Polytechnique Montreal | Quebec prototypes rewarded on the international scene

(Montréal) A rocket, a solar car, a boat and an electric racing car, these four prototypes designed by engineering students from Polytechnique Montréal have distinguished themselves on the international scene during recent competitions, carving out a place among the best .

The Formula Polytechnique Montreal single-seater won the title of best electric racing car at Formula SAE in Michigan, United States, in June.

Accustomed to competing in the category of combustion engine vehicles, the Montreal technical company was in its first participation in the electric component.

This transition to a fuelless car has been a great success for the team. It performed well in the various events, allowing it to climb to the top of the final ranking in front of around fifty delegations.

Its simplicity was the main asset of the car, according to Zakari Oulounis, head of the suspension section of Formula Polytechnique Montreal.

“We’re not really aiming to have the most advanced processes, the most recent technologies. Our priority is to have a car that drives. During the competition, several vehicles failed to drive”, notes the undergraduate student in mechanical engineering.

“We opted for a design that would allow us to have the car as quickly as possible to make sure we didn’t have any problems in competition,” he said in an interview, on the sidelines of a demonstration of the car. in front of young people from the Folie Technique science camp, Wednesday, in Montreal.

Already, the team is looking at the next car, the FPM23, whose main objective will be to make it even more efficient than its predecessor.

Another car, this time solar-powered, also won honors at two different competitions in the United States in July.

The Estaban 10 vehicle, which circulated in Quebec last year, finished first overall at the Formula Sun Grand Prix.

He also took third place in the American Solar Challenge, a road endurance competition that aims to cover more than 2,000 km across five American states. An unforeseen situation during the first day of competition prevented the Estaban Project team from coming out on top, despite a final score much higher than their opponents.

The two-seater prototype stands out for its efficient energy consumption. The vehicle can travel up to 700 km in a day without having to stop to recharge its battery.

“Our secret has been to make the most of our solar energy. The other teams had very heavy vehicles, not super aerodynamic, so they had to recharge in an electric terminal, in addition to solar energy. We had to recharge about 30% of the battery during one evening, while the other teams fully recharged their batteries every evening,” says Étienne Bédard, technical director of Projet Esteban and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

In the air and on the water

Two other Polytechnique Montréal formations also distinguished themselves in the air and on the water.

The Oronos committee was able to retain its 2019 championship title with its 17^e Atlas MK II rocket, at the Spaceport America Cup 2022, the world’s largest rocketry competition, which brought together more than 150 teams from around thirty countries, in the New Mexico desert, in June.

The team won first place in the category “Altitude 10,000 feet — liquid propellant engine, hybrid or other designed and developed by students”. Their rocket reached about 7800 feet in altitude.

“What is special is that we cannot test the launch of our rocket before the competition. It’s really an emotional moment to see our rocket take off,” says Audrey Collard-Daigneault, Deputy Director General and master’s student in chemical engineering.

The technical company Exocet has designed a 100% electric boat 5 meters long, which was presented at the ninth edition of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge in June. The Montreal team was the first North American team to participate in this international competition.

The biggest challenge was getting the boat to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, says Mathieu Verville, CEO of Exocet.

“We had to break the boat down into several sub-sections to be able to transport it in lots of small boxes to Monaco, and then assemble it back there,” said the undergraduate student in mechanical engineering.

The team won two awards for design and collaboration. This first experience allowed the members of the delegation to see that they were up to the level of competition and to gather information to perform better next year.

An asset to training

The various distinctions obtained are the result of countless hours of work, some putting in between 30 and 35 hours a week, underlines the coordinator of technical resources, Eduardo Olivera.

For Pierre Baptiste, acting director of academic affairs and student experience, success also depends on the culture of technical societies at Polytechnique Montréal, which has about ten of all kinds.

“From one team to the next year’s team, there is a very good transfer of knowledge. That’s why they’re very effective,” he told The Canadian Press.

Involvement with technical companies also increases the quality of training and makes it possible to put their learning into practice.

“When they leave to enter the job market, they are highly sought after by companies, whether in the fields of computer, electrical or mechanical engineering,” says Mr. Olivera.

“To have finished a solar vehicle, and to have participated in a competition and to have succeeded, it shows that not only is one capable of designing something, but also of manufacturing it”, testifies for his part Étienne Bédard, of the Estaban Project.

This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchanges and The Canadian Press for the news.