CHAMPIONCOW

Volume 6/No.1An update from the Universi ty of Wisconsin-Madison FutureTruck Team

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISONCOLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

February 2004

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Having won the 2002 and 2003FutureTruck, everyone was ‘gun-ning’ for Wisconsin. The awards

were changed, the points rearranged andeveryone was watching our team with amicroscope. Having kept the same engineand frame for the first time in 5 years, onewould assume that Wisconsin was ‘coast-ing’. Not really – during the past year,Wisconsin fixed and modified theMoolander while competing in the MichelinBibendum in San Francisco, visiting a dozensponsors between Wisconsin and New Yorkdisplaying at the SAE InternationalCongress and traveling to Washington, D.C.

FutureTruck 2004 started in an unusual style– a power outage. During the afternoon ofthe first day of competition, lightning left theMichigan Proving Grounds (MPG) withoutpower. We had already passed technicalinspection and were waiting for the maneu-verability event. Having packed games andcards, we formed a huddle in our bay andplayed cranium and euchre until the organiz-

By: Glenn Bower

Continued on page 3

er ‘called it a day’. Thefollowing morning,Jason Peto (a.k.a. Peto)successfully piloted theMoolander through themaneuverability course.

Next, we moved to theoff-road event whichwas predominantly agrass covered hillycourse. Since it hadbeen raining for 20 con-secutive hours, thecourse was relativelyslippery. Aaron Haugen(a.k.a. New Kid) pilot-ed the off-road coursewhich started with a muddy trench filledwith logs. At one point in the course, he slidside-ways on a step hill and we thought thatthe Moolander was done. The organizerallowed several team members to accompa-ny him back to the truck to assess the situa-tion. We advised Aaron to back over a patchof small scrubs and then get a better run at

the hill. On the third attempt at the short,steep assent, the Moolander crested the hilland everything was downhill to the finishline. Almost, on the last ditch, one of thecustom aluminum front hubs failed but thetruck made it past the finish line.

Working with the Ford technicians, we locat-ed the only replacement hub in Michigan amere 25 miles away!! Upon examination ofthe failure, it was discovered the student didnot radius the location of the maximum shearload. We had the Moolander fixed by mid-afternoon and completed the trailer towingevent in the rain-just like FutureTruck 2003.

Next, we cleaned the mud from the truck andcheck all the components before loading theMoolander to be transported to thedynamometer. On Friday morning, the

Like a BadgerScratching, digging and clawing for a 3rd Straight Victory

Danny Bocci drives the Moolander in theonroad fuel economy event

UW FutureTruck team poses for 3-peat win award

Team waits for the trailer tow event onerainy afternoon

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Champion Cow is published by the Hybrid Vehicle team of the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison, College of Engineering. Please address all correspon-dence to Hybrid Vehicle Team Editor, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI53706, email at grbower@wisc.edu or call 608-263-7252.

Chair:.................................Liz CassonEditors........................Kristi MorrisseyContributors:...................Glenn Bower

Desktop Publishing:...........Liz Casson

Drivetrain Changes Over TimeMoolanders Evolutionary Drivetrain 2002-2004

ScholarshipWinners

Matt SimoniniFord Motor Company/University of Wisconsin

Student Group ScholarshipSpring 2004 Recipient

Danny BocciJere Fluno

SAE Vehicle ProjectScholarship

Spring 2004 Recipient

2002 2003 2004Engine

DisplacementRated PowerMax. TorqueSpeed Range

Land Rover

2.5 L125 Hp @ 3800 rpm325 Nm @ 1950 rpm

900-4800 rpm

Ford Lynx PS115

1.8 L115 Hp @ 3800 rpm250 Nm @ 1850 rpm

900-4500 rpm

Ford Lynx PS115

1.8 L115 Hp @ 3800 rpm250 Nm @ 1850 rpm

900 - 4500 rpmTransmission

1st Gear2nd Gear3rd Gear4th Gear5th GearReverse

Differential

Borg Warner WorldClass T5 (manual)

3.97:12.34:11.46:11.0:10.79:13.70:13.73:1

Borg Warner WorldClass T5 (manual)

3.97:12.34:11.46:11.0:10.79:13.70:13.73:1

Borg Warner WorldClass T5 (manual)

3.97:12.34:11.46:11.0:10.79:13.70:14.30:1

Transfer Case Modified BorgWarner model 13-54

Borg Warner model 13-54

Borg Warner model 13-54

Electric Motor

TypeMax PowerMax TorqueBase SpeedEfficiency

Marathon Electric

AC Induction47kW

260 Nm1200 rpm

91%

Delphi EV1

AC Induction108 kW180 Nm

3000 rpm93%

Delphi EV1

AC Induction108 kW180 Nm

3000 rpm93%

Batteries

Nominal Voltage (V)Capacity (A-h)Energy (kW-h)

Energy Density (MJ/kg)Power Density (kW/kg)

Max Power (kW)

Panasonic PrismaticCells - 2001, 1X

2736.51.780.1430.984

30

Panasonic PrismaticCells - 2001, 2X

2736.51.780.1430.984

60

Panasonic PrismaticCells - 2004, 2X

2736.51.830.1471.0270

Motor Controller

Voltage RangeMax CurrentMax Power

Solectria DMOC445

312V Nominal280 Arms

78 kW

Solectria DMOC445LC

312V Nominal280 Arms

78 Kw

Solectria DMOC445LC

312V Nominal280 Arms

78 kW

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Moolander was tested on the dynamometerat Ford’s Allen Park Test facility. Havingspent a week testing on a dynamometer theweek prior to competition, the team mem-bers double and triple check the truck beforeeach run and the Moolander performed asexpected – EXCELLENT!

