 |
|
|
Students work on
constructing the hydrogen
fueled RC car. Photos Cathy
Dausman
|
|
|
|
|
|
The rubber meets the road for the first time as
Campolindo High School students enter the 2018 Hydrogen
Horizon Automotive Challenge. The first round of H2AC,
as it is called, allows science and automotive class
students in 20 Northern California high schools to
compete in a four-hour-long endurance race on an indoor
track using a hand-built, hydrogen fueled RC car.
The race is sponsored by Toyota, whose Mirai runs on a
hydrogen fuel cell. Toyota provides each school with a
kit and model specifications. Car dimensions are roughly
18 by 9 by 6 inches.
The Campolindo entry will feature a red and blue paint
scheme; it was constructed by a team of students
including Connor Gregg, Christian Meckfessel, Aiden
Roake, Goldie Zhu and Sean Wright.
Meckfessel, who said he has always been a car person,
thought working with the new technology sounded like
fun. "I'm not nervous because I am a good driver. I
think we have a good chance of going to finals, and
winning," he added.
Auto shop teacher Steve Boone pitched the contest to his
students "because alternative fuel is one portion of my
class."
Environmental science teacher Tren Kauzer says the
chemistry and physics behind the alternative power
source is this: a hydrogen fuel cell generates an
electrical current which then turns the engine.
Emissions are carbon-neutral. "The only thing that comes
out of the tail pipe is water, which is pretty cool,"
Kauzer said.
Entrants are provided with a set of four nickel metal
hydride batteries (and may use two more) and 16 hydro
sticks. The Campolindo car shell was designed and built
on a 3-D printer.
While hydrogen itself is flammable, Kauzer said the
power cells that the students use are small and safe.
"It's not hydrogen gas in the little tanks, it's
hydrogen that is trapped in a gel," he explained.
The race runs Feb. 24 at Richmond's Craneway Pavilion.
The top 10 teams will then compete March 10 against 10
teams from Southern California at the UC Davis Pavilion.
|
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA