ChemE-Car Team sixth in nation
A K-State student chemical engineering design team has earned its sixth top-10 finish in the eight consecutive years that it has participated in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ National ChemE-Car Competition.
K-State’s ChemE-Car Team placed sixth at the recent national competition in Nashville, Tenn.
Megan Young, senior in chemical engineering, Cummings, and co-captain of the team, said that the car the team presented at the competition was a pressure car called the KSU Wildcat. The car was propelled by a chemical reaction of hydrochloric acid and sodium carbonate, similar to a reaction of vinegar and baking soda.
“As the reaction within the chambers produces carbon dioxide, pressure builds within the piston causing it to extend and pull a cable that is attached to a gear system,” she said. “As the cable unwraps, it turns the gear systems, thus propelling the car forward.”
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