$259,986 NASA contract to test electric motors awarded to BGSU

With its low, sleek racing lines, Bowling Green State University’s Electric Falcon race car looks as if it could fly. But actually, it is the technology which powers the unique vehicle that one day may take flight--on the next generation of U.S. space shuttles.

The University’s College of Technology, whose faculty and students built and race the electric-powered car, has been awarded a $259,986 contract from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland to design and build three, three-phase induction motors, speed-reducing gearboxes and variable-frequency speed controllers.

The three motor assemblies are being designed and built to determine if they could be used to operate the ailerons, elevons and rudders (mechanisms that help guide aircraft) on a future space shuttle. Barry Piersol, assistant to the dean and administrator of the contract, said the project is what NASA calls a "proof of concept" test.

"These particular electric motor systems we will build will never go into space," Piersol said. "What NASA is trying to determine is if the current electric motor technology has advanced to the point where they could be used for this purpose.

When they looked around the country to see who might be able to build these motors, Bowling Green was one of the places they invited to bid on the contract," he explained.

On the current shuttle, those flight deck surfaces are moved by hydraulics, but James Dolce, a senior automation engineer with NASA, said the hydraulic system, with its long lengths of hoses and numerous values and connectors, is extremely difficult to "qualify" before each flight.

According to Dolce, "An electric motor system would be much easier to test to be certain it is ready to go into space."

Once the motors are delivered, NASA will test them to determine the amount of force each can generate. Mounted on a test bed, the motors will power a hydraulic pump which will drive a crank arm attached to a mechanical spring.

The goal is to generate more than 100,000 pounds of force, the amount needed to overcome airflow resistance and move one aileron or elevon as the space shuttle is being positioned for a landing.

Directing the design and construction of the system is Anthony Palumbo, a BGSU associate professor emeritus and director of the college's Electric Vehicle Institute, and Jeff Major, chief electrical engineer for the institute.

In addition, Erik Mayer, an electrical engineer and a part-time instructor in the college, and a number of graduate and undergraduate students are expected to work on developing and building the motors and the accompanying units.

NASA was particularly interested in the unique liquid-cooled motors the race team developed for the Electric Falcon, Palumbo said. The race car motors, now in the third generation of development, are light-weight, high-performance power plants that can be adapted to a wide range of uses.

"We have proven we can be flexible in our approach to solving problems and can deliver a product that is also cost-effective," he added.

Dr. Ernest Savage, interim dean of the college, said it was the possibility of working on projects like this one that led the college to become involved in the Electric Falcon project.

"The racing of the car is exciting and challenging, but the college became involved to develop electric motor systems technology and transfer that knowledge to business and industry for use in practical, real-world applications," the dean said.

"Our mission as a college and as a university is, in part, to develop new knowledge and share that knowledge with organizations and businesses which can make use of it," he added.

Under the terms of the current NASA contract, the Bowling Green researchers have until the end of February to design and build the motor and components and deliver them to NASA.

This is the second time the Electric Falcon project has resulted in BGSU receiving a NASA-funded contract. In 1997, the University was awarded a $150,000 contract to design, build and install an electric power train, including the traction motor, power controller and transmission, for use on a hybrid-powered city transit bus. Testing of the prototype bus was recently completed.

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