JMU AFV Lab Blog

Came across this item this morning. This bike uses Carbon Fiber extensively, and not just for body panels, but for stressed structures like frame, swingarm, tank and even the self-supporting tail unit.  An interesting engineering exercise, for sure.  This makes it lighter, only 164 kg, about 361 pounds. But not that much lighter, as using Carbon Fiber for these components only reduces the weight by 6 kg, for a net weight loss of only 4 per cent (see below) The resulting 6kg weight loss brings the dry weight down to a mere 164kg,….Hardly a glowing endorsement for Carbon Fiber.  Of course, development is continuing in Carbon Fiber, so this may change.  The JMU AFV Lab SAE Supermileage Vehicle Team is working with Carbon Fiber for body panels for its SAE Supermileage Vehicle.  The current design uses Carbon Fiber in non stressed components only, but maybe this will stimulate interest in using Carbon Fiber in stressed components in future iterations.

Source: http://www.thebikergene.com/sportsbikes/get-your-drool-on-bimotas-db7-oronero/#more-134

Get your drool on: Bimota’s DB7 Oronero.

The original Bimota DB7 was never accused of lacking anything in the desirability stakes; Ducati’s barnstorming 1098 engine got the mouthwatering Bimota design and handling treatment to be the small company’s flagship sportsbike in 2008 with a mix of serious power, agility and stunning bespoke looks that seemed to stagger you even more the closer you looked at it.

But considering Bimota caters to such an elite market in the bike world, the company saw fit to ratchet things up a few notches with the Milan unveiling of an upgraded special version - the DB7 Oro Nero, or ‘Black Gold’ - that leaves no opportunity for the use of carbon fibre unplundered to result in a magical 1:1 weight to horsepower figure and a truly extraordinary hand-built production bike.

The Oronero naturally enough features carbon fibre fairings, hugger and open dry clutch cover, but this being a bike of extremes Bimota have also used the space-age superlight material for the frame, swingarm, tank and even the self-supporting tail unit. The rearsets and exhausts provide splashes of billet and titanium shine to contrast against a chassis and bodywork that suck up light like a stealth bomber.

The resulting 6kg weight loss brings the dry weight down to a mere 164kg, which will make for a truly hair-raising ride with the 164-horsepower 1098 powerplant providing even more grunt than in standard Ducati trim.

The dash is now a huge multifunction GET computer system that offers all the features you’d expect plus service due warnings, datalogging and an inbuilt GPS system that can recognise which racetrack you’re on, automatically record lap times and let you playback and analyse your track sessions later.  Other upgrades from the DB7 include wavy front discs and a titanium rear shock.

It’s great to see Bimota going all out on a bike like this - when the brand relaunched in 2003, many people scratched their heads and wondered what bespoke chassis design really had to offer in a day and age where most Japanese and European bikes deliver excellent handling straight out of the box. But looking at the Oronero, it’s obvious that nothing remotely like it could come out of any other factory.

The Oronero can be pre-purchased now for around US$52,000.

Source: http://www.thebikergene.com/sportsbikes/get-your-drool-on-bimotas-db7-oronero/#more-134

This article was on the AutoBlogGreen blog. It relates the story of a ‘72 Datsun (When first imported to our country, Nissan badged its cars as “Datsuns”) converted to battery electric power. And I do mean “POWER.” Go to http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/videos/view/56-Electric-Drag-Racing to see this amazing little car! This unassuming little car beats Vettes and Bimmers in the quarter mile.

Source:  http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/11/17/drag-racing-white-zombie-gets-some-oregon-public-tv-love/

Drag racing White Zombie gets some Oregon Public TV love

Posted Nov 17th 2008 at 2:40PM by Domenick Yoney

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, USA

There seems to have been a spate of posts here on ABG lately about electric vehicles running down the quarter mile strip. The Killacycle set a world record, the Tesla Roadster pulled down a respectable time and the Dodge EV prototype showed gave the Hemi-powered Dodge Challenger a go. Heck, we even featured a sweet electric Pinto not so long ago. While that may seem like plenty for most people, we’re really enthusiastic about performance cars that don’t burn gas (or diesel, for that matter) and so when we learned from a reader about the White Zombie being featured in a nicely-produced segment for Oregon Public Broadcasting, we had to bring it to your attention. Yeah, we’ve talked about the ‘Zombie before but its been over a year and while it might not be as refined as the Tesla Roadster that we spill so much ink on, it is faster. So without further ado, check it out!

[Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting]

Source: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/11/17/drag-racing-white-zombie-gets-some-oregon-public-tv-love/

This article was on the Gizmag blog this morning. KTM has applied for patents on a hybrid dirt bike that has conventional drive to the rear wheel as its other bikes, but adds in-wheel electric motors to both front and rear wheels for, in effect, a hybrid, all wheel drive motorcycle. KTM announced a hydraulic AWD motorcycle earlier, but I like this idea better. After all, wire is lighter than hoses with hydraulic fluid, and with the small, powerful hub mounted motors now being used in electric bikes, an electric motor is probably substantially lighter than a hydraulic motor. However, I am still concerned about the effect of the substantial increase in unsprung weight and its effect on handling. In addition, I would think tires, rims, wheels and bearings would have to be heftier to handle the increased inertia of the motor assembly, further increasing the unsprung to sprung weight ratio with its attendant adverse effect on handling. We’ll wait and see.

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/ktm-2wd-hybrid-dirt-bike/10348/
(Be sure to check out the 4 images of the patent application drawings)

KTM 2WD hybrid dirt bike

November 12, 2008 Patents lodged by Austrian Competition Motorcycle Manufacturer KTM indicate that a hybrid 2WD dirt bike is not far away. Common sense dictates that a motorcycle with both wheels driven (2WD) will go around corners faster and with greater surety than one equipped only with the motorcycle’s traditional rear-wheel drive, much the same as 4WD cars offer superior traction to their rear or front wheel drive brethren. A lot of interesting development work has been done over the last decade with YamahaOhlins 2WD system on selected enduro bikes in Europe, Christini developing mechanical AWD (aka 2WD) kits for Honda and KTM dirt bikes and KTM talking publicly about its hydraulic 2WD development. Now it appears KTM is to employ a small electric motor on each wheel to supply additional torque when it’s needed. A recently filed set of patent applications heralds some exciting prospects. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle#Dirt_Bike/Trials_Bike offering http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle Honda

Back in 2004, we wrote about KTM’s prototype hydraulic 2WD system which project leader Wolfgang Felber described as having a pre-set torque distribution between the front and rear wheel. He also commented, that although the system was already fairly well developed, it could “definitely be improved upon.”

Having both wheels driven on road, trail or competition two-wheeled machinery offers many advantages. On almost any surface, 2WD offers better traction and stability, but it offers a greater advantage for slippery, wet or loose surfaces, on larger machines and is particularly useful for inexperienced and non-expert riders.

Interestingly, Kurt Nicol of KTM described the 2wd advantages extremely well here, and there’s an excellent account of testing the Yamaha 2wd system on MCNews.com.au – our take is that existing 2WD systems don’t quite offer enough advantage for the expert rider to be worth their additional weight – yet!

The additional weight of a hydraulic system makes it only a marginal advantage for an expert rider, and it’s only a matter of time before a suitable light weight electric motor is available that will offer far more sophisticated, (most likely computer-controlled) power delivery from the front wheel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_motor

The bike pictured in the patent images has the shape of a desert racer - KTM has dominated desert racing for a decade - a desert racer will also be one of the most obvious beneficiaries of the design as 2WD offers much greater stability and better steering in deep sand. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent

Perhaps most significantly, this is the first time that a motorcycle manufacturer with genuine race credibility has moved into the electric/petrol engine hybrid area and if KTM does bring the 2WD hybrid to market, it will be entirely to gain a competitive advantage. KTM’s ethos is to deliver “ready to race” motorcycles, which guarantees that if it don’t work, it won’t be on its motorcycles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethos

Almost certainly we’ll see a lot more 2WD motorcycles in the next few years as electric motors develop and proliferate to accommodate the growing electric bike industry. One likely technology contributor to the field of 2WD via electrically powered front wheels will be the motor suppliers to the burgeoning electric bicycle industry which demands very lightweight in-wheel motors. Given that the front wheel of a motorcycle with 2WD needs roughly 15 % of total power, the power output needs for the front wheel electric motor are not that great.

