Skip navigation

community

Up to Blog Posts in Transportation | Automotive Electronics

Transportation

6 Posts tagged with the alternative_energy tag
Eavesdropper
1

EV breaks distance records

Posted by Eavesdropper Aug 17, 2011

Why  does every electric car that boasts a world record range on a single  charge always looks like it is from an ugly Buck Rogers future?

42520_90409_2.jpgbluebird-team-wants--1_460x0w.jpg

Buck Rogers Rocket Ship (left)  Bluebird EV capable of 500 mph (Right)

 

1-boozerevsets.jpgboozerevsets.jpg

Schluckspecht E (left) and with the Schluckspecht Team (right)  (via Team Schluckspecht)


Team  Schluckspecht just barely does away with the outer-space fairing look  with their new world record holding electric vehicle (EV), the  "Schluckspecht E" or "Boozer E" in English. On a single charge the EV  travelled 1,013.8 miles (1,631.5 km) over a span of 36 hours and 12  minutes. The efficiency comes from taking as much mass out of the EV's  chassis, only having one seat, and evenly dividing the power demand  equally between 14 individual lithium-cobalt batteries. Drive in applied  directly via two motors, one on each front wheel, which does away with a  transmission. However, the team did not break any land-speed records.  The Boozer could only reach 28 mph (45 km/h). The test took place at the Bosch corporate race track in Boxberg, Germany.

 

I  would stomach driving this EV if it could go 65 mph. I am sure much of  the range will be lost adding a transmission, but it would still best  every EV available today.

 

Eavesdropper

330 Views 1 Comments Permalink Tags: automotive, innovation, car, transportation, electric, cars, alternative_energy, ev, eavesdropper
Eavesdropper
2

6a00d8341c4fbe53ef012875d07ee4970c-800wi.png

Kinergy Flywheel

 

 

A weighted 9" disc spins at 60,000 rpm, who's surface is traveling twice the speed of sound, may just power hybrid vehicles in the near future. British company Ricardo has designed a flywheel energy storage system to use in future hybrid vehicles. The system called Kinergy, stores the energy in breaking into the carbon fibre laced flywheels. The energy stored is then used as a torque assist in accelerating the vehicle. The flywheel is house in a vacuum sealed container and placed on magnetic bushings to reduce all friction to the near zero. A magnetic gearing and coupling mechanism gathers the energy from the flywheel and applies it, with no mechanical contact, to the transmission. Each flywheel produces approximately 30 kW of power from the 4.5 kg discs.

 

6a00d8341c4fbe53ef012875d0887e970c-800wi.png

Flybus with Kinergy system, rear cutaway

 

Currently the Kinergy system is being tested on Flybus buses at airports, with a goal of 20% fuel savings. Another test involved using a Kinergy storage system paired with a Torotrak Continuously Variable Transmission on a Optare Solo bus. The future has Ricardo leading the KinerStor project with a consortium of other companies to bring the Kinergy system to other hybrid vehicles with a goal of 30% efficiency increase.

 

Flywheels already help regulate large volumes of power, by not in cars too?

 

Eavesdropper

 

906 Views 2 Comments Permalink Tags: innovation, transportation, hybrid, cars, alternative_energy, flywheel
Eavesdropper
1

MIDE_13.jpgMIDE_01.jpg

 

 

Here is a perfect example of, "I can not believe this has not been done already."

 

Aalto University in Finland is testing the use of hybrid technology in non-road, mobile industrial machinery. Think Prius versions of cranes, bulldozers, tractors, and diggers. Their concept is to capture of the energy from the work being performed by each machine that is lost when in operation. Like in hybrid cars, deceleration, braking energies are being absorbed as well as energy from such tasks as lowering a load. For the record, no one has attempted making hybrids in this area.

 

Head researchers Professor Jussi Suomela spoke of the impetus of the project, "These heavy duty machines are operated for long periods of time, so by the end of the day emissions and fuel consumption have added up. Being able to target them is a significant improvement." From recent experimental data, Suomela has show that involving such combustion/electric hybrids in work machinery has the potential to save 50% of the fuel costs in stand alone operation, and even more if the system is plugged into the power grid.

