OSU ChE students are shown here testing their homemade cars, powered by a chemical reaction. It is a new National AIChE student contest, and an OSU team will qualify for National competition.
The ChE Car Competition was inaugurated in
1999 at the Annual Student Conference in Dallas; and since then, both Regional
and National Competitions have been held. Each team has to design a car that
will carry up to 500 ml of water and travel a specified distance (up to 100
feet). Teams are notified of the water weight and travel distance one hour
prior to the competition.
A chemical reaction must be used to propel the car, and no mechanical mechanisms may be used to stop the car. The components of the car must fit within a shoebox that is 32 x 20 x 12 cm.
Safety and the environment are key
components of the competition and must be adequately described with a poster
prior to the competition. The next National competition will be held in Reno,
NV in November.
Students can choose the reaction and the method used to convert chemical potential to mechanical energy. Baking soda and vinegar were popular reactants. But, teams also used pureed liver and hydrogen peroxide (partly a biochemical reaction), and homemade solid rocket propellant.
While the creation of these cars was fun, and the exhibition often entertaining, the contest clearly reveals issues of process safety, reliability, economics, and reproducibility, of teamwork and environmental care that face chemical engineers in industry.
By the way, the OSU Student Chapter hosted
that 1999 Annual Student Conference in Dallas where the competition was
inaugurated. It was a three-day event attended by over 900 ChE
students from around the country.
Chevron Phillips is sponsoring the 2003 ChE Car Competition! We greatly appreciate Chevron Phillips $10,000 check to support our competition. The building of the cars offers students a chance for creative, hands-on integration of many ChE principles and provides spectators lots of fun.
