The Society of Automate Engineer’s (SAE) and IEEE sponsor a collegiate design competition for college and university teams to design, develop, and build a formula style, gasoline/electric, open wheeled hybrid race car. FSAE-H scores contestants using the following events: design presentation, business presentation, restricted acceleration run (electric motor only), unrestricted acceleration run (electric motor plus gasoline engine), autocross, and endurance. 2011 will be the third year BYU has entered the competition but only the second year they were able to compete. BYU’s 2010 team won 4th place overall and 2nd place in the Business Plan competition.

For 2011, BYU built a parallel hybrid using lithium polymer batteries and a three phase AC electric motor. This means that both the electric motor and ICE are coupled in parallel to the wheels. Parallel hybrids have one of the best efficiencies and highest torque producing capabilities. BYU’s secret weapon was their AC motor which produces more than 30 times the torque of a conventional 250cc 4-stroke gasoline engine and more than 6 times the torque of last year’s electric motor. This year’s electric motor also weighed only 55 lbs.

On May 2, 2011 BYU competed in the international FSAE-H competition at the New Hampshire Speedway and finished second overall. They received two first-place event awards including the most challenging endurance event and the Business Plan competition. Two years ago during their first entry, BYU’s team won both the Thayer School of Engineering Dean’s Award for Innovation, and the Chrysler Award for Best Hybrid System Engineering. BYU’s 2010 team also placed second in the business plan competition.

The most remarkable thing that this international collegiate design and build competition produces is not the vehicles, as impressive as they are, but the students! The capability and confidence that these students gain through this engineering design project work are where the real value lies.

BYU News, May 11, 2011