IIT-BHU students excel in sport vehicle building contest

Varanasi: The

all-terrain vehicle

(ATV) designed by students of mechanical engineering department of Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (

IIT-BHU

), that participated in the recent national level sporting vehicle building event, BAJA SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) India-2017, gave an outstanding performance and made it to the top 10 in cost report presentation.

Last year, a team ‘Spitzeneiter’ comprising about two dozen students of mechanical engineering department had designed and manufactured a lightweight ATV that participated in Baja SAE India competition held in Indore in February 2016. Despite the best of efforts, the team failed to leave its mark.

This time, a different set of mechanical engineering students (Team Inferno), under the supervision of HoD AK Agrawal and assistant professor, Rashmi R Sahoo, came up with a modified version of the ATV which stood out from the rest at the BAJA SAE competition held in Indore from February 14-21.

The ATV, that was unveiled in presence of IIT-BHU director Rajeev Sangal, has been designed in a way that it can sustain extreme road conditions like rocky or uneven terrain, high inclinations, traversing boggy roads that may offer extremely loose ground with minimum traction and stability.

Talking to TOI on Thursday, project supervisor and faculty advisor, Rashmi R Sahoo said, “The ATV designed this year underwent major design transformations to help improve its performance. We selected a continuously variable transmission (CVT) system and a 305 cc Briggs and Stratton engine was employed for propelling the car. Custom-made knuckles were used and ergonomics of the vehicle saw changes like improvement in seat assembly, pedal position and movement thus ensuring comfort and safety of driver. Besides, on the technical front, weight reduction, custom-made wheel hub on all four tyres, transmission subsection, spool transmission instead of open differential were major changes.

Team lead and third year mechanical student, Kunal Kundu said that the overall size of the vehicle was reduced along with track width which resulted in better maneuverability.

“We cleared the virtual round of computations and stood first among all participating IITs. We were among top 10 of 150 participating teams in cost report presentation and design report also saw substantial improvement as compared to last year while sales report fetched us appreciation from judges’ panel. Our team cleared engine test on first day and technical inspection on second. Our ATV performed well on tracks,” Kundu said. The BAJA SAE India is an inter-collegiate design competition, run by the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE), wherein teams from universities across the world design and build small off-road vehicles with engines of the same specification.

Participating teams comprise under-graduate and post-graduate engineering students and as a team they are tasked with designing, building, testing, racing and promoting a single-seater four-wheeler offroad vehicle.

It follows the BAJA SAE International rules and procedure. The objective is to come up with such designs that can withstand the harshest elements of a rough terrain with ease.