UM-Dearborn’s Formula SAE Team Nabs 9th Place out of 100 Teams

Roland Dibra and his team knew the odds as they arrived in Brooklyn, Michigan, for the SAE Collegiate Design Series event at the Michigan International Speedway (MIS) May 13‒16.

There were 100 teams competing from all over the world. Most had many more members on their teams and more money—a lot more money. But Dibra and his teammates representing the University of Michigan-Dearborn had something money can’t buy: confidence and experience. The result? The team placed an astonishing 9th place overall.

“We were shooting to be in the top 20,” said Dibra, team captain and president of UM-Dearborn’s SAE chapter, which includes both the Formula One and Mini Baja teams. “To even be in the top 30 is amazing. Some of our younger members don’t realize how competitive this event is.”

In separate events leading up to the overall ranking, the team placed extremely high as well. The vehicle ranked 4th in overall powertrain performance (including speed and efficiency), 6th in both endurance and endurance/fuel economy, 8th in cost and in fuel economy, and 9th in autocross.

About 2,000 students in all competed in the MIS event, which is an educational competition that challenges university undergraduate and graduate engineering students to design, build, and compete in scaled-down, Formula-style autocross race cars, according to the MIS website. Only three similarly-sized competitions are held in the U.S. each year; the other two are in Virginia and California.

Dibra said the key to their great showing at MIS—and at an earlier event, the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) competition in April—was what the team members learned in last year’s competitions, and their hard work to make adjustments.

“We knew we could improve a lot. This was the second year we were running the Yamaha Genesis 80FI two-cylinder engine,” says Dibra, 22, a senior double-majoring in mechanical engineering and engineering mathematics. “It comes from a Phazer snowmobile and has a continuously variable transmission (CVT), so there are no gears to shift. This allows the driver to just concentrate on the course and the corners. There are very, very few teams that run this kind of transmission. They don’t have much faith in it. We were the first team ever to be in the top 10 with a CVT, so we’ve proven our design in that regard.”

“Also, from last year we lost about 31 pounds, so weight was to our advantage. Our total vehicle weight was 398 pounds. Head judges were amazed at our car’s performance. We showed that our simple, economic, lightweight design just works, and works well enough to keep up with teams that put hundreds of thousands of dollars into their organization.”

Dibra said the team started the year off well when it was one of just 23 of 42 teams registered at the VIR competition to have their cars finished in time to compete. They placed 1st in cost and 10th place overall. But the VIR event was important because “that allowed us to see where and how to improve for the MIS event. Our long, countless hours and many consecutive days without sleep finally paid off,” Dibra said.

“It was really exciting,” said Taehyun Shim, associate professor of mechanical engineering and faculty advisor to the SAE teams. “I think our car was very well designed, very well manufactured—compact, very light and effective.”

Winning is exciting, Dibra said, but equally exciting is the chance to meet other teams. “Teams go around and visit other teams, talk about different designs, so there’s a lot of engineering networking going around, a lot of information being shared. It’s great. You see young engineers from all over the world.”

2009 Formula SAE Team Members:

Roland Dibra, Geoff Turner, David Hnatio, Erik Stancato, Steve Dietz, Jim Szymusiak, Mathew Letizio, Mike Bustamante, Katie Samson, Cortney Edwards, Joseph Fricano, Shawn Proctor, Nick Evans, Chase Goodin, Scott Andrusiak, Sara Grabowski, and Mark Bayor

Ford Grant Offers Opportunity to Pilot Engineering Solutions in Virtual World

Imagine a world where engineering students could help a food bank improve its distribution methods. Or perhaps one where people could visually see how their donation to a food bank travels through the system to reach people in need. Thanks to a 100,000-dollar Ford College Community Challenge grant, the College of Engineering and Computer Science is going to build that world in a virtual environment.

Second Life is an online, 3-D virtual world created by people who participate in it. Since it went public in 2003, the online community has grown explosively. People and institutions from all over the world are using Second Life for creativity, collaboration, commerce, and entertainment.

Now, with this grant, the University of Michigan-Dearborn is poised to use Second Life to make the real world we live in a better place. The project, called “Campus of Hope,” is a partnership between the Henry W. Patton Center for Engineering Education and Practice (HP-CEEP) and Gleaners Community Food Bank.

