5/5/2015 Julia Cation, Mechanical Science and Engineering
Written by Julia Cation, Mechanical Science and Engineering
This year’s student team performed well in the Parker Hannifin Chainless Challenge — taking second place overall and placing in the top three in nine other categories. The annual competition for fluid-power bicycles, was held this year in Irvine, Calif., and featured nine working bicycles from schools across the country.
The competition, which began in 2006, stipulates that bikes must be chainless and human-powered; use hydraulics, pneumatics, and electronics; and weigh less than 225 pounds.
ECE senior Iain Brearton competed on the team, which also included six students from the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering. Brearton designed the project's control system and user interface, as well as electrical power. He also won the spring 2015 Michelle and Alex Bratton Senior Design Instructor's Award for his work
Their vehicle, called the Fluid Efficient Energy Transport (FL.E.E.T.), weighed 185 pounds, performed at a comfortable cruising speed of 12 miles per hour, and had a top speed of 22.8 miles per hour.
Katie McGrew, a senior in mechanical engineering, said the cross-disciplinary makeup of the team proved beneficial.
“One of the best things about working on this project was that we had several different sub-teams working on different parts of the design, namely the mechanical power transmission, the hydraulic system, and the electronic control system," she said. "This allowed for focus on specific areas, but through large amounts of collaboration we built an efficient, cohesive system. This collaboration between teammates — even spanning two majors — was one of the most important things that I learned during the course of this project."
MechSE Associate Professor Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler finished out her fourth and final year as the team’s faculty adviser on a high note.
“This year in particular, we learned a lot from our previous experiences in this competition, and the students were able to apply previous lessons learned and develop a successful bike," she said. "They collaborated and worked hard as a team to compete very well this year, and I am proud to have been part of such a fun competition these past four years."
Mark Esposito, also a senior in mechanical engineering, attributed the team’s success to being goal-oriented, maintaining excellent teamwork across engineering disciplines, and putting in a lot of hard work.
“This year's team took great pride in every aspect of the vehicle's design and build, which shows in the tricycle's final form and function," he said. "Prior to the project, the team had almost no experience in hydraulic systems. The Chainless Challenge not only taught us more about hydraulic systems but also about the design process, collaborating as a team, and overcoming the challenges in our way."