physics

Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team

Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team rather than just read about it. In short: The Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team designs, builds and competes with an Urban Concept hydrogen fuel cell vehicle run by students at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. They recently competed with their vehicle named "Tigergen III" in the 2013 Shell Eco-Marathon.

Key takeaways

Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team designs, builds and competes with an Urban Concept hydrogen fuel cell vehicle run by students at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. They recently competed with their vehicle named "Tigergen III" in the 2013 Shell Eco-Marathon. At the competition they achieved 8.8 mi/kWh which placed them 3rd in the UrbanConcept Hydrogen category. The team also won an off-track award for "Best Team Spirit"

About the Team

The team, located on the campus of the University of Missouri and run entirely by students, seeks to promote awareness of alternative fuels, develop technology, and allow members to gain practical experience through constructing a hydrogen vehicle. Advised by Professor Richard Whelove of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, as well as Richard Wallace of the Electrical Engineering Department, the team was formerly known as the Mizzou Solar Car Team. The team switched over to hydrogen after 6 generations of solar cars. The team remains advised by Richard Whelove, alongside Michael Devaney of the Electrical Engineering Department. The team's first venture into hydrogen powered vehicles was with Tigergen I which ran on two 1.2 kW Ballard fuel cells and exhibitioned in the North American Solar Challenge as a demonstration vehicle. The team's second vehicle, Tigergen II, operated on a single 1.2 kW Ballard fuel cell and competed in the Urban Concept category of the Shell Eco Marathon, winning first place in the hydrogen category and fourth place overall in 2011. The team's current vehicle, Tigergen III, operates on two 1 kW Horizon fuel cells and competed Shell Eco Marathon Americas competition, placing third in the hydrogen UrbanConcept category.

Current Technology The body and chassis of Tigergen III is integrated as a partial-load bearing system in a partial-monocoque design. This construction technique saves weight without compromising the structural integrity of the vehicle. To further reduce weight, Tigergen III's partial monocoque structure is composed entirely of composite materials. Carbon fiber and nomex material is used extensively throughout the car. Tigergen III uses Horizon hydrogen fuels cell to convert energy from hydrogen gas into electricity which is then used to power the vehicle's electric motor. Safety is a priority in Tigergen III. The driver is secured with a five-point racing safety harness along with the driver being separated from all components of the fuel system by a fire-resistant bulkhead and easy access to a fire extinguisher. Tigergen III competed in the 2012 and 2013 Shell Eco-Marathons.

Objectives of the Race The purpose of the Shell Eco Marathon race is to drive as far as possible on the least fuel. The competition is based on efficiency rather than speed and awards are given to teams that use the least fuel while driving on a 6-mile circuit. The Urban Concept category subjects vehicles to constraints that resemble those of a consumer vehicle such as brake lights, luggage space, and four wheels along with stop-and-go driving. The next competition takes place March 2012 at Discovery Green in Houston, TX.

Race results

2010 Shell Eco Marathon

The team competed for the first time with their vehicle named "Tigergen II" in the Shell Eco-Marathon although it did not finish the race due to technical difficulties. The team was awarded a trophy and monetary prize for the "Perseverance in the Face of Adversity" as a result of the hard work they did to get the car working at the race.

2011 Shell Eco Marathon In 2011 the team competed for the second time with Tigergen II with much greater success than before. Tigergen II completed all six runs to receive six qualifying results. Run 2 experienced a technical problem but the fuel cell was rebooted and the run was completed. Of the six runs the highest efficiency obtained was on run "5" with 13.79 mi/kWh or 476 MPG. The team was awarded with First Prize for the Hydrogen Category in the Urban Concept Division. The team was also awarded a trophy and monetary prize for "Best Team Spirit"

References

External links Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team Homepage Videos of hydrogen vehicles in action Local CBS news broadcast of team Shell Eco-marathon official website Official YouTube channel

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team

In research: Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Concept cars, Energy conservation, Fuel cell vehicles, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team in simple terms?

Why does Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mizzou Hydrogen Car Team.