Fuel cell technology could be under your car bonnet by 2017

Engineerblogger
March 8, 2012

Credit: Carbon Trust

Carbon Trust has given a £1m boost to four UK fuel cell pioneers. Their cutting-edge technology could be used under the bonnet of mass-produced hydrogen-powered cars as early as 2017. Major manufacturers have already built hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars, but the real challenge is to bring down the costs and, in the global race to do this, UK technologies are now in pole position.

Having identified an opportunity to combine innovative technology from Runcorn-based ACAL Energy and Sheffield-based ITM Power, the Carbon Trust is providing £500k of funding to the companies to develop a new hybrid high-power, low-cost fuel cell design.

Carbon Trust is also backing a project based at Imperial College London (Imperial) and University College London (UCL) with £500k to develop a fuel cell that could offer significant cost savings by using existing high-volume manufacturing techniques employed in the production of printed circuit boards.

The funding comes from the Carbon Trust’s Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge (PFCC) which was launched in 2009 to support the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s objectives to develop lower cost fuel cells and coincides with the recent launch of the Government’s UKH2Mobility project to ensure the UK is well positioned for the commercial roll-out of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Dr Ben Graziano, Technology Commercialisation Manager at the Carbon Trust, said:

“The UK’s home-grown automotive industry hasn’t been the runaway success story many would have hoped for, but British technology is in pole position to be under the bonnet of a next generation of mass-produced hydrogen-powered cars. After a lot of hype, fuel cell technology is now a great growth opportunity for the UK. The funding that we have received from the Department for Energy and Climate Change has enabled us to support the development of some truly world-class British technologies that could slash the costs of fuel cells and transform how we all get about; by 2017 British fuel cell technologies could be powering your car.”

Simon Bourne, CTO, ITM Power Plc, said:

“The PFCC has afforded ITM the opportunity to build on its ground breaking laboratory results via a structured programme to de-risk its membrane technology. With the high level introductions the Carbon Trust has made with commercial end users and the continued success of subsequent material evaluation studies, ITM is in a very strong position to exploit this exciting new fuel cell technology.”

Amanda Lyne, VP of Strategic Business Development and Marketing, ACAL Energy Ltd said:

"It is excellent news that automotive OEMs are committed to the launch of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in 2015 timescales, and that the UK will be among the early adopters. However it is clear that continuous efforts to reduce cost will be necessary to ensure that H2FC vehicles are affordable for mass markets. This funding from the Carbon Trust PFCC is perfectly targeted to ensure that British innovation can be at the forefront of the process to get the economics of the technology right."

Carbon Trust’s Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge aims to speed the UK towards world-beating fuel cell solutions that can grab a significant share of a market that the Carbon Trust has estimated to be worth $26bn in 2020. About the projects:

ACAL Energy/ITM Power

Carbon Trust, which has already supported ACAL Energy and ITM Power in de-risking their unique technologies, saw an opportunity to combine these innovations to demonstrate a fuel cell that could be far cheaper to manufacture, more efficient, produce the required power and be compact enough to fit under the bonnet of tomorrow’s cars. ACAL Energy brings a revolutionary new design of fuel cell inspired by the human lung and bloodstream that is highly durable, virtually platinum-free and also significantly cheaper to produce. ITM Power brings a unique membrane technology (which has been evaluated by several global companies), proven to produce world-beating power density (widely recognised as the single most important factor in reducing fuel cell costs), which could be in fuel cell cars by as early as 2017.

ITM’s current order book for delivery in the current financial year is £0.5m. The company has recruited seven staff in the last 12 months and is currently seeking to recruit ten more. ACAL Energy has raised £6.1m of investment since March 2010 and its staff is set to increase from 25 at that time to 35 by April 2012.

Imperial/UCL

The Imperial and UCL project is developing a fuel cell stack that could offer significant cost savings by using existing high-volume manufacturing techniques employed in the production of printed circuit boards. By simplifying the design and manufacture, this could reduce the costs of a fuel cell stack by more than 20%. Imperial Innovations and UCL Business are collaborating with the project to assist commercialisation of the technology.

Source:  Carbon Trust

Related Information:

• Fuel Cell

• Polymer Fuel Cells

Battery 500 Project: 800 km range for electrovehicles

Engineerblogger
March 5, 2012

IBM's Battery 500 project, led by scientists at IBM Research – Almaden in California, is an interdisciplinary consortium to develop a lithium–air battery that aims to increase the range of electrovehicles to 500 miles (approximately 800 km). This is more than five times the range of today's batteries, which average some 150 km per charge. If the project is successful, battery-powered vehicles could finally become a practical reality and thus overcome the main obstacle to becoming generally accepted and widespread: In a recent survey conducted by IBM, 64% of consumers said that the limited range was their strongest objection to driving electrovehicles.

Changing from gasoline to electricity as the main energy source for vehicles could be one of the most significant technological turning points in the history of our modern industrial society. However, progress has been slow in developing high-performance batteries. High manufacturing costs are another major factor that has limited the widespread acceptance and large-scale development of electrovehicles. Consumers' greatest fear is being stranded somewhere with an empty battery, and this fear is justified, as the range of most current battery-operated vehicles is only some 150 km. It appears unlikely that a realistic range can be achieved with today's battery technology, which must also have an acceptable weight and be available at reasonable prices.

Rechargeable lithium–ion storage batteries like the ones used in cell phones or notebook computers offer only a fraction of the energy density—the amount of energy that can be stored per mass unit or volume unit—achieved by fossil fuels such as gasoline or diesel. Therefore this battery technology for electrovehicles is only of interest today for short distances or in hybrid-engine vehicles. If this situation is to be fundamentally changed, new types of batteries with significantly higher energy densities must replace today's lithium–ion batteries. IBM, world patent leader and active for decades in fundamental research, has launched a new project dubbed Battery 500 to tackle this problem. For this new project, IBM is leveraging its recent progress in the fields of materials science, nanotechnology, chemistry and supercomputing.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at IBM Research – Almaden in California and IBM Research – Zurich, together with leading universities, corporations and research institutes has been exploring a so-called lithium–air battery since mid-2009. The aim of this project is to develop a battery whose energy density is up to ten times higher than that of today's rechargeable lithium–ion batteries, thus providing electrovehicles with a range of up to 500 miles or 800 km. "With our lithium–air battery technology we hope to achieve a quantum leap that could be a breakthrough in electromobility," explains Dr. Winfried Wilcke, initiator and head of the Battery 500 project at IBM Research – Almaden. "This is yet another project of IBM's 'Smarter Planet' vision in which new mobility concepts play a vital role."

"Airy" bundle of energy

A major advantage of the lithium–air battery is that it takes oxygen from the atmosphere as its reacting agent. The oxygen is stored in light carbon nanostructures in the cathode, meaning that significantly more energy per kilogram battery weight can be stored than in today's batteries. A numerical example illustrates this advantage: a conventional lithium–ion battery with an energy content of 50 kilowatt hours (kWh) weighs about 500 kg. A range of 800 km would require an energy content of 150 kWh, which would mean a weight of 1.5 tons, which is clearly unrealistic for practical use in electrovehicles. In contrast, IBM scientists estimate that a 150 kWh lithium–air battery would weigh "only" about 150–300 kg.
The theoretically achievable specific energy of a lithium–air battery (without the weight of the ambient oxygen) is greater than 11 kWh per kilogram (kWh/kg). Scientists predict that, in practice, a lithium–air battery could achieve about one-tenth of the theoretical specific energy. Taking the relative efficiency of combustion motors and electromotors into account, the difference in "practical" energy densities between electromotors and gasoline or diesel-powered motors is actually very small because electromotors have a very high efficiency of 85%. The lithium–air technology thus exhibits the greatest potential of all battery types researched to date.