The truck was shipped back to the MPG onSaturday afternoon. With dry pavement,

Peto drove the Moolander through themaneuverability course for our 2nd and 3rdruns. Next, the team worked on cleaningand polishing the truck – the next eventbeing Monday morning.

On Sunday at approximately 2 p.m., we tookthe Moolander to the five mile oval wherewe discovered that the steering was unac-

ceptable at high speeds. While installing theDelphi E-Steer system, someone hadremoved the original steering rack and over-tightened the pinion preload. The pinion hadworn the rack and the steering had an eeriecogging effect – the Moolander would notgo straight but would zig-zag as the steeringwheel was turned back and forth. With onlya few hours remaining, the team franticallysearched for a spare. We would not beallowed to compete in the on-road fuel-economy event until the steering was fixed.Since it was 4 p.m. on a Sunday, we wereunable to find a steering rack through anyparts stores.

With our backs against the wall and every-one thinking that Wisconsin was ‘dead in thewater’, it was time for some magic. Poof(Glenn Bower’s nickname) brewed up theidea of borrowing a steering rack for a dayfrom an existing Explorer. Leaving theMPG at 5 p.m. with a box of tools, the teamtraveled to Dearborn where the steering rackwas harvested.

The next day, the team awoke early, with awell designed plan – three workers, twohelpers all with predetermined tasks.Besides installing the steering rack, they hadto fabricate a removable lower mountingbracket as the permanent one was removedthe day before while removing the rack.Home Depot opened at 6 a.m. and the teampurchased a drill, the correct size drill bit, an

angle grinder and the correct bolts. Theshop opened at 7 a.m. – Peto (the personwith the longest legs) was assigned the tasksof walking (as fast as possible) to the pit andcompleting the grinding while the rest of thecrew carried the tools and the new steeringrack to the pits. Working like a machine, thesteering rack was installed in 15 minutes, 10more minutes to fabricate the bracket, 10more to install it in the truck. At 7:35 a.m.we were lowering the truck and heading tothe steering alignment rack. As we exitedfrom under the truck, we noticed a ratherlarge crowd standing in disbelief and awe.

After alignment, the truck was put on a rollback and transported to the track where thesteering system was approved. The truckreturned to the pits and was pushed to its cue10 minutes before the on-road fuel economyevent started. The next two days wereuneventful and once again we showed themhow tough a Badger really is!!!!!!!!!!!

Wisconsin Wins FutureTruck 2004Continued from page 1

UW team for creeper races: Nick Graan,Kristi Morrissey, Liz Casson

Jason Peto navigates the handling course

2004 FutureTruck AwardsFirst place Overall -925ptsBest On-Road Fuel EconomyBest Consumer AcceptabilityLowest Greenhouse Gas EmissionsBest Oral PresentationVisteon Innovative Use of Electronics Award - 3rd place

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FutureTruck - Champion CowUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison1500 Engineering DriveMadison, WI 53706

While waving good-bye to theFutureTruck Challenge, NorthAmerican universities welcome

the new future challenge, Challenge X. TheUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison HybridVehicle Team was one of seventeen univer-sities to be selected to compete in this threeyear competition hosted by General Motors.

The competition is based around the task tore-engineer the new GM Chevy Equinox, acrossover sport utility vehicle. The mainfocus of the entire competition is for stu-dents to re-design the Equinox to minimize

energy consumption, emissions, and green-house gases while maintaining or exceedingthe vehicle's utility and performance.

The first year of competition is to model,build and test the new powertrain for theEquinox. Students are introduced to newengineering tools such as MathworksMatlab, PSAT (Powertrain SystemsAnaylsis Tool), and National InstrumentsLabview that will help them in their quest.In June 2005, teams will come together toundergo extensive judging and evaluation.Teams will receive scores for five reports, aPre-Competition Hardware Evaluation, anOral Presentation, a Live Simulation Event,

a Trade-Show BoothEvent, a Control StrategyOral Presentation, and K-12 Education OutreachProgram. The teams thatdemonstrate a mastery ofthe key aspects of model-ing their powertrain choiceand constructing and con-

trolling the powertrain will receive a donat-ed GM Equinox after the June 2005 compe-tition.

Years 2 and 3 will require teams to developand integrate their advanced powertrain andsubsystems into a donated GM Equinox. Atthe conclusion of each of these competitionyears, teams will come together to undergoextensive judging and evaluation. Eventswill encompass energy use and emissionsgoals, vehicle utility and performance, engi-neering, and K-12 Education Outreach.

The Next Chapter: Challenge XBy Liz Casson

2005 Equinox that will be redesigned