Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Hybrid Cars VS Diesel Powered Cars
Hybrid vehicles boast of all-encompassing operational system. They operate by combining an electricity-run motor, a diesel engine and maximum powered batteries. The battery gives off energy for the electric motor and recharges when it recaptures the energy that usually lost when the car is lessening its acceleration or while it is coasting.
How Hybrid Cars Work
The distinction of the full hybrid from the mild variety is that the electric motor and the diesel engine can operate on it’s own. In most instances, the electric motor can function by itself in low speed, and once it picks up, the diesel engine automatically takes over. Both the motor and the engine can function together if the car is in hard acceleration.
This combined effort provides the car power that it needs for that situation. Full hybrid cars can consume and build up electricity simultaneously. The full hybrid setup can be found in models such as the popular Toyota Prius, the mercury Mariner Hybrid, and the Escape Hybrid form Ford.
For instance, one can look at the way the Honda Prius Works. The Prius runs on atechnology called the Hybrid Synergy Drive, which involves a power split device to combine a effortless swithing of power sources that the car driver would not notice in the slightest while driving.
Unlike the other mild hybrid types, the Prius can be operated by the electric motor alone powered by the battery pack. As a result, a motorist can drive silently for short amounts of time. The Honda Hybrids on this level cannot function just by electric motor.
While speeding up highway, the Prius utilizez the diesel engine as its main operator, and can get assistance from the generator if needed. Then this hybrid car shut off the gas engine automatically during stops. This contributes greatly in mileage improvement and produces less emission.
Diesel VS Hybrid
A goal case in point is Ford’s version of the Escape SUV, which boasted of emitting less than a pound of smog substances for every 15,000 miles the vehicle runs. This is a great improvement considering that traditional diesel-powered light trucks emit around 105 pounds of smog pollutants for the same 15,000-mile distance. Even regular cars produce 67 pounds.
So really, there isn’t going to be much argument oer the great savings a consumer can gain with hybrid vehicles. Sure, it comes at cost, but its long term gains truly outweight the initial price shock. After, over time, when more people realize the merits of hybrid vehicles, supply will definitely go up and push prices down
Environmentally-conscious individuals would find heaven with hybrid cars. However, since they are just being introduced in the market, they can come at quite an expense. With increased patronage, it is hoped that more hybrid cars will become accessible to everyone in the future.
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Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Diesel Hybrid Cars: Will it Catch On like the Mainstream Hybrid Cars? Ford Thinks So
Four years ago hybrid cars would rarely be seen in roads and freeways. But as more people noticed and realized the great advantages this eco-friendly cars offer, and the savings they get, more and more hybrid cars are now plying our roads. So much so that hybrid cars are now as mainstream as the conventional engine cars that we got used to. But, it wouldn’t be a surprise if new developments and innovations come out to further develop the existing hybrid technology or to provide new technologies.
Many stories and rumors has circulated in the motor world of different discoveries and concepts that can further revolutionize the hybrid technology in motor vehicles, but many questions have also arisen on why some certain pre-existing technology have not been incorporated with the hybrid innovation. This includes the diesel hybrid concept.
Diesel engines have been vastly popular in Europe and Asia. While North America have not embraced the diesel engine as much as their overseas neighbors, developments have been made in the United States to eliminate the characteristics which have made it a poor choice here. Recent developments have eliminated the excessive smoke generated and the loud rattling noises of the engines. Additionally, biodiesel fuel has had a growing following and is seen as a solution to save the depletion of natural resources like oil. Combining hybrid technology and the new biodiesel fuel seems to be a better solution to our growing problems. Biodiesel is now cleaner and is also cheaper than regular gasoline.
While there have been no serious research and development done on diesel hybrid cars just yet, Ford has released a diesel hybrid concept car at the North Auto American Auto show in Detroit last January 10, 2006. Ford dubbed it as the Reflex sportscar. This is a car that is infused with a power source that uses a combination of a diesel engine, an electric motor and solar panels. Also, the Ford Reflex is all wheel drive car that Ford claims gets 65 miles to a gallon.