A battery that "breathes"

Like all batteries, the basic construction of a lithium–air battery consists of two electrodes, in this case a metal electrode of lithium (the anode) and an oxygen-permeable electrode of a light carbon structure (the cathode). When the battery is discharged, the lithium atoms of the anode lose electrons and proceed as lithium ions through an electrically conducting electrolyte to the cathode, where they react with oxygen from the atmosphere. The product of this reaction is then deposited in the cathode. When the battery is charged, it releases the oxygen collected while the vehicle was being driven (discharged) back into the atmosphere. Metaphorically speaking, the battery "inhales" oxygen while discharging and "exhales" it again while being recharged.
IBM scientists are focusing on so-called aprotic (non-watery) lithium–air batteries, which use organic liquids and lithium salts as electrolytes. Discharging the battery produces lithium peroxide (Li2O2)—but only when the right electrolytes are used—which is stored in the battery's cathode. During the charging process, the lithium peroxide breaks down into oxygen, which is released into the atmosphere, and lithium, which is stored in the battery's anode.

From simulations and experiments to success

The members of this project have already achieved major breakthroughs toward achieving their ambitious goal. For example, the functionality of this technology has been proved in principle on laboratory-scale models that unequivocally demonstrated the rechargeability of lithium–air batteries. The key to this first success was a combination of computer-based simulations and practical experiments. The team at the IBM Research – Zurich Laboratory performed so-called ab initio simulations to obtain new insights into the molecular-level processes that take place in lithium–air batteries. These highly complex simulations draw exclusively on basic laws of physics and physics models. In this way, interactions between atoms and molecules in a given system can be computed exactly. Performed on a petaflop IBM BlueGene/P supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory, these simulations showed for the first time that the electrolytes used in conventional lithium–ion batteries do not work in lithium–air batteries, contrary to what was previously thought.

"Our simulations allowed us to demonstrate the processes that actually take place during discharge. The carbon-based electrolyte reacts in an undesirable manner with the lithium peroxide and decompose as a result. This effectively destroys the lithium–air battery," explains Dr. Alessandro Curioni, head of the Computational Sciences research group at IBM Research – Zurich.
Using a mass spectrometer developed specifically for the Battery 500 project, scientists were able to perform laboratory experiments that clearly confirm the electrolyte decomposition predicted by the simulations. "Simulations and experimental results have allowed us to identify stable electrolytes with which we were able to demonstrate the basic functionality of the charging and discharging processes," says project leader Wilcke. In addition, very high charge capacities have been demonstrated in the laboratory. A further fundamental result is the fact that, contrary to long-held assumptions, catalyzers are not kinetically necessary because the so-called overvoltage of the fundamental electrochemical reaction 2Li+ + O2 + 2- <=> Li2O2 is much smaller than originally thought. Nevertheless, the very low conductivity of lithium peroxide is a problem that is yet to be resolved.

Still a "Grand Challenge"

Several other veritable challenges remain for scientists to solve before lithium–air batteries can be implemented for practical purposes or fabricated industrially. It is therefore one of IBM Research's so-called "Grand Challenges"—ambitious and risky research projects with uncertain outcomes but very high potentials, such as the development of the WATSON supercomputer.
Currently, scientists are seeking to increase the energy density of the battery, which is still far too low for real-life electromobility. Another challenge is the charging process, which is currently too slow. But even assuming that this can be improved markedly, it will not be possible, say, to charge the battery quickly during one's coffee break. Scientists are currently aiming for the capability to charge the battery overnight, which, based on the considerable range, should be sufficient. To solve the problem posed by lithium's susceptibility to humidity, the IBM team is also developing novel nanomembranes, which will be required in order to protect the sensitive lithium anode from steam and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Additional challenges are the long-term stability of the components' materials and the improved ability to suppress undesirable secondary reactions.

Upon successful completion of the current research phase, the Battery 500 project could possibly be pursued with industrial partners to develop commercial models of the lithium–air battery in the timeframe of 2020 to 2030. Participants of the Battery 500 project include several other top-notch partners of German, Japanese and Korean corporations as well as additional American research institutions.


Source: IBM

The Future for Powering Electric and Hybrid Cars

Engineerblogger
Feb 2, 2012

The Tesla electric vehicle wirelessly charging at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. (Credit: Doug Kline)

This year’s iconic North American International Auto Show featured a wave of new hybrid and electric cars that suggest the vehicles have truly come into their own.
But what’s the future for the technology needed to power these cars? In particular, can the industry really expect in the coming years an electric car battery that is not only economical, but delivers the performance needed to make these cars a common site on the streets?

This was the topic of a recent roundtable discussion held by The Kavli Foundation with Seth Fletcher, Senior Editor at Popular Science, and two researchers in the field – Clare Grey at the University of Cambridge and Jeff Sakamoto at Michigan State University.

According to Fletcher, the dynamics for innovation are falling into place. “A few years ago there were essentially no electric cars on the road in the United States,” said Fletcher, who is also the author of “Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy." “Now there are several thousand that people actually own, which is completely different than in the 1990s when people were leasing EV1s. Think about it: GM leased 800 EV1s over the course of three years. Last year alone, GM sold nearly 8,000 Volts.”

Better battery technology for powering these vehicles also looks promising. “There is much good work going on,” according to Jeff Sakamoto, Assistant Professor in Michigan State University's Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. “Some of it is focused on exploring new battery configurations and chemistries. One, referred to as a 'solid state' battery, uses a solid ceramic electrolyte that can replace current, flammable liquid electrolytes. Other potentially interesting though challenging areas include research on lithium-air batteries. Researchers are also exploring how different electrode materials, particularly silicon, might be used to improve battery performance.”

Another innovative direction is redox flow batteries. “Basically, these batteries pump an electrolyte solution or powder in and out of the battery,” said Clare Grey, Professor in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry. “Most batteries today are closed, sealed systems, so you’re limited to the electrons you have in a contained space. Flow batteries get rid of that limitation…And more electrons out means cars with longer ranges.”

In 2011, Grey received The Royal Society’s Kavli Medal and Lecture for work that included groundbreaking in situ studies on batteries and fuel cells. Grey recently noted that not only the technology is promising; incentives are changing in countries like the United Kingdom so the industry itself is invested in the success of these cars. “[In Europe,] emissions are regulated across each manufacturer’s fleet of vehicles. So as a result, BMW and Mercedes… are really pushing their electric and hybrid vehicle programs to reduce their fleets’ overall emissions. …And the good thing is, people are buying these cars. At the high-end of the market, it seems, people don’t mind paying a bit extra for electric or hybrid vehicles. In the most optimistic scenario that demand will eventually trickle down into the lower-end markets as well."

Source: Newswise

Additional Information:

• For the complete discussion, visit: http://www.kavlifoundation.org/science-spotlights/charging-auto-industry

Putting new vehicles to the test: Creating standards and codes to test performance and safety

Engineerblogger
Feb 20, 2012

Computer software is being used to test car performance before prototypes are built.

Whether designing a power plant, developing a space module, or building a new car, designers and developers know they must meet stringent codes and standards before their projects get a green light.

Over the past century and even before, independent organizations and governments have been creating standards and codes to test performance and safety.

"Typically, in almost all industries, you have regulations by law," says William E. Gest, a recognized expert on the auto industry.

He considers "CFR Title 49" his bible, and more specifically Part 571, which covers Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Under Title 49, part of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a legislative mandate to issue FMVSS (standards and regulations).

The standards, first issued in 1967, are defined as the minimum requirements for motor vehicles and equipment to protect the public against unreasonable risk of accidents occurring as a result of the design, construction, or performance of a motor. Motor vehicle manufacturers and equipment suppliers must conform and certify their compliance.

