Shell Eco-marathon Repair Team

Overview

Engineering students enrolled in Capstone courses this semester at Penn State were selected to be placed on this team. The Eco-Marathon club at Penn State has been building cars and competing at the annual Shell Eco-Marathon competition held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, The Fuel Saviors team is tasked with producing this year’s car. This team is competing in the Urban Concept Car category at Shell’s event, with the objective of creating a vehicle that maximizes fuel economy while meeting all regulations and specifications pushed out by Shell. The winning team is determined based on the highest fuel economy achieved.

Objectives

This project is built upon by two semesters of Capstone students each year. The Shell Eco-marathon Team’s objective as the Fall 2022 team is to restore all necessary components to compete at the competition in April 2023. This includes constructing:
• Reliable fuel system
• Brake circuit
• Fully enclosed body
• Necessary safety equipment
• Structural integrity components
• Improved steering assemblies
The team also must focus on maintaining competition regulation with our additions such as dimensions, and other rules. It is desirable that the Spring semester can focus primarily on improvements and weight reduction if the team can produce a car that is ready to go. It is the team’s goal to have the ability to test drive the car by the conclusion of this semester.

Approach

The Eco-marathon Team will strive to construct a fuel-efficient vehicle that exceeds 60 miles per gallon, meets the criteria of the Eco-marathon competition, and accomplish this task within the designated budget of one thousand dollars. All members desire to utilize their prior experience and textbook knowledge to develop this vehicle and gain experience working with vendors, constructing a project, working on a team, and developing professional and soft skills.

Outcomes

The team was able to complete the following objectives this semester:
• Reliable fuel system
• Brake circuit
• Structural integrity components
• Improved steering assemblies
There are multiple technicalities that we were unable to address within the time constraint including a functional parking brake, a fully enclosed body, seat belts, and an airtight firewall separating the driver from the engine compartment. Due to the lack of key areas, we were unable to conduct a test drive of the vehicle this semester.