Adelaide University - a common fuel for all agricultural equipment down on the farm.
The annual fourth-year Mechanical
Engineering Project Exhibition will be
held at the University on Friday 27
October, giving students the chance
to display their hard work, technical
expertise and creativity to a wide
audience.
Many of these projects have industry
and government sponsors. “The exhibition is a showcase of talent
that provides final-year students with
direct contact with industry, resulting
in valuable experience and future
contacts as well as giving industry and
the general public an insight into what
our graduates are capable of,” said
the Head of the School of Mechanical
Engineering, Professor Colin Hansen. “Many employers have commented
that they see the involvement with
the industry-sponsored projects as
equivalent to many months of work
experience. This gives the students an
additional advantage when entering the
graduate employment market,” he said.
This year, many student projects have
addressed the issue of increases in
the cost of petroleum by looking at
alternative and sustainable fuels for
transport.
Making a real difference
5815Biodiesel Motorbike
Built as an experiment to see whether a bio diesel motorbike was feasible for agricultural purposes allowing one source of fuel for all farm machines led to the adaptation of the petrol vehicle illustrated. Dr Colin Keswell, Senior Lecturer in Engineering
believes the bike will benefit all workers on the land where up until know many types of fuel had to be stored for the running of farms, properties and stations. He went on to say "the
primary aim of the project was to
create a commercially viable biodiesel
motorbike to demonstrate the versatility
of biodiesel compatible engines".
Throughout 2007 the design will be refined so that the bike can successfully compete in the 2007 Panasonic World Solar Challenge (WSC) Greenfleet Class, to help demonstrate to a worldwide audience its full potential. Bio-Oil Motor Trike The objective of this project is to design and build a motor trike that can run solely on vegetable oil. The bio-oil trike will be entered into the Greenfl eet technology class of the World Solar Challenge in 2007, which provides a public forum to demonstrate fuel-effi cient technology and low carbon fuels.
Mechanical Engineering student Heath McBain on the “Bio Bike”, the biodiesel motorbike designed and developed at the University of Adelaide. Heath, who is also studying for a Finance degree, is one of nine Mechanical Engineering students to work on the bike as part of their fourth-year project.
Photo: David Ellis
Source: Adelaidean - News from the University of Adelaide - October 2006, Volume 15 | Number 8
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Daimler Chrysler, the Western Australian Government and Murdoch University are testing hydrogen buses in a world wide research encompassing 9 countries.