Viking 21: A Vehicle for the End of the Fossil Age by Chris Greacen There's a place for inexpensive conversions of existing cars to electric cars Ä see Shari Prang's article in this issue. There's also a place for wiping the slate clean and entirely re-thinking the automobile. That's what the Viking 21 program is about. Once the public is aware that more environmentally benign alternatives are within the grasp of current technology, we can hope for a market, and some pressure on Detroit to mass produce clean vehicles. In many areas we are already running out of clean air. Clean air laws require that by 1998, 2% of all new cars sold in Southern California be "zero emissions vehicles". Michael Seal, director of the Vehicle Research Institute (VRI) at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, sees this as part of a growing trend leading to banning internal combustion engines in many cities. While public transportation and bicycles will help reduce urban pollution and our reliance on fossil fuels, Michael Seal says the current structure of our lives and cities in industrialized countries requires the continued use of the family/personal automobile. With some good design choices, it is possible to make a vehicle which is much more environmentally benign than today's cars, yet has the performance and range industrialized humans have come to believe they need. Michael Seal and his students at VRI are building a 'solar electric/natural gas parallel hybrid car' from the ground up as a response to this challenge. They have a quarter of a million dollar budget from the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Bonneville Power Administration, Puget Power and Light Co., and interested individuals. Their goal: to demonstrate to the world's auto makers a quick, responsive safe car with 100 miles range in 'zero emissions' mode, and 300 miles with the addition of a small natural gas powered internal combustion engine. They call the car the Viking 21. The Viking Cars In two visits to VRI, I got a sense of the car they're building, and a little of what is involved in designing and building a prototype energy-efficient car from the ground up. VRI is housed in several rooms of the bottom floor of WWU's Technology Center, a space a little larger than a basketball court. On benches on the concrete floors are lathes, a computer numeric control milling machine, welding equipment, and work-in-progress: motors, disc brakes, linkages, suspension arms. In one room is a dynamometer, and other emissions measuring equipment. Another room reeks of tools and supplies for fiber glass, and carbon fiber construction. VRI built its first car, the Viking I, to compete in the 1972 Urban Vehicle Design Competition, held at the GM Proving Grounds in Michigan. It featured a propane converted Toyota engine and extreme steering for ease in parallel parking. Later Viking cars were to concentrate largely on low emissions and fuel efficiency. In the late 70s Viking cars were approaching 100 mpg. The Viking VI, built in 1978, successfully demonstrated that a low-emissions, fuel efficient car could meet or exceed federal crashworthiness standards. This car, with a more recent engine, gets 118 mpg at 50 mph. The Viking XX is a two person solar car, built like a catamaran with a tilted PV array between the pods. It placed second in the 1990 GM Sunrayce USA from Orlando to Detroit and fifth in the 1990 World Solar Challenge across Australia, beating cars with higher budgets. VRI also prototypes internal combustion engines, including the twin-cam, four-valve Subaru Legacy engine. (See the latest issue of Alternative Transportation News for a more detailed history of VRI). The Viking 21 The day I visited VRI a few students were making modifications to a welded steel "mule" chassis for the Viking 21. The car is drivable with this chassis but the final chassis will be composite monocoque. This will bring the Viking 21's curb weight to less than 1,400 lbs. Building the "mule" first enables the design to evolve flexibly. Welded steel beams can be fairly easily cut and moved, composite monocoque cannot. A 20 horsepower brushless DC permanent magnet motor powers each of the front wheels, and another 25 H.P. motor powers the rear axle, with no clutch. The motors and their controllers are made by Unique Mobility. They're are about the size of a coffee can, weigh 26 lbs, are 95% efficient, but also cost $8,200 each (the rear motor is $14,000). Michael Seal says similar motors in the near future will be available for a fraction of this price Ä right now there's no economy of scale. Power for the motors comes from 5 kWh of sintered plate NiCd batteries, giving an expected range of 100 miles. British Petroleum's 17.5% efficient laser- grooved silicon solar cells on the upper portion of the carbon fiber body will charge the batteries through one or more Australian-made maximum power point trackers. For extended range outside the city a 16 valve, 1200 cc motorcycle engine modified to run on natural gas will power the rear axle through a five speed transmission without a differential. Natural gas burns the cleanest of fossil fuels, and is in greater supply than liquid fossil fuels. Over-running clutches will provide for differences between inner and outer wheel speeds during vehicle turning. The internal combustion engine will add about 200 miles to the vehicle's range with mileage over 100 mpg (gasoline BTU equivalent). The range and fuel efficiency is made possible by reducing friction and weight. The car has a drag coefficient of around 0.2, achieved through preliminary wind tunnel tests of 1/10th scale models. Rolling friction is reduced by mounting two tires on each carbon fiber rim, much like a dual truck tire assembly. The inner tire has a hard compound rubber and round section giving a small contact patch. The outer tire has a wider tread patch and uses soft high-grip rubber. The wheels normally run at negative camber so the outer tire does not quite touch the road. During cornering the normal chassis roll causes the outer wheel to contact the road surface, increasing cornering power. During hard braking, hydraulic cylinders push all eight tires in contact with the road. While VRI tries to use stock components, many of the parts must be built from scratch. When I visited first, Michael Seal and a student were working on adapting a motorcycle disc brake for the car. In the end this was not satisfactory and the disc brake was hand built. I was shown several attempts at a custom cam used in the four wheel steering the car will incorporate. In the end the part was redesigned. Steel rims weighed in at around 17 lbs. This was unacceptable. The students built carbon fiber wheels weighing 4.75 lbs. If you want to start messing around with carbon fiber, Michael Seal recommends starting with the "Aircraft Spruce Catalog". One student explained to me that a reason VRI is successful is that once someone knows how to use a particular tool, he or she is free to use it. There is a minimum of red tape. It's a place where environmentally minded young technically inclined folks can test their mettle making ideas into metal. Transportation breakthroughs emerge. The car's first event will be the Pike's Peak Challenge on 8 October at Pike's Peak Colorado. Caption with Tim Moore: Tim Moore stands by the Viking 21 "mule" chassis he's been welding on. He told me decided to direct himself toward electric vehicles after reading about a solar race in Home Power #17. Caption: Georgia Seal in drivers' seat of the Viking 21. Access: Author: Chris Greacen, Home Power Magazine, POB 275 Ashland, OR 97520 ù 916-475-3179 Vehicle Research Institute (VRI), Western Washington University, High St. Bellingham WA 98225 ù 206-676-3045 Carbon fiber materials: Aircraft Spruce Catalog, 201 Trusow, Fullerton CA 92632 ù customer service: 714-870-7315; to order: 1-800-824-1930 British Petroleum (BP) Solar LTD, Solar House, Bridge St. Leatherhead, Surry KT22 8B2, England ù 0372-377899 ù FAX 0372-377750 Maximum Power Point Trackers: Australian Energy Research Laboratory, 8 Deborah St, Claontarf, 4019 Queensland Australia