The objective of this project is to create an efficient, feasible hydrogen engine that could successfully power a mining haul truck.
Team Members
Nicholas Murgia Hady Diab Ethan Augustyniak Laura Mae Welcomer
Instructor: Dr. Tianliang Yu
Project Poster
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Project Summary
What is more eco-friendly than both electrification and fossil fuels? The answer lies in hydrogen combustion. This system is called the HydroDrive. It implements twenty-four Astron Aerospace Omega 1 hydrogen engines, which combine to make three thousand eight hundred and forty horsepower while weighing in at just over nine hundred pounds. What gives hydrogen combustion engines an advantage over fuel cells is their greater efficiency under high stress. In addition combustion powertrains can run on less pure fuel, which can cut fuel costs. Utilizing a fiberglass composite tank wrapped in an Aerogel insulation blanket, the Omega powertrain will be fed by liquid hydrogen. Overall, this system will emit zero carbon emissions and decrease nitrogen oxide emissions by a factor of one hundred. The HydroDrive is the way of the future for the mining industry.