Team Number: 086
Team Number: 086
School Name: Shiprock High School
Area of Science: Engineering
Project Title: Transportation
Through the development of technology that helps keep advanced vehicle engine emissions to a minimum and makes maximum fuel-efficiency a reality, we will find cost-effective solutions to the problems of transporting people and goods from one place to another. Carbon monoxide is a major contributor to the depletion of the ozone layer, and with new technologies carbon monoxide is kept at a minimum, and with a bit of luck it can be eliminated from the engine's emissions. Also, we will be attempting to find alternatives for better fuel economy in advanced and modern vehicles. Natural gas, ethanol, and diesel are a few types of alternative fuels that are abundant, and we will be researching these. We will research both these topics with confidence that we will accomplish these goals.
Another problem we have found was with lightweight materials and fuel consumption. To improve fuel economy, weight must be dropped, but not too much so that the vehicle might be easily distinguished. So far we have examined various lightweight materials for structural applications for automobiles and passenger-oriented light trucks, and the most cost-effective ones will be selected for further analysis. Aluminum and high performance polymer matrix composites (PMCs) offer the most promise for reducing the weight of light-duty vehicles. The weight- reduction potential of aluminum and carbon-fiber-based PMCs was computed on the basis of a set of component-specific replacement criteria, such as stiffness and strength, consequent incremental cost scenarios was developed.
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