The Ohio State University

 

 Friends of the Buckeye Bullet:
This is the first of a series of daily reports describing the progress of the Buckeye Bullet 2.  The BB2 is a hydrogen fuel cell land speed vehicle designed to break the speed record for electric vehicles at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. It is designed and built by Ohio State University students out of the Center for Automotive Research in Columbus, Ohio.  More details may be found at:

http://www.buckeyebullet.com/ , where you will also find a frequently updated blog.

More information on the Salt Flats may be found on the official website:

http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/bonneville_salt.htm

August 15 – getting there
The Bullet team left Columbus on Friday, August 15th.  The caravan included a semi-trailer (tractor and drivers courtesy of Cowen Trucking, pulling the trailer recently donated to the OSU Motor Sports program by the Honda-OSU Partnership Program), a Ford F450 pulling a second trailer, and a 14-passenger van.  The team arrived at the Salt Flats late Sunday, August 17th,  with only one flat tire along the way.

August 18th – Setting up camp
The team spent the early part of Monday setting up camp (see Pit Area picture), and preparing the vehicle for technical inspection.  One of the novelties this year is the availability of a mobile wireless system (se Wi-Fi picture), courtesy of the Ohio Supercomputer Center (more on http://blog.buckeyebullet.com/2008/08/ohio-state-brings-internet-to-speed.html ).  Thanks to OSC and to the Bullet team, the Salt Flats will have free wireless access to the internet for the first time in history.

And here is the late evening report from Don Butler, who is traveling with the team.

The BB2 passed final inspection earlier this afternoon.  The team is now preparing to stage for runs starting tomorrow morning.  They are checking all nuts & bolts after the trip across country, finishing some minor fabrication and assembly (tire shields, fire extinguishing system, etc.), applying new sponsor decals, and spin the tires.  We expect to go fast on Tuesday!

Stay tuned for another update tomorrow.  I will be joining the team on Wednesday.

Pit Area 

WiFi on the salt flats

This is the second of a series of daily reports describing the progress of the Buckeye Bullet 2. 

August 18th – Tech inspection
The technical inspection was completed without any problems.

August 19th – First run!
The team spent a good part of Tuesday taking care of body details, and the Bullet 2 was eventually ready to get in line for the first run.  Here is the report from Kevin Ponziani:

We just made our first run on the track of the week, and we got up to about 210mph, and were able to shift up into third gear. At that point the car shut down, likely as a safety measure. We're investigating why it shut down as we speak, and will have some photos up soon.

And here is the late evening report from Don Butler.

THE BB2 MADE THE FIRST RUN AT 5:00 THIS AFTERNOON.  THE CAR ACCELERATED QUICKLY AND BETTERED ITS PREVIOUS SPEED THROUGH THE FIRST MILE BY 45 MPH. ROGER SAID THE BB2 SHIFTED SMOOTHLY FROM 1ST TO 2ND WHILE MAINTAINING POWER.   THE CAR REACHED 218 MPH WITH AN AVERAGE SPEED OF 210 BEFORE  LOSING POWER AS HE APPROACHED MILE 3.  THE BB2 SLOWED TO 180 MPH AND THEN ROGER  BROUGT IT TO A STOP WITHOUT POPPING THE CHUTES.  "THE CHUTES AREN'T VERY EFFECTIVE BELOW 200 MPH, SO I JUST USED THE BRAKES.  I DIDN'T WANT THE TEAM TO HAVE TO REPACK THE CHUTES."  THE FIRST INDICATION IS THAT THE HELIOX VALVE CLOSED AND THE FUEL CELLS SHUT DOWN.  THE TEAM WILL ANALYZE THE DATA THIS EVENING TO CONFIRM THE PROBLEM AND IDENTIFY A SOLUTION.  ROGER ALSO NOTED THAT THE GEAR RATIOS ARE ALMOST PERFECT SINCE THERE WAS NO TIRE SLIP DURING THE SHIFT.
THE TEAM REFILLED THE HYDROGEN AND HELIOX TANKS AND RETURNED TO THE PIT TO CLOSE UP FOR THE NIGHT AND PREPARE FOR TOMORROW'S RUN(S).