Advanced Testing Techniques

During four decades as a professional engineer working at companies such as General Motors and TRW, Gest has seen many changes in performance testing and standards, and he passes along his learning to the next generation of engineers as an adjunct professor at the Ira A. Fulton Schools for Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe. He teaches a capstone course on ethics and business practices related to the impact of mechanical and aerospace engineering in a global society.

With sophisticated software and advanced methodologies, the auto industry can do most, if not all, of its testing in the analysis phase using a computer-aided design (CAD) model for any kind of analysis, including crash analysis, and whatever else is needed.

Gest, also a senior consulting engineer at Augspurger Komm Engineering, Phoenix, AZ, says the major companies today validate the design of a vehicle before building costly prototypes. "The analysis tools are so good today that the goal is not to have to run more than one actual vehicle test," he adds.

"The companies know what things need to be done and are all self-certified. Technically, a company doesn't have to run any tests if they sign off on their own designs. But if there is a problem with the car, and you have to go to court and have no testing to back up your statement that the car's OK, you will have to write a very large check," says Gest.

Spotlight on Safety

While the regulations require additional complex work and add to the sticker price even though fewer prototypes are needed, Gest says it's been a good thing. Not only has vehicle safety improved over the years, but so, too, have other aspects such as emissions. He estimates the testing probably accounts for about 15–20% of the cost of a vehicle.

Complicating the certification process are requirements that may differ from country to country and in some cases, state to state, with things like emissions and noise, which are regulated by a different government agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

With the cost of a prototype in the neighborhood of $250,000, Gest sees even more reliance on prevalidation by computer. "In the past, we might have built maybe 40 prototypes before a car gets to market. Today, we're probably seeing as few as 10 to 15," he says.

Gest emphasizes to his students that engineering ethics mandate the number one thing is to do no harm. "Whatever your design is, make sure it's safe," he says.

Source: ASME

Automotive: Can Tesla Survive?

Technology Review
Feb 16, 2012

Hard ride: Tesla's Roadster. Credit: Tesla

The year 2012 will be an important one for Tesla Motors. Amid growing competition from established automakers, Tesla plans to sell a new Model S luxury sedan in July, and to supply Toyota with batteries, motors, and control systems for a new electric RAV4 SUV. The success of these efforts could determine whether the company survives long-term—and what it might look like if it does.

Even if Tesla can't succeed as an independent automaker, it could still be acquired by a bigger company, or live on as a supplier to major automakers.

Tesla is best known for its electric sports car, the Roadster. But from its early days, the company has hoped to move beyond the Roadster to lower-priced electric vehicles sold in much higher volumes. Earlier this week, Tesla revealed a luxury electric SUV, the Model X, which it plans to sell starting in 2013.

But the automotive industry has changed dramatically since Tesla was founded in 2003. At the time, changes to a California mandate that had required carmakers to make electric cars had just led GM to cancel the electric EV1, and Toyota to cancel the original electric RAV4. By and large, Tesla had the electric vehicle market to itself, its only competition coming from a handful of other small electric car companies.

Now, GM, Nissan, and others are selling electric vehicles in numbers that after one year far exceed the total production of the EV1. In fact, every major automaker has announced plans to sell electric cars of some type. Furthermore, vehicles from companies including BMW and Mercedes will compete directly with Tesla in the market for high-performance or luxury electric vehicles.
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GM IntelliLink Helps Drivers Get Connected

Engineerblogger
Feb 15, 2012

The IntelLink system lets you organize icons according to your preferences.  Credit: GM

The 2012 GMC Terrain smaller SUV’s standard Color Touch Radio is now available with IntelliLink, which provides smartphone connectivity and voice activated control of the audio system. Simple commands initiate a phone call, change a station, stream internet radio, and even control an iPod.

IntelliLink’s interface is designed to be used with two hands on the wheel as often as possible, and its layout was created with specific emphasis on minimizing distractions. Here are some other important things to know about the system:

• Like most smartphones, the IntelliLink homescreen is configurable. An array of icons for phone, radio, and other functions mimics the displays of popular mobile devices, and each icon can be shifted or removed, based on the driver’s needs and wants.

• IntelliLink has icons for popular internet radio providers Pandora and Stitcher for Bluetooth streaming through a smartphone, Pandora listeners can give a song a “thumbs-up” or “thumbs-down” through Terrain’s seven-inch touchscreen.

• Most of IntelliLink’s features can be controlled through a hands-free voice control system powered by Nuance. Drivers can place a phone call, play an artist, or tune to a radio station without their eyes leaving the road.

• An MP3 player isn’t required to play music through Intellilink. Owners can bring their music collections into the car by plugging a USB flash drive into a port in the center console.

• Album art and artist information for songs playing from a device are displayed on Terrain’s color touch screen. The Gracenote data that allows this also makes voice activation more conversational, identifying nicknames like “The Boss” or “The Stones.”

GMC’s implementation of the Gracenote media database includes a piece of exclusive, patent-pending technology, according to General Motors lead engineer Tony Kraatz.

“Gracenote is typically limited to devices plugged in to the USB port,” he said. “With IntelliLink, we are the first company to run Bluetooth streaming audio through the Gracenote database to display album art for music players connected wirelessly.”

“About 70 percent of all new car buyers want some form of connectivity,” said Micky Bly, executive director leading GM’s infotainment engineering efforts, citing GM research. “Whether it’s because they want to listen to their favorite music or hear movie times on the way to the theater, today’s car buyer expects so much more out of their time in a car.”

The GMC Terrain talks with smartphones in other ways than just IntelliLink. With the OnStar RemoteLink app available for iPhone and Android, drivers can use their phones to lock and unlock doors or check fuel and tire pressure levels. On models equipped with remote start, the app can also start the engine from anywhere a cell phone signal is present.

IntelliLink is available now for the 2012 GMC Terrain SLT-2 V-6 and is coming soon to all SLT models. Last week, GMC debuted IntelliLink connectivity for the redesigned 2013 Acadia and Acadia Denali, on sale in late 2012.

About GMC  

GMC has manufactured trucks since 1902, and is one of the industry's healthiest brands. Innovation and engineering excellence is built into all GMC vehicles and the brand is evolving to offer more fuel-efficient trucks and crossovers, including the Terrain smaller SUV and Acadia crossover. GMC is the only manufacturer to offer three full-size hybrid trucks with the Yukon, Yukon Denali SUVs and the Sierra pickup. The new Sierra Heavy Duty pickups are the most capable and powerful trucks in the market.

Source: General Motors

A Suspension System with Smooth Moves

Engineerblogger
Feb 14, 2012

Credit: ASME

"Don't drink and drive ... you might hit a bump and spill your drink." So goes one of the stupider attempts at bumper sticker humor. Someday soon, though, the drivers of the world will no longer get the joke. Once the active electromagnetic suspension system developed by Bart Gysen, a researcher at Eindhoven University in the Netherlands, hits the road, folks behind the wheel will have a much better chance of keeping their drinks in their cups.

The Design

Gysen's design is a simple one in appearance. Inside the suspension spring that keeps the car levitated is an aluminum cylinder containing high-powered magnets. The cylinder also acts as a passive suspension system as a safety backup. The active system uses only 75 watts of energy, about the amount needed to power a car's air conditioner. The cylinder also regenerates energy, using the bumps in the road to power itself. If Gysen, or an auto manufacturer, were willing to discard the passive portion of the system, the active suspension would power itself 100%.

There are three sensors on the front of the car that measure the wheels' movement in relation to the road and the body of the car. It takes only milliseconds for the information to be translated into a reactive force from the magnets. The result is a ride that cuts down on jolts by 60%.

That percentage would be even higher if the road and its undulations could be measured before they got to the wheels, perhaps with lasers that read the terrain

in front of the car. Somehow, though, the system would have to know the material of the road, be it ice, pavement, wet leaves, or cream cheese. For now, Gysen is sticking with his trio of sensors.

