A Car which Returns 200 KPL: GARUDA, Project RVCE Supermileage


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Imagine a car that gives 200km/L. The students of the mechanical engineering department of Rashtriya Vidyalalya College of Engineering have designed and built a super fuel-efficient car which they claim addresses issues such as oil crisis, environmental pollution and need for green technologies. This is their first step towards eventual participation in the SAE Supermileage International Competition in the US and Shell Eco-Marathon, in the UK.

Team leader, Nishant, says

There were a lot of changes, right from the engine, tires, chassis and body. We kept making constant improvements to the design of the car to make it more aerodynamic. The idea is to achieve 500 kms/litre, and they intend to do this in the coming year.But it is not just mileage that the team has focussed on. Members say various innovations have come out of research they have done on the car.

It has not been only innovation and engineering all the way. Apart from missing classes and campus placements, there also has been the need for funding, engineering and design software. Companies like Tantra Infosolutions, CD Adapco and Chameleon Motors have helped.

More work will be done on the car to make it more fuel efficient. The team will take part in the Shell-Eco Marathon (UK) next year.

The Garuda
Its a very lightweight, streamlined and has a nice aerodynamic shape. Its height is very low because of the aerodynamic constraints. The total project expenditure would be between Rs3.5 lakh to Rs4 lakh. car runs on petrol, ISO 10 pure petrol. It can also run on kerosene. It depends on the engine, and this engine can run on both. As per the team, The Garuda was built out of a passion to do something different in the automotive sector.


What challenges did you and your team face while developing Garuda?
Things weren’t smooth initially as we didn’t have finances to make things happen, and there were limited resources. The college trust gave us our initial amount to start us off on our project. That was the starting point for us, and helped us to take things forward. As our project progressed we faced a lot of failures, but we count ourselves lucky to have faced them as we were rookies. This provided us with a learning curve.
They say that Indians are good with theoretical knowledge, but we took it one step further as this gave us the opportunity to have a hands-on experience. We faced a lot of logistics problems, for example. It was a great experience to loearn to interact with industry and how to convince about our designs and enlist its help. Then how to procure parts from abroad which are not locally available in Bangalore, or for that matter India. All these things actually helped us acquire a lot of experience.

We still have a lot of amazing ideas in our mind to optimise our designs and ways to get double the mileage than what we are getting now. The major concerns are related to engine modifications, aerodynamic shape, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, lightweight-ness of the various components and the overall car, the lightest and shortest driver, and the kind of transmission systems that you use, the tyres and wheels that you use, the steering system and the seat for the driver. One of the major concerns relate to driver safety.

garuda.jpg
Source: Autopundit.com
 
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This is old news ain't it? Almost 1-1.5 years old.
Even I too think so. What is the source of this info?
Note to Bala: It is advisable not to cut and past too much info from another forum or website. And just in case you do once in a while, please mention the source.
 
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And is that even a car? Looking at the picture, it looks more of a rocket-sled! For me, anything that is NOT on four wheels is not a car! And honestly, where in the real world conditions can you drive a car like this?
 
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And is that even a car? Looking at the picture, it looks more of a rocket-sled! For me, anything that is NOT on four wheels is not a car! And honestly, where in the real world conditions can you drive a car like this?
Well, it is to some extent, a ' car ' , but not necessarily a production model, or something that you can actually go to office in. Something like a 'racetrack' design. In fact, even the fastest 'car' in the world (I forgot the name, I'll have to look at my Guinness again[;)])is a similar rocket-shaped contraption.
 
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Arkin are you mentioning the JCB Dieselmax?


Good innovation and creativity but i don think this can be practically successful. But this project will pave way for a successful career for those guys.
 

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