Engineering students join clean snowmobile challenge

While the snow has yet to fly, 15 mechanical engineering students are already gearing up for the snowmobile season.

These students are joining 16 universities in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge, the newest collegiate design competition from the Society of Automotive Engineers.

The contest challenges students to reengineer an existing snowmobile for improved emissions and noise while maintaining or improving the performance characteristics of the original snowmobile. The modified snowmobiles are also expected to be cost-effective.

The first step in modifying the new snowmobile donated by Polaris will be adding a motorcycle engine. “Snowmobiles usually have two-stroke engines, which are less efficient than four-stroke motorcycle engines,” says Glenn Bower, the team’s faculty advisor. “While this engine is more environmentally friendly, it adds weight to the snowmobile. To compensate, the students selected a 110-horsepower engine.”

Team leader and mechanical engineering student Dave Trettin explains that this tactic will make the UW–Madison team stand out in competition.

Using a Mototron control system, UW–Madison’s snowmobile will convert the original carbureted engine into a closed-loop port-injection engine. “As far as we are aware, no other team is using an engine control unit for control of emissions,” says Trettin.

Using exhaust catalysts, this snowmobile will be cleaner, quieter and more fuel-efficient than commercial sleds.

“ME students learn about these techniques in their classes, and projects like this allow them to apply their engineering theory,” says Bower. “They have to design the new snowmobile, build what they’ve designed, then test what they’ve built. If it doesn’t work the first time, they do it again.”

The third annual competition will be held in Jackson Hole, Wyo. during the last week of March.