Rose-Hulman Human Powered Vehicle Team
Rose-Hulman Human Powered Vehicle Team is a student organization that competes in the ASME Human Powered Vehicle Competition. The organization is currently in its fifth year.
Competition
The ASME Human Powered Vehicle Competition has two major components.
- Design Report
In the design report, the team has 30 pages to explain the processes and design decisions that went into crafting the bike. The Rose-Hulman team has traditionally performed well in this aspect of the competition. Past design reports can be viewed at http://www.rose-hulman.edu/hpv/design_reports.html
- Biking
- Sprint - In sprints, the bike has a short distance to go as fast as it can. Alternatively, the bikes might face off in a 1 on 1 drag race. This is generally where the bikes reach their top speeds.
- Endurance - In endurance races, the bikes travel a relatively long distance. The riders switch 3 times (for a total of 4 riders). The track is long and winding.
- Utility - This is a relatively new competition aspect in which the Rose-Hulman team has not traditionally competed. The purpose of the Utility competition is to demonstrate the bike's usefulness in everyday tasks.
Vehicles
The team has created 4 vehicles for competition to date and is currently working on a fifth for entry in both the East and West coast competitions. Thus far, all vehicles created have been recumbent bicycles and have been front wheel drive.
- The Hautian Hazard
The Hautian Hazard was the 2006 bike and the first one made by the team. Its top speed was 38.4 mph (62 km/h), with an endurance speed of 22.3 mph (36 km/h) in a 45-minute race. The body was made up of chrome-moly tubing, with skin made up of heat-shrink plastic and chloroplast. The bike finished 7th at the 2006 ASME East Coast HPV Challenge.
- The R5
The R5 was the 2007 bike. This vehicle was a large improvement over the previous year. Like the Hazard before it, the R5 used chrome-moly tubing. However, the skin was made of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass. The bike reached a maximum speed of 40.2 mph (65 km/h), with an endurance speed of 31 mph (50 km/h) over a 1-hour race. The R5 earned 2nd Place at the 2007 ASME East Coast HPV Challenge.
- The Infinity
The Infinity was the team's 2008 bike. It was the first bike to use a monocoque design, and marked a new standard for the team's bikes. The structural skin was made of carbon fiber, Kevlar, carbon/Kevlar cross-weave and Nomex honeycomb. The bike had a top speed of 45 mph (72 km/h), and took 1st place at both the 2008 ASME East and West Coast HPV Challenge.
- The Mark IV
The Mark IV was the first bike to use a tub frame design. The ribs were made of Nomex honeycomb, and the skin was made of carbon fiber, Kevlar and carbon/Kevlar cross-weave. Unintentionally, the skin was structural. Although this allowed for an extremely strong bike, it also made the bike very heavy. Nonetheless, the bike reached 45.6 mph (73 km/h), with an endurance speed of 28.7 mph (46 km/h) in a 1-hour race. Following the success of the Infinity, the Mark IV took 1st place at both the 2009 ASME East and West Coast HPV Challenge.
- The Ragnarök
The Ragnarök used a tub frame design, similar to that of the Mark IV. The Kevlar protection for the rider was replaced by Zylon. Improving on the Mark IV's design, the Ragnarök's fairing was significantly lighter. The Ragnarök used an innovative leaning-trike design which could be pinned to prevent the vehicle from tilting. This mechanism allowed the Ragnarök to compete in the new Unrestricted Class at the Human Powered Vehicle Challenges. The leaning-trike mechanism could be removed and replaced with a single rear wheel, reducing weight and drag. The Ragnarök took first place at both of the 2010 ASME HPV Challenges.