Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech

HEVT Attends 100th Anniversary of HR Auto Show

2012-01-19T10:46:00.000-05:00

To kick-off the New Year, HEVT participated in the 2012 Hampton Roads International Auto Show and helped celebrate the 100th year of the event.

The Virginia Beach Convention Center

Hosted by the Hampton Roads Automobile Dealers Association (HRADA), the show was held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center from January 6 - 8. HEVT was among the exhibitors featured in the front lobby display area. As a LEED Gold certified building, the convention center offered preferred parking for eco-friendly vehicles, which was something the team members thought was great!

Preferred parking for eco-friendly vehicles

“We consistently strive to make sure that our show is relevant to the consumer and our lobby display is a key component in our ability to show trends in the automotive industry,” said HRADA Events Producer and Show Director Peter Alexander. “I’ve been associated with the show for over twenty years now and there is a definite transition to lean and green.”

The auto show gave HEVT a chance to reach out to a new audience of interested attendees. “There were also so many Virginia Tech alums who were proud to see Virginia Tech participating in an advanced vehicle technology competition such as EcoCAR 2,” said team leader Jon King. Many attendees had mentioned having previous knowledge of HEVT and AVT competitions. Aside from Tech fans, attendees with general interest in sustainable vehicles also visited the HEVT table.

Lead Outreach Coordinator Rommelyn Conde recalls speaking with an alumnus who remembered being introduced to electric vehicles in the 1970s. “While living in Blacksburg, he and his wife remember a local dealership on Main Street which sold ‘Elcars,’ a popular electric car produced by the Elcar Corporation. Comparing the ‘Elcar’ to the Chevy EcoCAR, he commented on how far technology has come.”

Sarah Kilbourne, outreach coordinator, took the opportunity to participate in GM’s Ride and Drive booth. She had the choice of test-driving a Chevrolet, Buick or GMC vehicle. “I drove the Volt and was amazingly smooth,” said Sarah. “There was a constant line to drive the Volt since it was in such high demand.” That comes as no surprise, since the Volt was just voted the “Most Earth-Friendly” vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show!

Tamara Smith talks with interested onlookers in the background

Peter added, “HEVT’s interaction with the public and ability to provide information and education as to how the industry is evolving provides relevance for the show and helps us to keep the consumers coming back year after year.”

HEVT certainly enjoyed the invitation to be a part of the 100^th anniversary of the Hampton Roads International Auto Show. The team extends its thanks to the event organizers and HRADA for a great weekend!

VT Alum Plugs Into Sustainable Effort

2012-01-17T14:54:00.000-05:00

HEVT members admiring the Tesla Roadster

HEVT’s visit to Kingsport also gave us an opportunity to catch up with Virginia Tech alum Dave Hrivnak (Industrial Engineering and Operations Research ‘82). Dave met the team at Dobyns-Bennett High School and brought his all-electric Tesla Roadster. The speedy high-performance car captivated the attention of both the high schools students and HEVT members.

Afterwards, Dave accompanied the team to the Shelby Street garage that houses new electric vehicle charging stations. Much to the delight of team leader Jon King, Dave offered him a ride to the garage in the Telsa. “It was great getting to talk to someone who owned and drove a Tesla Roadster, so when he offered me a ride it I couldn't have been more excited,” said Jon. “Dave drove me around as we continued to talk about the car. Without warning while I was talking he turned on to a main road and floored the accelerator. I was literally thrown back in my seat and could not continue speaking until he let off the pedal. The acceleration was incredibly smooth and in no time we were going over 60 mph. The Roadster has a great sporty feel with impressive acceleration. Now my goal is to get to drive one.”

The introduction of charging stations at the garage signals an important step toward a gas-free future for Kingsport. On October 16, Dave and two other electric vehicle enthusiasts displayed their vehicles at the charging stations for National Plug In Day. Sponsored by Plug In America, the event highlighted the benefits and popularity of electric vehicles in 26 participating cities across the country.

Jesse & Dave discuss the EcoCAR 2 competition for an interview

Believing in the importance of sustainable technologies, Dave has converted three vehicles into hybrid cars. “The second largest energy usage behind homes is transportation,” said Dave. “When gasoline prices started to rise in 2007, I started to investigate what could be done.”

The former Hokie’s first endeavor was converting his truck into a plug-in hybrid, which improved the mileage by 15%. He has since converted a 1997 Jeep Wrangler to all-electric drive and a Prius to a plug-in electric, boosting mileage efficiency by 25%.

Dave was impressed with the high quality of work produced by HEVT and its first place success in past competitions. “I was impressed with both the quality of work and the fact they placed first in the competition. As the team showed electric drive has many advantages over conventional internal combustion engines. They found an elegant way to introduce a parallel hybrid drivetrain in the vehicle.”

Hometown Hero: Jesse Alley

2012-01-09T15:59:00.000-05:00

Team leader Jesse Alley returned to his hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee to educate middle and high school students about green technology, sustainability, and the field of engineering.

“Going home to Kingsport was really awesome for me,” said Jesse. “It was very rewarding (and a ton of fun) for me to be able to come back home to a hero’s welcome and talk to the students of Kingsport.” Jesse believes it is important and worthwhile to give back to your hometown to provide opportunities to students that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“One of my big goals for this trip was to inspire kids—to put it in their heads that they are capable of being engineers or pursuing some kind of STEM related career path,” said Jesse.

Jesse talks to Robinson Middle School about EcoCAR 2

HEVT set up three educational stations for the Kingsport middle school students. At station one, Jesse gave a presentation on the importance of sustainability and renewable resources, as well as shared background about the EcoCAR 2 competition.

Tamara Smith, team member, Eli White, mechanical subteam leader, and Virginia Hyer and Sarah Kilbourne, outreach coordinators, manned station two. They facilitated an activity challenging students to create their own hybrid cars. “Some of the kids came up with very complex systems to power their vehicle, which was quite surprising to me,” said Eli. Virginia agreed, “We definitely have some future engineers from Kingsport!”

At the last station, team leader Jon King, electrical subteam leader Adam Broda and electrical subteam member Josh Hickman, offered students a close-up look at the first-place car from EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. Educational videos on hybrid technologies were also shown. Josh spent time showing students the battery pack and answering questions about the car. “I’m glad we got the chance to go down to the schools and share with the sixth graders,” he said. “Hopefully it will get them to think about using renewable energy and move away from fossil fuels.”

Tamara, Virginia and Eli explain the hybrid activity to students

At Dobyns-Bennett High School, Jesse’s alma mater, the team spoke several classes. Thanks to the help of the school’s automotive department, a vehicle lift was used to display the car. Students could view the underside of the car. “It was encouraging to see people who really liked hearing about what we do,” Adam said. “As a high schooler, I wasn’t really aware of what it meant to be an engineer, and hopefully we shined a little light on that subject for kids who may be interested in that field.”

All in all, the team members saw the event in Kingsport as a success. “It was a great day and I thought that both the kids and HEVT benefited from it,” said Adam.

We hope the schools enjoyed the events as much as we did. Hope to see future generations of Hokies and budding engineers come out of Kingsport!

Green & Glorious Holidays

2011-12-22T16:53:00.017-05:00

With the holidays just around the corner, here are a few tips on how to stay environmentally friendly this season.

Photo credit: greatgreengoods.com

According to Ecology Center, Americans generate 25% more trash than usual between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. The extra amount of trash comes in the form of consumer goods, packaging, food waste and Christmas trees, which can have huge impacts on the environment.

Whether you’re welcoming guests or traveling to see family, these tips will help you enjoy a green holiday!

Gifts

Most gifts come with an excessive amount of packaging that ends up in the trash. To help reduce the impact of your gifts, follow these quick tips:

Look for durable and energy efficient gifts that don’t come with a lot of packaging
Make a homemade gift by knitting, sewing or art from reused items
Look for gifts that are made of recycled materials or natural components, like sustainably harvested wood, natural fibers or glass
Purchase gifts from local vendors or locally made products

Other green gift ideas include: membership to an organization, donation to a charity in someone’s name, starting a garden, and a recipe book from your own favorite recipes.

No matter the gift, make sure to look for the Energy Star label on entertainment products, as well as the Energy Star Qualified Battery Chargers to keep them powered. For pet or car lovers look for the Healthier Homes ‘Design for the Environment’ label.

