Second Annual Chapter Showcase Event!
Apr 6th
Coming up on Wednesday, April 10th is the second annual MSOE SAE Chapter Showcase event!
From 2-7pm, the following SAE design teams at MSOE will be displaying their project vehicles:
AERO
MINI BAJA
FORMULA HYBRID
SUPERMILEAGE
In addition to being able to talk to all of the teams about their innovative vehicles, there will be food, raffles, and activities for kids! We hope you take this opportunity to come out and support MSOE SAE’s mission to promote and inform about advances in mobility engineering happening at MSOE.
WHEN:
Wednesday, April 10
2:00pm – 7:00pm
WHERE:
Milwaukee School of Engineering
1025 N. Milwaukee St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
We hope to see you there!
SAE Student Night
Nov 30th
This past Wednesday, MSOE’s SAE International Collegiate Chapter hosted the annual SAE Student Night, which is an event that brings the Milwaukee SAE International Chapter together with the collegiate cha
pters within it. At the event, design teams from four schools were present: MSOE, The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Marquette University, and The University of Wisconsin Madison. The event had a great showing, and the SAE members that attended applauded the efforts of MSOE’s SAE Chapter, saying that they had a great time.
The event started with design teams showing their vehicles and talking to SAE members about their projects. UW Madison brought their Clean Snowmobile that they use to compete in the annual SAE competition. It featured a four stroke engine that earned them first place in the emissions category at competition last year. UW Milwaukee brought their Baja vehicle, the latest edition in a series of designs that have won them first place at competition for the past four years. Marquette’s SAE chapter is in its first year of competition, and as such had no vehicle to display, instead talking to guests about their plans as they move forward in 
their preparations for this year’s competitions. MSOE had three design teams in attendance: SuperMileage, Formula Hybrid, and Aero. For more information about the MSOE design teams and their progress, their websites can be found at the top of the page under the “Collegiate Design Series Projects” tab.
After displaying design projects, everybody sat down to enjoy some food and company before presentations from the collegiate chapters. MSOE’s SAE Chapter advisor Dr. Chris Damm introduced MSOE’s VP of Academics Dr. Fred Barry, who spoke about the direction of MSOE and the innovations being developed by the university. The presentation then went to the students, who presented about their chapters and what they are each doing to foster growth both within their chapter and in their communities. Professional members of SAE International judged the presentations and awarded each school accordingly. MSOE’s SAE collegiate chapter received second place, with UW Milwaukee receiving first.
MSOE’s SAE International Student Chapter received a plaque from the SAE International Milwaukee Section in appreciation for hosting the event for their November meeting. The chapter looks forward to hosting more events this year, such as the second annual MSOE SAE Showcase Event, an event open to the public to show off the design teams as well as to interest guests in the advances being made at MSOE in the field of mobility engineering.
Election results are in!
May 14th
At today’s meeting, along with design team updates (check out the individual project pages for detailed information, accessible via the ‘Collegiate Design Series Projects’ menu above), we conducted elections for officer positions next year. There were many qualified candidates on our ballot, but the final results are in and the MSOE SAE board members for next academic year (and this summer) are:
Chairperson: Charlie Scanlon
Vice Chairperson: Patrick Comiskey
Program Coordinator: Caleb Nitz
Secretary: Michael Fricke
Senior Design Liaison: Rob Runte
Sponsorship Coordinator: Jim Day
Treasurer: Michael Rutas
Webmaster: David Doyle
Congratulations to our newest MSOE SAE board members for the 2012-2013 academic year! Thanks to everyone who ran for the various positions — our chapter could not thrive without willing leaders. Additionally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the current officers for the 2011-2012 academic year, especially those who are graduating and moving on to other endeavors. All of your efforts throughout the year are very appreciated and will not be soon forgotten!
TOMORROW! SAE Chapter Projects Showcase
May 11th
Tomorrow is the day! MSOE SAE’s Chapter Projects Showcase is TOMORROW from 10AM to 4PM in the MSOE Campus Center.
The event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Stop by and see the Formula Hybrid vehicle, two SuperMileage vehicles and two Baja vehicles, enter the raffle and have a chance of winning great prizes including Milwaukee Tools, Brewers tickets and more!
We hope to see you tomorrow!
SAE Chapter Showcase Event Update
May 1st
We’re excited to announce that we will be hosting a raffle at the SAE Chapter Showcase Event on Saturday, May 12th!
Great prizes will include Milwaukee Tool products such as the brand new M18 FUEL 1/2” Drill/Driver and M12 Cordless Lithium-Ion Radio graciously donated by Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation, as well as excellent Milwaukee prizes such as Brewers tickets!
Bring your family and friends to this free event on Saturday, May 12th between 10AM and 4PM to get up close and personal with the student vehicles, meet the engineers, entertain your kids and enter this great raffle! Free admission to the event and it’s open to the public! We hope to see you there!
