Chemical power propelled a team of ASU students to a strong finish at a national science competition.
The team was the first from ASU to participate in the National Chem-E-Car Competition in Salt Lake City on Nov. 6 and 7, hosted by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a leading engineering organization.
The 12th annual competition, which ASU’s team began preparation for in August 2009, required teams of at least five students to create a chemically powered, shoebox-sized car that could travel no more than 100 feet while carrying up to 20 ounces of water.
The exact distance to be traveled and the amount of water to be carried were not announced until an hour before the event, said Alison Davis, senior chemical engineering major and team leader.
Other teams from universities around the nation selected the ASU team to receive the Golden Tire Award, recognizing the creative design of the team’s car.
“Being recognized by our peers means a lot,” said Andrew Chesley, sophomore chemical engineering major and member of the team.
ASU’s vehicle was seen as creative because it used two compartments of contrasting extremely high and low temperatures to generate electric current through a device called a Peltier junction.
“A lot of people hadn’t thought of that before,” Davis said.
Other teams at the event were also impressed by the car’s innovative stopping mechanism, Davis said, which incorporated a magnesium strip immersed in hydrochloric acid as part of the electrical circuit powering the vehicle’s motor.
When the acid dissolved the strip, the circuit was broken, intentionally stopping the car.
The precise placing of ASU’s team has not been officially announced, but the team was told they finished 13th out of 30 teams, Davis said.
Each car was judged on creativity and on its ability to stop closely to the designated distance.
The car from ASU finished 20 feet shy of the assigned 95 feet on its second try, Davis said.
The team’s first attempt failed for unknown reasons, but they were able to get the vehicle operational again in time for its second run.
The malfunctions causing the first run to fail and the second to come up short could have been caused by damages from shipping the car to Salt Lake City, Davis said.
Team member Luis Moya was unable to attend the event because of schoolwork.
“I was upset that I couldn’t make it,” he said.
Moya, a chemical engineering graduate student, was involved in the entire building and testing process, and was excited when he heard about the results of the competition.
“We were trying to do something innovative, and I think we achieved that,” he said.
Just being able to attend the competition and see other teams’ cars was an invaluable experience, Davis said.
“You get hints and ideas from other people,” she said.
Although Davis does not plan to participate in next year’s competition, she believes that after its first year at nationals, ASU now has a foot in the door.
“Now we have found out what it’s all about,” Davis said. “It’s a really good way to get ASU’s name out there, and it’s a really good experience for our chemical engineers.”
Reach the reporter at alex.ferri@asu.edu
