Qatalum and Texas A&M’s partnership for the Shell Eco-marathon

Lightweight aluminium proves itself to be a contributing factor towards reducing fuel consumption in the vehicle entry by Texas A&M at the 2015 Shell Eco-marathon in Rotterdam.



As a result of the cooperation with Texas A&M since the summer internship 2014, this project came about as a continuation of the successful relationship with Qatalum who also accepted to be the sole sponsor for this project.

Qatalum and Texas A&M Qatar (TAMUQ) joined forces to build and operate a fuel efficient gas-to-liquid (GTL) diesel powered vehicle for the 2015 Shell Eco-marathon. To achieve their fuel efficiency target, Qatalum supplied the solution to the low weight, high strength and stiffness problem with their hollow tube aluminium 6061-T6 alloy parts.



This high strength aluminium alloy allowed TAMUQ to reduce the weight of the chassis from 40 kg to 23 kg while meeting all load carrying requirements. In addition, the excellent stiffness characteristics of the material allowed TAMUQ to keep the centre of gravity of the vehicle low, improving its stability and handling characteristics, while still meeting Shell’s ground clearance requirements.

Taleb Al-Salat, Plant infrastructure and Authorities Coordination Manager and his team were the focal point that initiated and supported this project through its phases and coordinated with all relevant departments to use Qatalum’s facilities, equipment and expertise.



Taleb Al-Salat said about the Qatalum contribution, “TAMUQ needed to reduce the weight of the vehicle, while still maintaining the structural strength and rigidity required by Shell’s rules.  Our efforts in fabricating the car’s chassis was a major contributor to the car’s overall weight.”

 

The high quality machining and welding characteristics created in the workshop at Qatalum allowed TAMUQ students to optimize the shape of the chassis and join aluminium members together without the added weight of fasteners. 

Qatalum supplied a wide range of cross section shapes and sizes, which greatly aided the TAMUQ students’ chassis design. Being able to fabricate the chassis in Qatar also helped the students meet their deadline for shipping the vehicle to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for the competition.




Such a global competition (Shell-Eco) allowed both parties to be presented as an effective and valuable contributors to the use of aluminium in the vehicle industry.

TAMUQ was able to compete successfully in the 2015 Shell Eco-marathon, completing 3 runs with an average fuel economy of 60 km/L.