The Reflex, which could be the basis for future diesel hybrid cars operates much the same way as gas/electric hybrid cars. It also has a hybrid battery pack to provide backup power to the car that gets recharged by the engine and the heat generated by braking. The diesel Hybrid car by Ford uses lithium-ion batteries, the same kind used by the latest gadgets today, like cellular phones and portable computers. Most hybrid cars use nickel-metal hydrite batteries because they are far more cheaper, but lithium-ion batteries have far more power capacity.
But the Reflex also extracts power from solar cells located inside the headlamps and taillamps. This is a technology patented by Ford. There are also solar cells placed in the roof of the car that provides power to fans that operates inside the car to cool the interior when it is parked under the hot sun.
We can only wait until hybrid diesel car technology is more available. Until then, we can wait until diesel fuel can provide the same power as gasoline fuel. But when the technology is refined, we can all be sure that diesel hybrid cars will surely catch on and we will be seeing it more often.
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Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Hybrids are planning to use electric propulsion systems which prove to be very efficient and also environmentally friendly. There may be various approaches and methods in order to accomplish movement using electric power but the main idea is still the same. These systems are already working and will further help develop alternate fuel.
What is Electric Propulsion?
Electric propulsion is the acceleration of gases in order to produce propulsive thrust through electric and magnetic body forces, electric body forces or electric heating. The electric propulsion system is usually incorporated in rocket science wherein it manages energy enough to produce a powerful thrust. An electric propulsion system is an alternative to nuclear propulsion system. The total thrust is less powerful compared to a nuclear rocket but still enough to produce effects.
According to a number of studies, any engine used as a primary source of such powerful propulsion must produce exhaust velocities of around 10 to 20 km/s. There are also storable chemical systems used in rockets with an exhaust velocity of around 5 km/s but overall is less efficient.
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Propulsion systems that do not require energy through chemical reactions are still needed. There are electric propulsion thrusters able to produce exhaust velocities of around 10 to 20 km/s which increases payload and reduces propellant mass. The consequences however, are less powerful thrusters consuming larger quantities of power.
The 3 Categories of Electric Propulsion
Electro thermal propulsion is when the propellant is electrically heated then isentropically expanded through a C/D or convergent/divergent nozzle. The system works as electrical energy heats propellants that produce gases as a result. The gases are sent through the C/D nozzle creating thrust. Catalyzed hydrazine or another neutral gas is used in thrusters like arc jets and resistojets.
Arc jets can also be used to heat the propellants via an electrical arc discharge. The arc in the arc jet is a beam of electrons produced from the cathode tip then gathers at the anode. Since an arc jet has a cathode and an anode, a constrictor is also present which is a narrow pathway between the two charges.
Electrostatic thrusters are also called ion thrusters. These use an ionized propellant accelerated through electric fields applied directly like gridded ion thrusters and Hall thrusters. The technique of propulsion is also known as ion propulsion technique since ions are mainly used in the process. Electrostatic energy is used to produce propulsion.
The electrons from an atom are stripped off then converted to ions. The ions are accelerated by electrical forces to high temperature without needing thermal energy producing thrust. The atoms after losing electrons become positively charged.
Electromagnetic thrusters produce thrust using electric and magnetic forces that interact with charged plasmas like ions and electrons. An example of these is the magnetoplasmadynamic thruster or MPD. The system heats the propellant to a plasma state before being accelerated. A large current is passed by electromagnetic forces through gas in order to ionize the propellant. Plasma is the ionized propellant which is then accelerated by Lorentz force, an electromagnetic force producing thrust.
Effect on Fuel
Decoupling engine speed and power output from the propeller will provide the opportunity to improve propeller efficiency. Since electric forces and electromagnetic forces kick in for support, gasoline and diesel propulsion systems in vehicles will decrease the chances of wasting a huge part of power and energy.
The chances of engine overload are eliminated resulting to better fuel economy and better gas mileage. In addition, there is higher efficiency over longer distances and various speeds and loads.
A study conducted to check how much electric propulsion systems can help diesel and gasoline engines showed that at least 10% fuel savings is achieved by simply allowing the engine to move along with the load reducing inefficiencies due to low load with high speed. Larger propellers can also save as much as 7% of fuel compared to traditional models.
ith the total load split between multiple generators, as much as 20% of fuel can be saved plus another 13% by matching the power produced by the engine to the power required by the propeller. A variable-speed generator will help accomplish this. Overall, 30% to 50% can be saved compared to a very efficient diesel-electric or gasoline-electric system.
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