 45).
He told me he has > big < capacitors in his car. "They're super
capacitors! They are 9 inches in diameter, 12 inches long, 48 pounds each,
rated at 28 Volts DC, and each one is > 85 Farads 90% @ All RPM
Weight: 86 kg (190 lbs)
Controller Specifications:
Manufacturer: General Electric
Model Number: EV2000 prototype
Controller Type: IGBT Inverter
Input Voltage Range: 180 Low (V) 385 High (V)
Current Limit: 300 (amp)
Efficiency: > 90%
Dimensions: 52 L x 42 W x 27 H (cm x cm x cm)
Weight: 13 kg
Battery Specifications:
Manufacturer: Hawker Energy Corp.
Model Number: Genesis 26 A-h EP
Battery Type: Valve-regulated, sealed Pb-A
Total Pack Weight: 300 kg
Number of Batteries: 28, 12 V each
Battery Pack Voltage: 336 V
Battery Pack Capacity: 28 amp-hr 9.4 kWh for c/20 rate of discharge.
22 amp-hr 7.4 kWh for c/2 rate of discharge.
Cycle Life at a Depth of Discharge (DoD) of 80%: 350-500
Battery Charger:
Manufacturer: Hughes
Model Number: Magne-Charge SCM
Efficiency: 92% full power, claimed
Charger shutoff mechanism: timed, voltage, and/or current cutoff
Charger Input: AC voltage 208-240 V AC current 30 amp
Charger Output: DC voltage 432 V DC current <20 amp
Required Charge Time: 6 hrs from 80% DoD to full charge
Series Generator Information:
Manufacturer: Fisher
Model Number: custom
Generator Power Rating at Speed: 18 kW Efficiency 95% @ 2800 RPM
Charging/Power Usage Strategy: constant power, constant speed operation
driven by battery SOC, with over-voltage
limit
Transmission:
Manufacturer: American Axle and Manufacturing
Model Number: from 4WD Chevrolet S-10 Blazer front differential
Year: 1983-9
Number of Gears: 1
Does it have a clutch? No
Axle ratio: 3.4:1
Transmission gear ratio: 3.4 x 4.29
Braking System: electric vacuum pump with OEM braking system
Hybrid Control Strategy: APU (Auxiliary Power Unit, i.e. engine+generator)
APU on when battery SOC falls below 30%.
APU off when battery SOC reaches 80% or bus voltage reaches 385 VDC.
Describe Hybrid Control Hardware (computers etc.):
Motorola microcontroller 68HC11 controls APU start/stop, APU speed.
Custom-built boost rectifier
contains soft start, over voltage, over current, under voltage limits.
Emissions Control Strategies: Clean burning fuel (LPG), constant speed,
constant power operation, closed-loop fuel control, ignition with custom ECU
tuning, exhaust catalyst formulated for LPG.
Additional Instrumentation:
Manufacturer: Cruising Equipment
Model: kWHr+2
Information monitored: Bus voltage, current, kWhrs.
APU voltage, current, kWhrs.
Additional Features or Information: Power steering
HVAC (heat, ventilation, air conditioning)
(Whew!)
At the New York City display, I spoke with Randy Senger, Greg Pettit, and Matt
Merkle. After reviewing the specs and history (above) Randy felt that the
experience of doing last year's Neon taught them a lot of "what not to do,
more so than what to do. Our experience paid off in that we were able to put
it together quickly. I think we did a very nice packaging job."
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Day 1 Snippets
I ran into the `Helios the Heron III' folks, with one student wearing safety
goggles and Playtex Living Gloves leaning into the rear section of the car.
He was putting wire nuts on the ends of wires and taping them over with black
electrical tape. The charger interferes with the driver's controls if left
installed, so they disconnect it from the wiring each morning and seal up the
dangling ends. At the end of the run they rewire the charger in.
- - - - - - - - - -
Rick Shanahan is a volunteer with the NESEA Tour who works for AeroVironment
(of the Gossamer human-powered aircraft and GM Sunraycer fame). They have
been doing electric vehicles and "in the process of building packs and cycling
batteries, we basically built a cycler. Now we find people want the cycler,
so we are now selling the technology that we had to develop so they can build
the cycler." It is a 100 kW cycler, but different from every cycler I have
ever heard of. Most cyclers have high power, very low ohm rating resistors to
load down the batteries during discharge. "We actually put the current back
into the electric power grid, and make the meter run backward." They also
create very detailed reports during the tests, reporting numbers most people
don't see, such as battery energy losses at many different charge/discharge
rates and profiles. "For example we have found that when you hard-charge
(with high current) a deeply discharged lead acid battery, it likes it better
than when it is slowly charged." It accepts the charge better, faster, and
also gives better cycle life.
- - - - - - - - - -
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is a title sponsor of the NESEA Tour this
year, and along with a sizable display presence, they are providing additional
logistical support. I spoke with Mike Sellers, who is providing tire and
wheel services to race participants, Dave Russ, who is in Public Relations,
and Petula Prudencia, an intern working the displays. Engineer Bill Egan is
also here to give technical advice to the teams. They have a small tire shop
in a van, so they can unmount, repair, remount and balance any team's tires
that might require repair or changing.
Goodyear has several low-rolling-resistance tires on cars in the race
(sometimes provided through sponsorships), including their Invicta GLR on cars
and Conquest, originally developed for Chrysler minivans, on trucks. They
also have a tire called the Momentum which is purpose-built for the EV market.
These tires came about due to Big-3 interest in getting their CAFE (Corporate
Average Fuel Efficiency) numbers down to acceptable ranges.
Low rolling resistance comes about through things like rubber and
belting formulation, sidewall construction, and higher inflation pressures,
all combined in the design. "Tires are composites of literally hundreds of
parts and you can fine tune many of these in the design," says Dave.
Goodyear is also driving a Solectria Force as part of their fleet, for
media and VIP drives.
- - - - - - - - - -
OK -- Pop Quiz! What is the difference between methane, propane, Liquid
Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)?
Pencils down!
LPG and propane are essentially the same, and CNG and methane are the same.
LPG is about 97% propane, plus a few other distillates.
At the race, we are scheduled to have six hybrids running on CNG, one
on LPG, one on RFG (reformulated gasoline), one on E85 (85% ethanol, 15%
gasoline) and one on bio-diesel.
What do they smell like? E85 smells like Old Granddad (whiskey), LPG
is cooking gas and doesn't smell much (to me), and bio-diesel smells like
cooking oil.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Ottawa Orange 4'
This is the 4th year for a team from Ottawa Hills Technical Prep High School
from Grand Rapids MI, this time with `Ottawa Orange 4' (number 37). This
"black beauty" is a rework of the frame from the last two years with a new,
black plastic body that should improve the aerodynamics.
January Slater is a junior who worked on raising the money to pay for
the trip to New York. She wrote letters and phoned and, apparently, they now
have enough, "about 7 to 10 sponsors." There about 20 in the team, of which 8
students, plus 4 teachers, were able to come to the race.
Josh Ike helped both last year and this year. The car has a
reconstructed frame, a new seat, and a 5-point harness. They changed it up to
a 48 Volt system, and got a Monte Carlo kit-car body from a sponsor. The
batteries are 8 12-Volt blocks in 2 parallel strings. There is a solar panel
producing 800 Watts. Last year they got just about 70 miles. With the larger
voltage they hope to go farther.
Ted Lovelady is the driver, and was also on the electrical team.
Adding the extra batteries involved adding an extra supporting frame. The
driver's seat is a deep, comfortable racing model with high sides that holds
the driver firmly in position. A windowed hood covers the driver's position,
but looks like it could get quite hot. Ted says that a pair of box fans under
the dash provides enough air flow to help keep him cool and were a big
improvement.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: May 13 Morning Race Summary
This report is based on the Race Summary handed out at the driver's meeting on
Monday morning. It is the best information I have at that moment. There are
several substitutions from previous lists.
* Tied for First Place in Category
** Tied for Second Place in Category
X Did not show up or maybe out of the race
NAVC Production Category
Number Car Team
4* Solectria Force NMH Solectria
7* Nordic Challenger EVermont/NAVC
34* State Power STAPPA/ALPA
50* Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC
17** Ford Ecostar Allegheny Power
15** Solectria Force JCP&L
14 Chrysler TE Van Met-Ed Penelec/JCP&L/GPU
US DOE Commuter Category
Number Car Team
12* Twike Technik & Design
31* Spyder Juice Solar Electric Spyder Juice
32* Porsche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mountain Electric Matadors
33* Solar Bus Bridgewater Solar Works
35* Kineticar CSERT - NVCTC
39* Sparky EV Moore - CEVA
42* Golden Gear Special RMAVTS - Golden Gear Racing
43* KA1000 Polytech Chargers
44* SolarSaurus Rocky Hill High School
46* Utility EV PETC
57* George the Geo FMRHS - Solar Electric Racing
65* Electric Hare Wattsmen
66* Genesis I Genesis Team
63 Solectria Sunrise NAVC / BECO / Solectria
72 Sungo NHTI Electric Car Team
38 Sparky 2 Wooster's Charge
47 Electruck Taylor-Dunn
88 OHM Ranger Neocon / NYSEG
74 Lightning Volt Parkland High School
79 54 Berkeley Team New England
45 Regenerative Braking Alternative Energy
82 Lectric Lion North Hunterdon High School
54 Roadrunner Greenwich High School Solar Flair
2X Trans2-AC Wallingford AC, Inc
24X B-U-LLET Boston University SEV Team
Solar Commuter Category
Number Car Team
36 Texas Native Sun Lonestar Solar Racing Team
83 Sol Survivor IV CONVAL Solar Car Team
58 Sol Machine Newburgh Free Academy
93 Helios the Heron III Riverside School
75X Commuter Car Villanova Univ. EV Team
Chrysler Hybrid Category
Number Car Team
26* Hyperion Team Hyperion
81* VT Ani mul SL HEV Team of Virginia Tech
94* Hopper EV Hopper EV
96* Project e- Mt Everett High School
84* The Paradigm Team Paradigm
28 Hybrid Lumina Clarence Ellers
19 HEV U Florida Univ of FL HEV Society
21 Hy Potential IV University of Tennessee
23 Viking 23 Western Washington University
25 Viking 25 Western Washington University
48 Electric Lion Penn State SAE
Open Category
37 Ottawa Orange IV Tech Prep
64 Proteus 1 Union College
52 Electrobike CTC NEastAdvVehTecCtr
92 Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Electric Lion'
Duane Hobbs is from Penn State Society of Automotive Engineers, here with the
`Electric Lion' (number 48) in the Chrysler Hybrid Category.
Base Vehicle 1992 Ford Escort
Weight 3753 pounds
Top Speed 95 mph
Passengers 2
Engine 22 hp Kawasaki
Generator Unique Mobility
Fuel Reformulated Gasoline (RFG)
Motors 2 Solectria AC Induction (1 on each front wheel)
Controllers Solectria, with regen braking
Batteries Exide, 11,520 Wh
Range 40 miles ZEV, 200 miles HEV
Since there are two motors, each one independently driving a front wheel, the
"differential" is a computer inside the glove box. A steering position sensor
determines the amount of left or right turn the driver is requesting and then
adjusts the power to the motors so the outside wheel will have more torque and
turn faster as the car goes around the corner.
The independent motor control also allows the computer to determine
exactly what each wheel is doing (as compared to what is desired) and the
power to the wheel can be adjusted appropriately. The result is full time
traction control, sort of like anti-lock brakes, but active all the time.
This helped the car achieve superb times during the handling performance tests
weaving around traffic cones.
A second computer controls when the engine is started or stopped,
depending on battery voltage. Most the time the driver just drives the car.
The driver can force the car into ZEV and ICE modes if required.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Proteus 1'
I spoke with Terry Gilbert a mechanical engineering student at Union College
in Schenectady NY. He showed me their `Proteus 1' (number 64) racing in the
Open Category.
Range 100 miles
Speed 60 mph
Weight 850 pounds
Wheels 2 front, 1 rear (cog-belt driven)
Dimensions 10'6" L x 4'6" W x 3'6" H
Passengers 1, 200 pounds
Design purpose-built space frame, cromolley 4131 steel
fiberglass & epoxy body
Batteries 60 Volt, 1200 Wh, lead-acid
Motor Advanced DC
Controller Curtis 1209-B
A team of two mechanical engineering students designed the car and three
other students helped put it together in about 10 months. The body is shaped
like a tear-drop, blunt-end forward, with the upper half of the front end
serving as the windshield.
The springs in the suspension for the 2 front wheels are two stacks of
4 composite leaf springs. Teflon sheathing between each spring allows them to
slide over each other as they flex. The company that manufactures them
donated them to the car. (Last year we saw a similar idea made from a snow
ski.)
The frame without the body has several hundred miles of testing, but
the body was added just a couple of weeks ago. The NESEA Tour will be the
first serious test of the entire vehicle.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `SolarSaurus'
Tony Guida and Eric Berner showed me the `SolarSaurus' (number 44) from Rocky
Hill High School in Rocky Hill CT. One glance told me this was a Bob Batson
EV design.
Bob likes to lay out all the major electrical components, controllers,
contactors, shunts, interconnects, etc. on a large piece of plywood or
phenolic that sits high in the "engine" compartment. He lays out the color-
coded wiring in a very neat, almost rectilinear manner that lets you read the
circuit schematic diagram directly from the wiring. The result is a system
that is easy to read and understand and, I dare say, cuts down on "where does
this wire go/come-from" questions or mistakes. `SolarSaurus' is just such a
vehicle. A tyranosaurus logo is on the hood. (Rocky Hill has a state
(national?) park with dinosaur tracks in the rocks.)
Base Vehicle 1982 Dodge Rampage
Battery 120 Volts, Trojan T145, lead acid, 22 kWh
Controller Curtis PMC 1221-C
Motor Advanced DC
Ben and Jerri's donated the truck. The team started working in November,
ripping out all the gas parts and putting in all the EV stuff. The Rampage is
a sporty pickup truck, and the battery box is made of (what looked to me to
be) polypropylene sitting in the truck bed just behind the cab. The wiring
here is again very neat and obvious.
This gets my vote for one of the neatest conversion vehicles at any
NESEA Tour I've attended. There are a few college students and adults who
could learn a thing or two here.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Solar Bus'
I spoke to Ed Witkin and Amelia Shrader-Witkin (his daughter, age 7) about
`Solar Bus' (number 33).
Base Vehicle 1969 VW Microbus
Solar Panel 480 Watts
Battery 120 Volts, Trojan T145, lead acid, 22 kWh
Controller Curtis PMC
Motor Advanced DC, regen alternator
"We are also Bob Batson groupees here." The battery "tank" is mid-ships and
serves also as the support for the middle bench seat.
Ed has been into solar energy for many years. He used to do "music in
the mountains" near Atlanta. The generator was always too noisy and was
always breaking down, and that's when he discovered the sun. When they moved
to Connecticut, he built a solar house. Ed ran the solar powered sound system
for the NESEA American Tour de Sol in 1991.
After the third engine burned out on the bus ... , well, you know the
story. Now it is their every-day vehicle.
The alternator used for regen braking is connected via an electric
clutch to the tail shaft of the motor. It sends back 30 amps into the
batteries. Ed got those parts from Solar Car Corporation in Florida.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Sungo'
I spoke with Randy Kezar, Spencer Allen and Scott Hall of New Hampshire
Technical Institute who are with `Sungo' (number 72) racing in the US DOE
Commuter Category. `Sungo' is back for its fifth year. Once again it has two
motors separately driving the rear wheels with an electronic differential, on
a welded aluminum frame and a composite molded body.
New for this year is a demonstration of an auxiliary battery system.
Like the old VW bug and most motorcycles, where there is some undrainable fuel
that could be gotten at in an emergency, this car has some undrainable energy
held in reserve. In addition to the regular battery pack good for
approximately 100 miles, there is a second "limp home" auxiliary pack good for
about 10 miles. The main pack is made up of Electrosource Horizons holding 11
kWh and the auxiliary pack is made up of Deka Dominator gel-cells holding 1
kWh. Both packs are 120 Volts made up of 10 12-Volt modules.
