Battery-powered Buckeye Bullet to replace fuel cell version in attempt to break 400 mph

It might not be as fast as a speeding bullet, but for an electric car, Ohio State's Buckeye Bullet might be the closest alternative.

The Buckeye Bullet team, part of OSU's Center for Automotive Research, set a world land-speed record for an electric car, averaging 307.7 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last month.

Buckeye Bullet 2.5, the name of the vehicle that eclipsed the record, smashed the previous mark of 245.5 mph set in 1999.

Now the team is working on Buckeye Bullet 3, an entirely new, battery-powered car aspiring to be the "ultimate electric land-speed car." Cary Bork, team member and graduate student in mechanical engineering, is leading the vehicle's development.

"It'll be much faster than the current car," Bork said. "We're aiming to break 400 mph on electric power."

The Buckeye Bullet 3 will be the second all-new car built in the team's stable. And the team is looking for new members.

"We need new students to help build it," said R.J. Kromer, head of the electrical engineering team and graduate student in electrical engineering. "Aside from engineering students, we also need business, marketing, design and finance students."

Few vehicles have crossed the 400-mph mark, but if the team's Buckeye Bullet 3 does, its members will be in elite company. Because of the team's success, sponsorships from major companies, such as Venturi, have helped pay for the new design.

"Setting the world records … (has) allowed us to gain sponsors and connections that will help us compete at the next level," Kromer said.

The Buckeye Bullet 3 will be electric-powered, just like the record-breaking Buckeye Bullet 2.5, which ran on 1,600 high-powered lithium ion batteries rather than fuel cells like the Buckeye Bullet 2.

Buckeye Bullet 2.5 isn't the team's first record-breaking vehicle. The battery-powered Buckeye Bullet 1 holds the U.S. land-speed record at 314.958 mph, and the Buckeye Bullet 2, powered by hydrogen fuel cells, set world records in the kilometer (303.025 mph) and mile (302.877 mph).

Work on the Buckeye Bullet 2.5 began immediately after setting the fuel-cell land-speed record in 2009.

"We spent the whole year designing and working with suppliers in order to get the necessary parts and convert the car to batteries in time for August," Kromer said.

As the Bonneville run approached, the team went into overtime making final preparations on the car, with some of the car's components being repaired up until the week before leaving for Utah.

"I tried to keep track of how much sleep I got the week before the car had to leave for Bonneville," said Evan Maley, a fourth-year in mechanical engineering. "I counted about 12 hours total for the whole week. I saw a lot of sunrises and sunsets."

Then, on Aug. 24, the team realized its goal with the new vehicle.

After runs in which the car got stuck in fourth gear, the team made repairs and was able to get the car up to top speed to break the land-speed record for an electric car.

"When we got that record, it was such a relief," Maley said. "But at the same time, you still want to go faster."

The team members felt a sense of satisfaction after their record-breaking runs, Kromer said.

"We claimed that in less than a year we could convert the car to batteries and break the all-electric world record, and then we built the car and did it," he said.

With a handful of records, Buckeye Bullet squad members attribute their success to personal drive.

"Really, it's individuals on a team who want to see us be successful for their own motives," Bork said. "They want to do a good job on whatever system or side project they're working on."

And with those records comes a great sense of accomplishment.

"At the end of the day, you can truly say you accomplished something: the fastest electric vehicle in the world," Kromer said. "That's a good feeling."

With another year passing and another record for the team, Bork said the Buckeye Bullet team is finally receiving public recognition.

"It's exciting," he said. "It's neat now because things are really starting to pick up, and people on campus, especially, know who we are."

Source: Alexander Antonetz, The Lantern