‘Team Delft Eco-Runner’ put in a strong showing at this past summer’s ‘Shell Eco-marathon’, held at the United Kingdom’s Rockingham Race Circuit, once again showcasing TU Delft students’ technical excellence and ability to work together in multinational teams.
The story behind the ‘Shell Eco-marathon’ begins in the 1960s, when researchers at Shell’s research lab in Illinois (USA) bet each other to see who could get the most miles-per-gallon from their self-designed and manufactured vehicles. In the early days, the researchers would humbly achieve 50 miles-per-gallon. But subsequent, more organized competitions, put their inventions into evolution, and in 1977 Shell organized the first official Eco-marathon competition in USA, in which students were also invited to compete.
Over the years, interest in the competition grew, and in 1985 the first European Shell Eco-marathon was held in France, where a record of 680 km per 1 liter of gasoline was set. Today, current records are achieving the equivalent of driving from Paris to Beijing on less than 4 liters of gasoline.
In November 2005, some TU Delft second-year students wanted to start a team that could participate in the Shell Eco-Marathon. With the support of the university, ‘Team Delft Eco-Runner’ was set up, consisting of second-year Aerospace Engineering students. This team of 11 students (seven Belgians and four Dutch), immediately set about finding the necessary financial support for putting their innovative ideas to the test.
Dow Automotive and Shell enthusiastically supported the project and together provided the necessary funds to build the vehicle for the race, which was held in the UK at the Rockingham Circuit on July 12-13, 2006. Various other companies also pitched in by either offering parts at discounted prices or for free.
After just five months, covering the design to construction, Delft’s Eco-Runner car was ready to hit the circuit for its first test-run. Early results yielded 240 km per 1 liter of gasoline, which gave the team confidence that they had designed and built a potentially winning car.
The Eco-Runner’s amazing fuel-efficiency is primary due to its small engine, which similar to lawnmower engine, with just 1.6 break-horse-powers (BHP). The engine is mounted on an extremely lightweight frame, which features a single hammock seat made of fabric. This makes that the total weight of the car just 50 kg. The driver is protected by seatbelts, a roll cage and fire resistant bulkhead.
By using the right transmission, the Eco-runner can reach speeds of approximately 55 km/ph. In addition, the Eco-Runners injection system allows for manual adjustment of engine parameters, with the engine performance data sent to a laptop for monitoring and adjustment.
On July 10, the Eco-runner team traveled to the UK for the race. The team had a few days to fine-tune their car before the big race. However, during a test-run a faulty injection system resulted in technical problems that caused the engine to jam, so the Eco-Runner team decided to use a carburetor instead. To the team’s surprise, the carburetor was even less fuel-consuming than the original injection system. Delft’s Eco-Runner completed the Eco-Marathon with a great result of 557 km per 1 liter of gasoline, surpassing the team’s target.
Eco-Runner II
The first Eco-runner was a test car, a starting point and innovation platform for future Eco-Runners and races. As with all technological inventions and developments, the team intends to improve the Eco-runner’s design and performance incrementally.
It is hoped that the next version, the Eco-Runner II, which is scheduled to compete at the 2007 Eco-Marathon in the UK, will be able to drive at least 2,000km per one liter of gasoline – or the equivalent of driving from Delft to Gibraltar. The current record holder is a car from France, the ‘Microjoule’, which drove 3,794 km on 1 liter of gasoline.
To allow for technological innovations, the final performance results of the all teams competing in Eco-Marathons are gathered and used as platforms for Shell and other companies to use in future developments of low fuel-consuming vehicles.
The Eco-runner team is always interested in new team members, and welcome interest from all students who would join a project aimed helping to create a greener tomorrow.
Eco-Runner I (Photo: courtesy of Team Delft Eco-Runner)
The story behind the ‘Shell Eco-marathon’ begins in the 1960s, when researchers at Shell’s research lab in Illinois (USA) bet each other to see who could get the most miles-per-gallon from their self-designed and manufactured vehicles. In the early days, the researchers would humbly achieve 50 miles-per-gallon. But subsequent, more organized competitions, put their inventions into evolution, and in 1977 Shell organized the first official Eco-marathon competition in USA, in which students were also invited to compete.
Over the years, interest in the competition grew, and in 1985 the first European Shell Eco-marathon was held in France, where a record of 680 km per 1 liter of gasoline was set. Today, current records are achieving the equivalent of driving from Paris to Beijing on less than 4 liters of gasoline.
In November 2005, some TU Delft second-year students wanted to start a team that could participate in the Shell Eco-Marathon. With the support of the university, ‘Team Delft Eco-Runner’ was set up, consisting of second-year Aerospace Engineering students. This team of 11 students (seven Belgians and four Dutch), immediately set about finding the necessary financial support for putting their innovative ideas to the test.
Dow Automotive and Shell enthusiastically supported the project and together provided the necessary funds to build the vehicle for the race, which was held in the UK at the Rockingham Circuit on July 12-13, 2006. Various other companies also pitched in by either offering parts at discounted prices or for free.
After just five months, covering the design to construction, Delft’s Eco-Runner car was ready to hit the circuit for its first test-run. Early results yielded 240 km per 1 liter of gasoline, which gave the team confidence that they had designed and built a potentially winning car.
The Eco-Runner’s amazing fuel-efficiency is primary due to its small engine, which similar to lawnmower engine, with just 1.6 break-horse-powers (BHP). The engine is mounted on an extremely lightweight frame, which features a single hammock seat made of fabric. This makes that the total weight of the car just 50 kg. The driver is protected by seatbelts, a roll cage and fire resistant bulkhead.
By using the right transmission, the Eco-runner can reach speeds of approximately 55 km/ph. In addition, the Eco-Runners injection system allows for manual adjustment of engine parameters, with the engine performance data sent to a laptop for monitoring and adjustment.
On July 10, the Eco-runner team traveled to the UK for the race. The team had a few days to fine-tune their car before the big race. However, during a test-run a faulty injection system resulted in technical problems that caused the engine to jam, so the Eco-Runner team decided to use a carburetor instead. To the team’s surprise, the carburetor was even less fuel-consuming than the original injection system. Delft’s Eco-Runner completed the Eco-Marathon with a great result of 557 km per 1 liter of gasoline, surpassing the team’s target.
Eco-Runner II
The first Eco-runner was a test car, a starting point and innovation platform for future Eco-Runners and races. As with all technological inventions and developments, the team intends to improve the Eco-runner’s design and performance incrementally.
It is hoped that the next version, the Eco-Runner II, which is scheduled to compete at the 2007 Eco-Marathon in the UK, will be able to drive at least 2,000km per one liter of gasoline – or the equivalent of driving from Delft to Gibraltar. The current record holder is a car from France, the ‘Microjoule’, which drove 3,794 km on 1 liter of gasoline.
To allow for technological innovations, the final performance results of the all teams competing in Eco-Marathons are gathered and used as platforms for Shell and other companies to use in future developments of low fuel-consuming vehicles.
The Eco-runner team is always interested in new team members, and welcome interest from all students who would join a project aimed helping to create a greener tomorrow.
Eco-Runner I (Photo: courtesy of Team Delft Eco-Runner)
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