The main pack is managed by a BADICHEQ battery charge controller which
controls charge current to each of the modules. Most chargers only read the
total string voltage when attempting to determine state-of-charge. One weak
module in the string, or even a shorted cell, can cause the charger to
overcharge the rest of the modules while trying to make up for the "missing"
voltage of the weak module. This shortens the life of those remaining
modules. BADICHEQ has a wire going to each of the module terminals and thus
can read the voltage of each module. It also has a small, 20 Watt power
supply and can add extra current to some of the modules that are lagging
behind the others. Over several charge cycles, the lower voltage modules get
the extra current they need to come up to full charge with the rest of the
string. Modules with shorted cells are also easily identified. Which is
exactly what happened in `Sungo'; Spencer told me that they found a bad
battery a week after they installed the system.
New in the safety department are a pair of side-impact bars made of
4130 cromolley steel inside the body to provide more of a cage around the
passengers in case of a side collision or roll-over. These were Scott's
senior project.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Viking 23'
I spoke with Roseanne Gile, a vehicle design major, and Jeff Scott, a
manufacturing engineering tech major, both from Western Washington University.
`Viking 23' (number 23) is a CNG fueled parallel hybrid capable of 30 miles as
a ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle), and 400 miles using its ICE (Internal
Combustion Engine). The car is very similar to `Viking 21' which was the only
hybrid in the 1993 NESEA Tour and which served as a mule for `Viking 23'.
What caught my eye is the car is basicly two pieces; a 3/8 inch thick
carbon fiber Nomex sandwich chassis topped by a body of essentially the same
construction. Even the roll bars are composite construction. The chassis
weighs 90 pounds. The body is a little less. Add all the batteries, motor,
transmissions, engine and glass, etc. and it weighs about 2000.
The selection between modes is entirely manual, and there are separate
gear boxes (which share a shift lever) for both electric and ICE operation.
My first impression is that it would be helpful to have 4 legs and 3 hands,
and Roseanne agreed it sometimes seemed that way. But Jeff made the point
that the car is usually used in one mode or the other (ZEV or ICE). Driving
in both can be done, but is tricky. Not surprisingly, their strategy is to
run electric around town and ICE when on the highway legs.
The body is covered with satellite grade solar cells which convert 17%
of the sun energy to electricity(!), but cost $18,000.
The car can also burn gasoline as its fuel, but that tank was removed
for this competition. The engine has separate injection rails for CNG and
gasoline.
Roseanne reminded me that they "are completely donation funded, so
donations are appreciated."
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Hyperion'
I spoke with Shawn Newell, briefly. `Hyperion' is a parallel hybrid, and is
supposed to have a microcontroller controlling the switching between the ZEV,
HEV, and ICE modes. The student responsible for the microcontroller is now at
a co-op job and won't be back until September, when he will pick it up again.
The students are encouraged to document what they do in detail, since
these projects last longer than the time individual students stay. If the
designs and decisions are written down, then the knowledge can pass down
through time to the next generation.
`Hyperion' burns E85 as its fuel, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15%
gasoline. Its exhaust has a distinct aroma because ethanol is a grain
alcohol. It reminds me of Old Granddad. "The fuel is essentially moonshine,
but the added gasoline means you cannot drink it."
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Porsche 914 Electric Bull'
The `Porsche 914 Electric Bull' (number 32) is here from Shadow Mountain High
School in Phoenix Arizona. I spoke with Michael Golden the team's faculty
advisor. "This is a 1973 914. My students and I converted it about 3 years
ago. Probably one of the best student projects we have ever done."
Top Speed 90 mph
Range 90 miles @ 45 mph
Weight 2900 pounds GVW
Transmission stock 5 speed
Conversion time 1400 hours
Motor Advanced DC
Controller Curtis
Battery 20 Trojan, 120 Volts
Solar Array 5.1 W, 17.5 Volt at load
Charger Lester outboard
Tires Goodyear, Corsa GT
It has taken first place awards at the APS in '95 and '96 (both in Range and
Braking And Handling), the Disneyland Clean Air Road Rally '95, the Palm
Springs Road Rally '95, and the SRP Pride Expo in '94 and '95 (Range EV).
This was a creation of the students (not a kit). The first car was a
4 door Chevette that was so successful that when they they asked for a 914,
the owner of Black Horse Motor Works(?) donated them one. "We've won almost
every race we've been to so we are here to kick some Eastern butts!"
American West Airlines was the key to their getting out here. They
donated the air travel for the team members. And Reliable Car Carriers
donated transporting the car. (Clearly finding funding can be as important as
building the car.)
More Info: 602 867-5359
NESEA American Tour de Sol: May 14 Morning Race Summary
This report is based on the Race Summary handed out at the driver's meeting on
Tuesday morning. It is the best information I have at that moment.
* Tied for First Place in Category
*** Tied for Third Place in Category
**** Tied for Fourth Place in Category
X Did not show up or maybe out of the race
Y Dropped out of the race (my understanding)
NAVC Production Category
Number Car Team
4 Solectria Force NMH Solectria
17 Ford Ecostar Allegheny Power
34 State Power STAPPA/ALPA
7 Nordic Challenger EVermont/NAVC
15 Solectria Force JCP&L
12 Twike Technik & Design
50 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC
14 Chrysler TE Van Met-Ed Penelec/JCP&L/GPU
US DOE Commuter Category
Number Car Team
63 Solectria Sunrise NAVC / BECO / Solectria
72 Sungo NHTI Electric Car Team
32 Porsche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mountain Electric Matadors
35*** Kineticar CSERT - NVCTC
43*** KA1000 Polytech Chargers
39*** Sparky EV Moore - CEVA
88*** OHM Ranger Neocon / NYSEG
33**** Solar Bus Bridgewater Solar Works
42**** Golden Gear Special RMAVTS - Golden Gear Racing
66**** Genesis I Genesis Team
65**** Electric Hare Wattsmen
31**** Spyder Juice Solar Electric Spyder Juice
44 SolarSaurus Rocky Hill High School
38 Sparky 2 Wooster's Charge
47 Electruck Taylor-Dunn
74 Lightning Volt Parkland High School
57 George the Geo FMRHS-Solar Electric Racing
46 Utility EV PETC
54 Roadrunner Greenwich High School Solar Flair
82 Lectric Lion North Hunterdon High School
79 54 Berkeley Team New England
45Y Regenerative Braking Alternative Energy
24X B-U-LLET Boston University SEV Team
2X Trans2-AC Wallingford AC, Inc
Solar Commuter Category
Number Car Team
93 Helios the Heron III Riverside School
36 Texas Native Sun Lonestar Solar Racing Team
83 Sol Survivor IV CONVAL Solar Car Team
58 Sol Machine Newburgh Free Academy
75X Commuter Car Villanova Univ. EV Team
Chrysler Hybrid Category
Number Car Team
94 Hopper EV Tom Hopper
96 Project e- Mt Everett High School
26 Hyperion Team Hyperion, Wentworth Inst. of Tech.
48 Electric Lion Penn State SAE
23 Viking 23 Western Washington University
81 VT Ani mul SL HEV Team of Virginia Tech
84 The Paradigm Team Paradigm, University of Wisconsin
28 Hybrid Lumina Clarence Ellers
25 Viking 25 Western Washington University
19Y HEV U Floriday Univ of FL HEV Society
21X Hy Potential IV University of Tennessee
Open Category
52* Electrobike CTC NEastAdvVehTecCtr
92* Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team
64 Proteus 1 Union College
37 Ottawa Orange IV Tech Prep
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Genesis I'
Brad Notter is with the `Genesis I' (number 66) team, a perennial favorite,
mostly because they come with lots of knowledge and spare parts and are
willing to share both.
Base Vehicle 1989 Dodge D50
Batteries Trojan T-145, 24.2 kWh, 120 Volts
Motor Advanced DC Shunt
Controller Curtis 1231C-8601
Chargers onboard: Todd High Freq/SS
offboard: Solar Car Corp. Ferro-Resonant
Solar Array 42 Watt Solarex Amorphous Crystal
Tires Goodyear Conquest
Regen Braking alternator tied to electric clutch on the motor tail
shaft with twin V-belts
Last year the regen was only half-working, because of a fried alternator
winding. Now they have the full regen. The batteries now have 230 cycles on
them in 3 years of use. They had to replace 2 batteries after the winter
(when the truck was in storage). "They were supposed to get 400 cycles on
them, but we are not going to make it."
They also rebuilt the front suspension this year when it wouldn't hold
an alignment.
Before the race even started they were performing their Good Samaritan
duties for 2 teams. "We gave one team a forward gear so they could go. They
have no reverse; we have to rewire their contactors."
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Golden Gear Special'
The `Golden Gear Special' (number 42) is from Reading-Muhlenberg Vo-Tech in
Reading PA and I spoke with Thomas Mohn, the faculty advisor.
Base Vehicle 1987 Pontiac Fiero, Monocoque, ABS plastic body
Solar Panel 4.7 Watt, IPC Canada
Batteries 10 Deka 9C-12, lead-acid, 21.6 kWh, 120 Volts
Motor Advanced DC FBI-4001,
toothed belt drive to original transaxle
Controller Curtis 1231-C
Charger K&W BC20, transformerless, onboard
This car was in the 1994 NESEA Tour, but had difficulty with energy
efficiency. It consumed about 1 kiloWatt-hour per mile and thus had
difficulty getting to the end of each leg. They figured out what was wrong
just in time to fix it for the last leg of the race. It turned out that one
of the control leads to the controller was not crimped properly, but made
enough of a contact for the car to run. This high-resistance contact, even
though it was in a control lead, caused the controller to underpower the motor
and hence the poor power usage. Once they found that problem and corrected
it, the car delivered about 5 miles per kiloWatt-hour.
The car this year has a slightly larger battery than before, so they
are hoping for better mileage. The new batteries are a flooded cell design
normally used in floor-scrubbers. Each module weighs 129 pounds each.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Kineticar II'
New this year is `Kineticar II' (number 35) from Naugatuck Valley Community
Technical College in Waterbury CT. I spoke with Paul Mastrangeli, a business
finance student, who is back for his 2nd year. Paul is responsible for the
data collection taken from the Cruising Equipment E-Meter into his laptop
computer through an RS-232 interface. Normally they could watch the data as
they drive, but the battery on the laptop has not been lasting long enough to
complete a leg, so they are instead downloading the data afterwards.
This is Naugatuck's 2nd vehicle. `Kineticar' ran in all the NESEA
Tours from 1992 through 1995. In 1995 it placed second among the student
built vehicles and 4th overall in the American Commuter Category.
Base Vehicle 1989 Chevy S-10
Weight 3600 pounds
Battery 20 6-Volt Trojan T-145, 120 Volts
Motor Advanced DC 9 inch, 38 hp
Controller Curtis PMC
Transmission 5-speed manual
Gauges Motor RPM, Motor Current, kiloWatt-hours, MPH,
Total Distance
Solar Array 25 Watts, United Solar Amorphous Cells
One distinguishing feature is that they replaced the truck hood with a clear
plastic, with the solar cells mounted on it. You can both see them and some
parts of the "engine" compartment without lifting the hood.
This year they have upgraded the controller to the 500 Amp Curtis
controller, re-did the rear end, improved the suspension.
More info: Don Narducci at 203-575-8090
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Lectric Lion'
We have two vehicles named "something Lion". The `Electric Lion' is from Penn
State.
But the `Lectric Lion' (number 82) is from North Hunterdon High School
in New Jersey. I spoke with Robert Zappulla and Daryl Sienicki, students on
the team.
Base Vehicle 1989 Chevy S-10
Speed 60 mph
Range 50 miles
Battery Trojan, 22 kWh
Solar Array 55 Watt Hoxan-Solec
Motor Advanced DC 9 inch
Controller Curtis 1231-C
Regen Braking Motorola
"The conversion was performed by the high school students and a night class.
All the parts were donated by local corporations; the truck itself was given
by JCP&L. It took roughly half a school year," says Robert.
An alternator is connected to the motor shaft through a clutch. To
activate the regen, you step on the brake until you hear a click. Then you
press the accelerator pedal to activate the actual braking effect.
The truck was completed just a couple of weeks ago, so the NESEA Tour
is its first long run.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Solectria and Ford sets records (preliminary)
It's Tuesday evening at about 9 PM. Today was the day for the cars which are
going for range to run the extra distances, here in Chesapeake MD. As of this
time, I have the following, unofficial records:
The `Solectria Sunrise' has 32 kiloWatt-hours in a 252 Volt back of
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries. Tonight it demonstrated a range
(again, unofficial) of 375 miles on a single charge.
The `Solectria Force NMH', also running NiMH batteries, ran
(unofficial) 244.2 miles per charge.
The `Ford Ecostar' went (unofficial) 227 miles, which is its own best
NESEA Tour record, on Sodium Sulphur batteries.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: May 15 Morning Race Summary
This report is based on the Race Summary handed out at the driver's meeting on
Wednesday morning. It is the best information I have at that moment.
X Did not show up or maybe out of the race
Y Dropped out of the race (my understanding)
Z Dropped out of the race, but displaying vehicle at stops
NAVC Production Category
Number Car Team
4 Solectria Force NMH Solectria
17 Ford Ecostar Allegheny Power
7 Nordic Challenger EVermont/NAVC
50 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC
34 State Power STAPPA/ALPA
15 Solectria Force JCP&L
12 Twike Technik & Design
14 Chrysler TE Van Met-Ed Penelec/JCP&L/GPU
US DOE Commuter Category
Number Car Team
63 Solectria Sunrise NAVC / BECO / Solectria
72 Sungo NHTI Electric Car Team
32 Porsche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mountain Electric Matadors
39 Sparky EV Moore - CEVA
88 OHM Ranger Neocon / NYSEG
43 KA1000 Polytech Chargers
35 Kineticar CSERT - NVCTC
42 Golden Gear Special RMAVTS - Golden Gear Racing
44 SolarSaurus Rocky Hill High School
38 Sparky 2 Wooster's Charge
65 Electric Hare Wattsmen
66 Genesis I Genesis Team
33 Solar Bus Bridgewater Solar Works
57 George the Geo FMRHS-Solar Electric Racing
46 Utility EV PETC
74 Lightning Volt Parkland High School
79 54 Berkeley Team New England
31 Spyder Juice Solar Electric Spyder Juice
47 Electruck Taylor-Dunn
82 Lectric Lion North Hunterdon High School
54 Roadrunner Greenwich High School Solar Flair
45Y Regenerative Braking Alternative Energy
24X B-U-LLET Boston University SEV Team
2X Trans2-AC Wallingford AC, Inc
Solar Commuter Category
Number Car Team
83 Sol Survivor IV CONVAL Solar Car Team
93 Helios the Heron III Riverside School
36 Texas Native Sun Lonestar Solar Racing Team
58 Sol Machine Newburgh Free Academy
75X Commuter Car Villanova Univ. EV Team
Chrysler Hybrid Category
Number Car Team
96 Project e- Mt Everett High School
94 Hopper EV Tom Hopper
48 Electric Lion Penn State SAE
23 Viking 23 Western Washington University
81 VT Ani mul SL HEV Team of Virginia Tech
26 Hyperion Team Hyperion, Wentworth Inst. of Tech.
84 The Paradigm Team Paradigm, University of Wisconsin
25 Viking 25 Western Washington University
28 Hybrid Lumina Clarence Ellers
19Z HEV U Florida Univ of FL HEV Society
21X Hy Potential IV University of Tennessee
Open Category
92 Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team
64 Proteus 1 Union College
52 Electrobike CTC NEastAdvVehTecCtr
37 Ottawa Orange IV Tech Prep
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Electric Hare'
Erica Pearl is a driver with the `Electric Hare' from Falmouth High School in
Falmouth Maine. It was the favorite with the folks in Portland ME last year.
Base Vehicle 1984 VW Rabbit
Batteries 20 Trojan T-145, 120 Volts
Motor Advanced DC Series, 15 kW continuous, 30 kW peak
Controller Curtis PMC 1221
Solar Array 52 W Solarex Crystalline
Chargers onboard: K&W transformerless
offboard: Lester transformer/rectifier
This year they got all new batteries and a new charger. They did very well
on the leg from NYC to Lambertville NJ. "We had a lot more Volts left than we
thought we would." Erica was also involved with the putting the graphics on
the car last year.