In the pits

Record Speeds 

This is the third of a series of daily reports describing the progress of the Buckeye Bullet 2. 

August 20th – electrical glitches
The new emergency power off switch, required by SCTA rules (and previously untested at TRC) caused a few connection problems that resulted in two aborted runs.  It appeared that vibration caused the push-button switch to make inadvertent contact during the runs.
Sounds simple, but it took a while to realize where the problem was, because the blessed switch was always in the proper position when the vehicle stopped.
Once the problem was diagnosed a different switch was installed.
The Bullet went back to the line, but there was not enough time left in the day to run before the 7pm cutoff time.  The Bullet was 5th in line at the end of the day.

August 21st – another run!
After the 7-8:30 am record runs (for vehicles that qualified for a record the previous day), the line started moving again, with a few interruptions caused by vehicles spin-outs.  Eventually, the Bullet came to the start line and headed out for a shake-down run.  The short run (a total of 3 miles or so) saw Roger shift through 3rd gear, and saw the Ballard fuel cells deliver more power than ever (550 kW), with the vehicle reaching 224 mph, equaling last October’s top speed. Roger also tested the parachutes , and confirmed that all systems are fully functional.
As I type, the vehicle has just returned from refueling, and some changes in the code are being made to change the stoichiometry to reduce the amount of excess heliox used during a run.  Thanks the internet connection provided by OSC, Ballard was able to send new code directly to the Salt.  Later this afternoon Roger will be given the green flag to go five miles or more, and reach speeds in excess of 250 miles.
All is well on the Salt!

 

Buckeye Bullet 2 in line for a run

This is the fourth of a series of daily reports describing the progress of the Buckeye Bullet 2.  

August 21st – Wind!
Nothing more on the 21st, after the successful shake-down run.  High winds caused SCTA to close down the track in the afternoon.
The wind increased in intensity through the afternoon and at 11pm it was still blowing hard – surely over 50 mph!
The team took the time to make many needed adjustments, tested gas flow and took care of many details.

August 22nd – Track is open again
This morning there just a light breeze, and the track is open, BB2 is in line, but it will be at leat another couple of hours before we run.  The line is long, as nobody ran yesterday afternoon.
If all goes well and there are news to report, I will send a message later today.
 

This is the fifth of a series of daily reports describing the progress of the Buckeye Bullet 2.   

• August 22nd – Track is open again
  Once the morning record back-up runs were done, the line started moving again, and the BB2 morning run started just before noon MDT.  80 seconds later Roger Schroer had driven the Buckeye Bullet 2 to the highest speed ever recorded by a hydrogen/fuel cell vehicle: 286 mph.

  The vehicle kept accelerating through the run (as demonstrated by the fact that the exit speed is higher than the average speed along mile 5).  

  Some technical details:
  Run time: 90 s

• Peak power drawn: 550 kW (740 hp)
• The stack temperature reached 70 degC, with plenty of cooling capacity left.
• Transmission cycled through 4 of 6 gears.
• The run consumed 0.8 kg of H2 and 15 kg of heliox (that is pretty much the whole tank – we’ll need to adjust the stoichiometry on the leaner side, but there is room to do that)

  A picture of the timing slip is attached.

  As long as the weather continues to be picture perfect, as it is right now (and there are no other surprises) the BB2 should be able to complete another run before 7pm local time.

