The Pulse
HEVT Quarterly Newsletter Fall 2015
Page One.....Building Leaders with Legos
Page Two......The Engineer in the Kitchen Page Three...Under
the Hood: Architecture Update
Page Four.....Taking Home the Hardware Page Five......Thank you to our sponsors
Don’t forget to visit us at EcoCAR3.org/vtHEVT
Gallery Hip
Building Leaders with Legos: HEVT gets creative with outreach events When you were little, what was your favorite toy? For most of the engineers on our team, the answer is unanimous: Lego. Lego blocks are more than a platform for play; by playing with them, children can learn basic principles of engineering while sculpting their creativity. HEVT wants to take this one step further. This November, HEVT will partner with the Blacksburg Children’s Museum to host a Lego
Event. The event is set up like a game show: each child may make whatever his or her heart desires within a certain time frame. After they present
“Play is where learning begins.” their creations, HEVT team members will teach them about engineering, drawing comparisons to the activity they just completed.
One of HEVTs goals is to promote the importance of STEAM learning in youth. HEVT hopes that this event will get kids excited about learning. Where: Blacksburg Children’s Museum When: Nov. 14 from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Contact: saradlep@vt.edu
The Engineer in the Kitchen Team member Quinn Roels is as comfortable with a whisk as he is with a wrench
Quinn Roels is a member of the mechanical subteam. He wants to go into design and analysis and enjoys learning about the intricacies of how things work. Quinn not only rocks at engineering, but he is also a great chef!
Q.
Is there any overlap between cooking and engineering?
A.
Every recipe is an engineering problem with its own special process and challenges. There is always room for improvement and much more room for error. Also, the more you learn about the simple mechanics of cooking like what spices and ingredients do and why--much like learning fundamental principles in engineering design--the more broad and amazing your cooking becomes.
Q.
What do you like about cooking?
A.
I like the fleeting excitement of the art.You can make something so amazing and so good but it’s gone so soon. It’s more exciting that way.
Q.
Any advice for rookies in the kitchen?
A.
Don’t over-complicate it. The most important thing to do is make sure it’s cooked all the way through. Once you know how to do that you can worry about seasoning it properly.
When you hear “American muscle car,” what comes to mind? The roar of the engine? Maybe torque and acceleration? When designing the hybrid performance Camaro, we knew maintaining the iconic vehicle’s heritage ranked as one of our top priorities. It only made sense, then, to swap the GM provided V6 engine with a V8 capable of active fuel management (AFM). In order to get our hands on such a vehicle, we acquired a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado with the support of many local sponsor donations. The team is working with the Silverado powertrain now, learning about its behavior and the signals it uses to communicate. Power and speed are nice, but we care about the
Under th
Architectu
environment too. Cue the lithium iron battery, and power output. In terms of configuration, Vir schools that will use a parallel vehicle, as opposed to a series A plug-in hybrid refers to a v batteries or a similar energy st a plug to an external electric p electric wall socket) in order to parallel, the wheels can either
he Hood:
ure Update chosen for its energy capacity
rginia Tech is one of nine plug-in hybrid electric s plug-in. vehicle that uses rechargeable torage device that connects power source (such as an o restore its full charge. In be directly powered by the
combustion engine, the electric drive-train, or both used simultaneously. Series, on the other hand, only use a combustion engine to generate electricity. That combustion engine then powers an electric motor to provide motive power. In both parallel and series, the engine can be recharged from regenerative braking. The team also determined what kind of fuel will power the performance hybrid Camaro. The vehicle will use E85, or an ethanol fuel blend of 85 percent denatured ethanol fuel and 15 percent gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume. All things considered, we are on the road to a rear-wheel drive, 4,450 lb vehicle with a 4.9 zero to sixty. And that’s what we call American Muscle Transformed.
Taking home the
Hardware How we did at Year 1 competition: 2nd Place Overall First Place: Architecture Selection Proposal Overall Project Management Second Place: Final Stakeholder Status Presentation Electrical Systems Presentation Project Initialization Approval Third Place: Mechanical Systems Presentation Precompetition Deliverable Awards: Best Implementation Plan Best High Voltage Demonstration Best Facilities Inspection