Paul Nicklas told me that the car was donated by one of last year's
seniors; it had been rusting in his back yard. It was repainted by a local
car dealership in Falmouth. They raised money by soliciting local businesses.
Their physics teacher, Mr Harick (sp?), was the leader who saw the project
through. The basis of the conversion was the Voltsrabbit kit from Mike
Brown's ElectroMotive.
Between races, the physics teacher drives it (since he put up a fair
amount of the money) and loans it to team members, and it has appeared at
events, such as being the first car across a new bridge.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `George the Geo'
`George the Geo' (number 57) is from Fall Mountain Regional High School in
Langdon NH. I spoke with Greg Bascom.
Base Vehicle 1991 Geo Metro hatchback
Solar Array 150 W Siemens, single cell, double crystal
Batteries Trojan lead-acid
Motor Advanced DC 9 inch
Controller Curtis 500 Amp
Chargers onboard: K&W transformerless
offboard: Lester transformer
This car has two 120-Volt strings that the driver switches between manually.
Thus when one string builds up surface charge they can let it rest while using
the other. The result should be greater range without having to stop to let
the batteries "rest".
One string is 10 12-Volt modules; 2 in the front of the car and 8 in
the back. The second string is 20 6-Volt modules in a detachable trailer.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Notes from Lambertville, Sunday Night
Bill Glickman's `Regenerative Braking' (45) suffered "lightning strikes" that
burned out his controller. He only got about a 50% charge in NYC, so he made
about 32 miles along the way to Lambertville NJ. While driving the vehicle to
position it for charging he heard a "snap" and then someone saw smoke. When
he took apart his controller (which looked to be an older model, possibly
using SCRs), he found holes burned through the power transistor cans.
But he wasn't out of the race! Mark Parthe, of `Genesis I' (66) lent
Bill a Curtis controller, which Bill installed overnight in Lambertville. He
hoped to start with us on Monday morning.
- - - - - - - - - -
Stacy Clifford told me that `Texas Native Sun' (36) started OK in NYC but had
some trouble with the motor which they hoped to have repaired by start time on
Tuesday morning.
This is the first race for the car; they hope to be in at least one
other race this year.
- - - - - - - - - -
`Ottawa Orange 4' probably did not make any friends in New York City. A wire
came loose that caused the car to stop in the middle of the Holland Tunnel.
They repaired it and drove out. They made 54.8 miles before they ran out of
battery.
- - - - - - - - - -
`Sunpacer' (92) almost made it to Lambertville. They ran out of juice 1.5
miles before the finish banner.
- - - - - - - - - -
`Helios the Heron III' (93) only traveled 1/2 mile in NYC, because they did
not want to deal with the Holland Tunnel. Still it was a victory. It was the
first time that any `Helios' was able to drive under the banner with the start
of the race.
- - - - - - - - - -
`Lightning Volt' (74) was done in by the NYC stop and go driving at the
beginning and the steep hills before the finish banner. They missed the end
by 4.7 miles. They also suspect the new batteries haven't been cycled enough.
- - - - - - - - - -
`59 Berkeley' (79) got about 55 miles before running out of juice. Under
inflated tires and batteries that had been sitting all winter took the blame.
- - - - - - - - - -
`George the Geo' (57) made it all the way through from NYC to Lambertville.
Their 2-string battery strategy apparently paid off.
- - - - - - - - - -
The first day's efficiency awards were:
Category Vehicle Energy Use
-------- ------- ----------
Open `Sunpacer' (92) 150 Wh/m
Commuter `Sunrise' (63) 117 Wh/m
Production `EVermont' (7) 130 Wh/m
comparison Gasoline Neon 509 Wh/m
That comparison Neon is a rental car that is driving the same race course
along with the rest of the pack. It is being measured so we can do some
apples-to-apples comparisons of EVs and ICEs.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Sol Survivor IV'
`Sol Survivor IV' (83) was finished just before few days before the start of
the race so the team was learning things as they went. I spoke with Mark
Seeger, Ben Cheavers, Mat LeClair, Josh Huber, and Greg Perry.
Their energy consumption from NYC to Lambertville was higher than
expected, so their controller refused to go any further when the battery
voltage got too low. They were thrilled that they had no mechanical problems.
They started the car about 3 months ago, so it is not quite the way it
ultimately will be. For example it will get a windshield and doors.
To describe it; it is long thin "tub" that carries 2 people, one
behind the other. A steel-tub frame is inside the tub and holds up the roof
and provides attachment for the suspension elements. There are 4 wheels at
the "corners" of the tub, and they will eventually be under farings. A rear
solar panel "wing" is behind rear passenger, and a small roof held up by 4
posts is above both passengers. Eventually glazing will surround them, but
for now it is quite open to the elements.
Body Steel Tube Frame, Fiberglass/Kevlar body
Batteries 12-Volt, Powersonic sealed lead-acid, 120 Volts, 8 kWh
Motor Solectria AC induction, 28 HP
Controller Solectria AC-300
Solar Panel 268 W, Solartex, Monocrystalline
`Sol Survivor III' climbed Mt. Washington, so someday they will make the
attempt in SSIV; in June to be exact.
SSIII had outboard solar panels that, according to NESEA Tour rules
could be used at stops as long as they were carried in the vehicle. SSIV
should also get the same, but doesn't have them yet.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Electrobike'
Chris Martin is the President of BAT `Electrobike' (52) in Rome NY. The
company is part of a "business incubation" center in Rome run by James Dunn.
I spoke with both of them. BAT is the company we know from the west coast,
both for "BAT Juice" and BAT electric vehicles.
The bike is built on a Raleigh full suspension mountain bike frame.
The add a very powerful 36 volt Heinzmann (of Germany) DC brushed hub motor to
the rear wheel which then can drive the bike at about 20 mph without pedaling.
A twist throttle on the handle, much like a motorcycle has, allows variable
power settings. The batteries are 45 Volts of Nickel Cadmium totaling 1100
Wh.
The production bike is 60 pounds. In the race they had 2 22-pound
battery packs, plus another 10 pound battery for emergency, plus 7.5 pounds
for the motor, plus the weight of the bike. Having a full-suspension bike,
with both wheels on springs and dampers, makes the weight of the motor and
batteries transparent to the rider.
In the race, the rider pedals up to speed and then uses the
electricity to cruise, or help going up hills.
The bike is for sale, $1,699.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Bob Larsen, US DOE testing team
Bob Larsen is here with several colleagues from Argonne National Labs
performing tests on the cars. Many (most?) of the cars were put on a
dynomometer at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection Testing Lab in
Brooklyn NY sometime during the week before the race started. I caught Bob
who gave me some early impressions.
`Solectria Sunrise' (63) got 125 Watt-hours per mile on the dyno
running the Federal Highway Driving Cycle (FHDC). For the New York Light Duty
City Cycle and the Urban Driving Schedule, the `Solectria Force NHM' (4)
actually did better than the `Sunrise'. "That may have something to do with
the fact that the `Sunrise' is so light and efficient that the dyno setting
cannot go down low enough to accurately represent what is going on." They
both got on the order of 200 Wh/m on a very challenging city cycle without
much regen and lots of repeated, short acceleration.
The hybrids were also very interesting. One vehicle, `Viking 25' (25)
achieved California Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) standard, even without
using the electric motor much. "Most of the hybrids are not getting quite the
efficiency numbers we would have thought. It's probably because it is very
challenging to get a control strategy that is sophisticated enough to blend
two sources of power efficiently over a highly transient driving schedule."
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `OHM Ranger'
The `OHM Ranger' (number 88) is a Ford Ranger pickup truck converted by Neocon
Technologies of West Babylon NY for NYSEG. I spoke with Dave Shemmans from
Wavedriver Limited and Gus Sfakianos of Neocon.
Base Vehicle 1994 Ford Ranger
Batteries Electrosource Horizon, 324 Volts
Controller Wavedriver AC
Motor Indramat AC Induction, 30 kW continuous, 50 kW peak
Chargers onboard: Wavedriver, 10 kW Transformer/Rectifier
offboard: Lockheed/Martin, 10 kW, Transformerless
BADICHEQ battery management system
DC/DC Converter Wavedriver
Range about 100 miles
Speed 65 mph
The controller is made by Wavedriver, and is a combined drive and charging
system (although it is only being used as a driving system in the `OHM
Ranger'). "Normally you can put 3-phase AC into this unit and it becomes a
high-rate charger. Because 3-phase is not being used during the race, we are
just using it as a motor controller. [It delivers] 250 Amps per phase, at 75
kiloWatts, which is just short of 100 horsepower." The unit can work at up to
700 Volts dc.
The motor is made in Germany by Indramat. "It is very, very
efficient." The motor is mounted under the cabin, in what would normally be
the space occupied by the rear of the transmission. The motor is tied
directly to the drive shaft and is positioned for a balance that helps
preserve good handling.
Both the controller and the motor are liquid cooled through a
radiator, but some of the heat can be captured to heat the cab. "Liquid
cooling also allows the motor and controller to be smaller."
A separate DC/DC converter capable of 80 Amps at 13.8 Volts is also
made by Wavedriver. It is used to charge the auxiliary battery and provide
power for the accessories, lights, etc.
Wavedriver provided the electronics and motor to Neocon who installed
them in the Ranger. This is their first public exposure in the United States.
"We also have customers that connect our unit to the electric power grid and
use it to do power factor correction and harmonic compensation. Our unit lets
you control the power factor. You can have a power factor of one, or
compensate for other power factors that are not ideal."
When they drove the truck from West Babylon to New York City, they
were getting about 250 to 300 Watt-hours per mile.
More info: +44 1763 260777; gregm@wavedriver.co.uk
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Solectria Force' (JCP&L)
P. J. O'Donnell from JCP&L was pleased with his new `Solectria Force' (number
15) which they received a few weeks ago. It was second under the finish
banner on the first day.
It is running Interstate flooded lead-acid batteries. Normally their
Force uses Sonnenschein gel-cell batteries, which require no maintenance, but
they are not as energetic as flooded cell batteries and would have a harder
time making the longer legs of the race.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: More Snippets
Tom Hopper (the man I want to be when I grow up) is here with his bio-diesel
auxiliary power trailer. He > drove < his Hopper EV plus trailer hybrid to
New York City from Concord, New Hampshire. "It was great fun. It was raining
cats and dogs when we left and I would have probably given a lot of money for
a real good defroster. The windshield is Lexan, which has an affinity for
moisture that doesn't quit." He plans to replace the glazing with glass and
get a good defroster someday soon.
He has been using the "pure" EV all this fall going to school (the New
Hampshire Technical Institute, where he teaches) every day, rain or shine. He
used the data collected from those trips, which included turnpikes doing 70
mph and country roads doing 40. His average speed was 35 mph, his average
power consumption was 3.5 kW. He then designed the engine to give 3.5 kW at
its "sweet spot", which is at 2550 rpm. "It gives me energy so I can drive at
40 mph, steady state." The engine is manually controlled from the driver's
position.
Tom hopes to demonstrate that his 5 gallon tank can give him a 500
mile range. In fact he hopes to drive it back to Concord from Washington DC.
"I have no trailer, but I have confidence. I'll stay on the blue roads; more
scenic."
Since last year the motor has been changed from a Solectria GU motor
to a GT, "which has more torque, and the gear ratio has been changed so I have
more torque off the line and less high end speed," to pull the 300 pound
trailer.
And the exhaust smells like a restaurant. 10 to 20% of the fuel is
used Fry-o-lator oil. Yet he gets 127,000 BTUs per gallon out of it, and that
is what Diesel fuel is.
Finally, Tom has added a stereo radio/cassette, "mainly for
entertainment for everybody else." And because he is a kid at heart, which is
why he is still here.
- - - - - - - - - -
I met Scott Isgar of Staten Island at the 1994 American Tour de Sol, when we
went from New York City to Philadelphia. He entered his `Solar Deliver'
converted VW Vanagon, with large solar panel on the roof, that year and did
very well. He came to the New York City display to show off to his neighbors.
The batteries in `Solar Deliver' were about 24 hours old.
- - - - - - - - - -
Thomas Faul was in the race last year with the `Electra' from Skoda in
Hungary. He's sold about a dozen of those cars in the US, and, if I heard him
right, sold two while in New York City with us on display. He has been
trailering an `Electra' from stop to stop, showing it and giving people rides.
He now also is representing Wallingford AC Controls, which builds the
`trans-2' which was supposed to be in the race with a specially modified
version capable of the long distances. It just was not ready in time, so they
hope to display it in Washington DC.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Autocross and Acceleration Test Results
On Day 4, Thursday at Sandy Point State Park near Annapolis MD we had an
autocross event set up by the Washington Metropolitan Area Sports Car Clubs,
(I hope I have that right) and acceleration tests run by the Argonne National
Labs people. These are the results. "Cross" is the time in seconds to run
the course, which consisted of a short acceleration run into a slolem, right
turn, 3 off-set gates, a hard right turn, 1 1/2 revolutions around a skid-pad
circle (counter clockwise), another hard right turn, and then a short run to a
dead stop. Each team was given up to 4 attempts at the autocross, not
necessarily with the same driver each time. (Driver skill and experience in
autocross racing has a lot to do with the autocross results.)
The first list is in autocross event order. The second is in
acceleration test order.
DNF Did Not Finish; usually made errors driving the course.
Number Name Team Cross Accel
9 Neon Control car 35.763 11.158
31 Spyder Juice Solar Electric Spyder Juice 36.270 11.002
84 The Paradigm Team Paradigm 36.875
46 Utility EV PETC 37.426 11.302
GM Impact PrEView 37.559
32 Porsche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mountain Matadors 37.685 14.965
63 Solectria Sunrise NAVC / BECO / Solectria 38.270 13.197
17 Ford Ecostar Allegheny Power 38.371 12.785
72 Sungo NHTI Electric Car Team 39.223 15.421
33 Solar Bus Bridgewater Solar Works 39.395 16.403
4 Solectria Force NMH Solectria 39.660 14.034
15 Solectria Force JCP&L 39.884 14.709
48 Electric Lion Penn State SAE 41.077 14.584
81 VT Ani mul SL HEV Team of Virginia Tech 41.833 14.193
50 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC 41.899 15.694
26 Hyperion Team Hyperion, Wentworth IT 41.955 15.211
23 Viking 23 Western Washington University 42.042 13.053
25 Viking 25 Western Washington University 42.100 11.331
65 Electric Hare Wattsmen 42.216 17.136
54 Roadrunner Greenwich HS Solar Flair 42.427 17.549
43 KA1000 Polytech Chargers 42.533 16.066
44 SolarSaurus Rocky Hill High School 43.019 15.550
39 Sparky EV Moore - CEVA 43.434
34 State Power STAPPA/ALPA 43.545 14.330
88 OHM Ranger Neocon / NYSEG 43.725 16.537
94 Hopper EV Tom Hopper 43.746 12.908
83 Sol Survivor IV CONVAL Solar Car Team 44.675 15.013
74 Lightning Volt Parkland High School 45.278 17.821
82 Lectric Lion North Hunterdon High School 45.938 18.545
35 Kineticar CSERT - NVCTC 46.564 17.043
52 Electrobike CTC NEastAdvVehTecCtr 47.000
64 Proteus 1 Union College 47.002 15.816
12 Twike Technik & Design 47.573 17.529
14 Chrysler TE Van Met-Ed Penelec/JCP&L/GPU 48.897 17.004
79 54 Berkeley Team New England 49.646 15.086
38 Sparky 2 Wooster's Charge 107.863 16.856
66 Genesis I Genesis Team 121.000 17.517
93 Helios the Heron III Riverside School 219.000 50.233
7 Nordic Challenger EVermont/NAVC DNF 15.677
57 George the Geo FMRHS-Solar Electric Racing DNF 18.323
96 Project e- Mt Everett High School DNF 16.407
92 Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team 20.962
Number Name Team Cross Accel
31 Spyder Juice Solar Electric Spyder Juice 36.270 11.002
9 Neon Control car 35.763 11.158
46 Utility EV PETC 37.426 11.302
25 Viking 25 Western Washington University 42.100 11.331
17 Ford Ecostar Allegheny Power 38.371 12.785
94 Hopper EV Tom Hopper 43.746 12.908
23 Viking 23 Western Washington University 42.042 13.053
63 Solectria Sunrise NAVC / BECO / Solectria 38.270 13.197
4 Solectria Force NMH Solectria 39.660 14.034
81 VT Ani mul SL HEV Team of Virginia Tech 41.833 14.193
34 State Power STAPPA/ALPA 43.545 14.330
48 Electric Lion Penn State SAE 41.077 14.584
15 Solectria Force JCP&L 39.884 14.709
32 Porsche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mountain Matadors 37.685 14.965
83 Sol Survivor IV CONVAL Solar Car Team 44.675 15.013
79 54 Berkeley Team New England 49.646 15.086
26 Hyperion Team Hyperion, Wentworth IT 41.955 15.211
72 Sungo NHTI Electric Car Team 39.223 15.421
44 SolarSaurus Rocky Hill High School 43.019 15.550
7 Nordic Challenger EVermont/NAVC DNF 15.677
50 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC 41.899 15.694
64 Proteus 1 Union College 47.002 15.816
43 KA1000 Polytech Chargers 42.533 16.066
33 Solar Bus Bridgewater Solar Works 39.395 16.403
96 Project e- Mt Everett High School DNF 16.407
88 OHM Ranger Neocon / NYSEG 43.725 16.537
38 Sparky 2 Wooster's Charge 107.863 16.856
14 Chrysler TE Van Met-Ed Penelec/JCP&L/GPU 48.897 17.004
35 Kineticar CSERT - NVCTC 46.564 17.043
65 Electric Hare Wattsmen 42.216 17.136
66 Genesis I Genesis Team 121.000 17.517
12 Twike Technik & Design 47.573 17.529
54 Roadrunner Greenwich HS Solar Flair 42.427 17.549
74 Lightning Volt Parkland High School 45.278 17.821
57 George the Geo FMRHS-Solar Electric Racing DNF 18.323
82 Lectric Lion North Hunterdon High School 45.938 18.545
92 Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team 20.962
93 Helios the Heron III Riverside School 219.000 50.233
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Day 3 Snippets
Many of the NESEA Tour stops are accompanied with Junior Solar Sprint (JSS)
races, where students build solar powered model race cars that run along a
guide-wire. They are given kits that contain the solar panel and the motor,
but the rest is up to them. `The Sunchaser' was one such car, built by Tricia
Pogovelski and Meggie Pogovelski, sisters from Denville NJ who were at South
Hunterdon High School for a JSS event that was held after the big cars left.
