The ITS Spektronics-Team when competing virtually at the kjVI VDI Germany Chem-E-Car Competition

ITS Campus, ITS News – Keep walking with glorious achievements Spectronics Team of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) once again made an international achievement. This time, the ITS Spektronics Team managed to occupy the 2nd place championship podium in the international Chem-E-Car event held online by kjVI VDI Germany last Wednesday (22/9).

The results ranking of champions at the kjVI VDI Germany Chem-E-Car Competition 2021 were announced on 23 September 2021 night. 

Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) itself is an association of engineers in Germany that organizing Chem-E-Car competitions for 16 years. In this VDI Chem-E-Car competition. There is a car prototype that uses chemical reactions to reach a predetermined distance.

Not the fastest to arrive, but how the car can achieve precise accuracy. “This is where our advantage compared to other teams, where we can get the smallest error distance, which is only 0.06 centimeters less than the specified distance,” explained Delvin Theodorus Hansell, one of the ITS Spektronics technical team.

Not only the accuracy aspect, continued the Department student Chemical Engineering ITS. In this case, the safety aspect is an important assessment. “Don’t let gas leaks arise that can initiate dangerous explosions because here we play with reactions, chemical solutions, and electrical devices,” he added.

Also joining Delvin, his six colleagues, namely Michael Adrian Subagio as team leader, Lulu Sekar Taji, Rahardian Mahendra Daniswara, Naning Retno Astuti, and Ulfiyah Afnian Sari. This competition took three months to prepare. The first month is devoted to preparing a safety aspect document that includes the calculation of pressure, temperature, how the car works, and what the mechanism is like. “This is where the committee determines who can participate in the competition,” Delvin explained.

In the remaining two months, continued Delvin, the Spektronics Team rushed to prepare the car from scratch, which was covered by trial and error to achieve precise accuracy. He admitted the team had experienced challenges in preparing reactions and electrical circuits that had failed repeatedly until they found a solution after five attempts. “It’s not an easy race, but that doesn’t mean Spektronics can’t face it,” said the student who received the XL Future Leaders Scholarship.

The car designed by the ITS pride team is a prototype car that is driven by the pressure generated from the gas. In this case, the team used the decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide with a ferric chloride catalyst, which produces large amounts of oxygen and exerts great pressure.

When the pressure is compressed in the reactor, it will push the pneumatics to make the car move forward. “This car is similar to our design, which won first place at the AIChE Chem-E-Car Competition in 2017, of course, complete with innovation for the better,” said Delvin.

The prototype of the ITS Spektronics Team which is driven by the pressure generated from the gas

In the design that won 2nd place, the Spektronics Team carried three unique features, namely Single Action Mechanism through Electrical Circuit, Solenoid, and Check Valve. In this case, the previous design added higher automation using electrical circuits to help the reaction restrain so that the resulting pressure and temperature are high temperature. “This car is driven by a single action mechanism by only pressing one button to run, so it is very easy and efficient,” Delvin explained.

Regarding the differences in time and language, the Spektronics Team felt that time was not a problem because they had set the time and divided tasks according to the German time zone with Google Calendar so that no one was left on the agenda.

Virtual presentation session by the ITS Spektronics Team in the VDI Germany Chem-E-Car Competition 2021

To deal with language differences, Delvin admits, the Spektronics Team’s preparation is very good with frequent massive exercises so that they can equalize the level of English desired by Germans. “We also ask for an assessment from certain parties regarding the presentation method to ensure whether it is clear or not,” explained the 2019 student.

With this effort, the Spektronics Team was also recognized for its superiority in terms of an attractive, concise, concise, and clear presentation, to get extraordinary feedback and make the judges understand what was conveyed. “Even so in terms of safety, we make effective use of materials that are quite expensive to insure the safety of what we use,” said Delvin.

To be able to achieve this position, he added, certainly could not be separated from the support of the supervisors. Incorporated in it, Prof. Ir Renanto MSc Ph.D. as an advisor who provided motivation and advice when the Spektronics Team explained the preparation progress. Also, Prof. Hamzah Fansuri MSi Ph.D. acts as a safety inspector who supervises the competition directly to ensure that the safety aspect in the car can be achieved.

The ITS Spektronics Team with Prof. Hamzah Fansuri MSi Ph.D. (bottom center) after winning 2nd place in the Chem-E-Car competition kjVI VDI Germany

Not to forget, Delvin said that the success of the Spektronics Team also involved contributions from the six departments at ITS, namely Chemical Engineering, Industrial Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Materials and Metallurgy Engineering. In addition, there is support from sponsors, namely Air Products, Altekimits, and PT Pembangkitan Jawa Bali (PJB).

Six departments and sponsors who provide support to the ITS Spectronics Team to be able to occupy the championship podium

“This victory is not our last step in exploring international competition because Spektronics has plans to win back competitions at the national and international level, including the upcoming AIChE Chem-E-Car Competition 2022,” he concluded. (ITS PR)

Reporter: Astri Nawwar Kusumaningtyas