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CCHS students work together

Four students from Chicopee Comprehensive High School competed at the Materials Research Society Hyrdrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge on Nov. 28. The team finished sixth out of 25 teams from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Above, from left, junior Tyler Landry, teacher James Clark, junior Josh Dufrane, and senior Nathan Belisle. Senior Spenser Ward was missing from the photo.
By Nate Luscombe

Staff Writer



CHICOPEE Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, according to Chicopee Comprehensive High School physics teacher James Clark. Under Clark's direction, a group of students from the high school are learning just how to use hydrogen to propel vehicles.

Juniors Tyler Landry and Joshua Dufrane, and seniors Spenser Ward and Nathan Belisle have been working with Clark to create a model hydrogen car, which they raced in a competition on Nov. 28 in Boston. Phil Gassnola, who teaches metal fabrication and welding at Chicopee Comp, also helped with the project.

The team finished sixth out of 25 teams from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and called the competition "a learning experience," since it was the first time they'd been to a competition of this sort.

The program working with hydrogen fuel cells combines the efforts of students in the academic realm and the career technology program.

"It's really neat to get the academic and career tech kids working together," Clark said. "It's really an excellent combination."

Clark explained that the students look at things a different way. The combination of the research skills of the academic students and the technical skills of the career tech students yields exciting results, Clark said.

For the competition, students had to build a model car that would run on hydrogen power. The Chicopee Comp team used water, which was separated into hydrogen and water molecules, and stored in fuel cells attached to their model car. The team elected to use balloons as fuel cells, "because they're light and flexible and airtight," said Belisle.

The team assembled the frame and wheels of their car before leaving for the competition. The frame of the foot-long car was built from carbon fiber, and the wheels were made from CDs with holes drilled in them to make them lighter. The team was supplied with a kit of materials to use for the car when they signed up for the race, and then given more materials on the day of the competition to modify their design.

Given more than five hours at the Hynes Conventtion Center in Boston before the races began, the Chicopee Comp team tried to change gearboxes at the competition. After they couldn't get it to work, they reverted to the original box about five minutes before their first heat, they said. They were also considering changing their fuel cells, but the provided ones were rigid plastic, and the team thought they would be too heavy.

The competition involved a series of races 10 meters long on a flat, smooth rubber track. The car that covered the 10-meter track the fastest took home the win.

Each student brought different skills to the table for the competition.

"I picked the kids that I thought would make the best team," Clark said.

Dufrane is taking classes in welding, Landry is a drafter, Ward works with electricity and Belisle is the physics guy. Their skills combined to build a pretty good car, Clark said.

The car was put together over several weeks, the team said. They estimated about 20 hours of work went into the small car.

"The best part was working together," Landry said. His teammates nodded in agreement.