Challenge X Competition (Fall 2006)
The University of Tennessee is among 17 top North American universities entering year three of the three-year Challenge X competition. The team has spent the past academic year integrating and refining advanced vehicle technologies into their GM Equinox leading up to the competition in June 2006 at General Motors’ Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa, Arizona. The annual competition, organized by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, is inspiring hundreds of the best and brightest engineering students with a real-world application of their skills, benefiting both consumers and the environment. The selection of participating universities has always been on the basis of competitive proposals.
The University of Tennessee has a long history of competition in the annual DOE events. Dating back to the 1989 competition, the University has competed in 10 challenges and is currently entering its 19th year of competition. The UT team had 19 participating team members in the 2005-2006 competition year and has seen an increase to 30 members for this (2006-2007) competition year. Of the 19 team members last year, three undergraduates and two 
graduate students from MABE attended the competition in Mesa. Challenge X is a senior capstone design project in which the students are exposed to computer modeling (mathematical, CAD, and performance), design of new components (packaging of manufactured components and the design of new components), hands-on fabrication of components, and vehicle testing and evaluation.
Building on the virtual and mathematical plans they completed in year one, the team implemented a through the road hybrid electric vehicle design for the Challenge X competition in year two. Differences from the stock vehicle include a diesel internal combustion engine, electric motor, high voltage battery pack, and integrated controls system. The competition is gives first-hand exposure to the advanced technologies that auto companies use to develop the vehicles of tomorrow.
During the Challenge X 2006 competition, teams completed more than a dozen static and dynamic evaluations, including tests for towing capacity, acceleration, on-road fuel economy, greenhouse gas impact, total well-to-wheels emissions, and consumer acceptability. Teams were also required to give technical oral presentations and submit an SAE-style technical paper. The competition culminated with an awards ceremony during which the UT team was presented the sixth place trophy, as well as awards for best towing performance and the most improved team.
The other 16 university teams competing in Challenge X include Michigan Technological University; Mississippi State University, The Ohio State University; Pennsylvania State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, San Diego State University, Texas Tech University; University of Akron; University of California, Davis; University of Michigan; University of Texas at Austin, University of Tulsa, University of Waterloo, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University.
Additional information about Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility is available on the web at http://www.challengex.org and http://apcsi.tennessee.edu/challengex.