JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #101 - November/December 2015 - 14

bicycle

Land speed bicycle targets to break the
record for fastest human powered vehicle
The ULV Team, established in 2013 and sponsored
by Rathbone Investment Management, is a team of
sixteen engineering students from the University of
Liverpool who designed and built the ARION1 land
speed bicycle.

By
Jonathan Stowell, Global buSineSS
ManaGer-adheSiveS,
neil Gray, Global buSineSS ManaGer,
CreStapol reSinS adheSiveS
& advanCed CoMpoSiteS buSineSS,
SCott bader Co ltd.

T

he ARION1 land speed
bicycle, designed and
built by the University of Liverpool Velocipede
(ULV) Team, recently competed in the IHPVA "World

Human Power Speed Challenge", which took place on
14-19 September 2015. Now
in its 16th year, this annual
speed trial event attracts engineering teams from all over
the world to test their designs
and their rider's endurance on
the famous five-mile highway
road in Battle Mountain, Nevada in the USA.

Human powered
speed challenge
The ULV Team is made up of
sixteen undergraduate engineering students, all currently
studying for their Masters
of Mechanical Engineering (MEng) degree at the
university. The team, which is
the first UK university student

The 2015 IHPVA attempt by the UVL Team made UK record-breaking history,
with Ken Buckley setting a new human powered British land speed UK record of
120.75 km/h piloting the ARION1

ARION1 2015 IHPVA speed trial - Removing the upper section of the body

team to enter the IHPVA
event, designed and built
the ARION1 two-wheeled
velocipede to compete in the
main human powered speed
challenge "200 metre flying
start single rider" category.

Aerodynamic performance and low weight
The design, engineering and
materials selected for the
ARION1 focused on maximising the aerodynamic
performance and minimising the overall weight of the
vehicle. Structurally, it needs
to handle the high force
through the pedals driving the
front wheel, support a single
rider in a recumbent position
and be stable in a straight line
at speeds of over 130 km/h.
Its overall dimensions are
approximately 2.8 metres
long by 0.85 metre high and
0.5 metre wide. The rider or
"pilot" of the ARION1 velocipede sits almost flat with legs

14 jec composites magazine / No101 November - December 2015

forward, completely enclosed
inside a two-part carbon fibre
composite body shell; the top
half is removable to enable
rider access.
The ULV Team selected
high-performance lightweight composite materials
and technologies, including
Scott Bader's carbon fibrecompatible Crestapol 1250LV
acrylic laminating resin for
the outer shell and the carbon
fibre composite (CFRP) chassis frame, and the Crestabond
M1-20 primer-less structural
adhesive to bond a variety of
CFRP and metal parts used
internally. Carbon fibre
reinforcements, foam core materials and related design and
processing technical support
were provided by key sponsors
of the student project including Far-UK, Evonik, the UK
National Composites Centre
(NCC), as well as Scott Bader.
The use of carbon fibre with
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #101 - November/December 2015
