Sunday, 22 December 2013
Friday, 20 December 2013
2,833 Kilometers on One Liter of Fuel – Shell Eco Marathon
After a nail-biting finish the French team Microjoule from La Joliverie have topped the Prototype leaderboard for the fifth consecutive year in a petrol-fuelled car. Chased by relative newcomers Team GAMF from Kecskemet College from Hungary, who achieved 2,696 km/l, victory was uncertain until the last moment. “It was tense – the other team was out on the track with us for the final attempt,” says Clément You, Microjoule Team leader. “Tonight we will celebrate – and next year our goal is 3,000 km!”
In one of the other seven fuel categories, French team Polyjoule, Polytech Nantes, was a few seconds over the time limit in their final attempt powered by hydrogen. But an earlier distance of 541 km/kWh was enough for victory. “We played with fire,” says team leader Sebastian Sors. “And it paid off!” In the gas-to-liquids (GTL) category the MAC Eco Team from the Netherlands broke the 2011 record, achieving 416 km/l.
The UrbanConcept class considers needs of everyday drivers and could inspire advances in sustainable car design. Winners included the DTU Roadrunners from Denmark, who came first in the ethanol fuel category with the equivalent of 611km/l, breaking their 2011 record by 100 km/l. “No-one would dream of getting over 600 kilometres from one litre of fuel, and we don’t expect family cars to look like ours,” says team manager Andreas Junker. “But perhaps we can meet car manufacturers half way.”
The Electricar Solution team from Lycée des metiers Charles Privat,
France, set a new record for energy efficiency on an electric battery
electric with 263km/kWh. “It’s all about the preparation,” says team
leader Marc-Antoine Souchet. “Our car can go 50km/h so one day the
technology could be considered for town driving.”Off the track, teams receive awards for achievements including technical innovation, eco-design and safety. The best team spirit award went to EMIteam from Morocco. Their car arrived days after them and they were only able to make one attempt, but they remained positive: “We are so happy,” says Sara Boulam, team manager. “For every problem there is a solution!”
This year alongside the competition a lab offering interactive activities around the future of energy welcomed over 40,000 visitors, while a one-day Business Forum brought together leader and experts to discuss challenges to the health of our planet.
New Architectural Materials Are Creating Amazing Buildings
Advances Coming Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Nader Tehrani, Department Chair, Department of Architecture, and principal and founder of NADAAA leads faculty and students in carrying out novel experiments through collaborative workshops with other departments fostering cross disciplinary thinking and cooperation.According to Tehrani, creating any human artifact involves three main factors: geometry, process and material. New materials, of which there have recently been many, lead to new forms that affect how architects design buildings. Tehrani and his staff collaborate closely with MIT’s Emergent Material Group and Urban Metabolism Group, all of whom share an interest in how building materials affect architecture.
The Changing Paradigm Of Architecture
Tehrani mentions the recent increase in this study and use of foamed material, especially in the creation of foamed cement’s and concretes. Discovering or synthesizing materials that are significantly lighter and stronger than existing materials allows architects to design and build in new ways.
Audi Electric Bike Revealed
This ebike made #1 of our top 10 ebikes of the future list.
And is #4 on our 10 fastest production Ebikes list.
And to see the fasted ebikes in the world ever built check out our 10 fastest electric bikes on the planet.
Audi is making some other fast moves in the 2-wheel motor sport category with the announcement last month of their purchase of Italian motorcycle-maker Ducati for $1.2 billion in a rare move for an auto manufacturer. Ducati’s dealership network may well provide Audi with an instant world-wide distribution channel for upscale high-performance E-bikes.
And separately, VW, also owned by Audi, has been working on something they call “last mile transportation,” which focuses on the use of short-distance urban transportation.
Audi’s concept E-bike is what you would expect when some of Europe’s most skilled auto engineers and modernist designers get together and decide they are going to create a flagship E-bike with no expenses spared.
The Audi E-bike is based on custom carbon fiber wheels and a full-suspension carbon fiber frame; even the front suspension forks are custom designed for this bike. The rims look very similar in design to those on the $80K Blacktrail, leading to speculation by some in the E-bike community that this bike was partially designed by PG Bikes, the company behind the Blacktrail. Certainly at least the Audi ebike designers had the obscenely priced Blacktrail in mind when they designed their bike. The Audi E-bike also uses the same “Harmonic Drive System” as the Blacktrail, a highly regarded German design developed by Clean Mobile. Clean Mobile builds custom bottom-bracket drive systems for exclusive high end bikes made by innovative European companies such as KTM . Ironically Clean Mobile also went through an ownership change recently, first filing insolvency, and then being acquired by TQ-Systems GmbH and switching most of its staff just last month.
The key element to the Audi drive system designed by Clean Mobile, that it keeps the motor weight in the center of the frame (unlike most hub powered bikes which have heavy weight awkwardly placed in rear wheel) and most importantly allows the power to be driven through the bicycles gear system. This means that the motor is allowed to operate in its maximum efficiency zone, because as we know, electric motors like to spin quickly at a high rpm. Most expensive ebikes like this choose an In the Gear hub transmission like the German made 14 speed Rohloff . We are very surprised that Audi opted to go with a standard derailleur system given the other flashes of bicycle technology in this bike such as the $800 Brakeforce one carbon fiber hydraulic brakes. We suspect that going with a derailleur instead of a Rohloff was a compromise Audi had to make to accommodate the carbon rims which have attached carbon spokes, and may have been a design blunder that will be corrected if and when the bike goes into production. Carbon rims with built in spokes make no sense on an ebike other than aesthetics, and add considerably to the cost. To give you an idea the Blacktrail bike which uses an identical carbon wheel set, sells a replacement set of wheels and rims for a staggering $5000.
The Audi E-bike is designed with light weight, high power and nimbleness in mind, no doubt for BMX-type stunts such as those seen in the video, so does not carry a heavy, cumbersome battery pack. Instead it features a small, featherweight, quick-change pack, enabling the rider to choose between riding “naked” for short distances or hauling extra battery packs in a backpack for longer rides. The bike appears well-balanced, with most of the serious weight (battery and motor) situated very low and centered in the frame. Best of all, it tilts the scales at a scant 46 pounds–unheard of to date for a full suspension E-bike.
Other interesting design details include a motorcycle-like seat which can retract during riding to transform the E-bike into a trials-type bike for jumping and stunt-riding. A built-in brake/tail light in the back of the seat is a brilliant futuristic touch. The Audi E-bike also has LED lights built into the front of the handlebar, which you can clearly see in the below video. Smart details like these make this E-bike a showcase of sleek, integrated, forward-looking design.
Other goodies include a built-in Android smartphone app that serves as an electronic control system for the bike, not just monitoring battery and speed but a host of other useful functions, including the ability to toggle through five cycling modes: Pure, Pedelec, eGrip, Power Wheelie, and Balanced Wheelie. The bike also utilizes a torque sensor, which measures how much the rider is pedaling and can add power accordingly. Another sweet feature of this control system is a lock feature, which locks the rear wheel and sets off an alarm if someone tries to grab and dash your $2ok bike. All in all this is one of the most impressive efforts we have seen software-wise in an E-bike.
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