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Students Meet 'Chainless Challenge'

Posted June 08, 2015 12:00 AM by Engineering360 eNewsletter

Last month, teams of engineering students gathered in Southern California to compete in Parker Hannifin's Chainless Challenge to power a bicycle hydraulically. Using hydraulic pumps, motors, accumulators, and hoses, the designs competed in sprint and efficiency races, farthest distance on a charge, and a six mile race. Some in the design exercise used energy recovery and one used lightweight hydraulic cylinders.

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rashavarek
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Join Date: Jul 2012
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#1

Re: Students Meet 'Chainless Challenge'

06/09/2015 8:47 AM

Interesting. Good design versus practicality exercise.

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Rixter
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#2
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Re: Students Meet 'Chainless Challenge'

06/11/2015 8:57 PM

Still, it's hard to beat the simplicity and efficiency of a chain and sprocket.

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James Stewart
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#3

Re: Students Meet 'Chainless Challenge'

06/12/2015 1:56 PM

I really like this idea. One could have the bike stationary (perhaps) whilst charging up the hydraulic system, and keep the stored state energy around until a "fast" getaway is warranted. This way, the cyclist would have "slow mode", "normal mode", and " rabbit mode", depending on the situation.

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Previous in Blog: Hydraulics Powers One-off Chinese Swing Bridge   Next in Blog: Key Differences Between Hydraulics and Pneumatics

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