“This project presents a unique opportunity to develop practical, real-world solutions to the challenges faced by community food banks,” said John Cristiano, director of HP-CEEP. “It gives our students and faculty an opportunity to apply theory to practice—which is at the core of our center’s mission. And, importantly, we hope to raise awareness of the very important role our food banks fulfill in the community.”

Ultimately, the goal is to pilot solutions in the virtual world that will be come practical applications in the real world. Students in senior design courses will manage these projects. Over time, the Campus of Hope will expand to include other community organizations consistent with the Ford Motor Company Fund pillars.

To start, the college will develop and implement a video streaming system that allows meetings to take place simultaneously in real life and Second Life. Two other projects will help to raise awareness about the importance of food banking. One will educate people using the 3-D environment about how their donations travel through the system to reach people in need. Another project will create a virtual exhibit showcasing the food bank’s needs and the benefits of collaboration in a virtual environment.

Using Second Life as a test bed has a number of benefits. It allows people from all over the world to work together in real time to find solutions to a problem. The virtual environment also serves as a repository that can be manipulated as circumstances change. Educators can also use it for case studies.

“Although Second Life is a computer environment, you can create avatars—or graphic representations of people—that can offer a realistic portrayal of the people the food banks serve, thus inspiring of empathy on the part of visitors,” said Bruce Maxim, associate professor of computer and information science. “Second Life is used by millions of people around the world. It has tremendous power to educate and influence people.”

PHEV Battery-Charging Technology Development Part of Five-Million-Dollar Collaborative Grant

Chris Mi, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is one of a dozen University of Michigan faculty members working on a five-million-dollar Michigan Public Service Commission grant to help bring the promise of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to fruition. The research brings DTE Energy, General Motors Corporation, and the University of Michigan together in collaboration.

“Industry identifies problems and needs; academia find the solutions,” Mi said.

Specifically, Mi is working to identify the best ways to charge PHEV batteries, both in terms of safety and efficiency. The battery pack in a PHEV contains many lithium ion battery cells. Lithium ion batteries are ideally suited for PHEV applications due to their high energy density and high power density. But they suffer from cycle life loss and capacity loss if not managed properly. Mi is working to develop a battery management system that will ensure all battery cells are charged and discharged evenly to protect the cells from damage, prolong the battery life, and maximize the battery capacity.

In addition, Mi is working to identify charging solutions for the home and for public utilities. For shopping centers, airports and other public spaces, the goal is to develop a fast charging unit that can quickly charge a PHEV battery in 10 to 20 minutes. Home outlets typically take three to four hours to charge a PHEV battery.

“Thermal management of the charger electronics and battery pack during fast charging is critical,” he said. “We will develop advanced thermal management and control algorithms to ensure the safe operation of the charger and the battery system.”

Mi is looking at innovations that would allow a PHEV to serve as a back-up generator for a home during a power outage, using either energy stored in the battery pack or electricity generated by the onboard engine/generator. It will also ensure that PHEVs don’t produce a power surge that could damage the home’s electrical infrastructure or the vehicle’s battery. He is also working with other team members who are integrating a smart communication device to ping the utility before a battery charge to ensure there’s enough energy to support it. Otherwise, the batteries may cause blackouts because of high pre-rush hour demand.

In addition, Mi is working on safety measures that will protect people from electrical shock. “We have to make sure the power from the grid is isolated from the car,” he said. “We have to ensure there is no possibility of a leak.”

Mi’s work, which will take place during the next two years, is funded by a 485,000-dollar allocation from the overall Michigan Public Service Commission grant, of which 2.2 million dollars went to the University of Michigan.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn is announcing the offering of two Ph.D. degree programs: Automotive Systems Engineering and Information Systems Engineering, starting in Fall 2009. Both Ph.D. programs are designed for engineers who will lead future research and development and become technical specialists in a variety of advanced and emerging technology fields, including lightweight materials, crush-resistant structures, vehicle safety and environmental regulations, hybrid vehicles, energy systems such as fuel cells, intelligent control systems, telematics, human-machine interactions, global manufacturing logistics, semantic web, transportation and manufacturing networks, multimedia, and entertainment technology. Both part-time and full-time students will be admitted into the programs. Classes will be held in the evenings for the convenience of working engineers. For further information, please contact Prof. P. K. Mallick by e-mail (pkm@umich.edu ) or by phone (313-593-5119). The details of both programs are also available on www.engin.umd.umich.edu/PhD.

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