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Electric Snowmobiles at 2006 Clean Snowmobile Challenge |
by Dave Stensland
Source: Michigan Tech News Media / McGill University
(3/21/2006)
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 This year's competition split the electric and gas snowmobiles into two classes. We're covering the electrics.
Two all-electric sleds competed in the new zero-emissions category, and Utah State University's electric sled won. Team captain Nate Hansen was happy with the victory but had hoped for more. "It was nice to win as an electric sled, but it would really be nice to compete with the gas sleds, because we have them beat in noise and emissions," he said.
Utah State did not respond to our questions, but Simon Ouellette of McGill provided some insight via email when he pointed out that the electric teams were both plagued with technical problems. He indicated that the results of the electric snowbmobile competition wouldn’t be outstanding this year. McGill had an elusive glitch in their system while Utah State suffered a catastrophic motor failure that required motor replacement.
The competition included challenges for acceleration, endurance, etc. For endurance the electrics raced in a shortened 10-mile distance course while the gas sleds went 100 miles. Montreal’s McGill University completed 7.2 miles and Utah State University traveled 9.5 miles without a stop.
 Simon shared some interesting information about his team’s electric snowmobile... "Currently we only have one battery pack on board. In the current configuration the snowmobile can drive over 15km (9.4 miles) at a speed of over 30km/h (18.8 mph). Current top speed was measured at 42km/h (26.3 mph) but we think we can tweak things to reach close to 50km/h (31.3 mph). The snowmobile weighs 521 lbs. It's 100lbs lighter than the lightest gasoline snowmobile at the competition (full of fuel). What that means is that when we receive our 2nd battery pack we will be able to double our range and even then we'll be at exactly the same weight as some of the lightest gasoline snowmobiles."
Clarkson University, in Potsdam, N.Y., was present with their gas team as well as a contingent of students from their new electric team. Fred Stone, the director of Clarkson's award-winning Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design (SPEED) program said they were there "... to observe other team's electric snowmobiles and to get a feel for how the competition is run (finding the strengths and weaknesses of our competitors)."
Representatives from both the National Park Service and the USDA Forest Service were on hand at the awards presentations Saturday to underscore their support of the Clean Snowmobile Challenge.
"This has meant a tremendous amount to Yellowstone National Park," said Jack Evanoff, the park's environmental manager. Snowmobile emissions at the park, which have been at the heart of a major controversy, have plummeted in the seven years since the first Clean Snowmobile Challenge, he said.
"As the world's foremost provider of outdoor recreation, we have a desire for a clean, quiet experience for all of our users, including those who ride our snowmobile trail systems," said Leon LaVigne, recreation program manager for the forest service's Eastern Region. "The CSC is a real-life example of using new, creative approaches to working together toward improving the quality of a great recreational activity and, at the same time, improving environmental quality."
The Keweenaw Research Center and the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics sponsor the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge at Michigan Tech.
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Thursday, September 02, 2010