USU Team Keeps It Clean At 2007 Clean Snowmobile Challenge

For those who like their snow machines to be seen and not heard, there's plenty to cheer about in a Utah State University electric snowmobile that competed in the eighth annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge in Michigan in mid-March.

From snowmobiling to skiing, wintertime outdoor recreation is big business and a group of USU engineering students want to be a part of it. The USU snowmobile was one of only four electric snowmobiles to compete in the competition, while the remaining 12 competitors were gas powered.

"What started out as a typical 2005 Yamaha Vector snowmobile turned into a clean and quiet battery-powered machine," said Ashley Kelly, team leader and senior mechanical and aerospace engineering student.

The Clean Snowmobile Challenge was started by the Society of Automotive Engineers as an effort to build environmentally friendly machines that will meet the 2012 federal emissions standards. SAE challenged students to take a stock snowmobile and reengineer it to reduce emissions and noise while maintaining or improving performance.

"After attending the competition, I was really impressed with our snowmobile because we made it what it is," said Kyle Hanson, team member and senior engineering student. "We did all the design and analysis work with help from our faculty mentor Byard Wood and that really contributed to our learning experience."

The USU snowmobile is a utility vehicle that isn't quite ready for recreational use - it weighs nearly 1,000 pounds, while traditional sleds weigh only 600 pounds. The sled relies on 12 car batteries and tops out at a speed of 29 miles-per-hour. The team said they would have liked to have used a lithium ion battery at a cost of $6,000, but the funds weren't there.

"As better battery technologies become available I can see electric snowmobiles becoming the way of the future for several reasons," said Mat Brown, team member and senior engineering student. "The advantages of an electric snowmobile include zero on-site emissions as well as a considerably quieter motor than a conventional snowmobile."

As concerns for the environment grow, Yellowstone National Park and the National Science Foundation are interested in the future of environmentally friendly technology. NSF donated $2,000 to the USU students to design and create the snowmobile.

"It was great to see so much interest from the public in our sled," said Daniel Plaizier, team member and senior engineering student. "All teams in the competition got a chance to display the sleds for a day in a Michigan shopping mall. People were fascinated with the idea of a clean and quiet snowmobile and wondered when the technology would be available for the masses."

While USU didn't take first place, the team was proud of their efforts realizing that the weight of the batteries weighed them down in terms of the competition. When plans for a 2008 electric snowmobile are discussed, the teams know they want to try and get higher-tech batteries, make a smaller motor, reduce the drag and fix the rear suspension, Kelly said.

"The weight really slowed us down when it comes to maneuvering the sled, and that is where we lost points," said James Gyllenskog, team driver and senior engineering student.

USU's sled, in its second year at the competition, was honored in other ways as it was one of only two electric snowmobiles to complete the 10-mile endurance event. Sixteen snow machines from schools across the United States and Canada participated in the six-day event.

"We increased our performance from last year's event by 20 percent," said Kelly.

NSF also recognized USU's technology as its 2006 sled was chosen to be used in Greenland in Summer 2006 as a way to get around the polar ice caps without polluting the area.

The team was mentored by USU mechanical and aerospace engineering department head and professor Byard Wood, and includes: Mat Brown, senior, mechanical and aerospace engineering; Amanda Calder, senior, mechanical and aerospace engineering; Mark Fairbanks, senior, mechanical and aerospace engineering; Jeff Ferrin, graduate student, mechanical and aerospace engineering; Sam Francis, senior, electrical and computer engineering; James Gyllenskog, senior, mechanical and aerospace engineering; Kyle Hanson, senior, mechanical and aerospace engineering; Ashley Kelly, senior, mechanical and aerospace engineering; Paul Overdiek, senior, mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Daniel Plaizier, senior, mechanical and aerospace engineering.

For information about the Clean Snowmobile Challenge, visit
http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/snowmobile/index.html.
Contact: Ashley Kelly, ashleykelly@cc.usu.edu
Writer: Maren Cartwright, (435) 797-1355, maren.cartwright@usu.edu