The Éco-marathon Shell is a competition that takes place in France and it has first seen the light in 1985. The objective of this event is to encourage the research in energy effectiveness in the transportation domain. In order to do so, each participating team must design, as well as build a vehicle that would be able to carry a person the furthest distance possible with only the energetic equivalence of one litre of gasoline. The teams have the possibility to use, as carburant, any sources of energy such as gasoline, diesel, fuel cells, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or electricity. The competition welcomes more than 140 teams from all parts of the world. Each year, on the circuit of Nogaro in France, all teams strive to beat the record set the previous year. In 2004, the longest distance achieved was 3,494 km/L. The Éco-marathon Shell allows them to push back the limits of fuel economy in the hope of decreasing the polluting emissions for the cars to be built in the future.
Our project of design::
The new mechanical engineering program of the University of Sherbrooke asks for its students to take part in a major design project. The latter, which once completed will give the students 12 credits, occurs in the last 4 semesters of the Bachelor degree (that is to say the last 2 years of the program). It also is an excellent way for the students to go through all the steps of the creating process leading to the realisation of a functional prototype. The width of these projects is surprisingly large and the impressive results that they generate reflect the implication and seriousness of the students of such a program, unique in Canada.
Our team:
Our team is formed of 10 students in mechanical engineering from the University of Sherbrooke, sharing a common passion for the automobile industry as well as the sustainable development. That is why we have decided to take part in the Éco-marathon Shell competition for our design project. We would like to point out the fact that we would be the first North American team to take part in that competition.
The objective of the Scorpius team is to conceive a vehicle with low fuel consummation to participate in the 2007 edition of the competition. More precisely, we will be focusing on reaching a distance of 1 200 km with one litre of gasoline. Our motivation and our innovative skills bring us to believe that we would be able to build such a competitive vehicle, even for a first time participant.
Our financial requirements:
Since there are no precedents in Northern America when it comes to the Éco-marathon Shell, our vehicle will be entirely new and original. Other than the never-seen-before aspect, the performances and the competitiveness of our vehicle are at the top of our priorities when it comes down to reaching our objectives of fuel economy.
After a first evaluation, we have determined that the total cost for the project will be around $60,000, depending on the technologies that will be used. Obviously, this amount doesn’t include the expenses of transport nor lodging whilst participating at the competition.
Therefore, we are counting on the participation of partners to enable us to accomplish our high objectives and to carry out a high quality work.
Visibility:
In return of your contribution to our project, we assure your company a visibility when we will expose our project at events such as the Open doors of the University of Sherbrooke, the Mécangéniale exhibition of the University of Sherbrooke, the Montréal International Auto show, the Challenge on ice Damafro, our stand during the competition in France and many more…
Adding to that, the name and logo of your company will feature on the t-shirt of the team, on our website (www.scorpius.ca), on our banners and, of course, on the vehicle itself. We would be pleased to discuss further conditions governing the visibility of your company if needed.
In becoming partners of the Scorpius project, you assure your company a major visibility and an excellent reputation regarding many future engineers. Your company will be associated to an International competition of ecological vocation where our team will be the first and only North American representative.
In the case of a major contribution, it is possible to include the name of your company in the name of our team, and to make of your company the official partner of Scorpius.
Technical section:
Building a vehicle that offers such an energetic efficiency requires a means of high technology. Here are the principal technical specifications of the vehicle:
- Electronic fuel injection engine of about 30 cc and 1.5 Hp.
- Fuel consummation of about 1 200 km/L.
- Electronic system of management.
- Electric clutch by friction.
- Self-supporting carbon fibre body.
- Aerodynamic profile created by digital simulation.
- Structure made out of honeycomb aluminium to strengthen the hull.
- Hydraulic brakes disc.