Gift Wrap

Photo credit: inspirationforhome.blogspot.com

Instead of using wrapping paper, which always ends up in the trash, think about some of the following reusable alternatives:

Old maps, sheet music or magazine ads
Baskets
Reusable tins
Scarves and handkerchiefs
Leftover fabric
Pages from children’s coloring book
Newspapers and Sunday comic pages
Cake pan or a wooden box

Parties & Cooking

Ingredients used in the average U.S. meal have typically traveled over 1,200 miles by the time they reach your plate. Travel requires a lot of petroleum and refrigeration between transports. While doing your grocery shopping, consider buying locally grown food. This has a smaller impact on the environment since the food doesn’t require energy to be shipped across the country. Shopping at farmers’ markets also directly supports small family farmers.

Other factors to consider when serving food and entertaining guests include:

Buying beverages and snacks in bulk to reduce packaging
Setting the table with reusable plates, glasses and silverware
Recycling everything! Cans, glass, cardboard, paper and plastic are especially important items to recycle this time of year since large amounts of recyclable materials are generated

Remember our Thanksgiving Energy-Saving Tips post? These same tips will come in handy again this month while preparing a meal.

Christmas Trees

Photo credit: cleanspirited.com

The typical tree takes seven to ten years to grow, but its product life is only about one month. That’s a lot of land and energy that is put into growing Christmas trees.

A more eco-friendly choice would be to use either a live potted tree or a fake tree that can be reused over the years.

The following links provide more information on Energy Star Products, Winter Tips and more ways to Reduce Holiday Waste.

HEVT hopes these tips will help guide you to a safe & environmentally friendly New Year!

Sources:
Ecology Center and EPA

Member Bio Series: Jon King

2011-12-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

Team leader Jon King is next in our Member Bio Series. Jon tells us how EcoCAR 2 is "an opportunity to work in a field that I've been passionate about for a very long time."

Member Bio Series: Jesse Alley

2011-12-15T14:12:00.000-05:00

First up in our Member Bio Series is team leader Jesse Alley. Jesse explains that HEVT has been his life for the past three years and why Dobyns-Bennett is one of the best high schools "in the country."

HEVT Reaching Out to Future Hokies

2011-12-12T12:15:00.000-05:00

With its first ever University Open House, Virginia Tech opened its doors to everyone in the community, from prospective students and their families, to donors and alumni, to the just curious.

The Open House allowed visitors to see over 60 campus locations displaying cultural, artistic and scientific projects and programs. HEVT was among one of the participants, welcoming potential Hokies and parents at the Ware Lab. The team set up a table outside of the bay from 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. to greet visitors and discuss HEVT and EcoCAR 2.

Burruss Hall. Photo credit: Virginia Tech Photo Galleries

“It was a great opportunity to reach an audience beyond current students and encourage future Hokies to get involved in opportunities like HEVT,” said controls subteam leader Richard Gonzales.

“High school seniors came up with a lot of questions about the various senior design projects, HEVT’s successes, and what they could do with an engineering major,” said outreach coordinator Katie Wilkes.

Along with the other teams housed in the Ware Lab, HEVT was eager to show students the great opportunities design teams provide to engineering students looking for hands-on experience.

HEVT had another opportunity to reach out to future Hokies. This time, HEVT encouraged an even younger group of students to start thinking about their futures.

At the “Putting a Face on Your Future” Career Day at Andrew Lewis Middle School, HEVT helped middle school students explore possible career opportunities like engineering. Team members Chris Manning and Dale Schiffert, and outreach coordinator Sarah Kilbourne attended the Career Day fair.

"The fair was a good opportunity for the students to get a basic understanding of what HEVT does and what being an engineer entails," said Dale.

Many students were excited to share that they were big Hokie fans. Students enthusiastically lined up at HEVT’s booth. “Students were pretty interested in the design of the car and how it functioned,” said Chris. “One student wanted to know why we didn’t design a car that could run on French fry oil!”

Students had the opportunity to visit over 20 career booths. Other exhibitors included Virginia Western, Salem Police Department, Carilion Paramedics and a local beekeeper.

Team members Dale and Chris talking with students

“I wish I had the opportunity in middle school to explore different career opportunities,” said Sarah. “These students are lucky they’re getting exposed to this experience at such a young age.”

The university’s slogan of Inventing the Future isn’t just about research and discovery. With events such as these, HEVT is helping to invent the future by encouraging students to consider theirs.

Thanksgiving Energy-Saving Tips

2011-11-23T19:47:00.004-05:00

Image courtesy of Flickr user Jennuine Captures

Thanksgiving is recognized for being a big cooking holiday, and it takes a lot of energy to prepare a feast. According to the Department of Energy, in the average American home, as much as 15% of the energy consumed annually comes from kitchen use.

We know it’s easy to get lost in the craze of the holidays and forget our energy-saving ways. However, sustainability should be on the top of our minds, regardless of the season!

Below is a list of tips to help you and your family have a happy and energy efficient Thanksgiving.

*This list was compiled from the Department of Energy, Green Groovy Livin and Consumer Energy Center.

Welcome guests, but keep the oven door closed

While family and friends are sure to be knocking at your door during the holidays, one door that should remain closed is the oven door. Every time the oven door is opened, the temperature can decrease by as much as 25 degrees, causing the oven to use more energy to restore the proper cooking temperature. If possible, use the oven window instead to check on the dish.

It's heating up in the kitchen

For dishes that need longer than an hour, pre-heating the oven isn’t always necessary. Also, if your stovetop or oven is electric, you can turn it off 5-10 minutes before a dish is done, as the lingering heat will finish the cooking. Baking with a ceramic or glass dish can allow you to set the oven 25 degrees less than the recipe calls for. Ceramic and glass hold heat better than metal pans and don’t require the extra heat from the oven.

Splurge on metal reflectors for your burners

Using higher quality metal reflectors under the stovetop burners will decrease stovetop cooking times, as well as save energy.

Don’t play favorites with appliances

A lot of people often neglect crock-pots, microwaves, or toaster ovens. Using these appliances instead of the oven or stovetop can save significant amounts of energy. How? The average toaster oven uses only half the energy that the average electric stovetop does over the same cooking time. To estimate how much energy your own appliances use, visit EERE’s Consumer Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Give your refrigerator a rest

If you have multiple items to store or take out of the fridge, do it all at once rather than opening the door multiple times. This way, the fridge has to do less work to maintain its temperature.

Warming up your holiday party

If you are expecting a large number of guests and a lot of action from your stove, no need to use your furnace during the party. The heat from the stove, along with the numerous guests, will compensate for not having the furnace on.

Baby, it’s cold outside

Despite the cold weather, heat only the portions of the house you are using. This reduces fuel consumption and saves energy. If you are not using the fireplace, keep the damper shut. Keeping the damper open is like leaving a window open – it lets in unwanted cold air, as well as lets heat escape.

Going green on Black Friday

There are tons of sales, but also keep in mind supporting locally made products and businesses. This saves valuable resources that are used to transport products across the country. Also, make a list and check it twice-- don’t buy items at the store that you don’t need or won’t end up using. Remember to bring reusable bags with you to do your holiday shopping!

Avoid excess packing by buying in bulk or skipping gift-wrapping all together. While gift-wrapping adds a nice touch, it also adds extra packaging that eventually ends up in the trash. Reusable paper is also a nice alternative.

How HEVT members are staying energy efficient over the holiday:

Jon King, team leader: “We buy our turkey from local farmers, not from the supermarket. Buying local saves fuel from food being shipped across the country.”

Virginia Hyer, outreach coordinator: “Since we have five families over for Thanksgiving dinner, we always have a lot of dishes. We only run the dishwasher when it’s full and make sure to run it on the energy-saving cycle.”

Katie Wilkes, outreach coordinator: “We recently made our fireplace more energy efficient by installing an insert, where the energy source is placed directly in the fireplace. This prevents cold air from coming in and does not allow heat to escape.”

Jesse Alley, team leader: “Since the turkey has to cook most of the day, we try to get some other dishes in there with it so we don’t have to keep the oven on longer. We always make sure to leave enough room for the heat to circulate, though.”

Sarah Kilbourne, outreach coordinator: “My family tries to use appliances other than the oven that uses less heat, such as the microwave oven. It can use up to 50% less energy than the conventional and still works great for dishes like yams.”

HEVT wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

HEVT Attends Expo to Promote Green Living

2011-11-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

Members of the team attended the 12^th Annual Green Living Expo at Roanoke Civic Center’s Special Events Center on Nov 4-5. Hosted by the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals (AECP), the expo offered exhibits, workshops, seminars, demonstrations and a silent auction. “The expo was another great opportunity to let the local community know who we are and what we do,” said electrical subteam leader Adam Broda.

Participants were invited to learn about energy conservation and efficiency, renewable energy, green building and sustainable living. The expo received the Virginia Green Certification as a Green Event, an award that recognizes tourism-related businesses taking voluntary actions to reduce the environmental impacts of Virginia’s Tourism Industry. The Virginia Green Certification is a partnership program run by the Department of Environmental Equality, the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association.

HEVT members at the expo

HEVT particularly enjoyed speaking with kids at the expo. “It was great to hear their excitement for learning about hybrid technologies,” said outreach coordinator Katie Wilkes.

Many expo attendees who visited the booth had prior knowledge of HEVT and were interested to hear more about EcoCAR2 and the team’s progress.

“Everyone from elementary school children to retire[es] seemed to come away with a better understanding of what HEVT does and how hybrid cars work,” stated Ryan Carwile, a member of the controls subteam.

HEVT also spoke with fellow expo exhibitors from various industries. “The [expo] was a great way for businesses and consumers to come together and talk about new green technologies and HEVT looks forward to continuing this relationship in the future,” said controls team member Alexander Keller.

The Chevy Volt

Representatives from Chevrolet were also at the expo engaging the public. “We had a blast showing off our awesome vehicle right next to Chevy’s newest model of the Volt,” said Chris Manning, a senior on the controls subteam.

AECP is a non-profit organization that advocates for low-income energy users, energy conservation programs, renewable energy programs and the advancement of green building principles. For more information on AECP and their upcoming events, check out their website.

We’re Still Talking 'Bout Fall Workshop

2011-11-05T23:32:00.000-04:00

The team came back with so much from Fall Workshop that we’re still talking about it. We caught up with HEVT’s Fall Workshop participants to get some of their reflections about their experiences.

Approximately 540 miles separate Blacksburg and Pontiac, Mich., where Fall Workshop took place. “Nine hour trips are not usually fun,” said electrical subteam leader Adam Broda. “Surprisingly this one was not that bad,” he said of the trip. One of the perks of spending up to about 20 hours roundtrip in the car is having the opportunity to bond with one another.

Adam, Xander, Richard and Kieran hanging at Kart 2 Kart

The group managed to keep themselves entertained. “Spending that much time in a car with Dr. Nelson inevitably turns into an automotive lecture series,” said Kieran Lee, a senior on the mechanical subteam. “It left me feeling like I had a better grasp on the specifics of our goals and means to achieve them.”

For team leader Jesse Alley, this was not his first long car ride to travel to an EcoCAR event. “There’s lots of team bonding, plus cool stuff to do and interesting things to learn,” Jesse said. One of the first events the group attended was the sponsor social where they spoke with sponsors including Snap-On Tools, GM, The Mathworks, Freespace and A123 systems.

“The sponsor social was a great time to network with many of the companies that are supplying us with some pretty cool tools, components and software,” said team leader Jon King. “Many of those components we won’t receive until year two, so it was a nice sneak peak of what we are going to get next year.”

Jesse was excited about the “oodles and oodles of really cool tools!” that Snap-On systems is contributing to the competition. Snap-On is providing a rolling work chest with tools that the team is going to need throughout the entire competition, which will facilitate the building process of the car. Jesse admitted “it took some serious effort to keep myself from drooling.”

Another sponsor, A123 Systems provided the group with detailed information on their Energy Storage System, which the team will be using in the competition. “They were ready and willing to talk with us to share any information they had regarding their products,” said Kieran.

The team also received new information about the dSpace Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) that they will be able to utilize in the design and development of the vehicle. The group was particularly excited about this session because the dSpace HIL should be arriving soon at the Ware Lab. “I personally enjoyed the dSPACE session the most,” said Jon. “Our HIL was set up in the room and we actually got to play around with deploying and communicating with a model running on the HIL system.”

Fall Workshop participants with the EcoCAR 2 car

For controls subteam leader Richard Gonzales, the training session on how to use the dSPACE HIL system was really interesting. “There are nearly endless possibilities of the equipment for vehicle controller development,” he said. “The team will be using this system in place of a physical vehicle in this year’s competition,” said Richard.

Katie Wilkes, an outreach coordinator, enjoyed interacting with Argonne National Lab, where they head up the outreach function of EcoCAR 2. “The ladies were really helpful and I’m excited to continue working with them,” said Katie. The video editing session was also very informative. The tips they provided will be helpful in spreading awareness about HEVT’s efforts. “I think making and dispersing videos will be great way to reach out to the public,” Katie said.

In a previous post we highlighted a team favorite: the GM Performance Build Center where Corvette engines are manufactured. Another favorite was the Kart 2 Kart night where the organizers treated all the teams at Fall Workshop to a night of go-karting. “For me, this was definitely the most fun part of the workshop,” said Jesse, who ended up driving the wrong way for about 50 feet because he spun out.

We’re glad the group had such a great time in Pontiac! “Overall, the trip to Michigan was a lot of work, but also very fun,” said Richard.

A Fall Workshop Favorite: GM’s Performance Build Center

2011-10-30T15:20:00.000-04:00

Among all the opportunities at Fall Workshop in Pontiac, Michigan, the HEVT team attendees favored one experience in particular: the tour of the General Motors’ Performance Build Center (PBC).

The PBC is located in Wixom, Michigan, roughly 17 miles from Pontiac. The facility produces specialized, high-image powertrains for GM’s premier vehicles and has the capability of producing up to 15,000 engines per year.

On the tour, the team went through the ‘Corvette Engine Build Experience,’ a hands-on program that shows how Corvette engines are built. The Experience offers Corvette owners the option of helping to assemble engines for their new cars. You can catch a glimpse of what the Experience has to offer here.

“I really enjoyed the tour of the GM Powertrain Build Center because we got to see first-hand how Corvette engines are built,” says Controls Subteam Leader Richard Gonzalez. “It’s cool how Corvette lets their customers have some control in the assembling of their car.”

The 100,000 sq ft. facility first opened in 2004 producing the LS7 engine for the Z06 Corvette. The PCB employs a team of 30 to hand-build each ZR1 Corvette LS9, Z06 Corvette LS7 and Grand Sport Manual Coupe Corvette LS3-Dry Sump engines. Each engine is tested and balanced to ensure the engine meets GM’s standards of quality from their high performance cars.

The tour of the Performance Build Center was just one of many things the Workshop attendees enjoyed in Michigan. They were eager to share photos of the Corvettes with the rest of the team.

Fall Workshop Brings a Wealth of Information to HEVT

2011-10-21T14:22:00.000-04:00

Over Fall Break, HEVT traveled to Pontiac, Michigan to attend the EcoCAR 2 Fall Workshop. Team members Jesse Alley, Adam Broda, Richard Gonzalez, Alexander Keller, Jon King, Kieran Lee, Katie Wilkes, and faculty advisor Dr. Nelson made the trip to participate in the informational event.

HEVT was one of 15 North American schools invited to participate in the workshop hosted at the GM Powertrain Facility. Over 50 sessions were offered to help teams in various areas of the three-year competition. EcoCAR 2 sponsors such as General Motors, Argonne National Laboratory, MathWorks, dSPACE, A123 Systems, and AVL Powertrain Engineering hosted the training sessions.

The sessions covered an assortment of subjects, including electrical, mechanical, controls, outreach, and business deliverables. Kent Helfrich, Executive Director of Electronic Controls & Software at General Motors said, “These bright students are the future of the automotive industry,” and wished the teams good luck in Year One.

HEVT’s favorite part of Fall Workshop was an evening session hosted by GM. The group toured the Wixom Performance Build Center to see where Corvette engines are assembled. They also enjoyed the Sponsor Social Networking and Recruiting reception on opening night where they were able to interact with sponsors.

Team members and Dr. Nelson posing with a Corvette at the Wixom Performance Build Center

The group was excited to return to Virginia Tech to share their newly acquired knowledge with the rest of the team. Particularly, the team was eager to share information on math-based design tools that will come in handy when comparing and selecting an advanced vehicle powertrain that meets team and competition goals.