Tricia and Meggie were here with their science club, as were many others from
schools all around Lambertville.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: May 16 Evening Race Summary
This report is based on the Race Summary I received at the closing ceremonies
on Friday afternoon. It is the best information I have at that moment and I
believe it to be the final results. (I am skipping the results from Thursday
morning; no time to type them up.)
I've also attached the Tour Miles and (Total Miles) numbers. (Total
Miles) is the distance actually traveled. Tour Miles is Total Miles minus
penalties for various reasons, including not being ready to start on time,
moving and safety violations, failure to be on display at the appointed times,
etc.
Tour miles determine pole position day-to-day a the winner of each
Category. Many other prizes are also awarded (more on them later).
X Did not show up or maybe out of the race
Y Dropped out of the race (my understanding)
Z Dropped out of the race, but displaying vehicle at stops
NAVC Production Category
Number Car Team Tour Miles
(Total Miles)
4 Solectria Force NMH Solectria 604.7
(609.7)
17 Ford Ecostar Allegheny Power 538.7
(543.7)
50 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC 388.6
(409.7)
34 State Power STAPPA/ALPA-Solectria Force / NiCd 385.5
(391.4)
7 Nordic Challenger EVermont/NAVC 383.3
(422.0)
15 Solectria Force JCP&L-running Lead-acid 382.2
(387.2)
12 Twike Technik & Design 316.7
(319.5)
14 Chrysler TE Van Met-Ed Penelec/JCP&L/GPU 286.2
(322.7)
US DOE Commuter Category
Number Car Team Tour Miles
(Total Miles)
63 Solectria Sunrise NAVC / BECO / Solectria 772.7
(810.5)
72 Sungo NHTI Electric Car Team 384.6
(393.6)
57 George the Geo FMRHS-Solar Electric Racing 382.3
(386.1)
32 Porsche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mountain Electric Matadors 378.6
(378.6)
88 OHM Ranger Neocon / NYSEG 361.4
(361.4)
31 Spyder Juice Solar Electric Spyder Juice 357.4
(362.5)
43 KA1000 Polytech Chargers 356.4
(361.4)
39 Sparky EV Moore - CEVA 344.2
(344.2)
35 Kineticar CSERT - NVCTC 342.3
(352.8)
42 Golden Gear Special RMAVTS - Golden Gear Racing 336.7
(336.7)
38 Sparky 2 Wooster's Charge 335.5
(345.3)
65 Electric Hare Wattsmen 331.7
(336.7)
66 Genesis I Genesis Team 328.1
(328.1)
33 Solar Bus Bridgewater Solar Works 324.1
(328.1)
46 Utility EV PETC 296.9
(332.5)
74 Lightning Volt Parkland High School 289.7
(324.7)
44 SolarSaurus Rocky Hill High School 159.8
(265.3)
82 Lectric Lion North Hunterdon High School 83.4
(241.1)
54 Roadrunner Greenwich High School Solar Flair 20.8
(287.4)
79 59 Berkeley Team New England -1.1
(210.6)
47 Electruck Taylor-Dunn -7.5
(171.0)
45Y Regenerative Braking Alternative Energy -230.7
( 63.6)
24X B-U-LLET Boston University SEV Team
2X Trans2-AC Wallingford AC, Inc
Solar Commuter Category
Number Car Team Tour Miles
(Total Miles)
83 Sol Survivor IV CONVAL Solar Car Team 93.0
(248.2)
58 Sol Machine Newburgh Free Academy -135.9
(149.0)
93 Helios the Heron III Riverside School -213.6
( 91.4)
36 Texas Native Sun Lonestar Solar Racing Team -313.1
( 38.9)
75X Commuter Car Villanova Univ. EV Team
Chrysler Hybrid Category
Number Car Team Tour Miles
(Total Miles)
94 Hopper EV Tom Hopper 471.1
(673.1)
96 Project e- Mt Everett High School 470.9
(505.3)
23 Viking 23 Western Washington University 427.9
(440.3)
48 Electric Lion Penn State SAE 366.9
(382.1)
81 VT Ani mul SL HEV Team of Virginia Tech 288.4
(318.4)
26 Hyperion Team Hyperion, Wentworth Inst of Tech 251.8
(304.1)
84 The Paradigm Team Paradigm, University of Wisconsin 240.3
(340.9)
25 Viking 25 Western Washington University 81.7
(229.3)
28 Hybrid Lumina Clarence Ellers -248.3
( 71.3)
19Z HEV U Florida Univ of FL HEV Society -274.9
( 78.0)
21Z Hy Potential IV University of Tennessee
Open Category
Number Car Team Tour Miles
(Total Miles)
92 Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team 257.8
(322.7)
64 Proteus 1 Union College 83.8
(262.6)
52 Electrobike CTC NEastAdvVehTecCtr 81.8
(276.5)
37 Ottawa Orange IV Tech Prep 43.3
(246.2)
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Ford Ecostar'
Don Morchesky from Allegheny Power in Greensburg PA is with the `Ford Ecostar'
(number 17). It was first under the banner at the end of the first leg. He
made a point of the fact that they are not here necessarily to win, but rather
to show Ford's long commitment to EV development and the capabilities of the
Sodium Sulfur battery technology.
Base Vehicle 1993 Ford (European delivery van)
Solar Array Ford Glass, 32 cells
Batteries ABB Sodium Sulfur, 30 kWh
Motor GE AC Induction, 30 kW continuous, 56 kW peak
Controller Ford
Charger onboard: Ford, 5.7 kW
Tires Firestone Concept EVT
The mission for Allegheny Power, when they took the lease program with Ford,
was to use the EV for both public relations and testing. This Ecostar now has
about 20,000 miles on it. It is used by meter readers day-in and day-out in
between publicity events. It even has a few dents and dings to prove it.
They added large windows in the payload area, at the request of the day-to-day
users.
Ford has decided that they are not going to continue with the sodium
sulfur batteries in their EVs, because of the problems associated with the
high temperatures they require. In fact, Don said, they had a battery pack
``freeze'' on them because the control logic on the battery maintenance
controller was made much less forgiving after some early problems with
overheating cells. The result was that the slightest anomaly would cause the
pack to head for freeze mode. Don said that last August they did have the
first battery freeze, but they have had no problems with the one they got as a
replacement. The frozen battery can be reconditioned, but that is an off-
board operation.
Don did not know what the fate of their Ecostar would be. He felt it
would make an ideal vehicle for his mission, even with a less energetic
battery. (We agreed that engineers are often unable to understand the minds
of marketers.)
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Efficiency Awards
The daily efficiency awards went like this:
Day 1:
NAVC Production Category 7 EVermont 130 Wh/mile
US DOE Commuter Category 63 Sunrise 120 Wh/mile
Chrysler Hybrid Category 84 The Paradigm 228 Wh/mile
Open Category 92 Sunpacer 154 Wh/mile
Day 2:
NAVC Production Category 12 Twike 68 Wh/mile
US DOE Commuter Category 63 Sunrise 103 Wh/mile
Chrysler Hybrid Category 84 The Paradigm 387 Wh/mile
Open Category 92 Sunpacer 90 Wh/mile
Day 3:
NAVC Production Category 12 Twike 68 Wh/mile
US DOE Commuter Category 63 Sunrise 89 Wh/mile
Chrysler Hybrid Category 84 The Paradigm 237 Wh/mile
Open Category 92 Sunpacer 80 Wh/mile
Day 4:
NAVC Production Category 12 Twike 68 Wh/mile
US DOE Commuter Category 72 Sungo 113.6 Wh/mile
Chrysler Hybrid Category 84 The Paradigm 241 Wh/mile
Open Category 92 Sunpacer 81.8 Wh/mile
Overall 4 Day Efficiencies
NAVC Production Category Overall
Number Car Team Wh/mile
12 Twike Technik & Design 66
7 Nordic Challenger EVermont/NAVC 111
15 Solectria Force JCP&L 122
50 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC 138
4 Solectria Force NMH Solectria 165
14 Chrysler TE Van Met-Ed Penelec/JCP&L/GPU -
17 Ford Ecostar Allegheny Power -
34 State Power STAPPA/ALPA -
US DOE Commuter Category Overall
Number Car Team Wh/mile
72 Sungo NHTI Electric Car Team 114
63 Solectria Sunrise NAVC / BECO / Solectria 135
31 Spyder Juice Solar Electric Spyder Juice 156
43 KA1000 Polytech Chargers 158
32 Porsche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mountain Electric Matadors 167
65 Electric Hare Wattsmen 170
39 Sparky EV Moore - CEVA 198
42 Golden Gear Special RMAVTS - Golden Gear Racing 206
38 Sparky 2 Wooster's Charge 209
54 Roadrunner Greenwich High School Solar Flair 214
46 Utility EV PETC 226
88 OHM Ranger Neocon / NYSEG 235
35 Kineticar CSERT - NVCTC 255
66 Genesis I Genesis Team 256
74 Lightning Volt Parkland High School 258
33 Solar Bus Bridgewater Solar Works 301
44 SolarSaurus Rocky Hill High School -
47 Electruck Taylor-Dunn -
57 George the Geo FMRHS-Solar Electric Racing -
79 54 Berkeley Team New England -
82 Lectric Lion North Hunterdon High School -
Solar Commuter Category Overall
Number Car Team Wh/mile
83 Sol Survivor IV CONVAL Solar Car Team 104
36 Texas Native Sun Lonestar Solar Racing Team -
58 Sol Machine Newburgh Free Academy -
93 Helios the Heron III Riverside School -
Open Category Overall
Number Car Team Wh/mile
92 Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team 82
37 Ottawa Orange IV Tech Prep -
52 Electrobike CTC NEastAdvVehTecCtr -
64 Proteus 1 Union College -
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Prizes at the Closing Ceremonies
These are awards that are given within each of the Categories.
Z Dropped out of the race, but displaying vehicle at stops
The NAVC presented the awards in the category it sponsored. Nancy Hazard
presented the awards on behalf of Sheila Lynch of NAVC. NAVC Production
Category
Number Car Team
4 Solectria Force NMH Solectria
<> Best Sedan using Advanced Energy Systems
James Worden dedicated this prize to the memory of Craig Douglas
of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
<> 1st Place, Range, using Advanced Energy Systems
<> Autocross Prize
7 Nordic Challenger EVermont/NAVC
<> 3-way tie: 1st Place, Range, using Lead-Acid Batteries
12 Twike Technik & Design
<> Best 3-wheeler
15 Solectria Force JCP&L
<> 3-way tie: 1st Place, Range, using Lead-Acid Batteries
17 Ford Ecostar Allegheny Power
<> Best Utility Vehicle using Advanced Energy Systems
<> Autocross Prize
50 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC
<> Best Sedan using Lead-Acid Batteries
<> 3-way tie: 1st Place, Range, using Lead-Acid Batteries
The US Department of Energy gave prizes in the category it sponsored. Richard
Moore, a Department Director at DOE presented the awards.
US DOE Commuter Category
Number Car Team
31 Spyder Juice Solar Electric Spyder Juice
<> Autocross Prize
32 Porsche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mountain Electric Matadors
<> 3rd Place, Student-built Vehicle
<> 3-way tie: 1st Place, Range, Commuter Category
35 Kineticar CSERT - NVCTC
<> 5th Place, Student-built Vehicle
43 KA1000 Polytech Chargers
<> 4th Place, Student-built Vehicle
46 Utility EV PETC
<> Autocross Prize
57 George the Geo FMRHS-Solar Electric Racing
<> 2nd Place, Student-built Vehicle
<> 3-way tie: 1st Place, Range, Commuter Category
63 Solectria Sunrise NAVC / BECO / Solectria
<> Best Vehicle
<> Best Sedan running on Advanced Energy Systems
<> 1st Place, Range, using Advanced Energy Systems, US DOE Commuter
Category
72 Sungo NHTI Electric Car Team
<> Best Sedan running Lead-Acid Batteries
<> 1st Place, Student-built Vehicle
<> 3-way tie: 1st Place, Range, Commuter Category
88 OHM Ranger Neocon / NYSEG
<> Best Utility Vehicle running Lead-Acid Batteries
Solar Commuter Category
Number Car Team
83 Sol Survivor IV CONVAL Solar Car Team
<> 1st Place, Tour Miles
<> Best Solar Fraction, 31%
<> Autocross Prize
Chrysler Corporation, as the sponsor of this category, created some of the
special categories, such as those prizes for Neon conversions. Doug Teague
(sp?) of Chrysler made the presentations.
Chrysler Hybrid Category
Number Car Team
19Z HEV U Florida Univ of FL HEV Society
<> 3rd Place Neon HEV
21Z Hy Potential IV University of Tennessee
<> 2nd Place Neon HEV
23 Viking 23 Western Washington University
<> 3rd Place, Tour Miles
25 Viking 25 Western Washington University
<> Best Neon HEV
<> Best Neon HEV Range
<> Best Neon HEV Consumer Acceptability
<> Best Neon HEV Overall Design
26 Hyperion Team Hyperion, Wentworth Inst. of Tech.
<> Best Customer Acceptability
48 Electric Lion Penn State SAE
<> 4th Place, Tour Miles
81 VT Ani mul SL HEV Team of Virginia Tech
<> 2nd Place, Tour Miles
<> Lowest HEV Emissions
84 The Paradigm Team Paradigm, University of Wisconsin
<> Best Efficiency
<> 1st Place, Tour Miles
<> Best Energy Economy Overall
<> Autocross Prize
94 Hopper EV Tom Hopper
<> Best Overall Hybrid, 1 person
<> 1st Place, Range, Hybrid Category
96 Project e- Mt Everett High School
<> Best Overall Hybrid, 2 person
<> 5th Place, Tour Miles
Open Category
Number Car Team
52 Electrobike CTC NEastAdvVehTecCtr
<> Best Overall Open Category, 2 wheels
<> Autocross Prize
92 Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team
<> Best Overall Open Category, 3 or 4 wheels
<> 1st Place, Student-built Vehicle, 3 or 4 Wheels
<> 1st Place, Range, Open Category
Peter Barnes, representing the board of directors of the national Electric
Automobile Association, presented the "1996 Keith Crock Award for Outstanding
Achievement" to James Worden of Solectria.
