Prepping for the Wind Tunnel

Over the last few months, Edsion2 has released photos of the different models we have made to explore design ideas. Behind their visual differences, our models have one important thing in common: they’re all made to the same 25% scale.

The bigger you make a model, the better the results you get from the wind tunnel, up to a point. Wind tunnels have walls and the proximity of those walls to a model becomes significant to your readings if you put in a model that’s too big. For our model work, we’ll be using Virginia Tech’s 6ft x 6ft tunnel and we’ve chosen 25% scale models to keep the blockage ratio at about 3%.

Virginia Tech’s tunnel has a 600 horsepower fan (photo below) that can blow the test section at up to 180mph. At that speed, mounting even a 25% model needs to be taken seriously so last week a delegation from Edison2 visited the tunnel to agree on a plan of action with the tunnel’s personnel.

We have the tunnel booked beginning May 16^th and a very thorough series of tests planned. It’s going to be a busy time between now and then in the experimental shop getting our model installation ready to go.

It's Official

Our Virginia Manufacturer’s plates have arrived at the shop. Edison2 is now officially a car manufacturer.

Sweet Briar College

Recently Sweet Briar College’s engineering seniors visited our shop to present their Preliminary Design Report on interior options for our Version 4 Very Light Car.

We were impressed with their capstone project: in a very thorough 22 page report, these smart and energetic young women presented 12 different seating layout options for review. With a neat numerical method, they had weighted and scored each layout’s attributes. Three favorites have emerged and work will continue on developing these ideas.

But that’s not all.

Four very sharp Sweet Briar business students are completing their capstone by putting together a business plan focused on niche identification for the next generation Very Light Car. This study will incorporate a market analysis, competitive and environmental scans, focus groups, surveys and high-level financial projections under various sets of cost and demand assumptions. As a start these young women spent some time with the very light car at the DC Auto Show.

Sweet Briar’s Latin motto is Rosam quae meruit ferat, which translates as She who earns the rose may bear it. These students are earning their rose and we are appreciative of the efforts of Engineering Professor Bethany Brinkman and Business Professor Tom Scott in helping create this opportunity. Edison2 is proud to partner with this modern and forward-thinking college and see this as only the beginning.



A Good Day in Richmond

A very good day for Edison2 at the State Capitol.

On Thursday February 10 Edison2 received a commendation from the Virginia General Assembly. House Joint Resolution 828 (HJ 828) detailed the achievements of Edison2, noting " the success of Edison2's Very Light Car in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize is a reflection of the creativity, knowledge and dedication of Edison2's entire workforce"

As an additional honor, Edison2's Oliver Kuttner and Brad Jaeger represented the team in a "Center Aisle Presentation" on the floor of the House of Delegates, in which patrons of HJ 828 (Ward Armstrong, D-Danville, Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, David Toscano, D-Charlottesville and Rob Bell, R-Albemarle) explained the accomplishments of Edison2 to the their colleagues in the House, and passed around very light lugnuts as examples of our light-weight craftsmanship.

At the same time, in the other chamber HJ 828 co-patron Senator Ralph Smith (R-Botetourt County) introduced Edison2's David Brown and the accomplishments of Edison2 to his fellow senators.

Edison2's #97 car was showcased in Capitol Square for several hours, drawing interest from numerous Delegates and Senators, as well as lobbyists, schools groups and others visiting or working at the Capitol.

There were a lot of positives about this day. It was gratifying to be honored before the Virginia General Assembly – a bookend of sorts to the recognition from Governor McDonnell we received on September 16. It was pleasing to serve as a focus of bipartisanship in a time when that is too often lacking. It was satisfying to have our car described by legislators who have visited the shop and who clearly understand what we are doing and its significance. And it is just plain fun to show the Very Light Car to people, answer their questions, gauge their reactions and tell them about where Edison2 is headed.



What Have We Changed?

At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Edison2 unveiled a model of our next generation Very Light Car. Here’s a picture. We’d like to take a minute to explain what’s different and where and how we’re moving forwards from our X Prize cars.

 

First, a little bit of history. Richard Petty was once asked when the first car race took place and he famously answered, “shortly after the second car was built”. The X Prize was not exactly a race but it was in the end a competition between cars and the teams who built them. Competitions need rules and over the years race rules have been tested by circumstances and have evolved to cover all that has been learned. Being a different kind of competition, the X Prize rules were written without the benefit of years of accumulated experience and this created a lot of problems as the difference between teams’ interpretations and officials’ intent emerged.

For the most part, the differences were resolved in a fair way by reasonable adults: teams had to do some rework and a few rules got re-written and in some cases softened. Sometimes the rules softening worked against us. For example, we initially faced a requirement for “safety glass” windows and, since time prevented us from designing the complex tooling required to make compound curved glass, we designed the VLC to have a flat wrap windscreen. By the time we learned the X Prize Foundation would accept “stuff you can see thorough that won’t shatter” for “safety glass”, meaning we could run a polycarbonate screen, it was too late to change and refine our body shape.

Now that we are no longer constrained by well-intentioned but sometimes counterproductive rules, we are making a number of design advances, such as:

• Moving to compound curvature windows and exterior body panels has enabled us to subtly but substantially reprofile the central fuselage for even more interior space. Our early cars could, and often did, carry 4 full sized adults and their gear. The next generation VLC can carry even more.
• The new, smoother lines promise even better wind cheating performance. With half the drag of a Prius, our early cars are the most aerodynamically efficient 4 seat cars yet built. We expect to exceed that with a better optimized shape.
• New, raised and reprofiled “wings” are designed to meet FMVSS bumper standards. Edison2 learned about crash-worthy design the hard way, through more than a century of combined professional auto racing experience. Now we have more design freedom, we’re applying that experience.
• Larger diameter tires permit more travel from our patent pending in-wheel suspension, giving a smoother ride and also reducing rolling resistance.
• A new rear window gives better rear vision than the camera it replaces, and the hatch it mounts to gives access to luggage space now available above our rear-mounted driveline.
• It takes a lot of work to get from proof of concept to production capable. The path involves redesigning almost every component and system of the Very Light Car. So under the skin are all the advances you can’t see.

Of course, some things stay the same. Not just Very Light Car Principles – light weight, low drag, breakthrough efficiency – but also the orderly, thorough way we do things. Not much happens by chance at Edison2, and that includes working towards what is really an all-new car.