Our group had a great time at Fall Workshop! Check back soon to read more about their experiences.

Driving the Message of Sustainability

2011-10-08T13:38:00.000-04:00

September was a very eco-friendly month for HEVT!

Members of our team drove down to Galax, Virginia to participate in the Save Green Expo held at the Crossroads Institute. The expo, sponsored by Grayson Landcare, gave environmentally oriented businesses and non-profits the opportunity to share information and display technology.

The event was aimed to help local residents learn great ways to “Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle.” Expo participants ranged from experts on alternative energy to organic gardening, to businesses selling earth-friendly products and of course, HEVT!

Team members talking to a Save Green Expo participant

Our team had a great time speaking with local residents and telling them about our competition. Several attendees we talked with had dabbled with hybrid or electric vehicles before, and our team provided them with answers to some pretty technical questions.

HEVT also participated in the Sustainability Fair in Blacksburg's Market Square Park. Sustainability Week is a weeklong series of events organized by representatives from three groups: Sustainable Blacksburg, the Town of Blacksburg, and the Office of Energy & Sustainability at Virginia Tech.

We were given a great location on the Media Building Lawn across from the Farmer’s Market. Many fair-goers were interested in hearing about the project, which gave our team members the chance to spread more awareness about our competition.

We want to thank both the Save Green Expo and Sustainability Week for giving us the chance to participate in their events! Also, be on the look out for us at the Green Living and Energy Expo in Roanoke on Nov 11.

Stay Green,

HEVT

September GM Visits Kickoff EcoCAR 2

2011-10-05T12:23:00.001-04:00

The month of September brought two great opportunities for the HEVT team. Pam Fletcher, Global Chief Engineer for the Volt and Plug in Hybrid Electric Powertrains, and Keith Van Houten, General Motors University Relations Team Coordinator for Virginia Tech, paid visits to campus.


Pam Fletcher posing in front of the Chevy Volt with team leader Jesse Alley and EcoCAR 2 adviser Doug Nelson

Pam Fletcher’s visit brought her 545 miles from Flint, Michigan to Blacksburg, Virginia. She made the trip driving a Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid and extended electric range vehicle (EREV). Driving the Volt to Virginia Tech demonstrated the vehicle’s extended range capability, which is its primary selling point.

Pam spent time with the HEVT team at the Ware Lab showing them the Volt and answering technical questions about the car. This valuable one-on-one session gave team members the opportunity to brainstorm design ideas for EcoCar 2’s Chevy Malibu. Afterwards, Pam gave a presentation entitled, “The Chevrolet Volt…The Future is Electrifying” to a full house in Holden Hall. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers hosted the event.

Later in the month, Keith Van Houten visited the team to present a $25,000 donation from General Motors, a co-sponsor of the EcoCAR 2 competition. Keith is an alumnus of VT’s mechanical engineering program and said he loves “being a part of [the competition] and coming back to campus.”


Keith Van Houten (center, left) presents the donation to HEVT team members

Keith presented the donation to team leader Jesse Alley in the form of a faux giant check. “It’s really an honor to be a part of the team in the first place,” he said. Jesse recognizes the benefits as well: “It really is a…once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There is not any other competition that can measure up to EcoCAR or EcoCAR 2.”

Steve Mackay, Communications Coordinator for the College of Engineering, posted about Keith’s visit to campus on the CoE blog. You can read it here.

A big thanks goes out to both Pam and Keith for their visits. EcoCar 2 is off to a great start!

College of Engineering Tailgate

2011-10-01T11:57:00.000-04:00

Have you stopped by the College of Engineering tailgates before? HEVT welcomes everyone to come by the Clemson tailgate today before the game from 4-6 p.m. on the Drillfield. Enjoy some free food and fun while meeting members of the team and checking out our first place car from last year’s EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge.

An HEVT team member telling a tailgater about our sponsors

The College of Engineering hosts tailgates before each home game. They are always held on the Drillfield two hours before game time up until kickoff. We look forward to seeing you out there!

Make sure to stop by the upcoming tailgates as well!

10/8 Miami – COE Homecoming (3:30 pm kickoff time)

10/22 Boston College – University Homecoming (kickoff TBD)

11/17 UNC (8:00 pm kickoff time)

Welcome Back!

2011-09-30T19:54:00.000-04:00

We want to say thank you to everyone who kept up with our blog last year and supported us in our journey with EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. We placed first out of sixteen other universities across North America! Our great achievement was announced in the university's VT News.

We are extremely proud of everyone who has participated with HEVT for the past three years. We’re equally excited to start on a whole new challenge, EcoCAR2: Plugging in to the Future.

This year kicks off the first year of EcoCAR2, the 23^rd year of the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions. This year, our team will be working hard to impact the design of a Chevrolet Malibu, donated by General Motors. Our goal is to reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions without compromising performance, safety and consumer acceptability.

Along with a host of new faces, HEVT welcomes back this year's team leaders Jesse Alley and Jon King, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering Doug Nelson as the faculty advisor. Keith Van Houten will again be serving as the General Motors University Relations Team Coordinator for Virginia Tech.

Stay updated on our progress, events and other news by checking out our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube channel and of course, this blog! Good luck, HEVT!

HEVT Joins EPA in Celebrating Earth Day

2011-04-25T19:14:00.001-04:00

Rain or shine, Earth Day events go on. Despite the gloomy forecast, Virginia Tech’s Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) made the 4 and ½ hour trip from Blacksburg to Washington D.C.’s National Mall to show off their EcoCAR at the EPA’s Earth Day events this weekend.

The EPA Earth Day tent housed both “green” exhibits, such as the Virginia Tech EcoCAR booth, as well as 55 university teams competing for EPA’s P3 award. The P3—people, prosperity, and the planet—is a competition that provides funding for top collegiate sustainable design programs. Though Virginia Tech was not among the competitors this year, HEVT was honored to be exhibiting among such great future-forward ideas just like the EcoCAR competition.

Saturday’s rain storm made for quite a mess, but there were still plenty of visitors to the HEVT booth. Visitors loved the team’s toy hybrid cars and were excited to talk about the car and the competition. On Sunday, the skies cleared up and visitors were able to spend time with the VT_REX as well as visit our table inside the EPA tent. It was exciting to talk to attendees of the EPA event as well as passer-bys who were simply out to enjoy the sights of D.C.

Overall, the event was a huge success for HEVT since we were able to reach not only EPA Earth Day supporters as well as hundreds of other D.C. visitors and residents. Thank you EPA for letting us be a part of such a great weekend!

SEC's Recipe for E-Week Success

2011-03-23T18:39:00.000-04:00

SEC logo on the VTREX

Food + friends + lots of games and engineering projects = a successful start to Virginia Tech Student Engineers’ Council’s “E-Week” events. The Student Engineers’ Council (SEC) is an invaluable resource for Hokie engineers as well as nearly every engineering organization on Virginia Tech’s campus. “E-Week” (short for “Engineering Week”) is just one way that SEC brings together the engineering community on campus for a chance to have fun and show off current projects.

On Monday night, HEVT attended the Design Team Showcase along with around 10 other exhibits. Team members got a chance to interact with younger engineers and talk about the benefits of joining a competitive team such as HEVT and getting the chance to participate in EcoCAR. Tuesday night, HEVT drove the team’s EcoCAR across campus, filled with plenty of swag and games to join other engineering groups for “Fun Fest.” It didn’t take long to attract plenty of visitors to the team’s display and HEVT members had a great time interacting with potential future team members as well as passer-bys that were curious about the car.

As always, the team is extremely thankful for such great local sponsors such as the SEC and we had a blast participating as an organization in E-Week events.

Team members interacting with the students

Young boy gets a taste of "hybrid" technology

HEVT exhibit at the SEC Fun Fest event

Vehicle Progress Update - Safety Tech Inspection at EPA

2011-03-16T14:44:00.002-04:00

Just before the VTREX shipped to Ann Arbor, Michigan for EPA testing and EcoCAR Spring Workshop, the team made sure that the car was prepared to pass the competition’s rigorous safety tech inspection. Each EcoCAR team’s vehicle must pass all parts of the safety tech inspection before the car can be driven in any road tests, or in this case be approved for dynamometer testing at EPA.