A set of safety awards will be given at a future time.
Rob Wills announced several non-trophied prizes:
"The I-Couldn't-Have-Done-It-Without-You Award"
to 66 `Genesis I' for loaning parts, controllers, and
expertise to the teams and even repairing the car of one
of the support staff.
"The Powers-That-Be Education Award"
to 34 `State Power' for giving many VIP rides at the expense
of race points.
"The Teaching the Next Generation of EV Enthusiasts Award"
to 93 `Helios the Heron' for enthusiastic explanations given
to children who came to the displays.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: The race is over, but the reports are not.
First, my thanks to the many of you that have sent greetings and suggestions
my way during the NESEA Tour, and those that stopped by to say "Hi -- I've
been reading ..." I would have loved to have more time to chat, but as you
may have sensed, the race is a huge effort made possible by many folks staying
focused on getting their part done.
And my part is not done yet.
There are more hours of tape of interviews coming. I will attempt to finish
them before this week is out, so please stay tuned.
Mike Bianchi
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Day 2 Snippets
Bits and pieces recorded Monday morning in Lambertville NJ.
`Proteus I' (64) was only able to make 50 miles of the 63 mile leg, which was
less than expected. They suspected that the drive belt to the rear wheel
might be too tight and the front end might not be quite aligned.
And the stop and go traffic in NYC and Newark probably added up to 25
traffic lights, which also took a toll.
- - - - - - - - - -
Jim Mailin with `Roadrunner' (54) told me that they broke down after only 5
miles. "The coil springs in the back, when the mechanic fixed them I guess he
did them a little bit wrong, and somehow with the bouncing the drive shaft
fell right out" and then pushed the rear end back and ripped off part of the
suspension. They were going to try to get it repaired.
This is a double shame since they drove it from Greenwich CT to NYC
for the race, demonstrating that it is a usable car.
- - - - - - - - - -
The `Electrobike' (52) made it all the way through, but the team was a little
bit concerned that it was at freezing last night and that might affect the
charge they got. NiCad batteries are relatively temperature insensitive, but
it was going to be a challenging course to Boyertown.
- - - - - - - - - -
Every year I've been at the race the team with `Genesis I' (66), Mark Parthe
and Brad Notter, have served above and beyond the call of duty and good
sportsmanship by helping out other teams in trouble. (They are by no means
the only helpful team; generosity is very evident here).
By Tuesday morning they had already helped "one guy with blown fuses
and chargers, one school that just wasn't ready, and a lot of little
miscellaneous stuff, but not near what it was last year. Even `Helios' was
working. They had a couple of bugs, but we got them fixed up."
`Genesis I' did not do as great as it did last year. The cold and the
wind in the city affected the ability to take charge. They were able to drive
under the finish banner, if slowly.
The age of the batteries is starting to show. Last year the pack
delivered 24 kiloWatt-hours. This first day they saw 20.
Mark uses the truck every day to drive 22 miles back and forth to
work, for shopping and for service calls. It is used all summer long until
the snow falls.
Will there be a `Genesis II' someday? "We've been thinking about it.
100 miles (per charge) is pretty good in a home-built, and I didn't loose it
in the divorce. For now this is fine." Mark is waiting for the better
batteries before he tackles another project.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Tails from the Charging Trailer"
Think about it. You have 49 electric cars that all want to be charged each
night after running a minimum of 60 miles the previous day. Some want 120
Volts ac, others want 208 Vac, others want 220 V. When they first plug in,
they all are sucking very hard on those extension cords. And if they have
chargers with poor power factor (that is, with very inductive loads) or poor
power quality (that is, non-sinusoidal current loads with lots of spikes and
harmonics) the circuit breakers can get quite warm, or even hot. The
`Electrobike' (52) team actually had an infrared camera that let us look at
the breakers and we could see the hot ones. (I think I heard someone saying
that one was running about 130 degrees F.)
Ron Lessard (le Sard) is one of the tenders of the charging trailer.
He and his team must cable the electric panels on the trailer into a 400 Amp
or larger, 3-phase circuit each afternoon, be ready to plug all the cars in
about 7 pm, monitor the charging for problems (which often takes them until
midnight or beyond), unplug the cars, disconnect the trailer, drive to the
next site, and do it all again.
This is Ron's first NESEA Tour and Friday night in New York City he
was completely by himself. Talk about your learning-under-fire exercise.
Saturday night, Bob Goodrich came down from Waterbury CT (despite having had a
heart attach 6 months ago and a more recent problem) to help out.
They are collecting data on power consumption and on current waveform
harmonics. These will be written up in technical papers that will be
presented at the NESEA Sustainable Transportation/Solar and Electric Vehicles
Conference September 16-18, 1996, at Madison Square Garden, NYC. Contact
NESEA for details.
= = = = = = = = = =
Monday afternoon snippets from Boyertown PA:
`Helios the Heron III' (93) covered 39.1 miles under its own power on Monday,
on the Lambertville NJ to Boyertown PA leg, a personal best. Last year its
longest run was 16 miles.
To my surprise, they didn't run out of energy. The chain came off the
wheel sprocket a couple of times. The idler doesn't have enough tension to
keep the chain taught when the rear wheel bumps too much. They then had
problems with not being able to accelerate. They may have blown their
controller.
For the first time, the students of the Riverside School that built
the car can actually ride in it during the race. They serve the roles of
navigator and time keeper. Dan Wilson, a 6th grader, got the honor on Monday.
"He was excellent at navigating. He had everything right where we were
supposed to be," said Karen Budde, the teacher/driver.
- - - - - - - - - -
`Roadrunner' (54) looked very much out of it Sunday night, with a broken drive
shaft and messed up rear end. They still looked like they might be out of the
race this morning. But that was not the end of it.
Christian Anderson told me that by Monday morning they managed to get
the parts they needed, get things pretty much back to normal and were able to
drive the entire Lambertville to Boyertown leg. (The NESEA Tour rules allow
for such cases. After they got things fixed, they recorded their start time,
drove the course, got a finish time, and took a "not ready at post time"
penalty.)
- - - - - - - - - -
Noah Williams with `Ottawa Orange IV' (37) told me they started out good from
Lambertville, ran fine most of the way, but ran out of juice. They stopped to
solar charge and went a little further, but had to trailer it in at about 40
miles. "For what it is, I think it did pretty good. We are getting ready to
change the gear ratio" to be more appropriate for the next leg.
- - - - - - - - - -
The driver's manual that NESEA provides includes an elevation chart showing
feet Above Sea Level (ASL) along each leg's route. For example, Sunday we
went from sea level to 400 feet ASL, with one 14 mile stretch rising about 300
feet. Monday took us from 400 feet, down to 100, up to 700 and back down to
400 ASL.
- - - - - - - - - -
Clarence Ellers' `Hybrid Lumina' (28) was only able to make 5 miles of the leg
on Day 2. "I couldn't see any point to driving it only on gasoline and saying
I drove 50 miles on 2 gallons of gas." Why not? Isn't that the point of a
hybrid? "No. The point of a hybrid is to double the mileage and this vehicle
can do it. But both systems have to be working."
So how come the vehicle didn't get charged? "I got there at 2 o'clock
in the morning. One of my batteries blew up, it took a couple of hours to get
that fixed. Then my chase car driver got lost," and took 5 hours to find the
Lumina. Just why the battery failed is not clear but because the blocks are
wired in parallel pairs the one failure took out its mate. It turns out the
spare was already mounted in the vehicle and the substitution was simply a
matter of moving wires.
"The sweep crew that comes to pick up the signs (along the course to
help direct the drivers) came by and rescued me. They were so nice and so
good at what they were doing."
- - - - - - - - - -
`Proteus I' (64) did not make it all the way, due to a charging problem last
night, but felt the performance of the car was pretty good. One of the team
is rewiring the charger to load on more Amp-hours tonight. They did 40 out of
51 miles.
They found the car drove very nicely. "It is very stable for how
small it is on the road. Our top speed today was 50 miles per hour and I felt
comfortable at 50."
- - - - - - - - - -
`Electruck' (47) had no problem on Monday, but did have difficulty on Sunday
and don't know why. They didn't run out of juice, but had some kind of glitch
in the controller, possibly due to overheating. Today they ran with the cover
off the controller box and did fine. The faring over the rear of the truck
kept fingers at a safe distance.
Taylor-Dunn is providing the passenger cars for the 70 electric people
movers that will be used in the Atlanta Olympics. Tug Manufacturing Company
is making the tugs that pull them. (More on the tugs in a later report.)
- - - - - - - - - -
Ed Witkin's `Solar Bus' (33) made it to the finish line again today. One of
Ed's two kids rides in the passenger seat, but they have to also carry the dog
with the smaller one to meet the weight requirement for two passengers. (170
pounds each, as I recall.) "This is definitely the farthest the bus has ever
gone."
- - - - - - - - - -
`Electric Hare' (65) did very well at the beginning, but then "our 12 Volt
battery seems to have some problem." While doing an extra lap the contactors
wouldn't close. The problem seemed to be intermittent.
- - - - - - - - - -
`George the Geo' (57) didn't do as well has they hoped to do. "We got a bad
charge today and we lost two lights (I presume they mean on their state-of-
charge meter) on our trailer pack right off, but we got in two extra laps."
- - - - - - - - - -
`Golden Gear Special' (42) did well. "Today we used 12.3 kWh, and yesterday
we used 16.5 and we had plenty left." They made good time from Lambertville,
moving up through the pack and came in among the Production Category vehicles.
"We have a lot of weight at 3600 pounds, but we seem to have the power that we
need and the efficiency of the motors, and it seems to be working pretty
decent," said Tom Mohn.
- - - - - - - - - -
`Sol Survivor IV' (83) made 46 miles out of the 51 mile leg. Other than that
it did very well. But they got pulled over by the cops for obstructing
traffic and also had a flat.
- - - - - - - - - -
I've observed that most everyone has a very positive attitude about the NESEA
Tour. When I ask, "how did you do?" I often get, "very well," and then they
tell me about their problems, how they intend to fix them, and how well they
intend to do tomorrow. More detailed examples will be in later reports.
- - - - - - - - - -
Thomas Faul last year was running a Skoda `Electra' in the race, and this year
he is bringing one from site to site demonstrating it and giving rides. He is
also selling them. He sold the one he is displaying in New York City on
Sunday at the display and will deliver it right after the NESEA Tour.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `Sol Machine'
I spoke with Joseph Bonura, Mario DeMarco, and Mike Bayer of the Newburgh Free
Academy's `Sol Machine' (number 58) racing in the Solar Commuter Category.
NFA is a public high school in Newburgh NY that started building the car about
3 years ago and finished about 4 months ago. This is their first race.
Base Vehicle Purpose Built, aluminum and Lexan frame and body
Solar Array 840 W, Siemans/ARCO, Single Crystal,
Solectria peak power tracker
Batteries 6 Concord, lead-acid, 1,764 Wh, 72 Volts
Motor Advanced DC, 4 hp continuous, 11 hp peak
Controller Curtis 1221-C
Charger offboard: 3 West Marine, 120 V, high frequency
The car has rack-and-pinion steering tied to a front end off an All Terrain
Vehicle (ATV). The rear end is off a Honda motorcycle. The frame is custom
built, made from aluminum that the students welded.
They have an impressive data collection system that "measures
acceleration, ground clearance, temperature, wind resistance and other
parameters."
Each battery is charged separately by a smart charger; "we don't want
to ruin them."
The first day they didn't get half the charge they needed, since "we
had 40 Amp chargers and were plugged into 20 Amp lines. We didn't get half as
far as we thought we would." The expected to do well on the 2nd day since the
charging was all worked out.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Bob Larson on Efficiency
The US Department of Energy has Argonne National Labs measure the efficiency
of many of the vehicles in the NESEA Tour.
On Tuesday morning, Day 3 of driving, I caught up with Bob Larson of Argonne
and we discussed what he was seeing in the testing data.
The first efficiency results from the hybrid vehicles is about what they
expected but not as good as they hoped. For example, they saw the University
of Wisconsin car, `The Paradigm' (84), get about 250 Watt-hours per mile
(Wh/m) combined electricity and fuel on a series hybrid running a relatively
small engine on reformulated gasoline (RFG). "They ran about 5 or 6 hours
without a hiccup on the dynomometer giving us complete city and highway, and
all kinds of cycle results."
The gasoline control vehicle took a little over 300 Wh/m to travel the
Day 2 course, which was more country but with some significant hills. The
`Sunrise' (63) and the `Sunpacer' (92) were getting 110 to 115 Wh/m. It is
very interesting that a high school team is turning in such impressive
numbers, even though it isn't up to the same level of consumer acceptability
as a production-grade car. That whole mind set of attention to detail and
minimizing your losses where ever they are really pays off.
During the dyno testing in NYC the Western Washington University Neon,
`Viking 25' (25), achieved California Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV)
standards running Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel in a parallel-hybrid
configuration.
Also from the dyno testing, "one result that sticks out in my mind is
the comparison of the Neon gasoline control car (number 9), a hybrid, which I
think was Wisconsin (84), and the `Solectria Force NMH' (4) on the New York
City driving cycle. This cycle simulates congested city driving with lots of
idling and relatively low speeds, and so on. The gasoline Neon got less than
12 miles per gallon, even though it is a pretty efficient car. The best
hybrid got approximately twice that at 22 to 23 miles per gallon, and the
Force NMH got the equivalent of 60 mpg. That is the kind of increase in
efficiency that shows that in urban settings EVs make one whale of a lot of
sense, and also the concerns of range are not as much of an issue."
Another group in Argonne's Center for Transportation Research did a
modeling study that showed that if we could replace 12,000 vehicles in the
center of Chicago, where the Argonne lab is, that would reduce the air
pollution by an amount equal to the pollution output of all the industries
within the city limits. "The point is that there is a highly disproportionate
emissions benefit to replacing Internal Combustion Engine vehicles in cities
with EVs. If we could work on electric or even hybrid buses (and other high
emitters) that could give big, big benefits."
I asked Bob why the hybrids do not get the 80 mpg equivalents that we
read about in the theoretical papers. "Hybrids are hard. First, there is a
lot of additional mass in the vehicle. Most have to carry around battery
packs that, even in the small ones, are like 300 to 400 pounds. We often see
700 to 800 pounds and a couple are even 1000 or more. So that's everything an
EV has, and then they also need an engine, generator and fuel system. There
are not any really good small displacement engines for hybrids. Those we see
here are industrial, or tractor, or Geo Metro engines that are not really
designed for efficiency."
I also noted that the hybrids here have all picked an exotic fuel:
CNG, Ethanol-85, Propane, or RFG. Why not just stick to gasoline which is
widely available and burn it in an engine tuned to the teeth?
"We are to a large part responsible for that," Bob said. "We are
pushing the schools to use alternative fuels as a way to turn the corner on
oil dependency.
"You have to understand that these are mostly schools doing this,
often as extra-curricular activities (with only occasional class credit).
They are also trying to graduate, get a job, and keep their lives going.
Really doing a very good calibration of an engine is an activity that takes
thousands of person-hours of work," for the car companies even with
sophisticated equipment and facilities. It just takes time to run things
through all the variations of high and low throttle, high and low temperature,
high and low altitude conditions, change something, and then do it all again.
"The schools have a hard time getting a power train to the same level of
refinement," especially when they are trying something off the beaten track.
"And it is not at all obvious how to design a hybrid. Should it be a
series or parallel hybrid? Should the electric motor only assist on
acceleration? Should they provide the average power or peak power? And
managing the energy flow through the vehicle is a sophisticated problem. One
of our best schools is struggling with a control system that has 80 inputs."
Does a car starting up a hill get the extra energy from the batteries? The
engine driving the wheels? The engine driving the generator? A combination?
