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CS Project Focus and the Clean Snowmobile Challenge
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) holds the Clean Snowmobile Challenge, an engineering design competition held at Michigan Tech each March. The competition challenges college and university student members from around the world to modify an existing snowmobile to reduce noise and emissions. The teams compete against one another in a variety of events including noise, fuel economy, emissions, acceleration, handling, static display and cold start, as well as through oral and written presentations of their chosen designs.
The competition is divided into two snowmobile competition classes, zero emissions and internal combustion engine.
The zero emissions category challenges students to design an electric, or zero emissions, snowmobile which can be used at Summit Station in Greenland, where research is underway on the chemicals present in the Greenland Ice Cap. Students must overcome the challenges of range and performance to provide researches with the transportation necessary to reach remote areas.
The internal combustion engine class challenges students to develop a snowmobile which can be used in environmentally sensitive areas such as wildlife preserves and state or national parks. The redesigned sled should emit significantly less unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide without significantly increasing oxides of nitrogen emissions, while being quiet, cost-effective and comfortable.
The University of Maine competes in the Internal Combustion Engine category with a modified 2007 Yamaha Phazer. One focus of the 2009-2010 team was a complete redesign and fabrication of the exhaust system of the snowmobile that would reduce engine output noise and pollution compared to the stock exhaust, while meeting the size constraints of the snowmobile. The other focus was overall noise and vibration reduction of the snowmobile with the engine compartment and clutch assembly as the primary locations of modification. One additional modification was the redesign of the air intake system to allow for adequate cold air intake for the new exhaust while reducing noise coming from the throttle body.
The focus of the 2010 competition was overall increased fuel economy with minimal impact on performance while setting the engine up to be able to run on an ethanol-gasoline blend flex fuel.