Key points of the safety tech inspection include checking to make sure critical fasteners are torqued to the proper specifications, checking to ensure that wires and coolant hoses are properly secured and safe from potential damage or movement, and checking the high voltage systems to ensure everything is correctly labeled and properly installed.

Last year, it took HEVT several days to get the VTREX through all aspects of the safety tech inspection. This year, the team made sure to make the process as painless as possible by running multiple mock inspections that went through every requirement on the official inspection list. All of this hard work paid off since the VTREX was the first of all sixteen teams to complete safety tech at Spring Workshop this year, which allowed the car to get straight to emissions testing.

HEVT is so proud of all the engineers’ hard work and dedication to make sure the VTREX is as safe as possible and up to competition standard. Way to go team! To learn a little bit more about the details of safety tech, check out the video below from our team's YouTube channel.

Virginia Tech EcoCAR Travels to EPA

2011-03-10T11:21:00.001-05:00

A part of the Virginia Tech EcoCAR team (HEVT) traveled to Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, Michigan on Sunday March 6^th to participate in the Year 3 Spring Workshop hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The team is proud to say that with the lessons learned at the Year 2 competition in Yuma, AZ, the vehicle was ready for safety technical inspection. Of course, the safety tech inspectors from GM and Argonne National Lab did find a few minor things to improve on before the final competition. HEVT is proud that the VT_REX was the first to pass safety technical inspection at 10 AM on the first day of the workshop.

From there, the team went straight to the 4-wheel drive chassis dynamometer test cell and started testing the first of two prepared hybrid control strategies, which focused on high fuel economy. At the end of the day the team had driven several drive cycles, and had also done some steady state speed testing for vehicle refinement. All of the data from dyno testing was made available that night to the team to look over and learn from. Tuesday morning saw difficulty getting the engine started, but the team was still able to start testing their “low-emissions” control strategy. Later that day, the team went on a 2-wheel drive dyno to perform engine only testing on city and highway drive cycles, which identified a problem with the engine controls: the engine is running lean and producing high levels of undesirable NOx emissions. GM is being extremely helpful in assisting in diagnosing the problems with the engine.

Wednesday the vehicle was placed side by side with Penn State in the dyno test cells in the morning to do EV mode testing. By the time that the EV mode testing was completed, Mississippi State had taken Penn State’s place on the adjacent dyno. The team was able to complete 9 UDDS or ‘City’ drive cycles before the hybrid battery was fully depleted and could not complete the 10^th UDDS. The VT_REX did rack up an impressive 65 + miles as a pure EV which is a huge improvement over the Year 2 vehicle.

The agenda for today is to charge the A123Systems hybrid battery back up to 100 %. The team depleted the pack a little bit more than desired, so it will take almost six and a half hours for the vehicle to recharge off of the grid here at EPA. HEVT hopes to go back on the 2-wheel drive dyno to drive two highway drive cycles as an EV, and then go back on the 4-wheel drive dyno to do a full federal certification test. While the experience here at EPA is not over just yet, the team has learned a lot about the energy consumed on board the vehicle and how to improve it back in Blacksburg, VA before Year 3 competition at GM’s Milford Proving Grounds this June. Thanks again to EPA and the EcoCAR organizers for putting this wonderful event together.

Kids' Tech University - Spreading the word about hybrid technologies

2011-02-27T13:58:00.005-05:00

Young students experiment with the hybrid toy cars

What better way to spend a sunny Blacksburg Saturday than to learn about hybrid technologies? That’s what 450 youth and their parents did on February 26 at the second Kids Tech University (KTU) event of 2011. KTU is a series of four workshops held on Virginia Tech’s campus from January to April that aim to cultivate young students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Each event consists of a storytelling session, which is centered on answering a question about the world around us, as well as a hands-on component, which is where HEVT fit in to the event as well as numerous other environmentally-focused organizations from around the area.

Early Saturday morning, HEVT members parked the VTREX and the ChallengeX car (from 2008) outside Lane Stadium and set up the team table in the South End Zone club boxes. The indoor exhibit featured several new hybrid toy cars that HEVT plans to use to teach kids about how a hybrid works. The toy cars were a huge hit and the kids as well as their parents walked away with lots of new knowledge about hybrid cars and engineering opportunities, such as EcoCAR. A huge “thank you” to KTU for allowing HEVT to participate in such an awesome event!

KTU students and families check out the VTREX and ChallengeX car display

Vehicle Progress Update - Rear Traction Motor and Subframe

2011-02-17T17:12:00.000-05:00

One of the great benefits of the VTREX is its electric vehicle (EV) capabilities. To make sure that the car runs as efficiently as possible in this year’s competition, the team has upgraded the rear electric traction motor and designed a new custom subframe for mounting the motor. The new motor is more powerful and more efficient, and therefore will help us to meet our end goal of 100 mpg gasoline equivalence while offering excellent acceleration. Installing the rear traction electric motor and subframe took the engineers just about two weeks to complete. This allowed them enough time to make sure everything was installed properly and would easily pass the EcoCAR competition’s safety requirements. The team is in the final validation stages for vehicle development and integration in a final big push towards spring workshop testing at EPA in Ann Arbor, MI.

Vehicle Progress Update - Battery Construction

2011-02-12T14:15:00.002-05:00

As the March deadline to ship the VTREX to EPA testing creeps closer, HEVT is working hard to make significant changes to the vehicle. Last week, the team focused on making significant improvements to the 360 Volt, A123 Lithium Ion Phosphate battery pack. In the past, HEVT has faced many challenges with incorporating the battery, such as how to maintain adequate cargo space and a large gap between the floor pan and the battery base plate. These latest improvements, however, aim to address such challenges. For starters, HEVT is changing the layout of the battery modules so that they are all contained within the frame rails of the car which allows it to be lower in the vehicle. This adjustment helps open up more space in the trunk and lowers the center of gravity in the rear, which helps alleviate over-steer. Also now the passenger compartment is now completed sealed from the outside elements which will prevent carbon monoxide intrusion as well as other road debris and noise.

The changes in the battery, including the redesign of the high voltage battery pack, are largely motivated by the installation of the new, more powerful rear traction motor. HEVT engineers dedicated the majority of the week to rewiring the low voltage communication harness as well as the high voltage wires to accommodate the new battery module layout.

To complete the battery upgrades, HEVT needs to finalize the wiring, permanently mount the modules to the base plate, and then secure the top of the battery case. We’re confident that these modifications will ensure that the VTREX is a highly efficient and “green” vehicle by improving its electric capabilities.

Panduit Named Newest Local Sponsor for HEVT

2011-02-09T14:12:00.005-05:00

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) of Virginia Tech would like to formally thank Panduit, our newest sponsor, for donating several key electrical supplies used in wiring our plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the VTREX. Items donated include a wiring terminal kit, High Voltage lugs, and orange solid conduit (loom). Getting access to components for a battery-powered vehicle is very expensive and Panduit has graciously donated some very important and potentially expensive items. Without such generous sponsors, the engineers on the team would not be able to successfully wire and operate the VTREX. Thank you Panduit for your ongoing support!

NSF Conference on Engineering Sustainability

2011-01-08T17:36:00.001-05:00

Trey explains the VTREX to a conference attendee

On January 4, the VTREX left the Ware Lab and headed south to Atlanta, GA to attend the National Science Foundation's conference on Civil Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) that was themed "Engineering for Sustainability and Prosperity." The car, along with HEVT members Trey Perkins and Rachel Dobroth, spent the following four days as part of an EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge exhibit. Virginia Tech was joined by four other schools from the competition—the Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Georgia Tech, and Missouri S&T—and the VTREX was one of two EcoCARs on display. The goal of the EcoCAR exhibit was to promote the international competition and its goals, while showing how much the NSF’s support has meant to the all of the teams. Trey Perkins was present to give an engineer’s perspective on HEVT’s work while Rachel Dobroth, HEVT’s outreach coordinator, attended to make sure the message came across loud and clear. Both Hokies had an amazing time talking to conference attendees as well as hanging out with their fellow competitors. A special thanks to the EcoCAR organizers and the NSF for making our appearance at the conference possible!