"This is emerging technology. No one knows the best way. We are smarter than
we were 3 or 4 years ago, but it is a mind-boggling type of exercise." And
then there is a lot to be said for understandability, simplicity and elegance.
The schools are discovering that complexity makes it harder to get it to run
right.
The DOE is also funding each of the Detroit Big-3 to go down a
different path for hybrids, and the international companies are also trying
lots of different things.
And the current technology presents a pretty high bar to clear. "The
gasoline control Neon gets at least 30 mpg (highway) and weighs 2800 pounds.
The hybrids are weighing 4000+ pounds and have to overcome that just to
start."
We also have a couple of personal projects. Tom Hopper's `Hopper EV'
(94) runs on soybean oil and Clarence Ellers' `Hybrid Lumina' (28) has a
patented parallel design.
"Tom's strategy is provide the average power from the generator, so he
can often avoid sending the power through the batteries and those losses. His
hand operated throttle lets him do that, but it won't be the sort of thing
that most people will want to deal with." Tom thinks he can make the entire
route without refueling. They put a line on Tom's tank and will refuel him at
the end of the race. Between that and the on-board data collection of energy
taken from the battery pack, etc, they hope to get some idea of where the
energy comes from and goes. "I don't think he'll get the 100 mpg he is
claiming on the trailer, but I wouldn't be surprised he gets about 50, and if
we could get every car to get 50 mpg we would be a hell of a lot better off
than we are now."
There are some bio-diesel demonstrations in Chicago right now. They
are trying to break the oxides-of-nitrogen (NOx)/particulate (smoke) tradeoff
that diesel fueled engines currently force on us. Since diesel engines are
the backbone of much of our economy, bio-diesel might be a way to make them
clean and sustainable.
Bob knew less about Clarence's approach, but the goal of no driver
input to the balance between ICE and EV operation is certainly what most
people will want.
I asked about the Volvo hybrid that had a turbine engine that ran on
diesel fuel, and was said to deliver 50 to 60 mpg and yet was very clean.
"They claimed that they could meet ULEV emissions on that. One of the
great advantages of a turbine or a Sterling is that they are an external
combustion engine (ECE) and the burn is continuous." (ICEs run on a constant
series of explosions.) You can use an ECE in a series hybrid where the engine
is decoupled from the road and does not have to respond to instantaneous power
needs, where the energy losses and pollution generation are most severe. It
can instead generate power to meet the average need.
"Corporations are asking themselves if it is a reasonable business
decision to spend the millions of dollars to tool up for a whole new engine
drive train." Turbines will probably have to use ceramic components to get
high efficiency. They will be smoother and cleaner and compact, but it is a
whole new technology with associated risks when you go into mass production.
People who depend on their vehicles, long-haul trucking for example,
are very risk adverse, so something new not only has to save them fuel costs
and be cleaner, but they have to be utterly reliable. And they want a short
term pay back -- and that just isn't there right now.
But that is the challenge. "We have to find a way to make it good for
businesses and good for the environment and good for the economy. We starting
with fleet vehicles like buses. We also have a program looking at putting a
much smaller diesel engine in a hybrid dump truck prototype."
"I see the types of vehicles in the next few Tour de Sol being
somewhat different. I see more mass transit vehicles and more specialized
vehicles. Maybe we'll see the very innovative, ultra-clean, hybrid taxicab
that New York State is funding. Maybe we'll see a hybrid dump truck cruising
the back roads of Pennsylvania."
(Coming to the Pottstown site I was following a tandem dump truck
putting out a sizable diesel cloud.)
As Bob concluded, "It may not be as glamorous as the `Solectria
Sunrise' but it all counts when gets back to the well-head or forward to our
lungs; either end."
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Team Profile - `The Paradigm'
The University of Wisconsin at Madison is here with their series hybrid EV
called `The Paradigm' (84), aka "The Electric Cow". I spoke with Ted Bohn who
is the team captain.
Base Vehicle 1992 Ford Escort Wagon LX
Batteries 30 Johnson Controls UPS-1295,
360 Volts, 6.5 kWh, 780 pounds,
Motor Baldor Electric, AC induction, 3-phase, 2-pole,
200 Vac, air-cooled, 8000 rpm
18.6 kW (25 hp) continuous, 74.6 kW (100 hp) peak
Controller Indramat, 55.6 kW (75 hp), 202 Amps maximum
Engine Kolher, 725 cc, V-Twin, OHV, air-cooled,
port fuel injection, 18 kW (25 hp) @ 3600 rpm,
Bosch closed-loop fuel injection, 2 heated catalysts
Fuel Reformulated Gasoline (RFG), 38 liters, 10 gallons
(RFG: oxygenated gas with benzene, etc. removed)
Generator Fisher permanent magnet AC alternator,
390 Vac @ 3600 rpm, 15 kW
Transaxle Single speed, 6.6:1, front wheel drive,
Ford transmission stripped down to just 2nd gear
It was originally built in 1993 to run in the College Hybrid Challenge (CHC)
run by Ford. It raced in the CHC in '93, '94 and '95. "It was built by
undergraduates, about 50 per semester for the past 8 semesters, so a lot of
students have gotten a lot of learning out of the vehicle." It has 4500 miles
on it now, and on Monday it lost a coupler which wore out. (More on that
story below.) The data sheet claims:
Top Speed 80 mph
0-40 mph 8 seconds
City Fuel Economy 50 mpg
Highway Fuel Economy 35 mpg
Range EV mode 30 miles
HEV mode 400 miles
Weight 3450 pounds
Component Cost ~$30,000
It won the NESEA Tour Hybrid Vehicle Efficiency award on all 4 days it was
given.
In the most efficient mode the engine/generator set sends power
directly to the controller and motor, by-passing the batteries. The 15 kW
output of the generator is enough to run the car down the highway at 55 to 60
mph.
In HEV mode, all power management is controlled by a computer that
automatically starts the engine when battery voltage reaches a minimum, runs
the engine at full power to recharge, and shuts off when the batteries are
full. "It can be strange when driving through the city," Ted told me. "You
might not hear anything while driving and then, while sitting at a stop light,
the engine just roars! While in Manhattan, we were stopped and a guy shots
`Hey buddy, your engine is a idling a little high.' I said, `Oh, I'm sorry,'
and turned it off. Then the light changed and we drove away without making a
sound. `That is > so < cool!'"
Now for the story. On Monday they were driving down a hill and they
hear knocka-knocka-knocka-ROAAAARRR! The ROAR was when the spline on the
coupling from the motor to the transaxle tore out all the teeth. Olaf Bleck
of Team New England happens to be nearby and says, "Think really hard before
you put your car on the trailer. The penalties for trailering are pretty
severe."
"Fortunately we didn't give up too soon," said Ted. Instead, some
miracles happened.
Miracle number one: They were at the top of the hill when all this
happened.
Miracle number two: At the bottom of the hill is Histands, a truck
dealership of Doylestown PA. "Yes, you can borrow our cherry-picker to pull
out your drive train." So they lend the team tools, rags and everything. "By
the way I know someone at Zenco Machine Tool Company (also of Doylestown)."
The manager of Zenco says, "All my guys are busy; I will do it personally." He
likes the concept of the car so much that he makes the part personally;
charges $130 for 4 hours of labor. We go to a Ford dealership, buy an Escort
clutch, strip out the center coupler by drilling out the rivets, turn it down
on a lathe, reassemble the transaxle to the motor, put the motor and transaxle
back in the car, get it all lubed and adjusted, drove it down the highway and
were back at the race by 9 pm.
On top of all that, the guy at Histands looked up the web pages for
the Tour de Sol and Team Paradigm while the team was working on their car.
Both Histands an Zenco instantly got sponsorship decals on the car.
More info: vehicle@cae.wisc.edu
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/~vehicle
608 265-3204
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Snippets and Miracles and Protest
From Tuesday night and Wednesday morning ...
Poor Bill Glickman. No sooner does he get his controller for `Regenerative
Braking' (45) replaced with a loaner from Mark Parthe of `Genesis I' (66) than
his brand new, $2000 motor fries. "I had it all connected up, so I try to run
it in neutral. 25 Amps; looks good. So I try 50 Amps; looks good again.
So I try 100 Amps and the motor blows up! I'm getting a good night's sleep
and going home."
(I wonder if Bill was so sleepy after working on replacing his
controller that he forgot the dangers of overreving a motor with a wound
rotating armature. If rotating too fast, the centrifugal force causes the
windings to expand and hit the stator, usually with spectacular and disastrous
results.)
- - - - - - - - - -
"So `Helios the Heron III' (93) is on a trailer, being towed to the airport to
do a parent swap on Monday evening," Karen Budde is telling me. "We blow a
tire on the trailer at 9 pm. It is one of those dinky little tires. So we go
into Sears and the guy says, `You got to be joking. Maybe, maybe you can find
one someplace in town.' So we decide to drive on 3 wheels. But the Suburban
that was towing the trailer and was sitting there with its flashers going has
died! The battery is dead!
"We go to open the hood to jump start the Suburban and the hood latch
goes PWONGG! and we cannot open the hood.
"So we call the parent who is at the airport on the cellular phone who
says, `Slap the hood.' We slap the hood and the hood pops open.
"So we get the Suburban started, and the tow truck shows up. He says,
`You don't really need me, but I know a guy who will help you. So he drives
us down 422 to a General Tire Store at 9:30 at night. The guy comes over from
his house, fixes our dinky little trailer tire, and slaps it on the trailer.
We get to the airport at 10:30, exchange our parents (one is extremely happy
to leave, the other wondering why he decided to come) go 1/4 mile the Oakland
Lane Day School which offered to put us up for the night in their ready room.
"So we get 5 hours of sleep, get on the highway, fix the controller,
and are on display. Another day for `Helios the Heron'!"
Fix the controller? Yep, `Helios the Heron' burnt out a controller
again this year. And, as it turns out, Mark Parthe once again has one to loan
because while Bill Glickman did fry his motor, the controller was OK. No
sooner does Bill return it than `Helios' needs it.
But this time they know why. They had been mounting their controllers
on the plywood floor of the rear of the car. What's wrong with that? Plywood
is an excellent thermal insulator and the controller was overheating. Now it
is mounted vertically on an aluminum bracket which should radiate heat very
well.
- - - - - - - - - -
Eva Mathews is a teacher/advisor to `Ottawa Orange IV' (37) from Grand Rapids
MI again this year. She made the observation her high school team has been
very good this year. "They have been working with each other very well, and
we had a really good day Tuesday. I'm very proud of them."
A couple of years ago, there was a dispute (over what I don't recall)
and the teachers locked the kids in a trailer saying, "we don't care what the
resolution is, but you all must agree to it." It was hot and stuffy in there,
and they didn't come out quickly, but they did finally come to a unanimous
decision. "Now it is part of our history," says Eva. "They know it > could <
happen.
High school is a hard time for them. "They sometimes want to act like
kids, but they know they have adult responsibilities, so they get confused at
times. We try to give them a focus all year long. Focus on the job, and
leave the egos and the attitudes in the pocket, and take care of the business.
"This is not like those trips where they take a note pad and listen to
people talk. You are responsible for keeping a vehicle on the road and a team
together. And it doesn't start at 7:40 am and end at 2:10 pm. It starts when
when it starts and ends when it is done."
Curtis VanWingen told me that they changed the gear ratio on `Ottawa Orange
IV' to a lower gear ratio because the rest of the route is much flatter and
they hope this will improve their range. There have been a few minor
adjustments, but no major-major breakdowns. When they stopped in the Holland
Tunnel, the forward-and-reverse switch went out. "Now we don't go backwards."
I asked how the team was holding together. "We're just trying to
stick together! When we first started we where, like, separate. As we are
getting farther into it we are actually starting to work as a group instead of
trying to be individuals."
- - - - - - - - - -
Again this year, the `Ford Ecostar' (17) has frisbees to give out to kids.
They are hugely popular.
- - - - - - - - - -
As I drove by from Pottstown PA to Chesapeake City MD I saw several groups of
people and school classes sitting by the side of the road waiting for the
electric cars to come by. One guy was sitting on the traffic circle. They
were not quite sure if I was one of them because I had the race logo on the
side of my car.
- - - - - - - - - -
Tom Hopper, who I would never have described as "angry" or "emotional" in a
negative sense, staged a protest on the Pottstown PA to Chesapeake City MD
leg. `Hopper EV' (94) was the first one under the finish banner, 10 minutes
ahead of everyone else, even though he started back in the pack. He averaged
37.3 mph, well above the second place 34.1 mph.
What's going on here?
Well in years past, the NESEA Tour had a problem with people speeding.
There was a speed component to the scoring, and so being first meant something
tangible in the score. We heard protests from police when cars went through
their towns too fast, or ran stop signs and traffic signals.
So the rules were changed to take high speed out of the scoring.
Instead, people were expected to drive the posted speed limit and those who
got in too early were penalized, as were those who got in too late. But if
you arrived anywhere within your window of time, you got full credit for the
leg.
But that raised other problems noted by several drivers. If you
didn't drive with the traffic flow, which is almost always above the posted
speed limit outside of towns, here was this car or truck, prominently labeled
"Electric Vehicle", apparently having trouble keeping up with traffic. On top
of that, the estimates of allotted time to drive a leg were based on earlier
drives, often at different times of day and in different weather and traffic
conditions. I suspect they may not always have been precise enough.
So Tom protested. "I'm not driving on eggs anymore. I am driving
like a normal person and staying with the traffic." He wanted to bring to the
Race Jury and rules makers attention that the window system based on strict
adherence to posted speed limits not only made us look bad, but created safety
problems as annoyed people tried to pass cars under circumstances that did not
really permit it. (Because much of the race is on country roads and not on
major highways and interstates, we were often in hilly areas where there is no
passing lane, no passing zone, and no shoulder. The slowest vehicle defines
the speed for everyone behind. And if that is an EV ...)
"The public is not going to pay attention to EVs unless they out
accelerate ICE cars at the stop sign, out distance them, and out last them,"
said Tom. "The most important thing that has happened in all the Tour de Sols
happened on our trip from New York City to Lambertville. Mr. Larson said we
got a factor 4 times better (economy) in the city than on a gasoline
production car. But that isn't what's going to sell it. Beating an ICE will
sell it.
"I'm not going to drive my EV like an EV any more. I'm going to drive
it like a normal car. I'm driving with the traffic, and staying right with
them."
Tom's action, along with other similar driver comments, caused the
Race Jury to reconsider the issue, and the early arrival limit was dropped.
However, the Jury also decided to consider any unsafe action or
unsportsmanlike conduct much more seriously and to extract stricter penalties.
I suspect the issue will be reconsidered in some detail before next
year's event.
- - - - - - - - - -
Keith Smith, of MascoTech Special Vehicles of Detroit, has been at each
display site with 3 Chrysler vehicles that draw considerable interest.
The first is a new Dodge Intrepid ESX concept vehicle. It's a series
hybrid EV with a diesel engine/generator set for charging the batteries. It
has 100 hp electric motors at each rear wheel. It has an all aluminum body
and chassis and is slated for production by the year 2000. The model is
strictly a show car.
The second car here is the first prototype of the Plymouth Prowler,
built in 1993, again with an all aluminum body and chassis, which will be for
sale in January 1997.
The third is an Epic electric minivan. Eric did not know much about
it since his company did not have anything to do with it.
- - - - - - - - - -
`HEVy Gator' (19) (also listed as `HEV U Florida' in the standings, is not
racing but is still showing up at the site displays. They fried their
controller. "About 28 MOSFETs blew on us. We don't understand why," said
Shane Miller and Brian Skeldon. They were about 35 miles out of New York when
it happened. They have tried to rebuild it several times but have not been
successful.
- - - - - - - - - -
Alison MacClean, Mercedes Robins, and Julia Lewandoski told me that `Helios
the Heron III' (93) covered 37 miles from Pottstown to Chesapeake City, but is
still loosing the chain because it is not completely in line. Monday they
were in first place, but Tuesday morning they are in second place.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Snippets from Wednesday Morning
Wednesday took us from Chesapeake City MD to Sandy Point State Park outside
Annapolis MD. These notes are from the morning before we left.
`Electrobike' (52) is doing fine. Not only are they making it through the 50
to 70 mile legs, but they even took some extra laps yesterday for some 18
extra miles.
