Duke Electric Vehicles
| Founded | October 2011 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , |
| Parent | Duke University |
The Duke Electric Vehicles (DEV) team is composed of undergraduates at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering.[1] The team designs, builds, and competes with a manned, electrically powered supermileage vehicle each year. The team was founded in 2011 and has competed in the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas for 7 years. On July 21, 2018, their hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, "Maxwell", achieved the world record for the most fuel efficient prototype vehicle with a fuel efficiency of 14,573 MPGe, previously set in 2005 by ETH Zurich's Pac-car II at 12,600 MPGe.[2]
History
[edit]Originally Duke Eco-Marathon, Duke Electric Vehicles was founded in 2011. It has competed in the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas prototype battery-electric category each year since then with the following outcomes.
- 2014 2nd place Prototype Battery-electric : 310 mi/kWh[3]
- 2015 2nd place Prototype Battery-electric : 214 mi/kWh[4]
- 2015 Technical Innovation [4]
- 2016 3rd place Prototype Battery-electric : 252.1 mi/kWh [4]
- 2017 1st place Prototype Battery-electric : 295.7 mi/kWh [4]
- 2018 1st place Prototype Battery-electric : 367.9 mi/kWh [4]
- 2018 1st place Prototype Hydrogen : 383.1 mi/m^3 [4]
- 2018 Technical Innovation [4]
Vehicle Design
[edit]"Maxwell" (2018)
[edit]
The Maxwell vehicle utilizes a carbon-fiber monocoque body with aluminum steering, motor mount, and safety harnesses fastened to the body via carbon fiber inserts.[5] Although originally competing in the battery-electric category for the 2017 and 2018 Shell Eco-Marathon, Maxwell was outfitted with a hydrogen powertrain for the world record attempt. The vehicle is chain-driven by a 3-phase brushless motor transmitting power to the rear wheel.
"Gemini" (2018)
[edit]
The Gemini vehicle utilizes a carbon-fiber monocoque body with aluminum steering, motor mount, and safety harnesses fastened to the body via carbon fiber inserts. The vehicle is propelled by a 3-phase brushless hub motor modified from an electric bike. The electrical power is generated by a Horizon H-100[6] fuel cell supplied by pure hydrogen gas.[7]
Gemini achieved 1st place in the prototype hydrogen category at the 2018 Shell Eco-Marathon Americas at Sonoma, CA. The innovations in Gemini's electrical system and fuel cell research also earned it a technical innovation award at the 2018 Shell Eco-Marathon Americas.[4] Research and implementation of the new powertrain was led by Gerry Chen and Shomik Verma, under the supervision of club president Patrick Grady.[8] Experimental schematics of the system were made available online.[9]
Guinness World Record
[edit]On July 21, 2018, Duke Electric Vehicle's "Maxwell" hydrogen fuel cell vehicle achieved the world record for the most fuel efficient prototype vehicle.[2] The vehicle's efficiency is recorded as 0.01614 liters of 95 grade petrol (equivalent) per 100 kilometers of driving distance. This is equivalent to 14,573 MPGe.
References
[edit]- ^ "Duke students make Guinness record for world's most efficient vehicle".
- ^ a b "Most fuel-efficient vehicle (prototype)". Guinness World Records. Guinness World Records. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "Shell Eco-marathon Americas Final results: Prototype Battery Electric" (PDF). Shell Global. Shell. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Results and Awards". Shell Global. Shell.
- ^ "Duke University Students Set World Record For Hydrogen Fuel Cell Fuel Economy — 14,573 Miles Per Gallon - CleanTechnica". cleantechnica.com.
- ^ "Horizon 100W PEM Fuel Cell". FuelCellStore. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ Chen, Gerry. "2018 Fuel Cell Controller and Converter". Duke Electric Vehicles. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "Competing for Fuel Efficiency Innovation S14 Ep19 - Killer Innovations: Innovators Talking About Creativity, Design and Innovation". killerinnovations.com. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
- ^ "SEM 2018 Fuel Cell Controller and Converter". Duke Electric Vehicles. Retrieved 2018-08-10.