 |
Jamshedpur, Dec. 14: Aspiring engineers of Adityapur-based NIT brought laurels for the institute by winning the prestigious Formula SAE Design Challenge 2010 organised by the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) in Melbourne, Australia.
The formula car DR211, designed by a group of 16 students from mechanical, electrical, metallurgy and civil engineering departments of NIT, competed with 75 entries across the globe to win the first position in the design challenge under static category, which required explanation of the car design.
The competition was held between December 9 and 12. Three students who represented the institute in Melbourne — Nitin Agarwal, Saikat Sarkar and Tahir Souza — will return to the country on December 15. The team will reach the steel city on December 16.
However, the team could not participate in the dynamic category, which required the car to be presented and tested by the panel of judges as the car could not be completed due to lack of funds. Though a few corporate houses such as Tata Steel, Eaton Pvt. Limited, DS Solid Works, Dream Caz, Sophie Industries and Auto Fibre came forward with sponsorship, the car needed more funds to be completed.
DR211 is a modified version of DR110 model, the initial formula car designed by the students, which bagged third prize at the SAE-sponsored racing car meet in Chennai last December.
“We learnt from our mistakes and improved on the weak points. This time we worked hard to match up to international standards. We were confident, but never thought we would win. This is a dream come true,” said Rahul, a final year student of mechanical engineering.
The budding engineers have upgraded the 150cc Bajaj Pulsar engine to 600cc Honda CBR, which they imported at a cost of Rs 2.25 lakh. The upgradation increased the mileage and speed from 65kmph to 180kmph. This apart, the steering has also been upgraded from manual to sensitive steering, making it lighter. The car, which initially weighed around 250kg is now about 160kg. The decrease in weight again helped in increasing the speed of the car.
Mild steel tubes have been used to make the chassis of the car while the outer body is made of fibreglass. The petrol-driven car can travel 20km per litre and has a fuel capacity of 10 litres.
The chassis of the car is made up of mild steel tubes while the outer body is made of fibre glass. The petrol-driven car can travel 20km per litre and has a fuel capacity of 10 litres. The car has horizontal shockers, which operate on a lever system. The racing car costs about Rs 7 lakhs.
“It is a proud moment for us. I am proud of the students who have worked day and night to make their dreams come true When students perform well it automatically is a win-win situation for the institute,” said NIT director Rajnish Srivastava.