- - - - - - - - - -
Mike Kocsmiersky has been managing the charging trailer data collection.
"Everyone is monitored for the amount of power we are supplying. In addition,
the Production cars are monitored for harmonics and we are reading their
waveform." When a circuit breaker trips out, as sometimes happens, they
measure their current on the line side. Many chargers have Amp meters that
report current to the battery, but the AC load can be much higher. Another
factor may also contribute to breakers tripping. With almost 50 cars drawing
from banks of circuit breakers, each breaker is running up near its rating,
especially early in the evening. So all the breakers in a very full panel are
warm, and there is no place for the heat to go. So a charger that may work at
home, because it is just under the limit for a cool breaker may pop a warm
one. "When we see a popped breaker, we use an Fluke RMS AC Ammeter to see the
true load." Then they try to help the cars solve the problem.
- - - - - - - - - -
Nick Karditsas of Ovonics told me that the `Solectria Force NMH' (4) is
running a battery data collection and management system that GM Ovonics had
Solectria develop for that car. It monitors module voltages, pack voltage and
current, records Amp-hours and Watt-hours. It also protects the battery by
watching the pack in detail. "There are three stages of warning. If battery
damage is imminent, the first step is lighting an LED on the dash. The second
step is a buzzer that sounds. The third step is turning the controller off."
This is part of Ovonics real-world testing getting ready to go to mass market.
- - - - - - - - - -
More miracles:
Jodie Cooke of `Hyperion' (26) told me that they broke an axle. "We
were at an intersection, going nice and easy and then pop." But they are not
out of the race. "The other half of the team is at a machine shop now, and
they are picking up another axle. It's a Geo Metro engine, so one spline is
from Geo and the other spline is from Saturn and had to be custom machined.
When we broke down this guy came up and pointed us to a machinist," and he
spent last night getting things put back together. (Another instant sponsor!)
(They were ready in time to start this leg!)
Jodie is an Electro-Mechanical Engineering major at Wentworth
Institute of Technology. "I was originally going for mechanical engineering
and want to go into the automotive industry, but since everything is switching
over to electronics, I thought it would be in my best interest to switch to
Electro-Mechanical and learn about both, and keep myself well rounded for the
field. It is a new program, and only a few schools in the country offer it.
I think it will keep me on the cutting edge." Just about everything today has
a sensor and an actuator. "It looks good on your resume."
- - - - - - - - - -
I understand how the `Twike' (12) is driven now.
On the tiller that steers the front wheel are two 2-step buttons. The
top button is for acceleration and the bottom button is for deceleration. The
first step, pressing the button down to its first stop, is a mild acceleration
or deceleration, and the second step is more aggressive. The second step of
deceleration is so strong it can be used instead of the brake, and, since it
is regenerative braking, some power goes back into the batteries.
- - - - - - - - - -
Scott Hall told me that `Sungo' (72) went 125 miles on a charge yesterday, on
Horizon lead-acid batteries, a personal best. Scott felt that being able to
go back and forth between the main and auxiliary battery packs gave the main
pack a chance to rest and recover. "That thing worked!"
- - - - - - - - - -
Bill Simpson is the Market Development Manager for "Quin-T", your classic
what-do-they-make? company. Its logo shows up on all the Solectria race
vehicles, but it was a couple of years before I knew why. Quin-T makes
electrical insulation sheets that go into the Solectria motors and controller
transformers. "It is a high temperature material that stands the heat. It
also has very good thermal conductivity to help conduct the heat out of the
motor, controller, and transformers." Quin-T also supplies Advanced DC, GE,
and Unique Mobility.
- - - - - - - - - -
`Spyder Juice' (31) has been having trouble getting a good charge. They kept
popping the 20 Amp breaker they were assigned on the charging panel. Last
night the electricians gave them a 30 Amp breaker and plug, and the proper
cords were obtained, so this morning they have a good, full charge.
- - - - - - - - - -
`Texas Native Sun' (36) has a laptop computer that serves as the driver's
instrument panel. They use National Instruments LabView software in the car.
A Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) card in the PCMCIA port of the computer
collects currents, voltages, temperatures and speed readings and presents them
to the driver. A radio modem on the serial port sends the data back to the
support van where the strategist there can study it all and then send
recommendations to the driver, either via radio intercom or via the radio
modem to a message window on the screen.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Impact sounds, and Sunrise
Wednesday afternoon at Sandy Point State Park, we had a GM `Impact' on display
giving rides-and-drives around the parking lot. There was a steady line, but
I managed to get time off from announcing duties to do my turn around the
parking lot. Driving the Impact has been described in considerably more
detail by people who have gone much further, so I'm not going to say more
than, "I liked it, a lot! It does what it does very well, and, yes, given
half an opportunity, I would consider buying or leasing one."
I did notice one thing that I don't recall reading about, the
pedestrian alarms. When in reverse there is a gentle, but quite audible
BLIDI--BLET sound as a backup alarm, and, when you flash the head-lights with
the turn-signal stalk, there is a faster BLIDI-BLIDI-BLET sound to warn folks
in front of you. A very good idea, to my mind. We've had discussions about
"What sound should an EV make when an EV makes sound?" and this strikes me as
a very reasonable answer.
- - - - - - - - - -
James Worden, CEO of Solectria, was talking about the `Sunrise' (63) setting
its range record.
"The Tour de Sol is always a learning experience. We were hoping to
beat 300 miles (per charge in the Sunrise). We knew we could do it but it
depends on a lot of things. When we found out the extra lap course was on a
highway, we thought would do less. It turned out that once the car got
rolling, the efficiency went up so high it didn't matter. The combination of
the light weight, the aerodynamics, and the drive train meant that it didn't
matter so much that we were doing 55 mph on the highway." (The amount of time
allotted for laps now has become a limiting factor.)
They drove the `Sunrise' mostly in the Economy mode, which limits the
battery current drawn, except to accelerate. (On my Force, Economy limits to
60 Amps, Normal to 120 Amps, Power to 200 Amps. I'm guessing the numbers are
similar for the Sunrise, especially since the Sunrise weighs 1972 pounds while
the Force is 2390.)
"The Ovonics battery gave us great energy. But the real magic is
combining that good energy in a light-weight battery, with a very light-weight
car, with good aerodynamics, with an efficient suspension, with very efficient
vehicle design, and a low loss drive train to achieve low Watt-hours per mile.
Over 90% of the electrical input from the battery shows as mechanical output
to the wheels over a wide torque and speed band."
There are four Sunrises. Two are operational vehicles and two are
used for testing, crashing and such. When will we see production?
"The goal is that in about two years we'll start limited production.
To go real with the Sunrise, we need a major automotive company, or automotive
parts supplier, or another with a big vested interest in EVs to come in and
work with and invest in the program. We are not seeking investment right now,
but we are exploring these options and need to move forward quickly to make
this happen."
The Sunrise is running Solectria's Universal Motor Controller (aka the
UMoC) which is aimed at lowering the cost of AC induction drive systems. "The
price is lower, and, in fact, at 5,000 quantity we will sell the whole drive
system, the motor, the gear box, and the controller, with the stuff in
between, for under $3,000."
The Force Nickel Metal Hydride car is now on sale in two versions. "The 100
mile version is $65,000. It comes complete with a data acquisition system for
collecting battery data. We have sold some of those and are building more of
them.
"The slightly larger battery version, which we are calling the 150
mile version, is the one we raced here and that got 244 miles per charge. We
are not selling it yet, but it will be released in the summer and will cost
about $95,000."
- - - - - - - - - -
Joel Anstrom is with the `Electric Lion' (48) and we were talking about how
independent front wheel drive affected their performance in the autocross
event. The power that goes to the separate motors that drive the left and
right front wheel is determined by a computer that looks at where the steering
wheel is pointing the car.
"We were running our efficiency tires which are high 70-series tires
which means we lost a little bit of traction in the autocross.
"But the independent drive system did what it was supposed to do. Our
driver said that was what was keeping him in control as he came in hard in the
corners. With a motor on each wheel, he could get on the brakes as hard as
possible, and the computer controls how much braking the motors generate, so
they don't lock up.
"If you noticed when he was going around a hard corner, the inside
wheel becomes lightly loaded," (due to the rolling of the car body towards the
outside of the curve). "On a lot of cars, that inside wheel would spin which
would loose almost all power to the driver train. But on our car the outside
wheel is still being driven."
"We are going to go a step further. My PhD thesis is to do a full car
model and apply some algorithms which would be like smart ABS (Antilock
Braking System). The car will take your driving inputs and interpret them for
the best handling possible." The goal is to have the car respond so
intelligently and quickly that it gets average drivers out of bad situations
before they realize they are getting into them.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Onward to the Capital Mall
`SolarSaurus' (44) was already in Annapolis before any of the racing cars
arrived. Don Brown told me why they had trailed to Annapolis. "We had a
charging problem on Tuesday night. We had drained our pack down so low going
into Chesapeake City after doing extra laps that we kept dripping the 20 Amp
breaker all night long. So we didn't get a full charge." There was nothing
else wrong with the car.
- - - - - - - - - -
Jeff Bradel of the Naval Surface Warfare Center/Marine Corp Programs Office,
Dutch Steudler of Ron Millen Motorsports, and Catherine Anderson of
AeroVironment were on the Mall with a series hybrid vehicle reminiscent of a
jeep. Called a Joint Tactical Electric Vehicle (JTEV), it is the result of a
design exercise funded by the US Marine Corp, Army, and DARPA (Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency) to demonstrate and EV test bed built on
commercially available technologies.
Base Vehicle Custom built space frame, tube construction,
adjustable ground clearance
Batteries 360 Volt, 5.5 kWh, lead-acid, gel-cells, in sealed box
Motors 2 30 kW continuous, 102 kW peak, AC induction motors
Engine 80 kW (107 hp) diesel engine, Peugeot
Generator 60 kW alternator, Onan
Weight 4200 pounds
Payload 1500+ pounds
Height 62 inches
Width 65 inches
Length 169 inches
Ground clearance 10-15 inches, adjustability
Wheels 33 inches diameter, 10.5 inches wide, 15 inch rims
Top Speed 65 mph
Acceleration 0-30 mph: 3.5 sec
0-60 mph: 10 sec
Engine-on range 460 miles
EV range 10 miles
Fording depth 36 inches, salt water
Gradability 60%
Side Slope 40%
Approach angle 75 degrees
Departure angle 60 degrees
The JTEV is designed for deep insertion missions where it would be delivered
by helicopter, travel in HEV mode until near the target area, switch to EV
mode to lower its noise, thermal, and exhaust plume signatures, get in and
out, switch back to HEV and be picked up.
The motors are integral with the front and rear differentials. The
suspension has 18 inches of wheel travel which gives excellent for off-road
mobility. For comparison, the HUM-V (sp?) has only 9 inches.
The alternator actually replaces the flywheel on the engine, and acts
as flywheel, alternator, and starter motor. The engine is down rated for 80
kW to 60 kW to allow them to run it at peak power full time.
Catherine noted that, "the flexibility of a hybrid drive allowed us to
make some unusual packaging decisions." For example, the shocks are laid over
on their side and tied to the suspension through sort-of a bell crank
arrangement. This let them have the large wheel travels and adjustable height
range and still have large cargo areas. And not having to tie the
differentials to the engine with drive shafts also helped get those large
travels. The center of gravity is also lower than in a normal 4-wheel drive.
The JTEV has significant on-board power for use by sensor suites or
target acquisition equipment or high power communications equipment. It is
more about stealth, speed and mobility than about heavy payloads.
There is a plan to change to a 2-speed transmission which will give
higher torque for quicker starts and even greater gradability. "The low gear
will let it winch itself straight up," said Catherine. "The high gear will
give us an even higher top speed. We are currently motor speed limited for
top speed, not power limited."
The driver controls are simple. Pushbuttons select Park, Reverse,
Neutral, or Drive. A single button selects HEV or EV mode. Regenerative
braking is part of the system.
A (disabled) 50 mm machine gun is mounted above the roll bar.
Jeff wanted to emphasize that at this point the project is to test the
feasibility of this technology in this type vehicle. It is not even a
prototype. If this exercise proves promising, then future programs would work
toward designing a real vehicle for actual use.
More info: Jeffrey Bradel, 301-227-4222, Fax -4389, bradel@oasys.dt.navy.mil
- - - - - - - - - -
Georgia Power's Glen Mauldin was on the Mall with one of the 70 people-movers,
a tug-and-three-trailers arrangement, that will be used in Atlanta for the
Olympics. Jim Johnson designed the tug for Tug Manufacturing Company.
Base Vehicle Airport cargo handling tug
Batteries Deka, 30 kWh, 80 Volts, 3,300 pounds
Motors 2 Advanced DC, one on each rear wheel
Controller Sevcon
Total Weight 7,000 pounds
Top Speed 17 mph
Pull weight 35,000 - 50,000 pounds
Grade 12%+
They anticipate that each trip will take about 1 hour around the Olympic
village, and then they will swap battery packs. These batteries look nothing
like the ones we've seen in cars. Each > cell < stands about 3 feet tall, and
40 make up a pack. The pack is a steel case holding all the cells. A crane
lifts the pack up and out of the rear of the tug, a fresh one is lowered in,
and connection is made with a large Anderson connector. The whole process
should take 2 to 3 minutes.
"We really don't care how much the battery weighs," said Jim. "In
fact the heavier the better. It saves us having to weld thick steel plates to
the tractor to get traction."
Taylor-Dunn made the trailers for Georgia Power and GP put the system
together. After the Olympics, there are plans to give the trains to the Park
Service.
More Info: 770-422-7230
- - - - - - - - - -
Chris Nikpora and Ernie Bannister was on the Mall with what looked to be a
fairly normal postal delivery vehicle, with sorting tray and right-hand drive,
but, as you might guess, it was an electric. The conversion was one of six
done by US Electricar. (The Postal Service has a dozen Ford Ecostars also.)
Base Vehicle Postal Van
Batteries ~450 Volts(?), Genesis
Motor Hughes, AC induction, transmissionless drive, 50 kW
Controller Hughes Dolphin, with regenerative braking
Charger Inductive, MagneCharge, plus 110 Vac emergency charge
Range 40 miles
The average postal route is about 8 miles, so that range is more than
adequate.
One comment the drivers make about this truck is that it is much
cooler in the summer because there is so little waste heat from the drive
system. Winter heating is provided by a small electric water heater with a
small pump that circulates the water to the cab radiator. There are plans to
upgrade the heating system in the future.
- - - - - - - - - -
Todd Ansbacher and Catherine Feer, from Wallingford AC, Inc., were on the Mall
with a couple of `trans-2' vehicles. These are two-seat, 4-wheel vehicles
that look a lot like golf carts, but are not. The literature calls them
"personal community vehicles" for the turf or street. It has a reduced power
mode for off-road use, but can be taken out on the street where it gets up to
20 mph.
Batteries 4 12-Volt, Champion EVR, lead-acid, 48 Volts
Motor GE series wound
Controller Curtis
Charger Saftnife (sp), 110 Vac
Range 30 miles
The aluminum space frame puts the heavy components down for a low center of
gravity. The body panels and interior are made from composite materials. 4-
wheel hydraulic brakes, seat-belts, high seat backs with headrests, safety
glass windshield, head and tail lights and turn signals make it practical on
the local road. There is also a radio and cup holders. List price is $6,995.
More info: 1-800-205-8222 (retailer and sales info)
"Next year it will have an AC controller and motor in it which
increase the power and range by 40%," said Catherine. A 4-page flyer
promoting Wallingford AC Controls claims "AC Motor Controller System
Performance at DC System Pricing!" It goes on to claim to have eliminated
harmonics, overheating, and radio/TV interference commonly associated with
inverters used to drive AC motors from DC power. The flyer implies that the
system will be generally available.
More info: (954) 973-4350
- - - - - - - - - -
We had several buses at the display area.
Jessie Herbert of Georgetown University is an intern working on testing a 40
foot long, hybrid fuel cell powered, EV Bus built by H-Power Corp. of
Belleville NJ as a proof-of-concept vehicle. 150 gallons of methanol and
water provides a range comparable to a diesel bus.