Bart Gysen and a test car fitted with the new suspension system. Photo: Eindhoven University.

Control and Comfort

An active suspension has other advantages in addition to comfort. Typically, a car taking a sharp turn (or even a dull one) has a weight shift from one side to the other. The two inner wheels end up taking the lion's share of the force and lose a percentage of their traction. This can result in a loss of control or worse, a tipping or flipping of the car. Gysen's system can keep the weight of the car evenly distributed over all four wheels, so that the vehicle remains parallel to the ground throughout a turn. "You can put the gravity back in the center of the car, and get a better grip on the road," says Gysen.

Smart programming will tell the system when control is needed over comfort and when comfort trumps all. (It's easy to imagine, though, a system where the driver could choose, with the push of a button, between race-car mode and limo mode). The size and shape are the same as traditional suspension systems and can fit right onto the body of any car.

At the moment, the only prototype resides on the test vehicle, a BMW 530. While including the system on future vehicles might seem like a no-brainer, the automotive industry is currently guarding its coffers and is less than willing to lighten them for the research and development needed to put Gysen's invention on pavement. "It's not a bright future," bemoans Gysen. "There's no market pull at the moment. But if the system shows its advantage in the public, then there will be much more attention."

If consumers want active suspension, it seems manufacturers have to end suspension of action.

Source: ASME

Additional Information:

• 60 percent higher ride quality through electromagnetic suspension

A 'natural' solution for transportation

Argonne National Laboratory
Feb 2, 2012

Researchers at Argonne have begun to investigate adding one more contender to the list of possible energy sources for light-duty cars and trucks: compressed natural gas (CNG). Image courtesy of Mercedes Benz

As the United States transitions away from a primarily petroleum-based transportation industry, a number of different alternative fuel sources—ethanol, biodiesel, electricity and hydrogen—have each shown their own promise. Hoping to expand the pool even further, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have begun to investigate adding one more contender to the list of possible energy sources for light-duty cars and trucks: compressed natural gas (CNG).

Compressed natural gas is composed primarily of methane, which when compressed occupies less than one percent of the volume it occupies at standard pressure. CNG is typically stored in cylindrical tanks that would be carried onboard the vehicles it fuels.

Because the domestic production of natural gas has increased dramatically over the past ten years, making a large number of the cars and light trucks currently on the road CNG-compatible would help to improve U.S. energy security. "As a country, we don't lack for natural gas deposits," said Argonne mechanical engineer Thomas Wallner. "There are fewer obvious challenges with direct supply than with most other fuels."

Natural gas currently comes primarily from deep underground rock structures, including shale. Recent improvements with hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," a controversial process that some critics claim can hurt the environment, have made it economical for natural gas companies to extract a greater supply of natural gas from unconventional sources.

Like gasoline, both the production and combustion of CNG release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. To be able to make an accurate comparison to gasoline, scientists and engineers will need to look at each stage of the fuel's production and use, said Argonne environmental scientist Andrew Burnham.
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Wireless power could revolutionize highway transportation

Engineerblogger
Feb 2, 2012

Stanford University researchers are developing a technology that uses magnetic fields (shown in red) to wirelessly charge electric vehicles cruising at highway speeds. Credit: Sven Beiker, CARS/Stanford University

A Stanford University research team has designed a high-efficiency charging system that uses magnetic fields to wirelessly transmit large electric currents between metal coils placed several feet apart. The long-term goal of the research is to develop an all-electric highway that wirelessly charges cars and trucks as they cruise down the road.

The new technology has the potential to dramatically increase the driving range of electric vehicles and eventually transform highway travel, according to the researchers. Their results are published in the journal Applied Physics Letters (APL).

"Our vision is that you'll be able to drive onto any highway and charge your car," said Shanhui Fan, an associate professor of electrical engineering. "Large-scale deployment would involve revamping the entire highway system and could even have applications beyond transportation."
Driving range

A wireless charging system would address a major drawback of plug-in electric cars – their limited driving range. The all-electric Nissan Leaf, for example, gets less than 100 miles on a single charge, and the battery takes several hours to fully recharge.

A charge-as-you-drive system would overcome these limitations. "What makes this concept exciting is that you could potentially drive for an unlimited amount of time without having to recharge," said APL study co-author Richard Sassoon, the managing director of the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP), which funded the research. "You could actually have more energy stored in your battery at the end of your trip than you started with."

The wireless power transfer is based on a technology called magnetic resonance coupling. Two copper coils are tuned to resonate at the same natural frequency – like two wine glasses that vibrate when a specific note is sung. The coils are placed a few feet apart. One coil is connected to an electric current, which generates a magnetic field that causes the second coil to resonate. This magnetic resonance results in the invisible transfer of electric energy through the air from the first coil to the receiving coil.

"Wireless power transfer will only occur if the two resonators are in tune," Fan noted. "Objects tuned at different frequencies will not be affected."

In 2007, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology used magnetic resonance to light a 60-watt bulb. The experiment demonstrated that power could be transferred between two stationary coils about six feet apart, even when humans and other obstacles are placed in between.

"In the MIT experiment, the magnetic field appeared to have no impact on people who stood between the coils," Fan said. "That's very important in terms of safety. "
Wireless charging

The MIT researchers have created a spinoff company that's developing a stationary charging system capable of wirelessly transferring about 3 kilowatts of electric power to a vehicle parked in a garage or on the street.

Fan and his colleagues wondered if the MIT system could be modified to transfer 10 kilowatts of electric power over a distance of 6.5 feet – enough to charge a car moving at highway speeds. The car battery would provide an additional boost for acceleration or uphill driving.

Here's how the system would work: A series of coils connected to an electric current would be embedded in the highway. Receiving coils attached to the bottom of the car would resonate as the vehicle speeds along, creating magnetic fields that continuously transfer electricity to charge the battery.

To determine the most efficient way to transmit 10 kilowatts of power to a real car, the Stanford team created computer models of systems with metal plates added to the basic coil design.

"Asphalt in the road would probably have little effect, but metallic elements in the body of the car can drastically disturb electromagnetic fields," Fan explained. "That's why we did the APL study – to figure out the optimum transfer scheme if large metal objects are present."

Using mathematical simulations, postdoctoral scholars Xiaofang Yu and Sunil Sandhu found the answer: A coil bent at a 90-degree angle and attached to a metal plate can transfer 10 kilowatts of electrical energy to an identical coil 6.5 feet away.

"That's fast enough to maintain a constant speed," Fan said. "To actually charge the car battery would require arrays of coils embedded in the road. This wireless transfer scheme has an efficiency of 97 percent."
Wireless future

Fan and his colleagues recently filed a patent application for their wireless system. The next step is to test it in the laboratory and eventually try it out in real driving conditions. "You can very reliably use these computer simulations to predict how a real device would behave," Fan said.

The researchers also want to make sure that the system won't affect drivers, passengers or the dozens of microcomputers that control steering, navigation, air conditioning and other vehicle operations.

"We need to determine very early on that no harm is done to people, animals, the electronics of the car or to credit cards in your wallet," said Sven Beiker, executive director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS). Although a power transfer efficiency of 97 percent is extremely high, Beiker and his colleagues want to be sure that the remaining 3 percent is lost as heat and not as potentially harmful radiation.

Some transportation experts envision an automated highway system where driverless electric vehicles are wirelessly charged by solar power or other renewable energy sources. The goal would be to reduce accidents and dramatically improve the flow of traffic while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Beiker, who co-authored the APL study, said that wireless technology might one day assist GPS navigation of driverless cars. "GPS has a basic accuracy of 30-40 feet," he said. "It tells you where you are on the planet, but for safety, you want to make sure that your car is in the center of the lane." In the proposed system, the magnetic fields could also be used to control steering, he explained. Since the coils would be in the center of the lane, they could provide very precise positioning at no extra cost.

