The Clean-Air hydrogen-fuel Car Race is on between MIT and Caltech

When the cars are ready to run on Aug. 9, four of
the teams will be high on hydrogen—as the fuel that
will burn up the opposition!
By WILLIAM L. PETERSON


The UCIA TEAM is betting that its hydrogen-fueled entry will run away with low-emissions honors



The race captured the imagination of students across the country, and
there is over 50 entries. This year, on Aug.9. at the GM Proving Grounds in Milford,
Mich.,  more  than  1000  ecology-tuned engineering students from 80 colleges and
universities will pull the wraps off 93 of their  own  creations  in  an  enthusiastic
attempt to help the nation, and the auto industry, find feasible answers to urban
congestion and pollution.

  The three-day competition won't be a race or a styling contest, but a hard-nosed
scientific look  at students'  solutions to urban problems of congestion, safety, and
pollution. As such, the Clean-Air Car Race has been renamed the Urban Vehicle
Design Competition. UVDC entries will be judged by professional drivers, engineers,
and scientists on exhaust emissions, safety,   estimated  consumer  costs,  handling,
acceleration, braking, noise, turning radius,"portability" and "drivability".           

   As a fuel, hydrogen has gained acclaim in only the aerospace industry. Yet four schools plan to run with hydrogen-the University of California at Los Angeles, Arizona State, Southern University,
and the University of Miami.             .

    Well along in hydrogen research is the team from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Under the supervision of Prof. Albert F. Bush,(Go figure I'm sure there not related) a full professor  in both  engineering  and  public health, team members Ned Baker  Joe Takahashi, Johnny Lu, and co-captains Joe Finegold and Frank Lynch will enter a hydrogen-fueled 1972 American Motors Gremlin X incorporating a liquid hydrogen supply system and powered by a Ford "Boss" engine. Intrigued with the properties and potential of hydrogen, the UCLA team chose the fuel for two reasons: the natural abundance of hydrogen and its clean burning.

    Hydrogen is found in all water and in all present  in all fossil fuels. It is odorless, lightweight,  nontoxic,  and  easily  converts  in heat energy. Presently, it is commercially produced from fossil fuels by a process
called steam reforming. With sufficient electricity,  hydrogen  can  be  produced with almost 100 percent efficiency by electrolysis-simply passing a current through
water.

       When hydrogen and pure oxygen are mixed and then ignited, all that occurs is a violent release of heat energy and all that is formed is pure water! There is nocarbon monoxide, carbon dioxides, no lead oxides, and no smoke. This characteristic has fascinated scientists for years, making hydrogen seem an obvious fuel for the internal-combustion engine, but it does have its problems. Because hydrogen burns so readily  it often causes premature combustion and a diesel-like knocking or rattling Some solutions include cooling engine hot spots with "colder" plugs, using sodium-filled valves, reducing excessive valve overlap, and attempting to control fluffy carbon deposits by. stricter oil control  Burning hydrogen in an i-c engine also produces unacceptable levels of nitric oxides (NOX) is the major smog builder.

    UCLA's team has solved most of these problems. Early in their research they found by flowing 100 percent excess air through the engine, they could reduce NOX levels to barely measurable parts per million  (ppm).  After research several engines, they selected the Ford 351 "Boss" engine. As Frank Lynch explained 'It is such a beautiful breathingengine "It is lightweight and noted for its high volumetric efficiency."

    They installed an Impco two-barrel propane carburetor (altered slightly to accept hydrogen), dropped the compression ratio  from  11.7:1  (stock)  to  7.8.1  by fitting low-compression pistons  machining out the combustion chambers, and polishing all edges on both to minimize hot spots.  Sodium-filled  exhaust  valves  and
precision   guides  were   substituted,   and cold, retracted-gap spark plugs installed. A 32° overlap cam was used, the manifold heater eliminated and the passage plugged. Finally, the thermostat was removed to permit low coolant temperatures.

    A  simple  exhaust  gas  recirculation (EGR) system was designed to tap off, cool,  and reroute relatively inert gases back into the induction system to slow the combustion process by decreasing the excess oxygen in the mixture.

    The effect of all these changes is impressive. With the EGR system operating, backfiring and preignition have been
eliminated. Thermal efficiencies have risen to values more than 50 percent greater than those of gasoline. Originally, knocking began with coolant temperatures of 160° F. or more, but with the EGR cutting the intake by 25 percent, the "Boss" operated smoothly at 212° F.

    True, power is reduced by 16 percent, but as Lynch points out, "The volumetric efficiency of a given engine can be increased to give maximum power levels equivalent to gasoline operation. Such increases can be effected by polishing or enlarging manifold passages  (fuel condensation is no problem with hydrogen), or by enlarging intake valves. Another solution is to choose a larger than necessary displacement engine. For the UVDC we plan on using two four-barreled Impco propane carburetors just to help the volumetric flow."

    Emission levels have been one of the most exciting parts of UCLA research. With the EGR system operating and alean 45 percent hydrogen mixture being burned, the NOX levels become immeasurably low—less than 100 ppm under allload conditions experienced. Practically an emissionless exhaust.

    Transportation and storage of hydrogen is considered by the team to be crucial. They know their 100 liter,"thermos-type,"  Dewar  liquid-hydrogen  cylinder (2 feet in diameter by 5 feet in length) will give only 160 miles and is not the answer, but it is the best alternative to gaseous storage. Exhaust-activated hydride's  (hydrogen-releasing metal compounds),  once-promising,  are not yet capable  of producing  enough  demand hydrogen.

    Then there is the Hindenburg syndrome The team feels that people unnecessarily fear hydrogen. They argue that hydrogen will not auto ignite as readily as common propane. The team refers to hydrogen "dumping" tests performed by NASA on the California desert, and underlines the conclusion that although hydrogen flame velocities are higher than those of other fuels,  it  will  not  detonate  even  when completely mixed with air  at perfect ratios unless it is compressed or touched off with a blasting cap. The Hindenburg did not explode, it burned—and that is a great safety difference.

  Overall automobile safety is a big part of the Milford competition, and the team feels it is ready.  Although its internal passive  restraints  are  not  certain  the UCLA Gremlin will have a heavily padded interior to cushion the forgetful passenger who does not fasten his seat belt. Outside, the team will use foam-backed energy-absorbing body panels, a five-mph barrier device, and a roll cage extending through the roof to cleverly form a luggage rack. The liquid hydrogen tank will occupy the usual fuel tank position and will utilize the passing exhaust flow as a heat exchanger to help vaporize the liquid.

  One of the team's strongest reasons for converting to hydrogen-fueled vehicles is economic and sociological. The petroleum industry, producing fossil-fuel hydrogen. could survive the changeover by gradually altering its refineries and distribution network for production and distribution of
hydrogen as demand increased. Adjustment by the automotive industry would merely result in a slightly modified engine in a slightly modified vehicle.

   But the best reason for considering hydrogen comes from L.D. Conta, dean of engineering at the University of Rhode Island, when he says, "Regardless of what is  done  to  develop  substitutes  for internal combustion engines, at least 100 million more (i-c) engines will be built over the next 10 years, and the kind of air we breathe 10 years from now will depend more on how these engines are built (fueled) than on anything else we might do in the vehicle propulsion field."  

                       POPULAR MECHANICS August 1972



This was well known over thirty five years ago and now we are being told we need more research ???
Maybe the moon landings were fake.
{How long is this race ?...see first line)