The 15th Annual SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge will be held March 3-8, 2014 in Houghton, Mich at Michigan Technological University. This year the challenge will be to engineer a sled that runs on bio-isobutanol.
Much like ethanol, bio-isobutanol can be blended with gasoline to make a clean burning fuel. However, the energy content of bio-isobutanol is higher than ethanol blends. The process of making bio-isobutanol is different, requiring a different fermentation yeast and process. Existing ethanol plants can be converted to make this fuel. The EPA has approved this fuel as an additive to gasoline. Lead organizer of the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge, Jay Meldrum said, “This is a good experiment for the teams to undertake. Each year we change the game a little to keep it fresh. We have tried flex-fuel ethanol, high content ethanol (E85), and even bio-diesel fuels.” Gage Products from Ferndale, Mich. will once again be the fuel supplier for CSC providing all the fuel for every team and every event.
The Challenge each year is to engineer a snowmobile that is clean and quiet and still fun to drive. The sleds must pass Lab Emissions, a pass-by noise test, a 100 mile Endurance Run, Acceleration and
Handling tests. Teams must write a technical paper and defend their design with a presentation. The week-long event ends with an awards banquet on Saturday where the winner is crowned the cleanest and quietest snowmobile of the year. Cash prizes and trophies are awarded to teams for each category.
More info contact jmeldrum@mtu.edu or call 906-487-3178.- Jay Meldrum