The researchers also have begun discussions with Michael Lepech, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, to study the optimal layout of roadbed transmitters and determine if rebar and other metals in the pavement will reduce efficiency.

"We have the opportunity to rethink how electric power is delivered to our cars, homes and work," Fan said. "We're used to thinking about power delivery in terms of wires and plugging things into the wall. Imagine that instead of wires and plugs, you could transfer power through a vacuum. Our work is a step in that direction."



Source:  Stanford University

Driving the green: Study suggests that electric-powered trucks will save money for businesses

MIT News
Feb 1, 2012

New MIT research suggests that electric delivery trucks, like this one, can help both the environment and the business bottom line. Photo courtesy of Staples

A company looking to purchase an electric-powered delivery truck today will likely experience some sticker shock: Such a vehicle costs nearly $150,000, compared to about $50,000 for the same kind of truck with a standard internal-combustion engine.

But before long — perhaps surprisingly — it’s a purchase that should pay for itself. That’s the conclusion of a new MIT study showing that electric vehicles are not just environmentally friendly, but also have the potential to improve the bottom line for many kinds of businesses.

The study, conducted by researchers at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL), finds that electric vehicles can cost 9 to 12 percent less to operate than trucks powered by diesel engines, when used to make deliveries on an everyday basis in big cities.

“There has to be a good business case if there is going to be more adoption of electric vehicles,” says Jarrod Goentzel, director of the Renewable Energy Delivery Project at CTL and one of four co-authors of the new study. “We think it’s already a viable economic model, and as battery costs continue to drop, the case will only get better.”

Another of the paper’s co-authors, Clayton Siegert, a 2009 graduate of the CTL’s master’s of engineering in logistics program and a member of the Renewable Energy Delivery Project, presented the results in January at the IEEE Power and Energy Society Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference, in Washington. The paper will be published in a volume of the conference’s proceedings. It originated in a thesis project by two researchers who received the master’s of engineering in logistics from CTL in 2011, Andre De Los Rios and Kristen Nordstrom.
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New Capabilities of today’s Automotive Glass Equipment

Engineerblogger
Jan 30, 2012


Today’s know-how, together with new developments in control technology and machine production technologies allow to utilise automotive glass grinding and cutting machines in new ways.

This equipment with its more flexible use, can reach higher quality and/or much shorter cycle times as well as it is open for new applications.

New equipment with direct drive technology is able to preprocess glass in a higher quality and at the same time faster than in the past. Thanks to the drives the gearboxes can be eliminated, higher torque can be achieved and higher resolution encoders can be used. Eliminating the gearboxes menas eliminating the mechanical play totally. The accuracy is given by the measurement system and the performance of the drive regulator. The measurement systems can resolve down to micrometers or micronarcs for polar systems.

Using the new technology the customers do not have to decide between productivity and quality to a given price. The new controls allow to adapt the production quality to the desired level. For example a customer can start its venture in the less demanding replacement segment, where high output is critical. If he is looking for new opportunities later it is possible to reprogram the machine to the highest quality levels. The customer is able to compete on the highest quality levels which allow asking for a higher price for the manufactured product. Todays new electronic developments allow an easy and riskless adaption of parameters. The technology, accuracy and flexibility can be applied in other glass production fields like solar or architectural production as well.


Technical basis of champ’speed
Working with two cutting bridges allows to separate relief cuts and form cuts. Furthermore the customer can separate cutting and breaking if needed. Using the correct combination distributing the processes allows moving the bottleneck process in cutting and grinding from the cutting/breaking into the grinding operation. The best combination depends on the design of the end product. In most of the cases the best solution is to do the relieve cuts on the first station and the cutting and breaking on the second station. Having two independent cutting heads with one breaking ball head gives room for the very best possible combination to increase the quality and accuracy to the maximum with the lowest possible cycle time.

Figure 1: Example windscreen

Producing a form with an accuracy of 100 percent is possible but physical parameters limit the cycle time. If needed, the machine can follow the contour exactly. This will result in a very accurate glass, but takes its time. In theory, the relation between grinding speed and forward movement should be constant. To reach a constant grinding surface the speed has to be reduced at each point where the grinding spindle makes a turn or goes around an edge. This means: the smaller the radius, the lower the speed. As the grinding wheel has a diameter, the speed of its centre point has to increase, because it has to travel a much longer way than the grinding point of the glass. In an inner arc, the travelling speed has to be reduced, because otherwise the wheel would take too much glass and will get choked.

Today there are two ways, to achieve high speed and accuracy. Firstly it is possible to make the design of the form in a way that the end result will still be in specs. This means that the design is not in the middle of the tolerance field designed, but will touch the limits with working in lower tolerance bands. The achieved result is still the same (faster production cycle, in given tolerance), but the result does not depend on factors like speed or grinding wheel diameters anymore. Secondly one can do the same like in the past i.e. opening the contour error and allow bigger deviation. But with these methods the resulting form will then depend again on process parameters like speed. This method is not recommended but is very easy to do and does not require additional know-how or skill, but the production cycle improvement can still be considerable.

Figure 2: Cutting path with new equipment can increase corner speeds, improve quality and is reproducible

Additional to the improvement in cycle time due to the higher moment of the motor, a well designed grinding path can add considerable cycle time advantages. Together with using two bridge cutting and direct drive grinders, the cycle time can come from 27 seconds for a windshield down to 16 seconds, for the same design.

Higher torque and higher accuracy allow on polar machine to increase the diameter range. Not only windshields for trucks and busses but also solar glasses or other high end glass with diagonals up to 3.6m are possible to grind with accuracies below 0.1mm around the whole circumference. This accuracy can be achieved with low cost process due to low cycle times, automotive approved equipment and low cost consumables.
 

Figure 3: Trajectory speed of the grinding wheel center

Commercial applications
The investment is not much different than in the past, but the cycle times improve a lot on the same production space. This alone can justify a replacement of machines. Higher torque motors allow running the grinders faster and more accurate. Adding the possibility to use the tolerance band in improving cycle time gives more flexibility. The decision to invest in accurate or fast equipment has not to be taken anymore. The equipment can be bought and during the time of use switched by parameters to either use the machine in a mode with very low tolerances or in a mode with very high precision.

A company can start of in producing replacement glass with very high output and low cost for example and switch for other projects to OEM manufacturing parameters with high machine and process capabilities and insuring six sigma tolerances or more. The characteristic of the equipment can cater for different markets and customers by simply pushing a button or by an intelligent design. Using this way also small companies can invest and be sure, that the equipment keeps its value for all future ventures and supports future expansions. For solar glass new dimensions of accuracy can be achieved by low costs. The flexibility is there to adjust in the future to all needs of forms or accuracy. Proven process capabilities are given out of the automotive industry.

With this equipment producing changing models is possible without making test glasses. It is possible to change from one model to the next, without wasting one glass and without tweaking parameters. Change over time is dramatically reduced and lower skilled personal can handle the machines.

Figure 4: Example of a new automotive glass preprocessing equipment – champ’speed-line of Bystronic glass

Conclusion – Limitations and things to consider
Due to the fact, that the machine does what the program defines, it means that a form has to be defined 100% correctly. The machine follows the drawing exactly. The CAD-drawing must include all detail and the transition from one drawing element to the next. Transitions of elements have to be correct and tangents have to be handled with care and accuracy. This higher demand in designing capabilities might allow to reduce the capabilities of the machine operator.

About Bystronic Glass
Bystronic glass is the most competent and reliable partner for services, machinery, plants and systems in the glass processing sector. Bystronic glass supplies its well-proven machine technologies also in important areas of the photovoltaic industry. This includes preprocessing, front-end and back-end solutions. Bystronic glass is an international brand with globally operating companies that support their customers on site and through own sales and service companies. Since 1994, Bystronic glass is part of the Conzzeta AG, a renowned Swiss industrial holding company.

