This year’s competition for the most energy-efficient vehicle attracted teams from all over Europe, including two teams from the Warsaw Universities of Technology – SKAP and Green Arrow. During the 31^st European edition of Shell Eco-marathon the team from the Vehicle Aerodynamics Student Research Club was successful for the first time ever.

Complex-free and going for more

How to cover 256.7 km using just one litre of fuel? PAKS – a vehicle built by students of the Warsaw University of Technology - can do this. The vehicle of SKAP students came second in the category “Urban Concept – Gasoline” during the 2016 Shell Eco-marathon.

The French team which won the Urban Concept - Gasoline category covered a distance as long as 446 km using only one litre of fuel. Our students have been competing with that team for several years. “Unlike French teams, we rely on our own strengths and ideas”, emphasises Krzysztof Banasik, PAKS project manager. “Their teams include scientists and people whose knowledge is superior to ours, whereas we only consult others, mainly our mentor, Prof. Janusz Piechna.

Four wheels and an engine – as simple as that?

The WUT students design everything by themselves. As long as they are able to use specialist equipment, they produce individual parts of their vehicles.

Vehicles entered in the Urban Concept category have to be driveable in cities, which means they have to possess a room for a car boot, lighting and suspension. Good results depend on a number of factors, the weight of a vehicle being one of them. The frame of PAKS is made of aluminium alloys. The engine is a design inspired by the Honda DAX, but its capacity is increased to 72cm³. It does not contain certain elements and there is no gear box. The students are successful creators of a complete electronic vehicle steering system: from its lights to the ignition or emergency fuel shut off. All functions of the vehicle can be controlled from the steering wheel.

A new track – new challenges

It is the WUT Vehicle Aerodynamics Student Research Club that blazed the trails for Polish teams competing in Shell Eco-marathon. In 2006, WUT students were the first Poles to take part in the competition. Their PAKS is a conceptual design of an urban vehicle – in terms of its appearance, design and functionality it is meant to look like small urban cars. It was built especially for the purposes of Shell Eco-marathon.

This year’s competition was probably the last appearance of the vehicle. The SKAP students want to continue their development and not only sit on their laurels. They are not going to give up the competition as such – they will prepare a new design, for which they have obtained funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as part of the “Best of the Best” programme.

“You simply have to move forward”, Krzysztof Banasik explains the decision to design a new vehicle. “This rule is frequently invoked by Prof. Piechna, our mentor. The new vehicle will be a result of a number of conclusions drawn after years of PAKS’ operation.

Safety first

Before any of such vehicles is allowed on track, it has to undergo a technical inspection, mainly for safety reasons. The organisers want to be sure that no competing vehicle is equipped with elements giving it unfair advantage on track, for example additional sources of energy.

This year’s vehicles competed on a 2240-metre-long track specially prepared for this event and surrounding Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. The teams had 43 minutes to cover the longest possible distance using an equivalent of 1 litre of fuel.

Ready, steady, go!

PAKS had no problem passing its technical inspection and was allowed to do practice runs, during which the team were able to verify its drive tactics developed on the basis of previously known track maps. “The strategy of driving focusses mainly on when to start the engine and what speed to achieve”, says Krzysztof Banasik.

Their test runs were promising but just before the competition run there were problems with the engine. Remedying it took over 24 hours. Other Polish teams, involving the other team from WUT, helped to repair the engine. “Our participation in the competition was possible thanks to their enormous help”, the PAKS team leader said about that cooperation.

Experiences, international exchange and prestige

Members of the Vehicle Aerodynamics Student Research Club are happy with the result achieved by their PAKS although in the previous edition of Shell Eco-marathon in Rotterdam the performance of vehicles was better. The track shape greatly influenced the results – its bends and elevated sections caused bigger fuel consumption. This year’s track was difficult and involved a section leading uphill which proved insurmountable for a number of vehicles.

The other team from the Warsaw University of Technology – Green Arrow – demonstrated a vehicle called PIAST during the competition. Students from the WUT Vehicle Mechanics Student Research Club presented an ultra-light urban electric vehicle using modern brushless three phase electric motors imbedded in the rim of the wheel and fuelled with electric energy coming from lithium ion batteries. An aluminium pipe frame, laminate body and independent wheel suspension were used to achieve the smallest possible weight of the vehicle. Despite passing its safety inspection PIAST did not go on the track.

Fun or science?

Participation in Shell Eco-marathons is an invaluable experience for Warsaw University of Technology students. It develops their skills and knowledge of engineering tasks: designing, building and operating vehicles created by them.

The first edition of Shell Eco-marathon took place in 1985. During that race the winning vehicle covered a distance of 680 km using one litre of fuel. Nowadays, participants adopt different approaches to the construction of their machines: from using 3D printers to alternative energy sources. The current record is 3771 km covered using one litre of fuel – enough to get from Rome to London and back. Who knows, maybe this record will be beaten next year by WUT students?

Monika Bukowska

Office for Promotion and Information