LSU team plans to go far on little
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A team of LSU engineering students went to the Shell Eco-marathon last year with high expectations of achieving great vehicle fuel mileage and, well, winning.
But their one-person vehicle “toppled over” during a practice run — the day before the California eco-race — after the team made some last-minute design adjustments.
They spent all night doing repairs, but the car did not finish the 14-mile course.
“Pretty much everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong,” said LSU team captain Jordan Truitt. “We did so bad we decided we needed to do it again and save face.”
Then tragedy truly struck in July when team member Ellen Hinson, of New Orleans, died in a late-night car wreck on Highland Road.
“We decided to dedicate this race to her and name the car ‘Ellen,’ ” said Truitt, a senior mechanical engineering major.
Now the eight-student team is set this week to drive to Fontana, Calif., to compete with more than 50 other college and high-school teams from as far away as India in fuel-efficiency competitions Wednesday through Saturday.
“I’m really excited about this year’s car,” said Paul Duhon, of Lacassine.
“It came together really nicely,” said Duhon, the only team member besides Truitt to compete in multiple years.
The team is using a light, aerodynamic vehicle designed with a fuel-injected string-trimmer engine. Their goal is hitting close to 1,500 miles per gallon.
That could mean a top-five finish, team members said.
Last year’s surprise winner, Mater Dei High School of Evansville, Ind., pulled off a record-breaking 2,843 miles per gallon accomplishment.
The Shell Eco-marathon began as a friendly wager between scientists to see who could get the most miles per gallon from their vehicles. It evolved and moved to Europe in 1985. In 2007, a U.S. version came to California.
To avoid a repeat of last year’s LSU “topple,” the “Ellen” vehicle was engineered with its center of gravity below its axles for greater stability, Truitt said.
“It’s as light, as streamlined, as we can make it,” Truitt said. “We’ve become pretty efficient. It has a minimalist philosophy. We keep it simple.”
The car weighs less than 100 pounds, meaning that it is much lighter than its driver. The “Ellen” vehicle can easily hit 30 mph, Truitt said, but the focus is on mileage efficiency, not speed.
Adding insult to injury last year, the LSU team had to borrow welding equipment to repair their car from their in-state rival, Louisiana Tech University.
“We want to try to beat them (Tech) this year,” Duhon said with a smile. “They embarrassed us last year. We want redemption.”
Truitt got involved in 2007 when the competition first came to the United States. He and a few LSU friends did the race “for fun” and finished 12th in 2007, scoring 283 miles per gallon.
Rather than do it as a hobby this year, Truitt and Duhon got the team to do it as their mechanical engineering senior design project.
At one point, Truitt said, the team was nearly forced to give up.
They were short on sponsors and funding, and the faculty threatened to not let them graduate. They could have taken the easy way out and switched to a project already approved by the faculty.
“We decided to stick with it, raise more money and, now, we’re happy to graduate,” Truitt said.
Sponsors now include Albemarle, Dow Chemical and Halliburton, among others.
In spite of all the planning, Truitt said, much of the final outcome will fall on the driver.
Team driver Nick Seghers, of Kenner, said he’s ready.
“We’ve test-driven it a lot, so I feel OK,” Seghers said. “It’s like a go-cart, except a lot more uncomfortable.”
Seghers said he was attracted to the project because of the premise of reducing fuel consumption. It did not take long to be designated the driver.
“It was determined pretty early I was the smallest and lightest,” said Seghers, who weighs about 125 pounds.
Even if they don’t win, teams also are eligible for a new “Perseverance Award.” Duhon thinks it is no coincidence the award was instituted after LSU’s troubles in 2008.
“We’re pretty sure it’s because of us,” Duhon said with a laugh.
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