Source: Glass on Web


Additional Information:

• Bystronic Glass

Heavy going without lightweight materials

Engineerblogger
Jan 27, 2012

Source: iStock-Foto

Automobiles made of steel suffer from a weight problem, and racing yachts made of steel have no chance of winning regattas. Fiber-reinforced composites offer an alternative which has spread rapidly in the transport industry. Empa's offers an overview of the current situation and a preview of future developments.

Those who take an interest in innovation in the automobile industry might have thought that BMW and VW would have a head start in the use of carbon fiber structures in their vehicles. Last year both companies purchased shares in the supplier SGL Carbon. The competition hasn't been asleep, though, and companies like Daimler AG are hard on their heels. The car manufacturer based in Stuttgart has entered into a joint-venture with Toray Industries, the carbon fiber producer. Jan Krueger, of Daimler’s Research and Advanced Engineering division, is convinced that the victorious march of fiber-reinforced composite materials will continue unabated. The advantages are easy to see: the new materials are lightweight, with good crash properties and noise and vibration reducing characteristics. Daimler has accumulated a lot of experience in lightweight construction techniques using fiber-reinforced composites with its Mercedes SLR McLaren Supersport car. Two and a half thousand examples of the noble racing car have come off the conveyor belt, and in the meantime the new technologies involved have fed into the mass production lines. From summer 2012 the boot lid of the SL 63 AMG Sport Coupé will be made using fiber composites. Already 140,000 front axle leaf springs are manufactured every year for the Mercedes Sprinter using composite materials, and every second seat heating system built into cars made in Stuttgart boasts heating elements made of carbon fiber.

Crash simulation
Peter Fritzsche of the University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland reported on the simulation of break and crash tests with fiber-reinforced composites materials. Although the complex and nonlinear behavior of these materials often produces surprising results, computer simulation of the characteristics has already enabled considerable progress to be made. The more accurately the plastic deformation of the composites can be modeled, the more precisely can components made of composites be designed for a specific application.


Mass production at minimum cost
The views of a large manufacturer with thousands of employees worldwide were presented by Wenzel Krause of Autoneum, formerly the automotive division of the Rieter company. Autoneum supplies car manufacturers in North and South America, Europe and Asia with carbon fiber composite components which are used in the engine wells, underbodies, passenger compartments and boots of their vehicles. In doing so, Autoneum uses and delivers some one hundred thousand tonnes of the material annually. High stiffness and impact resistance are characteristics particularly demanded of materials used for underbody protection, naturally at the lowest possible cost. The company utilizes various production methods to manufacture components with exactly the required properties. Glass fibers cut to various lengths are used to reinforce the components in specific ways. The highest possible degree of automation is absolutely essential in mass production applications.

The next Alinghi
Carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials have already been used for some time in special high-value applications, such as that field of non-plus ultra yacht construction, the America's Cup. Andreas Winistoerfer with his company CarboLink GmbH (and Empa spin-off) designs stays and ropes for these yachts. Money is of secondary importance, but if a component should fail this is seen all over the world by millions of viewers. Winistoerfer has been in this demanding business for 10 years now. In addition to items for yachts, CarboLink also supplies the crane manufacturer Liebherr with high-tech guys of carbon fiber. The industrial partner profits from a 50 to 70 per cent weight reduction and, thanks to improved fatigue characteristics, a lifetime of up to 15 times longer for the carbon fiber component compared to that of steel.


Fibers with liquid content
Empa’s (Rheocore) project is dedicated to creating improved tailor-made properties of composites materials by spinning fibers which contain branched channels of liquid. The aim is to create fibers which are flexible when bent slowly but react stiffly to rapidly acting forces. This effect could be used to create a new type of protective clothing which would be more comfortable to wear than anything available today. However the production of these liquid chambers in the fiber is anything but trivial, explained Rudolf Hufenus of Empa’s Advanced Fibers Laboratory. In the meantime the project team has established the mathematical foundations of the effect and completed modeling trials. The next step is the manufacture of a first prototype of the spinning nozzle.


Source: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology(EPMA)

Europe's Driverless Car : semi-autonomous BMW car being demonstrated on a German autobahn

Technology Review
Jan 24, 2012

Easy ride: A semi-autonomous BMW car being demonstrated on a German autobahn. It can accelerate, brake, and overtake slower vehicles on its own. Credit: BMW

Tucked away in the basement of an iconic office tower shaped like four engine cylinders, engineer Werner Huber is telling me about the joy of driving. We're here at BMW headquarters, in Munich, Germany—capital of Bavaria, and arguably of driving itself. But Huber oversees strategic planning for advanced driver assistance systems, so in a way, his job is to put an end to driving—at least as we know it.

"I think that in 10 to 15 years, it could be another world," Huber says. He's not willing to predict exactly what driving will look like then, but he's certain humans will be doing a lot less of it.

For many people, automated cars call to mind those high-tech vehicles with a rotating periscope on top that Google has been driving around California. But Huber and executives at other European automakers say the automated driving revolution is already here: new safety and convenience technologies are beginning to act as "copilots," automating tedious or difficult driving tasks such as parallel parking.

"Driverless" technology will initially require a driver. And it will creep into everyday use much as airbags did: first as an expensive option in luxury cars, but eventually as a safety feature required by governments. "The evolutionary approach is from comfort systems to safety systems to automatic driving," says Jürgen Leohold, executive director for research at Volkswagen Group in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Both BMW and Volkswagen are among the companies already demonstrating cars that drive themselves. In 2010, Volkswagen sent a driverless Audi TTS up Pike's Peak at close to race speeds. Like similar vehicles from Google, these automated vehicles use some combination of GPS, radar, lasers, ultrasonic sensors, and optical cameras to create a constantly updated, 360-degree model of the surrounding environment, which an in-car computer can use to navigate.

But European automakers say their strategy is to move toward greater levels of autonomy incrementally, depending on what does well in showrooms.

Buyers of European luxury cars are already choosing from a menu of advanced options. For example, for $1,350, people who purchase BMW's 535i xDrive sedan in the United States can opt for a "driver assistance package" that includes radar to detect vehicles in the car's blind spot. For another $2,600, BMW will install "night vision with pedestrian detection," which uses a forward-facing infrared camera to spot people in the road.

Lasers, cameras, and other sensors are the most expensive part of autonomous driving systems. Some experimental self-driving cars are estimated to carry more than $200,000 worth of cameras and other gear. Those costs are also leading automakers toward a gradual approach that starts with sensor technologies and then extends capabilities to control driving tasks as well. In the high-end Mercedes-Benz CL, for instance, cameras not only tell a driver when he or she is leaving the lane but actually help the vehicle steer itself back. Several automakers already sell cars with so-called adaptive cruise control that automatically applies the brakes during highway driving if traffic slows. Next, BMW plans to extend that idea in its upcoming i3 series of electric cars, whose traffic-jam feature will let the car accelerate, decelerate, and steer by itself at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour—as long as the driver leaves a hand on the wheel.
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Related Article:

• Automobile Design for the Connected Age

Engineerblogger
Jan 23, 2012

Modified Toyota 2000GT Solar EV

Toyota have developed a solar EV based on the 2000GT, its classic limited production grand tourer.

"There is a solar panel on the hood and a translucent solar panel on the rear window. Solar panels still have low charging efficiency, so they need about two weeks to charge fully from zero. But we've been particular about utilizing solar panels, to power this car without using any electricity from thermal plants, or emitting any CO2."

This car was built by the Toyota Automobile Association, which includes dealers, parts suppliers, and engineers as well as Toyota itself. It incorporates both traditional Japanese craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology.

