The Smarttrons team at Semarang State University (UNNES) managed to occupy the 6th position in the world in the international competition ChemCar Wettbewerb Germany in 2021, which was held online on 22 September 2021 by Verein Deutscher Ingenieure ( VDI ) or the German Engineers Association.
The team that competed in the final of the ChemCar Wettbewerb Competition 2021 consisted of 7 teams from well-known universities in Germany such as RWTH Aachen and TU Dortmund, as well as other teams from Iran and Indonesia.
The UNNES Smarttrons team brought the Smarttrons v. delta to compete in this competition. This success cannot be separated from the guidance of Dhoni Hartanto ST MT MSc as a supervisor and initiator of the ChemCar team at UNNES. In addition, this team was also assisted by a Safety Inspector , namely Arie Is Marsongko ST to supervise and ensure the safety of the competition.
The Smarttrons team consists of Muhammad Salman Alfarisi (S1 Chemical Engineering) as the team leader, Asesanti Suci Nur Pratami (S1 Chemical Engineering) and Desy Hikmatul Siami (S1 Chemical Engineering) as the person in charge of data processing, Amadea Vaskalya Pramesti (S1 Chemical Engineering) as the person in charge chemical , and Arif Budiargo (S1 Mechanical Engineering Education) and Abdul Rachman Al Qudus (Mechanical Engineering S1) as the person in charge of car mechanics.
In this ChemCar competition, each team is required to make a prototype car using fuel from a chemical reaction. This car is required to have high accuracy and safety . Before appearing in the final match, participants must successfully pass the safety aspects selection which is evaluated strictly by one of the leading safety consulting companies in Europe. The Smarttrons team prepared these safety aspects for approximately 1.5 months and passed very well.
The prototype car in the competition must stop at the specified track distance while carrying the load. The draw for distance and weight is carried out on the day of the race, as far as 11.5 meters and a weight of 10% of the car’s load, so that all teams competing can only determine the amount of material to be used accurately and thoroughly, this is a challenge for each team.
The prototype of the Smarttrons V Delta car moves using a piston driven by pressurized gas produced from the reaction of acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate. In the competition, all teams get two chances to run their cars and the best distance will be taken. In the first experiment, the Smarttrons Team covered a distance of 14 meters or an error of 2.5 meters from the finish line. In the second experiment, the Smarttrons Team covered a distance of 13.61 meters or an error of 2.11 meters. This result puts Smarttrons Team in 6th position.
“This achievement is certainly an encouraging achievement for the team because it has increased by 1 place compared to our ranking in 2018. Rank 6 in a prestigious international competition is a very proud achievement for the team,” explained Salman.
“In the future, the Smarttrons Team will continue to improve and develop concept cars with more innovative ideas. So that the Smarttrons Team can improve their achievements in the international ChemCar event and inspire UNNES students,” said Asesanti.
The Chancellor of the State University of Semarang, Prof. Dr. Fathur Rokhman MHum, expressed his gratitude and pride for the achievements of the UNNES Smarttrons Team for being able to enter the final and occupy the 6th position in this prestigious international event.
The UNNES Smarttrons team is expected to be able to perform optimally in the next international event so that it can continue its championship title and add achievements to bring the name of UNNES at the international level.