Fuel Cell Fuji Electric Co. of Japan
Phosphoric Acid (electrolyte) Fuel Cell, 50 kW
Bus Chassis Bus Manufacturing USA, Santa Barbara CA
Propulsion Soleq Corp, Chicago IL
System Integration Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc., McLean VA
There is a battery pack, but its primary purpose is load leveling, providing
extra power for acceleration and hill climbing, and to take up the energy
created by regenerative braking. The batteries are necessary in this bus,
because the fuel cell cannot respond fast enough to changes in load. It can
take 20 seconds to respond to an increase in load.
The ideal way to run a fuel cell is to provide pure hydrogen on the
anode and pure oxygen on the cathode. The exhaust would be water and steam.
Using hydrogen and air would not be a bad compromise, but either way you have
to carry hydrogen, which is still a bit tricky. This bus uses a mix of
methanol and water as the source of hydrogen, and in a step called
"reforming", that involves a catalyst, the hydrogen is made available to the
fuel cell and the left over carbon and oxygen combine to make carbon dioxide.
Some carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen are also produced, but at levels
1/60th and 1/400th the level of diesel engines.
This bus has only been used in testing and doesn't run a "mission".
The next version will be a commercializable 40 foot vehicle. This version
will have both a phosphoric acid fuel cell and a Proton Exchange Membrane
(PEM) fuel cell, for comparing them, and both should be able to respond to
load demand changes much better.
- - - - - - - - - -
Eastern Senior High School's Marching Band showed up and put on a high-energy
show (as is only appropriate).
- - - - - - - - - -
Glen Dobbs with the Center for Technology Commercialization/Northeast Advanced
Vehicle Technology Center of Cheshire CT built an electric assisted Pedi-Cab
that can be pedaled and driven as an EV.
Batteries 36 Volts
Motor GE, 2 hp
Controller Curtis
(I was in a hurry, so I didn't get much information from Glen, but I saw the
vehicle later on. It is a 3-wheeler, with bicycle wheel and handle bars front
and a two passenger seat over the rear wheels. The driver sits on a bicycle
seat, and has pedals and hand controls. Glen was giving rides around the
Mall.)
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Other Vehicles - `Number 51'
Ken Green and Ed Torrence from Phelps Career Senior High School (in
Washington DC?) are with `number 51', a car that showed up in Annapolis and
drove with the pack down to the Capital Mall. "It was originally built for
the EV Grand Prix race down in Richmond VA in 1994, and we have range
limitations" and budgetary constraints that prevented them from running in the
race from New York City. "It was converted according to the EV Grand Prix
specs. We hope to make the NESEA Tour next year."
Base Vehicle 1983 VW Rabbit GTI
Batteries 8 Electrosource Horizon 12N95, 96 Volts
Motor Advanced DC(?)
Controller Curtis 1231C
Charger ? w/ BADICHEQ
Range ~50 miles
"This project was constructed at the IDEA (Integrated Design and Electronics
Academy) at Phelps. The Wood Shop, the Paint Shop, the Automotive Shop, the
Electronics, and the Communications programs all worked together. IDEA is a
joint project between the Department of Defense, the Department of Education,
and Phelps. The DoD has given us about 10 retired military people that work
with the students in what becomes almost a family environment," Ken said.
This project has proved very rewarding. "In the past three years it has been
exciting to see the kids growing in confidence and maturity, especially taking
them to Richmond, watching them develop teamwork and team spirit."
- - - - - - - - - -
Curtis Pearson, Huntly(?) Dorsey and Ron Satchell from Northrup were on the
Mall with a 34 foot long Blue Bird bus labeled `EAGL' (Environmental
Alternative for a Greater Lifestyle) ((everything has to have an acronym?))
that is on its way to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Base Vehicle Blue Bird Transit Q Bus
Batteries 336 Volt, GNB, lead-acid, absorbed glass mat, 110 kWh
Motor 230 hp AC induction, single ratio reducer,
1.5 kWh/mile
Controller Northrup Grumman, with regenerative braking
Heat/AC Heat pump, plus diesel fueled heater
Range 60 - 80 miles
A `Q Bus' is designed as an EV from the ground up to seat 33 passengers, plus
20 standing, with 2 wheelchair positions and a wheelchair lift in the step
well of the rear door. (Unlike some EV buses I've seen, this has a fairly
high step up to the riders seats.)
"The fueled heater is very low emission, so we can call this a Zero
Emission Vehicle even with that running," said Curtis. (Interesting
definition of Zero, to my mind, but ...). "It will keep the bus quite warm,
even in the -25 degree temperatures they get in Cedar Rapids."
"We have some of these (Q Buses) going into Richmond, and to the
Olympics where they will be operated by Georgia Power driving the `Cultural
Olympiad' event ring in downtown Atlanta." They are also getting a lot of
interest in California, New York and Maryland.
The bus is not entirely quiet when standing still. (Some of us are
never satisfied.) A motorized pump runs continuously to provide oil-cooling
(presumably for the motor and electronics), and hydraulic pressure for the
power steering and power brakes. (To me, it sounded like a noisy fan.
Certainly nothing to interfere with our conversation.)
The braking system is simpler and less expensive than on a normal bus.
"Because we have hydraulic braking the braking system is less complex.
Because we have regenerative braking, which does about 90% of the braking, we
figure we can skip 3 or 4 brake (shoe) change cycles." The regenerative
braking is entirely on the top portion of the brake pedal by connecting
directly into the hydraulic lines. The regen is done in the dead-band before
the brake shoes start to grab. With both brake and accelerator pedals up the
bus coasts, "about a mile from 55 mph. We found it was more efficient to
coast to a stop than to have the regen in the accelerator pedal."
"The operators love it because they can see the simplicity of the bus
and pick out ways they are going to save money in operation.
"We are testing 3 or 4 different battery management systems to see
which ones work best and provide the most value. Some are very expensive and
some are very cheap. We are looking for the balance that provides the most
value."
"These vehicles are for sale, so contact your Blue Bird dealer."
The first Blue Bird EV bus was a school bus that has sold well in
California (at least 23). "The school bus drivers are telling us they love it
because the whole bus is quieter since the kids are not yelling to be heard
over the sound of the diesel engines. The drivers love it because it is the
quietest bus in operation, both in mechanical and human terms."
- - - - - - - - - -
Brian Pannell, with the Allison Transmission division of General Motors, was
on the Mall driving a low-floored shuttle bus built by Advanced Vehicle
Systems (very similar to the CARTA EV buses in Chattanooga TN) "but we put in
our own drive system." It is a series hybrid, running on Compressed Natural
Gas (CNG).
Batteries 2 strings in parallel, 26 12-Volt Delphi, 312 Volt,
gas recombinate valve regulated lead-acid
Motors 2 AC induction wheel motors based on the GM EV-1,
30 kW continuous, 70 kW peak each
Controller Delphi inverter
Weight 13,000 pounds
Generator Set up to 30 kW, computer adjustable
"This vehicle is a technology demonstrator, the first of three we built under
a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) grant. It has just
finished a 5,000+ mile at the GM proving grounds in Milford MI and will be
delivered to CARTA to join their fleet in service to get real-world
experience." At the proving ground they were driving 250 miles per day with a
couple of CNG refuelings.
"The batteries have a computer in each pack that monitors each
individual cell's voltage, temperature, and condition and will protect the
batteries from being abused," a variation on the system on the GM EV-1. "It
automatically manages the charge to keep the batteries from over charging and
gassing, and protects against over discharging."
I have often heard that the problem with wheel motors is that they
become part of the unsprung weight of the vehicle and that can create
problems. Brian pointed out that having 2 rear wheel motors instead of an
axle with differential raises the unsprung weight by very little.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: Final Snippets from the Capital Mall
Bob Larsen of Argonne National Labs told me:
`The Paradigm' from University of Wisconsin at Madison got a hybrid range 52.3
miles per gallon on Wednesday (Chesapeake City to Annapolis) as compared to
the gasoline Neon control car which got 38.4 mpg.
The best dynomometer fuel economy was the University of Tennessee at 31.3 mpg.
- - - - - - - - - -
I heard that several school teams will be getting additional sponsors next
year. One of the team members from the `Ottawa Orange IV' team said that
Solectria was going to help them next year. "With George Kloster and Eva
Mathews in there, that car is going to be a winner!"
I also heard that Solectria will be helping `Helios the Heron' next
year.
- - - - - - - - - -
Ken Quinty who drove the `Utility EV' to impressive rankings in the autocross
and acceleration runs (4th and 3rd places) said, "We could have won the
acceleration very easily with a little reprogramming in the controller. And I
just found out that the guy from Northrup Grumman who could have done that was
there! If he had a laptop he could have done the whole thing in ten minutes!
We could have beaten the Neon and `Spyder Juice' very easily." OK, Ken. Show
us next year! We'll be there.
- - - - - - - - - -
Boston University's `Silber Bullet', which was supposed to be in the NESEA
Tour but wasn't ready to start, was on the Mall for the display. My first
question was, "Why Silber?" I got answers from Naumann Sheikh (the treasurer
for the team),and Gideon Coltof, and Bernard Andoh.
"It's named after our outgoing President of 25 years, John Silber."
And why weren't they at the starting line? "We had a number of
difficulties that kept the car from being up to racing standards." They also
didn't have a controller the day before the race, so that pretty much clinched
it.
But it would have been very interesting to see this car in operation.
It is shaped like a bullet and carries two people, but the passenger is behind
the driver > facing backwards theoretical < number to work with." (I'm not quite sure how to
take that. I suspect they don't quite believe it either.)
The car is number 24 and dedicated to Travais Roi, a Boston U hockey
player who was paralyzed during his first game this year.
More info: http://engc.bu.edu/solarcar
- - - - - - - - - -
A large panel van with paintings of Air Force jets on the side was also on
display. It is an electric mail delivery truck used at Hanscom Air Force Base
near Boston. Ray Bagwell told me about it.
Batteries 54 6-Volt, GNB, 340 Volts
Motor GE AC induction, 100 hp
Top Speed 50 mph
Range 50 miles per charge (estimated)
Weight 6 tons
Capacity 1 ton
It was built by Specialty Vehicles in California and they have had it in use
for about a month. The walls of the cargo area looked to be made from
fiberglass panels between steel supports. The cargo area was very tall and
wide, I'd guess about 10 feet wide x 12 feet long x 6.5 feet tall.
NESEA American Tour de Sol: A Reporter's Final Thoughts
Well, we've come to the end, folks, of over 40,000 words of what I hope have
been informative and interesting reports about the 1996 NESEA American Tour de
Sol.
I would like to add a few of my own observations and comments.
I go to the NESEA Tour because I am interested mostly in the technology of
electric vehicles. It was the most important factor in my deciding what type
of electric vehicle I got and how I got it. The American Tour de Sol is the
one place where I could see EV technology "on the hoof" and in the environment
I would be driving in, so it has served me well.
As some of you may have guessed, I am not all that concerned about
who-came-in-first, although I do try to get accurate standings as the week
progresses. For final race standings I refer you to NESEA, which has the last
word on such things.
The NESEA Tour gives an excellent cross-section of EV activity in the United
States. While we naturally get more representation from the northeast (it is
NESEA's first name, after all), the fact that people from as far away as
Germany, Washington state, Arizona and Florida participate helps me get a more
global view of what is happening in the use of sustainable energy sources and
efficient energy systems for transportation around the world. It is a view
like no other I've seen.
The variety of technologies represented here grows each year. In 1996 we saw
our largest number of hybrids ever, fueled by everything from reformulated
gasoline, to compressed natural gas, to propane, to ethanol, to soybean oil.
Some were series hybrid and some were parallel.
We had the most advanced battery chemistries we have ever seen
represented; Advanced Lead-Acid, Nickel Cadmium, Sodium-Sulfur, and Nickel
Metal Hydride, and all but one in multiple vehicles.
We had DC drive systems and AC drive systems. We had an electrically
assisted bicycle and an electrically assisted two-person tricycle. We had a
race car and a minibus. We had homebuilts and commercial vehicles. We had
more sophisticated computer controls and instrumentation than ever before.
We had corporations, universities, colleges, technical schools, high
schools, an elementary school and just-plain-folks all enter successful
vehicles.
We had three cars, `OHM Ranger', `Roadrunner' and `Hopper EV', that drove from
home to the race.
On top of that one car, `Hopper EV', drove home, from Washington DC to
Concord NH! To my mind, that is the > Most Significant Event of the Tour < .
On top of that Tom Hopper and his team partner Craig Cushing were operating
"without a net" (no trailer in case of a breakdown). I think this
demonstrates to the world that EVs in general and Tom's hybrid EV in
particular have crossed the line to practicality. (Western Washington U's
`Viking 25' was also supposed to drive home, and if they did and made it, they
also get my MSE award with Oak Clusters for Range!)
I believe we had fewer breakdowns than in past years, and we saw several cases
where "never say die" proved to be the right answer.
I sat on the Race Jury this year, and saw some of the behind-the-scenes
discussions that go into trying to make the NESEA Tour safe, fair and fun. It
showed me again how difficult it is to come up with the "right" answer in the
real world and how "simple rules" can have unexpected consequences. (In the
unsolicited advice department, let me suggest the next time you hear of some
decision that "just doesn't make any sense", consider that people might be
working real hard to come up with a safe and fair answer to a question that
probably has more sides to it than you thought it might. I know I will.)
At the displays we had even more EVs of various stripes. We saw the Toyota
RAV4-EV, the GM Impact, buses from H-Power, Blue Bird and Advanced Vehicle
Systems, research military vehicles, and a Pedi-Cab human/EV hybrid.
And of course, records were set.
Solectria set range records of 244 miles per charge in the Production
Category and 373 miles per charge in the Commuter Category, using "ordinary
cars" running NiMH batteries. I think it is fair to say that the major thing
standing between us and EVs with 200 and 300 mile ranges is manufacturing
volume.
The `Viking 25' CNG hybrid met California ULEV standards.
I suspect the `Hopper EV' soybean oil hybrid got more than 50 mpg
(I've not heard final numbers).
And finally, I think I can safely say that a good time was had by all.
Yes, there were long nights when chargers drew more current than
anticipated and kept tripping circuit breakers. There were tense times when
it was not clear if a vehicle was in or out of the race due to a problem.
But there was also wonderful team work and generosity, typified by the
folks from `Genesis I' who helped others with every thing from the right bolt
to a complete controller or charger.
And everyone I spoke to said this was the smoothest NESEA Tour yet.
That credit has to go to the people at the Northeast Sustainable Energy
Association who have worked for well over two years to pull this off. It goes
to the people who sponsored our stops and displays and provided everything
from bathrooms and showers to meals and power and lodging. It goes to the
dozens of volunteers both at single sites and who traveled with the race, who
helped do whatever that needed doing; set up or take down banners and signs,
direct traffic, sell T-shirts and books, park cars, conduct tours, keep times
and records, and calculate results.
I have had fun. I hope you have too. If you live in the Northeast and would
like to be part of this next year, contact and/or join NESEA. The current
plan is to race in New England, possibly with several stops in Connecticut
(according to Nancy Hazard, the race director).
And if you can think ahead to 1998, Nancy is planing on another New
York to Washington DC event.
NESEA
50 Miles Street
Greenfield MA 01301
413-774-6051
413-774-6053 (fax)
nesea@nesea.org
http://solstice.crest.org/nesea
And let me remind you that the other half of NESEA's electric vehicle program
is the annual Sustainable Transportation and Solar & Electric Vehicle
Conference. This year it is September 16-18, 1996, at Madison Square Garden,
New York City. Each year the technical data from the NESEA Tour is reported
in papers and sessions there.
Fade to Black
Roll Credits
The above is copyright Michael H. Bianchi. Permission to copy is granted
provided this entire piece is presented without modification and this notice
remains attached. For other arrangements, contact me at +1-201-822-2024.
For more information on the American Tour de Sol, visit the web page at
http://www.crest.org/clients/nesea/atds.html
Official American Tour de Sol information is available from the sponsor,
the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) at 413-774-6051.
All media enquiries should be addressed to ...
Jack Groh
Groh Associates
Sustainable Public Relations
email: GrohPR@aol.com
(401)732-1551 tel
(401)732-0547 fax