The VTREX at the EcoCAR exhibit

11th Annual Green Living and Energy Expo

2010-12-04T16:47:00.002-05:00

It has been a long standing tradition over the past several years for HEVT to set up their competition vehicle at the AECP Green Living and Energy Expo at the Roanoke Civic Center. HEVT was excited to attend the expo again this year to show off their work. On December 3rd, the VTREX made the drive up I-81 to attend the two-day event, despite snowy conditions. HEVT was one of 90 exhibits at the Expo this year, and one of four that were directly related to sustainable vehicle technology. Since the Expo was “green” focused, common themes of public interaction were focused on the benefits of E-85 ethanol fuel, why hybrid technology makes sense in today’s society, and how to best reduce emissions and overall waste. Overall, conference attendees were excited about the innovative solutions that HEVT uses to keep the VTREX as sustainably focused as possible.

Career Day at Belle Heth Elementary

2010-11-19T14:30:00.001-05:00

HEVT members were proud to show off the VTREX on a beautiful fall morning in Radford, VA. The students at Belle Heth were excited to see all of the neat career-day exhibits, especially HEVT's car. The engineers allowed the students to climb in the vehicle to "drive" their very first plug-in hybrid electric car. The students were most impressed by the size of the VTREX's battery. "There's no way that thing will ever fit in one of my toys!" one of the fifth grade boys joked to his friends.

Students check out the VTREX battery pack

Even next to a big, red fire truck and rescue vehicle with its sirens wailing, our EcoCAR was a huge hit. Students left the HEVT exhibit with new excitement for science and engineering, and many of them promised to try to convince their parents to make their next vehicle a hybrid-electric vehicle. Overall it was a great day for both the Virginia Tech engineers as well as the young students, and HEVT hopes to continue to attend the career fair at Belle Heth Elementary in the future.

ALMS: The "NeXt" Generation of VT Engineers?

2010-11-16T21:28:00.004-05:00

HEVT team members took some time away from class today to drive up to Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem, Virginia. Our team joined several other organizations and businesses from the New River Valley for a school-wide career fair. Our engineers had a great time getting to know the students. We told them all about our team and our involvement in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. It was also fun to get the students excited about engineering in general (especially engineering at Virginia Tech, of course).

We were pleasantly surprised to see how many 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders were already considering futures in engineering and vehicle development. In fact, a few 6^th graders were so passionate about cars and advanced technology that they openly challenged our engineers’ project and ideas. While unexpected, our team welcomed the difficult questions and friendly debates.

Despite the gross weather, HEVT had a great afternoon with the students. We definitely think the Virginia Tech Department of Engineering should keep a look out for future engineers from Andrew Lewis Middle School!

Virginia Tech’s Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team Tailgates for Georgia Tech

2010-11-08T16:32:00.009-05:00

This past Thursday Virginia Tech’s Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) showcased their vehicle at the College of Engineering tailgate for the Georgia Tech game. Despite the cold and rainy weather, several alumni made it out to tailgate and check out the team’s hybrid electric vehicle, the VT-REX. Several members of HEVT were present to explain their VT-REX and its role in sustainability through green energy. HEVT was eager to discuss the work they do through HEVT in the EcoCAR competition and its promotion of advanced vehicle technologies. As the final HEVT tailgate, the event was a great success! Look out for more events educating Virginia Tech and the local community on EcoCAR: the NeXt Challenge and the sustainability HEVT is achieving through their work on VT-REX.

Sustainable Blacksburg Visits the Ware Lab

2010-11-08T16:22:00.008-05:00

This past Wednesday Sustainable Blacksburgers made a visit the Ware Lab, where Virginia Tech’s Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) works on their hybrid electric vehicle, the VT-REX. The tour started with an overview of the entire lab, and then moved along each engineering project until they reached the HEVT bay. Members of Sustainable Blacksburg were interested in HEVT’s work towards sustainability and asked many questions concerning the specific technology used in creating VT-REX. Both Sustainable Blacksburg and HEVT members enjoyed discussing hybrid electricity and how it is specifically used in VT-REX. Two unexpected visitors came as well! Two proud parents of a previous Challenge-X student engineer showed up at the lab to check out how HEVT engineers are working to win the EcoCAR challenge. They joked about how their son spent most all his time in the lab. HEVT members could definitely relate to their son's experience! Overall, the Ware Lab tour was a great success. HEVT is excited to continue their work with Sustainable Blacksburg in collaboration of more events educating sustainability in the future.

VTHEVT Visits Blacksburg's Town Council

2010-10-27T15:14:00.002-04:00

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech (VTHEVT) visited Blacksburg’s Town Council to introduce their work with hybrid electricity through their vehicle, VT-REX, as well as their participation in the EcoCAR competition. The Town of Blacksburg was excited to hear about the work VTHEVT has done dealing with Sustainability. Many Town Council members are also member of Sustainable Blacksburg, a local organization that VTHEVT has recently partnered with that focuses on sustainability within the community. After the meeting, several members of the Town Council came out to get a closer look at the vehicle. Mayor Ron Rordam event went on a Ride and Drive in their VT-REX! After Mayor Rordam got back he exclaimed, “We made it!” He greatly enjoyed the experience and hearing about what work VTHEVT has done in creating green energy through hybrid electricity. “I think it’s an exciting wave of the future to go 50 miles completely on electricity and I wish you all the best in phase three of the competition!” said Mayor Rordam after the Ride and Drive. VTHEVT enjoyed their time educating the Town Council about EcoCAR and is excited to work with the Town of Blacksburg in future events educating the community about working towards sustainability.

Students at Falling Branch Elementary Get To Know the VT-REX

2010-10-11T23:47:00.012-04:00

Today the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech (HEVT) ventured out to Falling Branch Elementary in Christiansburg, VA to educate 200 4th and 5th graders about the EcoCAR competition and our hybrid-electric vehicle, the VT-REX. The children came outside in groups of 40 to get an interactive lesson on green energy and how the VT-REX plays a part in sustainable and advanced vehicle technology. After a short introduction by HEVT team members, the kids couldn’t wait to check out the VT-REX! The students switched off in groups learning about the front and back components of the hybrid-electric VT-REX. The students had excellent questions about how the vehicle works and specifics on its technology. At the end of each session, students had an opportunity to sit inside the vehicle and explore it from another perspective. Sitting in the vehicle, kids burst out with quotes including “I like this car!” and “This is so cool!” Both HEVT members and the kids of Falling Branch Elementary had a great time discussing sustainability as well as the hybrid-electric technology associated with the VT-REX and EcoCAR competition! Virginia Tech’s HEVT is excited to continue their education of youth within the community through future outreach events at several middle and elementary schools in the New River Valley.

Great News! Official Partnership with Sustainable Blacksburg

2010-10-10T13:43:00.005-04:00

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech is very proud to announce our official partnership with Sustainable Blacksburg! Following the Sustainable Transportation Fair, VT HEVT met with Sustainable Blacksburg to discuss future plans to promote sustainability within our New River Valley community. VT HEVT is extremely excited about this partnership and the opportunities to promote the VT-REX along with eco-friendly practices throughout the New River Valley community.

The VT-REX joins Tesla Roadsters and Hybrid Buses at Sustainable Transportation Fair

2010-09-25T09:29:00.018-04:00

On this beautiful fall morning in Blacksburg, members of the The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech showcased their VT-REX vehicle at Sustainable Blacksburg’s annual Sustainable Transportation Fair. The fair was held at the local Blacksburg Community Center and showcased several other hybrid and electric-powered vehicles, including the completely electric Tesla Roadster! Blacksburg Transit also chose to premiere one of their highly-anticipated hybrid buses, which was a great hit with the crowd. VT HEVT met many prominent members of the sustainable community including Dennis Cochrane, head of sustainability at Virginia Tech, and town council member Leslie Hager-Smith. Both Cochrane and Smith were extremely impressed with the VT-REX and leaps that HEVT has made toward advancing sustainable vehicle technology.

HEVT Reaches Out to Engineering Employers at SEC Social

2010-09-14T10:24:00.004-04:00

HEVT co-team leader, Lynn Gantt (right) explains the logistics of the battery to employers

Tuesday night, HEVT showcased the VT-REX, their hybrid-electric EcoCAR at the Student Engineers’ Council’s Wine & Cheese social. There were many companies at the event interested in Virginia Tech’s hybrid-electric car including Tesla, Space Ex and the Air Force. HEVT members were ecstatic to share their experiences speak about the work they have done with the vehicle while competing in EcoCAR: the NeXt Challenge!

HEVT Kicks Off at College of Engineering Tailgate: Virginia Tech vs. James Madison Football Game

2010-09-11T15:00:00.005-04:00

The Virginia Tech EcoCAR, the VT_REX(VT Range-Extended Crossover), made its second appearance of the school year at the College of Engineering alumni tailgate this past Saturday on the centerpiece of Virginia Tech’s campus, the drill field. Despite the cold and rainy weather, alumni and their families came out to see the Chevy EcoCAR as well as other exciting engineering projects taking place at Virginia Tech, including the recent champion of the international Solar Decathlon, the Lumenhaus. Several members of HEVT were present to showcase the VT_REX and answer questions for tailgate attendees. The Virginia Tech engineering alumni were quick to offer their expertise as it relates to the hybrid vehicle. Some alumni even joked about returning to Virginia Tech as a student to be part of the team! Fueled by the enthusiasm of the alumni, the all-new senior HEVT team members are ready and excited to get their hands dirty for Year 3 of EcoCAR: the NeXt Challenge.

The NeXt Generation of Engineers Meets EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge

2010-08-20T11:15:00.014-04:00

Freshman engineering students came out in masses to Virginia Tech’s Duck Pond this past Friday to get a primer on the world of engineering. Virginia Tech student organizations and student design teams were on hand to present their organization’s objectives and work to the entering class of 2014. The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech not only displayed their functional EcoCAR, the VT-REX, but also got an additional 72 incoming students to sign up that they were interested in the project! The Hokie Bird was also able to make a quick appearance and a photo-op with Virginia Tech’s student-built vehicle. As the EcoCAR competition moves into Year 3, the all-new team of Mechanical Engineering seniors is gearing up to learn all about advanced technology vehicles and begin refining the VT-REX for competition in June 2011!

Special Thanks to Shelor Motor Mile

2010-05-06T11:27:00.009-04:00

When students arrive on I-81 South heading to Virginia Tech they pass by Shelor Motor Mile, the local GM dealership. Most students may not ever have a reason to head out to Shelor but HEVT has found themselves there on many a late afternoon. Service Manager Rocky has been a huge help to the team in getting our vehicle Chevy VT-REXready to head to Yuma on May 7th. The service department has helped with alignments, sourcing much needed parts, balancing our competition tires, and loaning out special service tools after hours. HEVT is proud to call Shelor one of our top local sponsors and aides. But more important than the availability of an alignment machine or loaner tools, has been the knowledge provided to the team. Through talks with Rocky the team was able to fix CAN communication issues on GMLAN and develop a plan for improving vehicle handling and alignment during Year 3. Hopefully next Fall the Chevy VT-REX will make its way out to the Shelor Motor Mile Dragway and post a good eighth mile time. We look forward to continuing to work with Shelor and are extremely thankful for the help provided to the Year 2 team.

Virginia Tech President Steger Visits HEVT

2010-04-26T13:27:00.003-04:00

Today University President Steger came by the Ware Lab to talk to HEVT about our Chevy EcoCAR. We had originally planned to take President Steger for a drive around campus but the rainy day made it hard for us to be able to take the car out. Instead Graduate Team Leader Lynn Gantt and Faculty Advisor Dr. Nelson showed President Steger around the vehicle and explained our Split-Parallel architecture.

Controls Team member Jon King also showed President Steger the driver interface mounted in the dashboard and walked him through the experience a typical driver would have in our Chevy EcoCAR

The Big Push in March

2010-03-27T21:18:00.005-04:00

The week of March 22-26th has been filled with lots of exciting work on the HEVT vehicle and a lot of high profile visits. The week started out with a visit from Kent Helfrich, who spoke to engineering students at Virginia Tech about the EcoCAR project and the opportunities that exist for Automotive Engineering at General Motors (GM).

HEVT is located in the Ware Lab, a student engineering design facility, which was a focus of attention on campus this week. HEVT and other interdisciplinary engineering projects were featured on the Virginia tech homepage this week. The article shows a picture of our GM mentor Keith Van Houten, a VT alumni, inspecting our car during a visit to campus.

http://www.vt.edu/spotlight/achievement/2010-03-22-ware/ware-lab.html

Team leader Lynn Gantt was selected to meet with Shephard Hill, the President of Boeing International, to discuss how Boeing can recruit the top engineers that Virginia Tech can offer. The meeting was attended by the Blind Driver Challenge and Design Build Fly teams as well. HEVT is honored to be represented in a focus group that recognizes the high caliber of students produced by the EcoCAR Challenge.

Electrical subteam member, Stephen Riner, was featured in the Collegiate Times, a free VT published newspaper. The article publicizes the work done in the Ware Lab to students on campus.

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/15258/engineering-beasts-push-vehicular-innovations

Our technical inspection saw the return on HEVT alumni Steve Boyd of the Department of Energy, to perform our Vehicle Inspection. The vehicle is nearing a state of completion and readiness to be shipped to competition in early May 2010.

Student Engineers' Council Design Team Showcase

2010-03-25T21:06:00.003-04:00

HEVT is moving along well with our vehicle integration. We even had enough time the night before our inspection to go to an outreach event for one of our local sponsors. The Student Engineers' Council (SEC) has donated money to HEVT both semesters this year to help purchase a touch screen driver interface display and our Brusa High Voltage Battery Charger. The event was attended by underclassmen engineering students interested in joining the Capstone senior design projects at Virginia Tech. Also attending the event were the Formula SAE car, Mini Baja Car, and the Blind Driver Challenge. HEVT would like to thank the SEC for hosting this event and their continued support of engineering projects at Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech Gets in the Loop for EcoCAR

2010-03-18T16:09:00.005-04:00

The past 12 months of the EcoCAR competition marked quite a turnaround for the Virginia Tech Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT). After falling short of expectations at the Year 1 Finals in Toronto, the team returned to the garage with a new group of engineers and placed first among teams using National Instruments systems in the Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) presentation at Winter Workshop in January. How did they do it? Since the summer, mechanical engineers on the Controls subteam have spent countless hours becoming control system designers. In the video below, “Virginia Tech Gets in the Loop for EcoCAR,” the team explains the crucial points of its HIL system, as well as the benefits of using HIL for designing controllers.

Mechanical engineering seniors, Johnathan King and Mike Kearney, demonstrate how the team's controller Hardware-in-the-Loop works

The team points out that their success would not be possible without the gracious and patient support from National Instruments. They company donated powerful software, like LabVIEW and VeriStand, and hardware, like CompactRIO supervisory controller and simple-to-use USB-CAN interface, making it possible for HEVT to design and implement a safe, robust, control system. The team used their tools, in addition to the real-time vehicle model provided by GM and Argonne National Laboratory, to design its control strategy and implement it in both hardware and software. The ultimate goal is a refined and accurate real-time vehicle model running on the National Instruments PXI HIL Chassis. This model is important because it allows the team to test its controller against either the model or the real vehicle – and expect the same results. HEVT is using HIL to perfect its control code, so they can safely and simply take the controller from its HIL test stand and install it into the vehicle for further testing.

A look at HEVT's technology from National Instruments

Safety is of utmost importance to HEVT and the safety-critical aspects of their control system is no exception. VeriStand’s “Stimulus Profile Editor” allows the team to simulate an infinite number of possible scenarios such as high temperatures, various vehicle speeds and communication errors, in order to ensure that the control code is robust and will not act unexpectedly under any circumstances. HEVT is confident that the amount of safety-critical testing they have done will allow them to put the controller in the vehicle in the coming weeks and compare real life to simulation! The Virginia Tech HEVT Controls team would like to thank National Instruments for their ongoing support.

Click here to watch the video.

Big Thanks to Brian at Trifab Inc. For Our New Parts

2010-02-17T11:42:00.003-05:00

HEVT just received a big shipment of parts from our sponsor Trifab Inc. They've been a huge help to us this semester!

Brian with our EcoCAR!

Rear Traction Motor mouting brackets.

Battery case for our A123 battery pack.
More information and pictures to come as we install components into the car.

Patrick Walsh at DC Auto Show/EDTA

2010-01-29T14:47:00.003-05:00

Virginia Tech’s Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team sent a correspondent to the 2010 Washington D.C. International Auto Show this week, which was in conjunction with the annual Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) conference. Legislators, manufacturers, suppliers and the general public were out to see the latest, greatest and greenest technology in the business. EV charging stations, plug-in hybrids, clean diesels and all-electrics were among the technology being showcased.

