海角社区

海角社区 Engineering students are putting the finishing touches on an energy-efficient concept car they鈥檝e built from scratch and are about to take for a spin in an upcoming international competition.

Twenty students working on project INNOVA- a hydrogen fuel cell-powered urban concept vehicle- led by Engineering Professor William Brownlowe and Technical Advisor Griff Francis,  are headed to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, April 12-16 to test their design on an infield track during the Americas 2023 regional competition. The event is 鈥渁 global academic program that challenges talented students to design and build cars, considering technical and behavioral factors to achieve game-changing energy efficiency results,鈥� according to its website. 

The project INNOVA team includes: Franzine Bagalawis, Philip Charron, Katherine Cocar, Joe DeFazio, Eric Fisher, Ben German, Nophir Harrell, Paul Jacobs, Gabriella Joella, Rob Kay, Nathan Mayer, Gerald Moss, Tom Quinn, Andrew Rubenstein, Claudia Savella, John Schuhl, Shawn Sherwood, Dominic-Evon Torres, Sabrina Turner and Melody Welsh.

The 海角社区 Mustangs are taking what they鈥檝e learned in Engineering classrooms and are applying it to a real-world test case. They鈥檒l face teams from around the world who have been tasked with building a car that can try to answer the question 鈥渉ow can we travel using as little energy as possible?鈥� according to the competition. 鈥淭he current record for gasoline-powered Prototype vehicles is 3,771 km (2,343 miles) on one liter of fuel 鈥� that鈥檚 the equivalent of driving from London to Rome and back.鈥�

鈥淭he purpose of this competition is to try to identify to the general public that commuter transportation is too heavy,鈥� said Brownlowe. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 too inefficient.鈥�

Designing the car

Urban concept cars, according to Shell, 鈥渁re closer to passenger cars in appearance. They must be built to consider human needs, such as driver comfort and space for luggage, and to meet road specifications, such as including four wheels and a windscreen wiper. It鈥檚 challenging for teams to create maximum energy efficiency with these added mandatory elements.鈥� The students鈥� vehicle, called INNOVA 3.0, looks very similar to a go-kart and is projected to weigh 210 pounds by the start of the competition.

鈥淲hich is phenomenal,鈥� said Brownlowe, who was advisor to the team that competed in the Eco-marathon in 2017 in Detroit with a vehicle that weighed over 320 pounds. 鈥淲e took almost 35 percent off the vehicle鈥檚 weight this time.鈥� The team used lighter materials to build the vehicle to help bring down the weight. Theoretically, the 210-pound vehicle carrying one person, projected to travel 16 miles per hour, should get 400 miles to the gallon equivalent fuel efficiency.

鈥淚f you can do that at this level, what can you do at the industry level that we鈥檙e not doing? This is the future,鈥� said Brownlowe, adding that consumers need to be convinced to purchase lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. 鈥淚t takes a grassroots effort which is best conducted by students, who are the future purchasers, designers, and builders of commuter vehicles.鈥�

This year鈥檚 team is filled with incredibly talented students, who have worked together for nearly five years to bring this car to life, said Brownlowe.

鈥淭he fall of 2018 was the last time we drove INNOVA 2.0, and we disassembled it,鈥� said Brownlowe. 鈥淭he fall of 2019, we started building this car. Of course, we only got one semester in before the school was closed, and we were off campus for a year and a half. We resumed in the fall of 2022. So, we鈥檝e been working on this one for probably three semesters.鈥�

Ready to win

The team is confident in its chances in the competition.

鈥淭his is what we鈥檝e heard- that no other Shell Eco-Marathon Urban Concept hydrogen fuel cell team has been able to meet the minimum 16 mile-per-hour average requirement in years past,鈥� said Brownlowe. 鈥淲hich would mean we would be the first team to do that. It doesn鈥檛 mean we would win, but we鈥檇 be the first to qualify.鈥�

鈥淭his is exciting,鈥� said Francis. 鈥淭his is the closest we鈥檝e ever been to getting on the track and competing. We鈥檝e got two weeks to go before we leave. We鈥檝e got some obstacles to overcome. It鈥檚 not a done deal, but I think they鈥檙e doable. I think we鈥檒l be there, and I think we鈥檒l be competitive.鈥�

Several students on the team are first-year students, including primary driver Sabrina Turner, 19, from Lansdale. The Mechanical Engineering major is a 2022 North Penn High School graduate. She joined the team because she had experience as a North Montco Technical Career Center student and wanted to get back into the Engineering lab. Her background earned her a soldering job on the vehicle, in addition to being a test driver.

鈥淏asically, everything that鈥檚 wired up in the front I soldered by hand,鈥� she said.

She described the experience of driving the vehicle as similar to driving a go-kart. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very windy since we don鈥檛 have the body on right now, and it鈥檚 kind of shaky,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 basically like driving a go-kart once you get used to it. It鈥檚 awesome. It鈥檚 so fun.鈥�

Experiential learning

Nathan Mayer, 19, from Souderton, a Mechanical Engineering major and Souderton Area High School graduate, a fabrication and conceptual specialist, was happy to play a part.

鈥淲atching my hard work, everybody鈥檚 work come together to make this product that actually works, it鈥檚 just amazing to me,鈥� he said.

Joe DeFazio, of Hatfield, and a North Penn High School graduate, and Paul Jacobs, originally from Boyertown and now living in Norristown, who went to online high school, are excited to be on the project too.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great,鈥� said DeFazio. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a good opportunity for all of us as students to do more than we would just do in class. I鈥檝e certainly learned a lot of valuable stuff from this program.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome,鈥� said Jacobs. 鈥淭he friends I鈥檝e made- if I were just going to class, it never would have been like how it is now. We鈥檙e friends here, and we鈥檙e learning a ton of stuff.鈥�

Franzine Bagalawis, 19, originally from the Philippines, and who grew up in Guam, before moving to Pennsburg, said she was never really into cars but joined the team because she likes the fabrication process.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a good opportunity to really get to know the workforce,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ack home in Guam there was no engineering. That鈥檚 why I came here to school. I think it鈥檚 great that a community college has this type of project.鈥