It’s time for the UTC Running Mocs to ride again at the Baja SAE® Tennessee at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville from May 1-3. This year’s team has modified their recycled off-road vehicle to be able to maneuver on the water! They have achieved a top speed on land of 36 mph and in the water, 2.6 mph. They have also done a breaking analysis, fatigue analysis, and data on air pollution and safety of rotating parts.
Baja SAE® Tennessee is one of three regional competitions that simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges.
The object of the competition is to provide SAE student members with a challenging project that involves the planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market. Teams in Baja SAE® Tennessee will compete in a four-hour endurance test. The UTC Running Mocs plan to rotate three drivers in that test.
l-r: Brandon Porter, Jeremy Mau, Justin
Littell and seated is Michael Blessing
All vehicles are powered by a ten-horsepower Intek Model 20 engine donated by Briggs & Stratton Corporation. Use of the same engine by all the teams creates a more challenging engineering design test.
The 2008 Running Mocs team members, all UTC Engineering students, are: Mike Blessing, Scott Bowman, Adam Croft, Nettie Halcomb, Justin Littell, Jeremy Mau, Ryan ONeill, Andy Patel, Brandon Porter, Jason Powell, Stuart Rymer and Andrew Vastano.
“Besides modifying the vehicle to maneuver on the water, we also addressed components on the vehicle that had been worn severely. We have replaced and repaired parts,” said Brandon Porter.
The team promises to be tweaking and testing their vehicle until it is time to take it on the road to Cookeville.
See the official website for the competition.
