After two weeks of extensive vehicle testing, the Emissions Testing Event (ETE) at the Transportation Research Center (TRC) in East Liberty, Ohio has come to an end. Teams were given the opportunity to utilize TRC’s state of the art emissions dynamometer equipment and run their Camaros through a series of tests. Teams were required to run Emissions and Energy Consumption tests, which simulates one of the most important events during this year’s competition. The tests consisted of three 14-mile iterations of the EcoCAR 3 on-road cycle, which represents an approximation to the EPA certification cycle.
“This event was the first time our modified vehicle had been on a dyno, and we went into the event with ambitious testing plans to ensure our vehicle would meet the endurance requirements of competition,” said Gabe DiDomenico, Engineering Manager for the Colorado State EcoCAR team. “We were able to test our high voltage system and the functionality of our vehicle’s EV Mode. We were also able to successfully run all three E&EC cycles, as well as gather more data regarding our control strategy changes and emissions. We were able to identify important areas for improvement before competition and we were able to tackle issues that we never would have known about without dyno testing.”
The ETE experience is unique in that many other teams were also performing chassis dyno testing for the first time, while discovering interesting bugs and rushing to make the most of their allotted 8 hours on the dyno. Teams developed their own test plan to have their Camaro run specific tests and accomplished team-specific goals, which varied from regenerative braking strategies to engine start/stop efficiency.
Undeniably, this was a unique learning experience for all attendees.
According to University of Washington’s Controls Lead, Kat Mikhaylyuta, “We were able to learn a lot about how our car performs, specifically on the emissions side. This is a unique experience for us since we don’t have any kind of access to this type of equipment in our lab. We have some ideas how to move forward to improve on what we currently have and hopefully lower our emissions.”
Hayden Hostetler, Arizona State’s EcoCAR Engineering Manager agrees.
“This event has given us a lot of data that we needed to be able to tweak some things in our control strategy and get our vehicle ready for optimum performance at competition,” Hayden said. “We feel like we are ready to show up at competition with a Camaro that is prepared to go through all the events with success.”
Thank you to TRC for all of your support and for making ETE a success! We look forward to seeing all of the teams again at the Year 4 Competition!
Check out some images from the event below:
