Feb 12, 2012 | 01:38
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Feb 18, 2009
Student engineers aim to design “super mileage” vehicle of the future
A Prius may get 45 miles per gallon, but the UCLA Super Mileage Vehicle Team has loftier goals – more like 1,250 mpg. With mileage like that, you could drive from L.A. to Seattle on one gallon of gas, or to New York on two and a half. The average American driver could fill up the tank once per year and still have thousands of miles to spare. The Super Mileage Vehicle (SMV) Team is a group of mechanical, aerospace, electrical and computer engineering students competing in the annual Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Supermileage Competition. Starting with a competition-provided 3.5-horsepower engine, their goal is to build a car around it efficient enough to wow even the most demanding environmentalists.
"They make big changes, changes for the better, that make more efficient cars," said the team's faculty advisor, Pirouz Kavehpour, assistant professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. "They're using newly-developed lighter materials, including some donated by local aerospace companies."
Preparing for the Supermileage competition coming up June 4-5, the SMV team will test its mettle in April at the Shell Eco Marathon, the Indy 500 of super mileage racing. The three-day competition is held every year in Fontana, CA, and draws dozens of teams from across the U.S. and Canada. Victory is determined not by speed or distance, but by mileage.
The TearDrop vehicle design
"This year we're hoping to get over 1,000 miles per gallon," Gerretsen said. "What's great about these competitions is that we get to have some hands-on experiences. A lot of what we do in class is very theoretical, so it's great to design the car and go to the machine shop and build it."
The competition is more about proof-of-concept than about inventing a Detroit-ready car model. Though the vehicle will be put through extensive safety certification, don't expect air-conditioning or a sound system or even a bank of gauges. In the world of super mileage racing, it's all about minimalism. The TearDrop draws inspiration for the chassis and steering from recumbent bicycles. To eke the most mpg's out of their cars, competitors are allowed to tuck drivers weighing as little as 100 pounds into the front seat – the only seat, for that matter.
"We do recruit someone really small," Gerretsen acknowledged. The driver won't find him- or herself in any danger, though – this year's car has a top speed of about 35 miles per hour, and the 10-mile race will be won at the fuel-efficient speed of 15 mph.
Meanwhile, the turn-around area between Ackerman and Engineering I will serve as the TearDrop's first proving ground, where the team will take a few slow-speed turns as soon as construction is complete.
The SMV Team has shop hours four days a week, providing students with hands-on experience in automotive design and construction, and environmentally responsible engineering practices. Students must also raise about $10,000 annually to build the car.
UCLA's SMV Team traces its founding to 2004, when a mechanical engineering major named Jason McDonald found himself without a way to channel his passion for the environment into an engineering project. After jotting down some project ideas that summer, he returned to UCLA and pitched his idea for a super mileage vehicle team to some friends – in short order, he had 10 people signed up. The team was approved by the UCLA chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers and, by 2006, had developed a vehicle to enter in its first Eco Marathon.
If you would like to help the SMV team reach 1,250 mpg, they are currently accepting new members. For more information, e-mail smvucla@gmail.com or drop by 2033 Engineering I during shop hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12-4 p.m., Wednesdays 4-6 p.m. and Fridays 2-4 p.m.