 

Now it is not a question of can it be done, but when can it be implemented. Great work, Aalto University.

 

Eavesdropper

748 Views 1 Comments Permalink Tags: industrial, innovation, transportation, university, hybrid, electric, alternative_energy, machinery, ev, on_campus
Eavesdropper
0

110606-01-01.jpg


The charge anxiety of an Electric Vehicle (EV) has deterred many from purchase. With few places to recharge, the possibility of being stranded is high. Nissan and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) announced a roadside recharging service for all EVs that has lost power. Nissan developed a few roadside vehicles equipped with EV recharging equipment that can be deployed from a Kanagawa branch office. Of course this one office will not service all of Japan, it is first being tested in an extremely limited area. It is a first step in promoting green technology, EVs, and to provide a "safety net" for all EV owners.

 

Nissan VP of External and Government affairs, Hitoshi Kawaguchi, had this to say about the effort, "As EVs gain wider consumer acceptance, it is important to create a roadside assistance system that can help motorists driving EVs which have run out of battery power, as well as to build a charging infrastructure. Nissan is leveraging the development and trial operation of this roadside service vehicle with charging equipment – and the accompanying staff training – to strengthen cooperation with JAF and to benefit customers. This will build confidence in EV use and contribute toward achieving a society with low carbon emissions."

 

With the countless towing companies in the world, I can see the same group of people fitted with EV recharging equipment becoming instantly accepted as the first thought in an EV charge emergency. Most gasoline based emergency vehicles are equipped with 300A alternators, a 3-phase AC source at either 12 or 24V. More than enough for a quick charge.


I personally think every EV should come with the "Bat Hook" power line leech, and carte blanche to use it.


 

Eavesdropper

393 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: car, transportation, leaf, ap:automotive, cars, alternative_energy, fuel, ev, nissan
Eavesdropper
1

Air-powered cars

Posted by Eavesdropper Feb 15, 2011

6a00d8341bf67c53ef0147e273120c970b-800wi.jpg

Per Tunestal, Combustion Engines at Lund University in Sweden researcher, is working on air hybrids cars that he claims are cheaper to manufacture. He states, “The technology is fully realistic. I was recently contacted by a vehicle manufacturer in India which wanted to start making air hybrids."The concept is to store energy from braking and vibration into compressed gas to use later. For stop and go operation, short drives, and acceleration the compressed gas in used to start the inertia on the wheels, where a lot of gasoline/electricity is used. The claims are only from simulations and not actual world tests. Which makes this press release seem like a way to generate funding. Nevertheless, they want to take the concept further. Let's wish them well.


Eavesdropper

746 Views 1 Comments Permalink Tags: cars, alternative_energy, air, breaking, compressed
Dig
0

sat_test-8.jpg

Uh-oh, a new challenger to our boys at Cambridge.


With a blistering speed of almost 56 mph Sunswift Ivy, a solar-powered car made by students at the University of New South Wales, has become a Guinness world record holder. The speed was significantly faster than the previous record of 40 mph. The milestone is for cars powered exclusively by silicon solar cells. IVy normally uses its cells to charge a 25kg battery, but this was removed for the record attempt. The Sunswift IVy is car that is the same size as an average sedan but half the height and 1/10th of the weight of an average car. Powered completely by the Sun and creating no emissions during the operation cycle, this car has a top speed of approximately 71.4 mph and an estimated average speed of 53 mph. All of this is achieved on the amount of power needed to toast two pieces of bread (1300 watts of power generated by silicon solar cells). The Sunswift Ivy also sports a three-wheeled vehicle with a monocoque carbon fiber body, brushless CSIRO 3 phase DC 1800 W motor and, of course, the solar array. The record-beating run took place at 10.32 am. The team wasn’t expecting to get peak sun until noon and therefore wasn’t expecting to break the record so early in the day.


Dig

665 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: car, alternative_energy, solar_car