HEVT team leader Patrick Walsh, who presented a poster on the team’s EcoCAR research, was able to reach out to the public to educate them about the team’s GM-donated, student-designed plug-in hybrid. “People were very enthusiastic and impressed that such an important competition was taking place at the academic level. Everyone believes that green is the new norm for the automotive industry, and EcoCAR couldn’t exist at a more perfect time,” said Patrick, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech.

In between poster presentations and plenary sessions, HEVT’s correspondent was able to scan the auto show for the latest in vehicle technology, including a production-intent Chevrolet Volt. HEVT will continue to strive to make an excellent vehicle for competition in Yuma, and this event, as well as our positive feedback from a strong Winter Workshop HIL event, has helped to motivate the team to build a winner!

Trifab Inc Sponsorship

2010-01-15T10:46:00.003-05:00

HEVT has just partnered up with Trifab Inc and they're helping us with a lot of fabrication on car with everything from our fuel tank to a modified rear subframe. Trifab specializes in fabrication, welding, screw machining and hy-def plasma cutting. They're great for all of our custom parts.

They're working on an E85 capable fuel tank that's going to conform to the underside of the car to maximize the useful space while allowing us to move the tank forward to accommodate out modified rear subframe which they're also providing for us. The rear subframe will be refabricated to fit our rear traction motor (RTM) and help us keep the center of gravity as low as possible while still maintaining proper groung clearance. Below is a photo of the subframe in the process of being built.

Trifab is also going to be doing some CNC work for us to mill out our high torque brackets for our belted alternator starter (BAS).

We're excited to get all of our parts soon so we can keep building our EcoCAR!

Advanced Vehicle Labs Winter Workshop Presentation

2010-01-09T11:50:00.003-05:00

While at Winter Workshop held in conjunction with Daytona International Speedway and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech (HEVT) received a demonstration from GM on the AVL drive quality test that will be performed at competition in Yuma, AZ. AVL is the world’s largest privately owned and independent company for the development of powertrain systems with internal combustion engines as well as instrumentation and test systems. AVL is a sponsor of EcoCAR and will help benchmark the drivability of the student built competition vehicles. GM has a big focus on “road to lab to math” and before AVL testing a driver would be responsible for determining how well the vehicle responded to the accelerator demand requested by the driver. AVL has done a lot of research to create a program that quantifies this information in the direction of travel of the vehicle. This removes the need for a trained driver to interpret the drivability quality of the vehicle. Also this takes the subjectivity out of the testing when different drivers would drive the same vehicle. HEVT would like to thank AVL for providing the test equipment and GM for giving the demonstration on AVL drive quality for all of the EcoCAR teams. At the end of the competition held in Yuma, AZ HEVT will be supplied by AVL with a print out of the vehicle handling to help improve the year 2 “mule vehicle” for further improvement in year 3 of the competition.

GRA Poster Display

2010-01-08T11:44:00.004-05:00

While at the EcoCAR Winter Workshop held in conjunction with Daytona International Speedway and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University a technical summit of graduate research projects was hosted. Each university participating in the EcoCAR challenge had the chance to apply for a funded graduate research position sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. This makes it possible for the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech (HEVT) to have a funded graduate student focused directly on research related directly to the EcoCAR project and the student built competition vehicle.

Lynn R. Gantt (GRA) and Doug J. Nelson (Faculty Advisor) displayed a poster on “Predicting the Charge Depleting Range of a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle for Different Drive Schedules” for the conference. Each of the other GRAs submitted posters on topics, ranging from Finite Element Analysis of electric motor mounts to control logic for GM 2-mode transmissions. Feedback from other GRAs, Faculty advisors, and Sponsors will be provided to HEVT to improve the overall quality of the research. The goal of the research is to understand the direct impact and sensitivity of each parameter of interest on the total battery range, losses, and energy required to complete a drive cycle as an aid to vehicle design, component selection, and sizing. Eventually the research idea will be tested on the competition vehicle while in electric-only range. The following figure shows the HEVT vehicle CAD model that will be used to test and validate the research calculations. HEVT placed 2nd overall and received a monetary prize for the poster display. This concept will end up being presented as conference papers and eventually as a master’s thesis for Virginia Tech. Updates on this work will be displayed on the website as they happen, so keep on coming back to see what HEVT is up to!

Winter Workshop

2010-01-06T11:09:00.004-05:00

HEVT just got back from Winter Workshop in Daytona, FL and we'd like to give a big thanks to the organizers Argonne National Lab as well as all of the sponsors that made this possible. We'd also like to thank Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and Daytona International Speedway for hosting our workshop.

We had some great presentations about what would be going on at competition in May at the GM proving grounds in Yuma, AZ. We also presented to the competition judges our website and scored pretty well.

Our controls team gave a presentation on our hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) to the judges and showed how we're using HIL to make our car safer through reducing the severity and occurrence of vehicle faults. We feel like we did really well and are just waiting to hear back about our score.

We also had presentations by Advanced Vehicle Labs (AVL) and Semtech on what we should expect of certain events at competition.

Check out our later blogs for more info on what happen at Winter Workshop!

Engine Swap

2009-12-10T11:04:00.023-05:00

Now that classes are over we've had a lot more time to work in the Ware Lab. We started tearing into the vehicle Wednesday night and into Thursday.

Working into the night we stripped off the front bumper and side panels to make sure we didn't scratch our new car.

Once the radiator and body panels were out of the way we unhooked the wiring harness, all the cables, hoses and belts and dropped the engine out.

Taking stock of what we needed in order to put in our new LE9 Flex Fuel engine, we swapped out the necessary parts, rolled our LE9 already mounted on the subframe in place under the car, lowered the car down on top and bolted up the frame and engine assembly.

While we were working on the car we decided to go ahead and work on a few more things in the GM donated vehicle. We took out the battery pack and gutted the inside so we could swap out parts for our Plug-in Hybrid.

We're looking forward to getting our engine swap completed over the next few days so that we can have our vehicle up and running.

Electric Motor Testing

2009-12-03T17:20:00.002-05:00

We took our Ballard Rear Traction Motor (RTM) over to our sponsor Danaher Motion today so they can start running some tests for us. They'll be running verification tests to ensure that the motor and inverter match up and run as effeciently as possible. They have a great facility over there and a few of the HEVT members had a chance to take a tour of the factory.

They had an enviromentally friendly bucket truck at Danaher Motion that allows them to work without the needing to run the gasoline engine while working in the bucket.

When we get back after the holidays we should have some good test data from Danaher and we'll be ready to get our RTM installed in our GM donated vehicle!

Engine Test Stand

2009-12-01T22:50:00.008-05:00

We've hooked our new LE9 E85 capable engine up to our test stand and got it running. We need a few more pieces and parts and we'll be ready to put our new engine in our GM donated vehicle.

The engine mounted to a front subframe and wired up to the dashboard so we can see real time dash readouts as we test. This setup gives us a stable and and easy-to-move test platform. Also it puts us one step closer to integrating the engine into the car as we can see how the wiring harness attaches to the rest of the car. Once we get our new parts we'll be ready for the first major step in creating our plug-in hybrid!

A123 Batteries and Brusa Charger

2009-11-27T11:31:00.003-05:00

Our A123 batteries arrived a few days ago along with our Brusa charger. With our batteries we will be able to give our plug-in hybrid an all electric range of between 40 and 50 miles. We're getting all of our materials together so we can start building the pack once we get back from Winter Break. Thanks A123 for our batteries!

A123 Battery Shipment with our modules and supporting components

1 of our 5 new Battery Modules

GM Donated Vehicle Delivery

2009-10-21T17:21:00.005-04:00

Since the first day of classes, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) of Virginia Tech had been waiting for their vehicle. On Wednesday, September 30th, the team’s GM-donated vehicle finally arrived. The delivery truck backed up to a crowd of waiting students accompanied by a local CBS news crew. Please see the following link for local news coverage of GM donated vehicle arrival at VT: http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=11236349

Once the vehicle was turned over to the students, they immediately popped the hood and rolled up their sleeves. Ready and eager to get their hands dirty in the process of making the vehicle their own creation.

Jesse Alley, a senior Mechanical Engineering student was quoted saying, “this project is absolutely blood, sweat, and tears.” With the difficulty of the task at hand, 24 senior students threw themselves at the project. Now that their vehicle has arrived, it’s time to get to work!