When: Saturday, May 12th from 10AM-4PM
Where: MSOE Student Life and Campus Center, Room CC130 (just enter the main building and go to the left)
Cost: Free and open to the public!
Directions: 1025 N. Broadway Ave., Milwaukee WI. Google Maps link: http://g.co/maps/3u7fp
SAE Chapter Projects Showcase
Apr 30th
MSOE SAE is hosting our first annual Chapter Projects Showcase event on Saturday, May 12th. This event, which is open to the public, is a great opportunity to come see the MSOE Formula Hybrid, Baja and Supermileage vehicles up close and personal and to be able to meet the teams who built the vehicles.
We’ll also have snacks available for purchase and plenty of activities available for kids, such as word searches, car drawing challenges and pictures in the Baja car!
So stop by the MSOE Campus Center (1025 N. Broadway Ave.) between 10AM and 4PM on Saturday, May 12th and check out what our SAE students are up to!
Paul Harder of Trek Bicycles Delivers Presentation on Bicycle Aerodynamics
Apr 29th
Although our speakers generally come from automotive or aeronautical fields, we were glad to take a detour into the world of competitive cycling. Paul Harder of Trek Bicycles discussed in fascinating detail the ins and outs of designing aerodynamic wheels and frames as well as the new seat tube pivot design used in some of Trek’s road bikes.
Trek is one of the largest frame builders in cycling, and has sponsored some of the best athletes to grace a bicycle. Among their great partnerships in competitive cycling, they helped Lance Armstrong achieve his amazing 7-win streak at the Tour de France. As Paul explained, creating a bike on the cutting edge of technology is no small task. Paul and the team at Trek worked tirelessly conducting wind tunnel testing and CFD analysis to develop a frame and wheel set that cut through the air better than the competition. The results of their long hours provided them with a fresh look at airfoils; the one they selected, Trek calls the ‘KVF,’ or Kammtail Virtual Foil. A depiction of this design is displayed below (figure taken from Trekbikes.com).
Harder also explained the design of a new frame technology known by Trek as IsoSpeed. This is a pivot that is placed at the intersection of the top tube and seat tube, which aids in rider comfort over rough sections of the road. Below is a link to Trek’s promotional video of the design.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yel3yhN_vy4
Paul’s presentation was a huge success and gave everyone in the audience a new respect for what we used to think of as simple technology. Just the frame incorporating the KVF tube design has a retail cost of over $2,600. After seeing the effort put into creating such a machine, we can see it’s worth every penny, especially for cyclists like Lance Armstrong who are seeking out that competitive edge.
Milwaukee SAE Student Chapters Participate in Milwaukee St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Mar 18th
Since Saint Pat is the patron saint of engineers, it was only natural for us to get involved and bring our vehicles down to the parade. We teamed up with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and brought both our Supermileage vehicle and their Baja vehicle down to the parade.
With signs on the Supermileage vehicle proclaiming that a trip to Dublin would take 5 gallons of gas, plenty of people were excited to see the vehicle drive around.
Although the Supermileage vehicle was continuously beaten, multiple drag races were also arranged between the two vehicles Oh well, good luck getting 758MPG in the Baja vehicle!
Overall the event was a huge success, drawing up a lot of interest from the visitors. For those who attended the parade, don’t forget that we have our spring event coming up shortly, where you’ll be able to get an up-close view of the vehicles. Be sure to check back soon for additional details on this event!
Product Engineering: Modine
Mar 12th
We had the pleasure of hosting Tom Grotophorst, a Modine representative, this afternoon. He presented on the background of Modine and its products and discussed the challenges of designing heat exchangers, specifically exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers as they apply to the automotive industry. This was great insight into the types of problems and solutions that exist in the heat exchanger market.
When it comes to EGR coolers, each is a new challenge as it must fit the size, weight, pressure drop, temperature, strength, cost, and reliability specifications for a specific engine. This requires a focused engineering approach and can require great attention to detail on material selection, wall coatings, cooling fin geometry, exhaust flow, coolant flow, and vibrations. Tom explained how coolant boiling, melting aluminum, and high pressure forces can be overcome in design using modern engineering tools. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) are used extensively at Modine to simulate the real world and maximize the performance of their products. Vibrations and reliability testing is also an important part of the engineering process because the automobile heat exchangers need to survive decades of use.
Click here to check out Modine’s website.
MSOE SAE Spring Event
Mar 11th
The MSOE SAE Chapter will be hosting an event this spring that will be open to the public in order to showcase our SAE collegiate design series teams. Visitors can get up close to the vehicles, meet and talk with the team members, and see the vehicles driving around (weather permitting).
There will also be raffles and activities for children in addition to being able to see the cars.
We’re shooting for the event to occur in early May, but are still working out logistics of the event. Please check back in a couple of weeks for the date/time and additional details on the event.
