Oman Wires It's all about Oman
One of the world’s longest-operating student competitions, Shell Eco-marathon challenges students to style and develop power-effective vehicles.
The two Omani teams, 1 from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and the second from German University of Technology (GUtech), will challenge their peers with their power-effective styles.
Muscat Daily
, which will be covering the occasion, caught up with SQU Eco Wheels team and GUtech’s Megalodon team to know about their preparations.
Eco Wheels team supervisor Dr Abdullah al Shabibi, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial engineering, SQU mentioned, “The competition is about mileage as teams compete to travel the farthest on the least amount of fuel. My student team has been working on this project for months. This will be the fourth time SQU is taking part in this competition. This time our team has developed a car which weighs only 55kg compared to last year’s 85kg making it faster.”
He mentioned that the encounter gained from such projects is of immense worth. “Students find a way of applying what they study and how they will use it in future. No matter what the results of the race are, it will be a great experience for the student teams.”
The race is component of Shell’s international platform for collaboration and innovation about the international challenge of cleaner power.
The Eco-marathon is not the kind of competitors that develops new sports vehicles but rather focuses on creating technologies that can be utilized to make typical vehicles much more effective. There is currently proof for this – vehicles now use begin-cease technologies, which officials mentioned came straight from this marathon. Dr Shabibi mentioned, in this program, a car’s engine shuts off when it is idle, cutting fuel consumption and in turn assisting the atmosphere.
Dr Emmanouil Bouzakis, assistant professor, Department of Engineering at GUtech and the supervisor of Megalodon team, mentioned, “This is the fourth time we are taking part in the race. Such events give our students the chance to have hands-on experience and learn from competitors and possibly meet their future employers. Such events are timely because they focus on clean energy.”
The SQU team which will use gasoline and GUtech diesel will be competing against autos that run on solar energy, electrical energy and biofuels.
The race
A main component of the competitors will be connected to passing the technical inspection. Many participants do not even get a opportunity to enter the race since they can not pass the strict specifications such as weight, supplies utilized and assembly method.
Last year, the SQU team passed inspection test seamlessly and went on to finish 17th out of 100 teams. They progressively enhanced their score in 5 trials more than 4 days. Their highest was on their fourth try. The GUtech team Megalodon didn’t pass inspection and therefore unable to compete. When they arrived in Singapore, they identified their brake cable was broken in the course of shipping.
The teams
Abdullah al Brashdi, team leader, SQU Eco Wheels, mentioned, “We have been working day and night to ensure our car is ready on time. This is absolutely a new car. This time, our car is fully covered which will stop air from entering hence becoming lighter. We managed to cut the weight by more than 30 per cent as compared to last year.”
Other SQU student team members are Marwan al Maamari (driver), Burhan al Hanashi and Zuheir al Busafi.
The GUtech team will be getting into the competitors with the automobile chassis utilized final year but with a various physique and a new style. “The body material used is different with the same diesel engine. We used different materials to keep the body as light as possible. The weight is 75kg without the driver. The driver is a female student. We have full confidence in her. We chose her because she is light weight. The competition is tough but we are hoping for the best,” Neeraj Krishnan, team leader, GUTech’s Megalodon team, mentioned.
GUTech’s Megalodon other team members are Iman al Maawali (driver), Ashwaq al Harthi, Al Jaziya al Nazwani, Ahmed al Dhuhli and Ahmed al Amri. “I am glad to be part of the team. I am prepared to be the driver. I am confident our team will do well,” Iman mentioned.
Information Source: Muscat Daily
