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In terms of efficiency, cars driven by humans are fickle. There's only ever one optimal accelerator position for the best fuel efficiency, no matter what gear you're in. This leads to the situation where the imprecise driving of humans is responsible for lowered fuel efficiency and performance. But what if you could tweak the vehicle's software just a little to take human behaviour into account? John Kessels, who just obtained his doctorate from the Technical University Eindhoven (Netherlands), has been playing around with hybrid vehicle efficiency techniques on non-hybrids to achieve just that.
Hybrid cars utilise technologies such as regenerative braking to reduce energy wastage and boost efficiency. The key for hybrids though is the availability of a generator which can store excess power produced by the internal combustion engine, or draw upon the power stored in the on-board battery pack if the combustion engine's output is lagging. In other words, the generator works to smooth out the energy fluctuations of the combustion engine, flattening the energy output curve and reducing its variation from that of the optimal energy output curve.
Looking to achieve efficiency improvements in non-hybrid vehicles, Kessels realised that the smaller generator and battery pack of a standard petrol or diesel vehicle could still be used in a similar fashion to those found in a hybrid.
- Car battery charged with excess power production
- Battery-charging generator turned off when inefficient
- Electric braking to generate energy and stored in the battery
- Shut off rear window and seat heating
- Shut off other electric energy systems
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[Source: PhysOrg.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil L. 4:46PM (3/02/2007)
Sorry, I don't buy it.
>> Car battery charged with excess power production
Huh? This is how every ICE car on the road works. And it's an alternator, not a generator. Generators and their inefficiencies left the automotive market many years ago. Nothing new here.
>> Battery-charging generator turned off when inefficient
Neat idea - but your typical car on the road today has an alternator that simply monitors the system voltage and activates a variable field to create a current that maintains the voltage. There's isn't an easily-accessible, computer-controlled switch in place to simply turn it off. Yeah, you could create one - but that'd be new hardware and control systems that would need to be added. Hardly a feature that could be made available on a typical car that's on the road right now with just a software update.
>> Electric braking to generate energy and stored in the battery
Well, if you were to add a way to have a computer turn off the alternator, you might also find a way to turn it on full bore during braking. But a typical ICE automotive battery doesn't do a good job absorbing high intermittent currents, so most of the energy would be wasted anyway. Of course, this is simply what friction braking does, too. An alternator-based electric braking system would be limited by the size of the alternator (small, compared to the kinetic energy in a moving vehicle) and its drive mechanism (a simple belt, in most cars).
>> Shut off rear window and seat heating
>> Shut off other electric energy systems
Most cars on the road today have fairly simple controls for electrical accessories; there isn't a computer-controlled system in place to selectively de-power certain devices. Some new vehicles (like BMW's equipped with iDrive) have much of the requisite hardware and controls in place - but this would hardly apply to your average family sedan on the road today.
And just when does the computer decide you don't need clear windows? Probably just when you need them most.
Overall, this strikes me an interesting graduate thesis without much application in the real world.
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stedwoo 2:44PM (3/05/2007)
I suggest reading the first Thesis from this study. The Problem is much more complicated, meaning the issues, than is metioned in the summary for the 2nd Thesis.
The first Thesis from this study group is Energy management for vehicular electric power systems and talks about how the increase in electrical loads and requirements in cars is impacting MPG
Stedwoo
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stedwoo 2:46PM (3/05/2007)
Sorry here is the link to the thesis
http://alexandria.tue.nl/extra2/200611949.pdf
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Phil L. 1:44AM (3/06/2007)
A very interesting (and lengthy) thesis.
But the original idea behind Dane's entry is that existing cars could gain measureable efficiency improvements solely with software changes (well, and the minor addition of an interface cable).
The thesis (heavy reading warning: Lots of forumulas, complex diagrams and a lengthy bibliography. Portions of the thesis aren't in English.) involves creating a vehicle power network to implement the strategies outlined above, specifically with the addition of an electrical energy management controller. Hardly the sort of thing that already exists in the typical garage today.
I hope to see such approaches used in future vehicles! Sadly, Dane's overly simplistic analysis reveals that he did little research on this item before posting it.
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stedwoo 9:21AM (3/06/2007)
Phil. Just so you kn ow the thesis I linked to is the first one. HTe one talked about in this artilce/posting is the second thesis and a follow up ot the first one.
Also if you read Kessels Bio he works in the Automotive industry and has since prior to getting his PHd. This is not his first work and he actually working on the design of the new Power Network system for a parts maker. I hope the second thesis will be put out in the public like the first for more reading.
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