 

Official Timing Slip

August 22nd – Three runs in a day!
Following the successful morning run at over 280 mph, the team was able to turn the vehicle around fairly quickly, and was back in line around 4pm after refueling, and making some changes to the inverter setting, bumping up the power setting from 80 to 90%.
The 4pm run started with a quarter mile speed of 224 mph, about 7mph faster than the morning run, and the first mile was also faster than the morning run by about 7mph.  Unfortunately the system shut down in the second mile and Roger coasted to a stop.  While refueling back at the pits, the team reviewed the data and it was clear that the shut down had been caused by an inverter limitation.  The power setting was dialed back to 85%, and at 6:45 Roger was strapped in and ready for the third run of the day.
That was an exciting run – the quarter mile speed was 21mph faster than the morning run, at 238 mph, the first mile was completed at 249, and the middle mile recorded a 269 mph speed, also 21mph faster than the morning run.  When we heard that number over the PA system, we knew that the 300 mph goal was within reach.  Unfortunately the inverter cut out again in the last mile, and the speed on the last mile was only 249.
In spite of this last-second set back , the team was very upbeat – Roger reported greatly improved acceleration, and the speed increase was also aided by the fact the the team decided to limit the truck push-off to only a few seconds, letting Roger accelerate away as quickly as possible.�
Later, after an enlightening conversation with Tony Davis of Saminco and further analysis of the data, it became apparent that the inverter shut down is cause by currents on the AC side in excess of 1,000 A.  With a satisfactory explanation in hand, the team was ready to prepare for the next day.

August 23rd –
This morning the first order of business was to adjust the inverter settings.  The team decide to follow a two-step process.  1.  Dial down the power to 83%, hoping to stay below the inverter limit throughout the run, and 2. Later, increase the power setting back to 90% but include some software limits to prevent the inverter from ever being asked to deliver current beyond its limitations.  This should allow the inverter power to be significantly increased except when the increase would exceed the limit.
If you consider that the low-speed torque is already limited because of mechanical shaft limitations, it is reasonable to state that the Team has extracted every watt of usable power from the Ballard stacks – a significant achievement.  I am not sure that we ever thought that we would exceed the limits of the electric traction  system...
Well the BB2 is almost ready to be towed to the line...

At 10:10 local time the Bullet was off to its best start ever, reaching over 272 in the middle mile.  The run has just ended and the final mile speed was in the 260s.  I am guessing that the inverter cut out again.  But Roger was able to extract a few more mph in the first and middle miles – BB2 is running faster every time, and after we re-program the inverter we might see some very exciting speeds!

We expect a 2- to 3-hour turn around time, which would make it possible to think about three, maybe four runs today.

Stay tuned!

P.S.: attached you will find a phenomenal picture taken by Kevin Ponziani riding in a chase vehicle.  You can clearly see the water and water vapor exhaust streamlines hugging the tail end of the Bullet – no separation, perfect aerodynamics. Kudos to Kim Stevens, BB2 aerodynamic designer, and currently aero engineer with the BMW Sauber Formula 1 team in Zürich, Switzerland.  Go Kim!!

 

Buckeye Bullet 2 H2O exhaust

August 23rd – end of the road
Well, we have reached the end of the road for this edition of Speedweek.
After two unsuccessful attempts to start the vehicle between 1 and 2 pm, we eventually returned to the pits and found humidification pump and hydrogen leak faults.  The former was fixed quickly, but the latter, after a substantial amount of “sniffing” for H2 with the appropriate instrument, turned out to be a stack leak which, unlike a leak caused by a fitting or hose, cannot be fixed here on the Salt.

So here is my final report, with some of the firsts achieved by the BB2 this August at Bonneville:

highest mile-averaged speed for a H2 fuel cell vehicle: 280 mph (450 km/h)
highest exit speed (last 1/4 mile trap speed): 287 mph (462 km/h)
highest instantaneous speed (from GPS measurement): 297 mph (478 km/h)
585 kW delivered by the stacks – most power ever delivered by an automotive fuel cell.

The BB2 team is grateful to the many sponsors of this effort for making all of these accomplishments possible.
To date, 55 private, non-profit and public organizations and individuals have contributed to this project.  The team could not have come close to these results without so much help from so many.

Last, and most important, we have been able to do this because of the dedication, capability, and creativity of the best damn students in the land.  We are all proud to be a part of The Ohio State University, and grateful for the freedom and latitude we have been given throughout this project.

Stay tuned for the next chapter in this adventure.

Go Bucks! Go fast!
Giorgio

 

O-H-I-O