Electric Flash: The Buckeye Bullet 2.5 hit 307 miles per hour on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 2010.
Image: COURTESY OF BARRY HATHAWAY AND THE CENTER FOR AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
In Brief
- The Buckeye Bullet team at Ohio State University is building what it hopes will be the first electric vehicle to break 400 miles per hour, something only nine gas-powered cars have done.
- Earlier iterations of the vehicle have already set electric-vehicle speed records, but crossing to 400 mph requires that the team invent solutions to a host of engineering problems.
- Among the challenges: generating enough power from the four electric motors, tweaking the aerodynamics to keep the car fast but stable, and making sure the tires don't blow apart.
- If all goes as planned, the team will make its attempts at breaking the 400-mph barrier during test runs this coming September on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats.
More In This Article
As he was walking to a math class during his freshman year at Ohio State University, R. J. Kromer spotted a poster for a student-run team designing a fuel-cell-powered car. He had never built anything more complex than Lego-based robot kits, but he sent an e-mail to the group asking to join anyway. To his surprise, the team members responded immediately. “I thought there would be all kinds of requirements,” Kromer recalls, “but they said, ‘No, just show up.’”
So Kromer headed over to the team's work space at the school's Center for Automotive Research (CAR). He quickly learned that the unique tribe of mostly baby-faced engineers behind the Buckeye Bullet vehicles, a series of world-record-breaking alternative-fuel cars, planned to test his dedication first. Kromer started out in the engineering equivalent of the mail room. For the first few months he was mostly sweeping the shop or arranging and organizing various tools and spare parts. Between custodial tasks, though, senior team members started teaching him about wiring, control systems, and more. Soon he was learning more in the shop than he was in class. The next year two seniors graduated, and Kromer was in charge of electrical engineering. “It turns out if you're willing to not sleep, you can pick up on things pretty fast,” he says.
This article was originally published with the title The Battery-Powered Bullet.
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6 Comments
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisQuand le
chant d'un
rayon décrit
le sourire je
vois, dans
la mer, la douce
émotion des
pensées solitaires...
Francesco Sinibaldi
Kinda useless exercise. The French V150 electric train already achieved 357 mph. That's a passenger train used by hundreds of people everyday. Buckeye Bullet is a one-seater that can only run on dry salt lake for less than 10 minutes.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAn outstanding article, particularly because of Gregory Mone's approach. The real story isn't so much the specific technologies (although they are *fun*), but the people. Yes, it is possible for small groups of people - students - to push the envelope with motivation and a willingness to work. Megabudgets and a cast of thousands aren't necessary (and may sometimes be a hindrance). Thanks!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBy the way, there is one minor error in phrasing that should be corrected. The discussion of center of pressure and center of mass "balancing" isn't exactly true; the relationship between CP and CM is about stability instead of balance. CM ahead of CP means that the design is aerodynamically stable - minor perturbations in vehicle orientation will tend to be damped out. When CP is ahead of CM, the design is unstable - minor perturbations can produce big changes in orientation.
The really interesting thing about Buckeye Bullet 1 is it was powered by ordinary 1.5 volts flashlight batteries and it ran faster than the fastest nitro guzzling 7,000 hp funny car dragster.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSpeed should not the key for design of automobiles for day-to-day use. Who would drive 400 mph in the street or highway? What kind of road should be built for a vehicle moving at 400 mph?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisToday, we need to consider the weight of vehicle vs fuel cost. Batteries are heavy, and are considered impractical for powering vehicle unless speed is reduced to below 70 mph, otherwise you can't go very far at 400 mph without re-charging.
I have to disagree with Dr. Strangelove. Better to have young minds and hands engaged in science and engineering than running the streets and getting into mischief. Besides who knows what practical applications they may come across?
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