The Competition
The Shell Eco-marathon is an annual competition sponsored by Shell, in which participants build special vehicles to achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency. The Eco-Marathon is held around the world with events in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Entrants come from several backgrounds including enthusiastic amateurs, university teams such as past medalists Duke University, University of Toronto, University of Michigan, and University of California, Los Angeles and staff of major motor manufacturers.
Beaver Bolt 2016
The Beginning
In 2015, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers club at Oregon State University set out to design and manufacture a vehicle to compete in the 2016 Shell Eco Marathon. This led to the creation of Beaver Bolt 2016. Beaver Bolt 2016 was a fiberglass aero shell on top of a steel chassis that competed in the Prototype Battery Electric vehicle class. Beaver Bolt 2016 placed 2nd out of over 26 teams by achieving an efficiency of over 8,600 MPGe.
Beaver Bolt 2017
Refinement
After the 2016 competition, we were very happy with how the car performed for our first year. However, we wanted to make significant improvements to increase our efficiency for the next year’s competition. Compared to the competitor’s cars, ours was a heavyweight. Weighing in at just over 100 lbs, Beaver Bolt 2016 was approximately 2 times heavier than virtually every other vehicle in its class. After a complete redesign of all structural components, the steel chassis and fiberglass shell were replaced by a carbon fiber monocoque. We were able to cut the vehicle weight down to 46.7 lbs which made Beaver Bolt 2017 the second lightest vehicle in its class. Beaver Bolt 2017 then went on to win 2nd place and an award for best vehicle design.