This car was converted by members of the Crazy Car Project, which includes engineers from car dealers, parts suppliers, and car makers. It incorporates both traditional Japanese craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology.

"We created the interior together with a company called Hayashi Telempu, which supplied parts for the original 2000GT. The idea was to revive the original features using today's technology. By using artificial leather instead of real leather, we've given the interior an even smoother finish. For the wooden finish on the instrument panel, rather than the original brown, we've used Japanese black lacquer, with gold and silver accents. This was commissioned from artisans in Kaga, to create a traditional Japanese atmosphere. Another highlight is the seven-dial meter, a characteristic feature of the original 2000GT. We've kept the original arrangement unchanged, but now it shows EV readings, like the motor rate, battery charge, and battery temperature."

This concept behind this vehicle is a solar car that can carry two people at a top speed of 200 km/h. It has a 35 kWh battery from Panasonic, and uses the motor and inverter from the Lexus LS Hybrid.

"The sound of a gasoline engine in a race is exciting, and with a quiet EV, you can add the kind of sound you like. By making the pitch and frequency vary linearly when the accelerator is pressed, we've created a sound that simulates a race car very well."

"Imagine a parking lot in summer. The parking lot here in midsummer is full of cars, and they're not doing anything useful, just getting hot in the sun. If all cars had solar panels like this, they'd make a great mega-solar plant. If that could be achieved, automobiles, which are said to be unfriendly to the environment, could become good for it. They'd be useful even when they were parked. We've built this car in the hope that, one day, the world will be like that."




Source: DigInfo TV

Additional Information:

• Crazy Car Project

UKH2Mobility hydrogen project launched by Government

Engineerblogger
Jan 24, 2012

The government has announced plans to position the UK at the forefront of commercial hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle roll-out, launching the UKH2Mobility programme to develop an action plan ahead of a 2014/2015 deployment.

"The UK is proving itself to be a key early market for ultra-low emission vehicles with growing numbers of electric and plug-in hybrids appearing on our roads. The government is supporting this market by investing £400 million to support the development, demonstration and deployment of low and ultra-low emission vehicles." Explained business minister Mark Prisk at the launch event.

"Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are increasingly being recognised as one of the viable options as we move to a lower carbon motoring future. They are highly efficient, can be fuelled in minutes, travel an equivalent range to a conventional combustion engine, and have zero tail-pipe emissions.

"The UK has a number of world-class companies that are developing exciting technologies in both the hydrogen energy and automotive value chains and it is therefore vitally important that we identify what is required to make these cars a realistic proposition for UK consumers.

"UKH2Mobility will bring together industry expertise to establish the UK as a serious global player in the manufacture and use of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles and the supporting infrastructure", Prisk added.

The project will seek to analyse in detail the specific UK case for the introduction of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as one of a number of solutions designed to reduce the carbon emissions of road transport, review the investments required to commercialise the technology including the requirement to build a refuelling infrastructure, and identify exactly what steps are required to put the UK at the head of the hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle manufacturing queue.

The project already has a wide selection of signatories, including specialists in the field of hydrogen and compressed gasses like Air Liquide Hydrogen Energy and the BOC Group to vehicle manufacturers including Daimler, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall. The first results from the programme are expected to be released by the end of this year; should the outlook appear positive, an action plan will be developed to provide a road map to a potential 2014/2014 roll-out of commercial hydrogen vehicles in the UK.

Source:  Expert Review

REL, Inc. Teams with NYU-Poly to Create Lightweight, Ultra Durable Automotive Brake Rotor

Engineerblogger
Jan 24, 2012

Researchers at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) and Michigan-based REL, Inc., are creating a next-generation aluminum composite brake rotor potentially weighing 60 percent less than today’s cast iron rotors with triple the life expectancy.

Due to expense, today’s composite brakes have been reserved for motorcycles, race cars and high-performance sports cars, but this new, fiber reinforced, metal matrix composite (MMC) brake rotor aims at the mass market. It will be easier to manufacture, and the fiber reinforcements will provide longer life span.

The researchers also estimate that their composite rotor will shave approximately 30 pounds from a mid-size sedan — a significant advantage in an industry facing fleet a fuel economy requirement of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

REL, Inc., a developer of MMC transportation and aerospace components, received a $150,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Science Foundation to develop the initial product design, material and manufacturing process. The company tapped the expertise of NYU-Poly Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor Nikhil Gupta and his Composites Materials and Mechanics Lab to develop the technology for automotive application. The collaboration will result in a prototype, first-of-its-kind rotor that may revolutionize a market valued at $10 billion annually.

Manufacturers have long sought to improve the durability and performance of automotive brakes, which are subject to tremendous temperature and pressure changes.

Gupta and REL are developing a one-piece brake rotor uniquely tailored to meet the extreme and variable temperature and loading conditions. Most of today's brake rotors are made of cast iron, which offers strength but at a cost of weight. Iron also doesn’t adapt well to the demands placed on different sections of the rotor. A brake rotor has three functional zones, each of which requires a material with distinct strain and thermal properties to function optimally. Temperature and pressure changes across the rotor surface are a major cause of wear, warp and brake failure.

The team will replace the traditional rotor material with a high-temperature aluminum alloy reinforced with functionally graded ceramic particles and fibers to create a lightweight but extremely durable material that can be customized to best serve each section of the rotor.

"These functionally graded materials allow us to create the optimal composition for each part of the rotor," Gupta explained. "The hybrid material allows us to provide reinforcement where additional strength is needed, increase high-temperature performance, and minimize stress at the interfaces between the zones. Together, this should boost rotor life significantly, reducing warranty and replacement costs, and the weight savings will improve the vehicle’s fuel efficiency.”

“As auto companies strive to meet increasingly high efficiency and low emissions targets, there's a tremendous business opportunity in creating novel lightweight components which reduce overall vehicle weight and increase vehicle performance”, said Adam Loukus, vice president of REL, Inc. "Professor Gupta is highly regarded in MMC research and analysis, and his expertise — backed by the resources of NYU-Poly — is an ideal complement to our goals for this exciting project.”

“This is a valuable opportunity for our students to gain real-world business experience,” Gupta added. "Working closely with the REL team, they will understand the demands of the automotive component development process."

In addition to the automotive market, the composite rotors may benefit military fleets, where up-armored vehicles operate at weights well above their design capacity. While the development of lightweight armor remains a long-term goal for the military, any weight savings on the vehicles themselves will immediately improve fleet efficiency, which can be critical to mission success where fuel delivery is difficult.

Gupta and the team at REL expect to complete a functional rotor prototype within 12 months.

Source: Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly)

Battery tech firm Red-T: Long-life battery system stores electrical energy in liquid form

Engineerblogger
Jan 20, 2011



A Dublin-based flow battery technology company called Red-T has just raised €900,000 in funding led by AIB Seed Capital Fund, Dublin BIC, Enterprise Ireland and its CEO.

Clontarf-headquartered Red-T has an R&D facility in Reading, England. The company has developed a unique battery technology.

RED-T's technology is a Vanadium-based flow battery which enables the cheap and efficient storage of electrical energy in liquid form. The technology has a variety of applications, including mobile masts, electric vehicles and renewable energy power stations. 

The potential to solve the two major obstacles to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles: excessive down time for recharging, and short-lived, high-cost batteries.

The patented Electric Vehicle Refuelling System (EVRS), an electric vehicle powered by an ENIFY vanadium redox battery can be rapidly recharged by removing the spent electrolyte and simultaneously replacing it with charged electrolyte. It’s just like refilling a diesel vehicle, except that a four-way sealed nozzle system is used to extract spent electrolyte and introduce fully charged electrolyte at the same time. There are some differences compared to diesel – the fuel is not flammable or hazardous to handle, it is not burned and does not give off harmful emissions, and it is continuously reusable once it has been recharged.

