The EcoCAR 2 Year Three Final Competition is right around the corner. To help prepare for the competition, each team attended the Emissions Testing Event at either the Transportation Research Center (TRC) in East Liberty, Ohio or at Argonne National Lab (ANL) in Chicago, Illinois. There, the teams put their vehicles through dynamometer testing, enabling each team to collect data over various drive cycles. Additionally, each vehicle went through Safety and Technical Inspection to ensure the safety of all components of the vehicle and to identify areas of concern for the Final Competition.
Through the process at the TRC, each team has been able to gather data through completing various drive cycles, including the four cycles which constitute the EcoCAR 2 Emissions & Energy Consumption event: FU505, US06 City, US06 Highway, and HWFET. Teams could also estimate the energy consumed driving to and from the event. Opportunities to do 0-60 mph accelerations and 50-70 mph accelerations were also available. Using this data, the Rose-Hulman EcoCAR 2 team can better predict the petroleum consumption and emissions production of their vehicle and have an idea of how it will perform at the Final Competition.
Jake Roberts, a member of the RHIT controls team, said that “The TRC is a truly impressive facility and we really appreciate how much they have helped us with our car. The transient emissions and shift map data gathered here will help us refine our car and prepare us for Final Competition.”
The Emissions Testing Event at the Transportation Research Center has allowed each team to work hands-on with their vehicle to ensure safety. Team members were able to see the capability of their vehicles through various driving cycles. Most importantly, each team received crucial data to help prepare their vehicle for Final Competition.
“The RHIT EcoCAR2 team is very appreciative of the opportunity to perform dynamometer testing on our vehicle at the TRC,” said RHIT Faculty Co-Advisor Zac Chambers. “We can now validate some aspects of our vehicle model and make improvements before the final competition. Thank you, ANL and TRC!”
