UNS – Six students of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) succeeded in developing a prototype car fueled by the energy efficiency from some chemical reactions. The car, named Adipatic Superior, won the second place in the international competition of chemical-fueled vehicle, Indonesian Chemical Engineering Car Competition (ICECC) 2019, in Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS), Surabaya.
The team leader of Chem-E Car UNS, Kevin Ikhwan Muhammad (Chemical Engineering Department), said, “We are thankful to Allah, the God Almighty, for the best result that we get. Finally, our struggles have been paid. Hopefully with this achievement, we can truly make UNS is well-known in national or international,” on Wednesday (03/27/2019).
Kevin designed this chemical-fueled car prototype with his five other members, Abdulloh (Chemical Engineering Department), Dewi Pratiwi (Chemical Engineering Department), Valiana Mugi Rahayu (Chemical Engineering Department), Rilo Pambudi Aditya Wardani (Electrical Engineering Department) and Rivananda Rama Satria (Mechanical Engineering Department).
He explained that their designed car had a number of advantages. One of them is having high fuel efficiency. “In a race with 24 meters distance, this car only costs Rp. 150. We use the decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide (H202) and the catalyst of ferric chloride (FeCI3) as the fuel,” Kevin added.
Then the team manager, Abdulloh, stated that Adipatic Superior also had a smooth and constant speed because it was using Scotch Yoke’s motion mechanism. In addition, the components assembly of this car is quite easy.
While in terms of the appearance, Adipatic Superior has a unique design. This mini-sized car prototype elaborates the futuristic concepts with the design of Javanese shadow puppets, namely wayang.
The name “Adipatic Superior” is inseparable from the Javanese culture. Adipatic comes from the name the Adipati Mangkunegara I. It was another name for Raden Mas Said of (Praja) Mangkunegaran Duchy of (Keraton) Solo Palace. As a duke, R.M. Said had a superior power. So that the car that they have made for six months is expected to become a powerful leader in the competition.
As the name implies, Adipatic Superior was able to show its brilliant performance. In the ICECC, the cars from the competition participants were assessed from the accuracy when reaching certain distance, until the strength in carrying loads between 250 ml to 750 ml. The other aspects that involved the score were: Safety Aspect, Economical Aspect, Environmental Aspect and Presentation.
Rivananda explained every step of the selection that they had to pass. In the beginning, the participants must have showed the condition of their car in reality through a short video which included the performance of the car when driving at five meters distance and stopping independently. Then, they were required to send the Job Safety Assessment files also the calculation of all the car design costs.
After have been qualified as the finalists, the participants needed to present their designed car in front of the juries in an exhibition. There were 25 finalists who performed in this stage. Apart from UNS, there were teams from UI, UGM, ITS, UNSYIAH, UAD, POLBAN, UB, UNDIP, UPNVYK and from aboard, Poland.
On the last day of the competition, the cars competed in a race session or Race Day. The cars must race in the certain distance and loads that had been determined.
“The car was challenged to run for 16 m with 300 gr of loads. The result error of our car was only 0,06 m (6 cm) missed from the target,” said Rivananda.
The good performance of Adipatic Superior, was leading Chem-E Car UNS to win the second winner in this prestigious competition. Rivananda said that their struggle to reach the position was quite heavy because they had to compete against the great teams from ITS, UI, and UGM that had often won. However, they were not afraid and stay optimistic about the result of their car.
“The execution to make this car was started since September 2018. We have done some laboratorial research and data searching everyday from the dawn until the dusk in laboratory of Chemical Engineering Department of UNS. We have always worked under pressure and have to be willing to devote the extremely heavy energy and materials. Because we have a vision to bring the UNS name in international, especially in Chem-E Car, the prestigious competition,” Rivananda claimed. Humas UNS/Mia/Asl