The Kettering University Clean Snowmobile is looking to repeat as champions at the annual International SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Clean Snowmobile Challenge, which is held at the Keewanaw Research Center on March 2-7, 2015.

In 2014, the team finished in first place in the internal combustion category and took home the following awards:

• PCB Group Award for the Quietest Snowmobile
• Blue Ribbon Coalition Award for the Most Practical Solution, which balances cost with noise and emissions reduction
• Emitec Award for Best Value, which incorporates cost, fuel economy and performance

Additionally, in November 2014, Madeline Moir, team leader for Kettering's SAE Clean Snowmobile team, and her teammate Michael Cox, traveled to Birmingham, England, to the 2014 SAE International Powertrains, Fuels, and Lubricants conference. They presented a research poster highlighting the modifications they made for the 2014 Clean Snowmobile competition and were awarded first place for best poster at the conference.

Madeline Moir at the 2014 SAE International Powertrains, Fuels, and Lubricants conference.

“Last year we did a good job at calibrating our sled to minimize emissions and keep our costs low,” said Madeleine Moir, leader of the Clean Snowmobile team at Kettering. “We were very quiet. We were measured at 72 decibels at wide open throttle drive-by, which is about as quiet as a modern car.”

In recognition of their outstanding performance, the team has been invited to exhibit their design at the 2015 SAE International Noise and Vibration Conference in June 2015 in Grand Rapids.

This year, the team will be working with the same base Rotax 600 ACE engine but look to improve upon the technological upgrades they made last year. The team will add a turbo charger, modify the exhaust to include a catalytic converter, and further improve upon the student written engine control strategy.

“The engine was designed to be pretty much silent when it was running,” Moir said. “Part of that was using a student designed muffler. We ended up with a sled so quiet, you would think it was electric.”

The snowmobiles are judged on engineering design, cost, sound, handling, emissions and fuel economy. The fuel economy is measured on a 100-mile trail ride from Houghton to Copper Harbor where the snowmobile must maintain a minimum speed of 45 miles/hour in performance events, however, the sled can effortlessly reach speeds above 60 miles/hour.

Moir’s interest in the engineering and design of snowmobiles stems from her passion and experience working in powertrain. She has worked three co-op terms at Ford in powertrain controls and calibrations  and will be will completing engine dynamometer testing for Ford Racing at her next assignment.

Moir is able to apply her work experience from Ford and classroom education from Kettering to construct a better snowmobile for the upcoming Clean Snowmobile Challenge that will include stiff competition from large schools across the Midwest, Canada, Alaska and even as far as Finland.

“The goal is to push the envelope every year,” Moir said.