The lack of a refueling infrastructure, combined with the relatively low energy density of vanadium redox batteries (up to 35 Wh per litre, compared to 100 Wh per litre for lithium-ion batteries) makes them currently impractical as a means of powering long-distance electric vehicles. However, the EVRS system combined with the ENIFY batteries is ideal for electric vehicles such as city buses and delivery vehicles, which operate within a relatively small area, have short journey times, and return frequently to base.

In these situations, vehicles powered by vanadium redox batteries offer two significant advantages over vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries:

• They can be refuelled rapidly (in around five minutes, typically), making them more practical for “workhorse” situations where they are in use for up to 18 hours per day.

• They have lower operating costs per kilometre. The fuel is untaxed and the batteries are infinitely reusable.

Of course, electric vehicles powered by a vanadium redox battery can also be charged directly from solar, wind, or off-peak grid energy.

This technology represents a paradigm shift in energy storage, and ultimately, the complete displacement of conventional fossil fuel power with renewable generation. It relies on the reaction of different valence forms of the same element, Vanadium, the system has unlimited life, with a long cycle life between component replacement (about 10,000 full cycles).

The initial markets for the system will be the remote power and communications market, which is valued at an estimated $6.8bn. Initial customers for the system are located worldwide, including in Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ukraine, Russian federation, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and The Philippines.

John Ward, CEO and co-founder of RED-T, said: "This investment in RED-T is a very significant milestone, we intend to recruit highly skilled engineers and sales professionals to enable us to further strengthen our core offering and build market share in key international markets."

Scott McGregor, RED-T director and CEO of CAMCO, the majority shareholder of RED-T, added: "This round of financing is a major step towards commercialising the technology to provide a low-cost solution to industry; we welcome our new shareholding partners.

“Low-cost fuel storage is a critical solution if the world is to fully utilise clean energy to address climate change."

Source: Silicon Republic

KSPG's range extender concept gives gas to EVs

Engineerblogger
Jan 19, 2012

KSPG is 100-year-old automotive supplier that could, if it wanted to, produce a complete engine. That's not the company's plan, though, since it doesn't want to compete against its many customers. Therefore, the range extender concept engine that KSPG had on display at the Detroit Auto Show is something a bit new and different, both for the company and for the industry. It is a complete engine, but not one designed to power a car on its own. Instead, it is ready to be dropped into someone's EV to provide a bit of petroleum assurance to combat this range anxiety thing we keep hearing about.

Designed to fit into a space about the size of a spare wheel well, the two-cylinder, four-stroke,
137-pound engine is a product of both KSPG and FEV. It is meant to turn an EV into a serial hybird, as the engine is only there to generate electric power. That's why it doesn't matter where you put it, and the small size gives designers and engineers plenty of flexibility. KSPG Automotive's Gerd Kleinert told AutoblogGreen that this is a solution for our time.

"We are convinced that this is a kind of bridge technology from the current combustion engine to electric drive," he said. "The biggest point in electric cars is still the battery. If somone offers a battery that is the szie of a 50-liter [13.2-gallon] gas tank with the same energy content with the same weight that you can recharge it in three minutes, everyone would drive electric." But those vehicles aren't here quite yet. "That's the reason we think there is a need for this bridge technology becuase it guarantees you you will get home, even if you run out of electricity. You only need a small battery, which drives the cost down." Because, if you take some of the cost out of the pack and put it into the KSPG range extender, you can still use your car as an EV most days and retain the ability to go on a road trip when you want to.

KSPG began working on the range-extender project about a year ago, Kleinert said, adding that after the engine's introduction at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2011 KSPG began talking to three potential customers about using this engine in their EVs. If that comes to pass, KSPG's production capacity could be 10,000 units a year, to start, Kleinert said. A full vehicle prototype is due in the summer of 2012 to try and generate more interest. Kleinert wouldn't say how much the engine would cost, just that it would be at "an acceptable price."

Source: Auto Green Blog

China's drive for 'green' cars hits roadblocks

Engineerblogger
Jan 18, 2012

A man looks at a Volvo V60 electric car displayed at the Shanghai Auto Show in Shanghai last April. Car makers are struggling to sell environmentally friendly vehicles in China, even as Beijing pumps billions into clean energy.

Foreign and domestic car makers are struggling to sell environmentally friendly vehicles in China, the world's largest auto market, even as Beijing pumps billions into clean energy.


China wants five million "new energy" vehicles on the streets by 2020 to ease chronic pollution and reduce reliance on oil imports, but high prices, lack of infrastructure and consumer reluctance are creating major roadblocks.

The number of electric and hybrid vehicles currently in the country is tiny at about 100,000, mostly in government fleets, according to an industry estimate.

A salesman at the main Shanghai showroom of Chinese car maker BYD said the dealer sold only one electric car and two hybrid cars -- which combine a conventional internal combustion engine and an electric motor -- last year.

BYD, which is backed by US investment titan Warren Buffett, launched a fully electric vehicle for private buyers in October priced at 370,000 yuan ($60,000), though subsidies cut the cost by at least 16 percent.

"People hesitate to choose cars with a high price," said BYD sales manager Zhang Jiankun. "Although the government can provide subsidies for alternative-energy cars, the lack of charging stations is a main concern."

China had an estimated 243 charging stations at the end of 2011, but Beijing plans to invest 100 billion yuan over the next 10 years to build up the new-energy vehicle sector as a whole, focusing on electric models.

Foreign auto makers are also promoting the new technology in China.

US giant General Motors imported its first Chevrolet Volts into China in December and will begin selling the hybrids in early 2012 at 13 dealerships in eight cities.

But the Volt could suffer a potential image problem even as sales get under way in China as the vehicle faces a US government probe after damaged lithium batteries caught fire following crash tests.

GM says it has addressed the safety issue by reinforcing the battery.

The company is also developing a separate electric vehicle with its Chinese partner, domestic auto giant SAIC Motor, which itself launched five new energy vehicles in November.

"It seems every major company has its own electric-vehicle programme," Ray Bierzynski, executive director for electrification strategy of GM China, told reporters last year.

China overtook the US to become the world's top auto market in 2009 and is increasingly important for global players as economic turmoil hits demand in developed markets.

But the push for clean-energy cars comes as China's overall sales slow. Auto sales rose just 2.5 percent to 18.51 million units last year, compared with an increase of more than 32 percent in 2010.

China had hoped to vault its car companies into the top ranks of electric-vehicle producers but in recent months has reconsidered that strategy given the technological lead of foreign firms, and is now focusing more on hybrids.

The government is keen to build up its domestic auto industry so it has slapped import tariffs on some US passenger cars and sports utility vehicles, and said it would "withdraw support" for foreign investment in the sector.

"At the beginning the objective was, literally, to leapfrog. They have realised this is far too over ambitious," said Klaus Paur, director for automotive analysis at market research agency Ipsos in China.

"Currently, the government is re-visiting the strategy on (fully) electric vehicles. This is why they push more into the hybrids," he said.
However, one industry executive said the move did not indicate a "dramatic shift" in China's commitment to electrification.

"As we move down that path, there's a more realistic view of how quickly people can move and how some of the challenges can be addressed," Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China Group, told reporters.

The challenge includes building the infrastructure for charging batteries and convincing consumers to trust the technology. China has set up 15 pilot zones for electric vehicles across the country to this aim.

But in a country where car culture is only two decades old and fuel prices are controlled by the government, flashy luxury brands carry more appeal.

"To me, the performance of a car is the top priority, including how powerful it is," said marketing manager Gu Jiahuan, who is shopping for a car.

"Alternative-energy cars are not mature enough. And pure electric cars cannot go very far."

Source: The Associated Press