/ en /news/u-t-s-supermileage-team-hopes-reclaim-top-spot-detroit-competition <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T's Supermileage Team hopes to reclaim top spot at Detroit competition</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-04-25-supermileage.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=r6wUM1qX 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-04-25-supermileage.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=XpacNOMU 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-04-25-supermileage.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=YBAagJSA 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-04-25-supermileage.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=r6wUM1qX" alt="photo of Mengqi Wang"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-04-25T11:48:24-04:00" title="Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - 11:48" class="datetime">Tue, 04/25/2017 - 11:48</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Supermileage Team lead Mengqi Wang hopes improvements to her team’s student-designed and student-built vehicles will get them to the podium at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition (photo by Marit Mitchell)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/marit-mitchell" hreflang="en">Marit Mitchell</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Marit Mitchell</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/supermileage" hreflang="en">Supermileage</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/education" hreflang="en">Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/clean-energy" hreflang="en">Clean Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainable-energy" hreflang="en">Sustainable Energy</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Students race hyper-efficient gasoline and battery-powered vehicles at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The University of Toronto’s Supermileage Team is hoping to take back the top spot at the <a href="http://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/shell-ecomarathon/americas.html">Shell Eco-marathon Americas (SEMA) competition</a>.</p> <p>After snagging&nbsp;a silver medal last year, the team – made up of U of T Faculty of Applied Science &amp;&nbsp;Engineering students&nbsp;– has been working around the clock this year to design and build two hyper-efficient vehicles to race in two categories: gasoline prototype and battery electric. The vehicles will be put to the test April 27 to 30 in Detroit.</p> <p>“Last year, we didn’t meet our own expectations –&nbsp;the team felt pretty deflated after the race,” says Supermileage team lead <strong>Mengqi Wang</strong>, a PhD candidate. “A lot of things went wrong that we weren’t expecting.”</p> <h3><a href="https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/top-canadian-teams-compete-title-most-fuel-efficient-vehicle">Read more about the Supermileage Team in <em>Canadian Geographic</em></a></h3> <p>They’ve now made some critical upgrades to the gasoline prototype vehicle, including improved braking, drive train and clutch systems, reduced rolling resistance and a new windshield, all of which <a href="/news/u-t-engineering-supermileage-team-wins-shell-eco-marathon-detroit">they hope will help them recapture the first-place title they won in 2015</a>.</p> <p>“Of course we’re hoping to win, but the competition is fierce. We’d be happy with a top three finish,” says Wang.</p> <p>Fabricating the windshield proved a particular challenge. At past competitions, driver<strong> Kristine Confalone</strong> had to navigate largely by radio cues and intuition. The team stacked up almost 20 prototypes as the students&nbsp;worked with industry partner <a href="http://www.waveformplastics.com/">Waveform Plastics</a> to get the window clear enough for Confalone&nbsp;to see.</p> <p>The new battery electric vehicle will be&nbsp;hitting the track for the first time. It&nbsp;has been an ambitious experiment from the start. Wang says that with a new design and rookie driver, they hope to establish a baseline in the category –&nbsp;a standard for future generations of the team to surpass.</p> <h3><a href="http://www.autofocus.ca/news-events/features/this-car-could-drive-across-canada-on-just-5-of-gas">Read more about the team’s evolution in <em>AutoFocus</em></a></h3> <p>Future vehicles&nbsp;will be designed and built in the forthcoming<a href="http://www.engineering.utoronto.ca/research-innovation/the-centre-for-engineering-innovation-entrepreneurship/"> Centre for Engineering Innovation &amp; Entrepreneurship (CEIE)</a>, where the team will have a dedicated club space on the lower floor of the new building.</p> <p>“The CEIE is going to make a big difference to what the team can achieve,” says Wang. “I’m imagining being able to work on our systems simultaneously&nbsp;and do the machining we do by hand, all in one place. It’s going to be great.”</p> <h3><a href="http://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/shell-ecomarathon/americas.html">Follow Shell Eco-marathon Americas news, highlights and results</a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 25 Apr 2017 15:48:24 +0000 ullahnor 107010 at