Even more intriguing is the use of an electric motor in the rear wheel and the advantages this offers in delivering predicatable, linear torque at low speeds (perfect for KTM’s strength, it’s core dirt bike clientele) as well as the brutal horsepower of KTM’s entire dirt bike range.

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/ktm-2wd-hybrid-dirt-bike/10348/

This article was on the Gas2.0 blog this morning.  It seems like a rather ingenious idea that makes a lot of sense.  The two parabolic mirrors allow the heavy metal and water generator portion to be down at the base of the device instead of suspended up in the air at the focal point of the first mirror.  I’ve often pondered ways of using a thermocouple based device to generate electricity and couldn’t arrive at a way to do it, but these researchers seem to have found a way.  This looks like a concept that is worth watching, and maybe a good candidate for an AFV Lab project in the future.  Go to http://gas2.org/2008/11/09/simple-device-invented-in-1833-may-lead-to-cheap-hydrogen/ to see the original article.

Simple Device Invented in 1833 May Lead to Cheap Hydrogen

Written by Nick Chambers

Published on November 9th, 2008

Posted in Hydrogen, Science

A modern team of Italian researchers has uncovered a device invented by fellow Italian G.D. Botto in 1833 that can be used to generate hydrogen with inexpensive, everyday parts. By reflecting sunlight from two parabolic mirrors onto a hollow tube wrapped in metal and filled with water, the device generates enough electricity to produce hydrogen through electrolysis. Theoretically, the device is so simple that anybody could build it in their garage.

In the original Botto device, alternating links of platinum and iron were connected in a chain that was then wrapped around a wooden rod. By heating one side of the rod with a flame, Botto was able to generate an electric current in the chain through thermocoupling of the two metals.

Botto’s original intent was to simply show that he could produce electricity using a thermocouple of two metals. Making hydrogen bubbles in water through electrolysis was his way of visually confirming an electric current was present. But, after uncovering the original Botto work, the modern Italian team realized the device had a different kind of potential in today’s energy-dependent world: a cheap way to make hydrogen without advanced manufacturing techniques using off-the-shelf components.

With some modern thinking, the Italian team was able to modify Botto’s device in rather ingenious ways. Firstly, they replaced the flame that Botto used to produce heat with parabolic mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays on the tube. Secondly, they replaced the rather expensive platinum metal with copper. And thirdly, in order to create a greater temperature difference between the heated side of the tube and the cool side of the tube (greater temperature difference equals larger current), they ran water through the center of it.

The researchers estimate that, although the power output for their experimental device is small (only about 20 mW), it could generate enough current to produce hydrogen gas through electrolysis of water. Given that the device is scalable, I’m guessing it would simply be a matter of daisy chaining enough of them together to generate the required amount of hydrogen.

The researchers also suggest that rather than using a thermocouple of two metals, it would be more efficient to use a thermoelectric semiconductor to obtain a much higher power output. I’m just waiting for them to release a design on the internet so that we can all start experimenting with hydrogen production.

Image Credit: De Luca, R.; Ganci, S.; and Zozzaro, P. “Revisiting an idea of G D Botto: a solar thermoelectric generator.” Eur. J. Phys. 29 (2008) 1295-1300.
Source: PhysOrg.com

Source: http://gas2.org/2008/11/09/simple-device-invented-in-1833-may-lead-to-cheap-hydrogen/

This article was on the Science Daily Website this morning. If this coating can be produced economically, it shows promise to make solar electricity generation much more attractive. Not only does it make solar cells more efficient, improving their efficiency from absorbing “…67.4 percent of sunlight shone upon it…” at present to absorbing “…96.21 percent of sunlight shone upon it…” after application of the coating, it also makes solar cells equally efficient regardless of the angle of the sun’s rays.  From the article:   “…his antireflective coating absorbs sunlight evenly and equally from all angles. This means that a stationary solar panel treated with the coating would absorb 96.21 percent of sunlight no matter the position of the sun in the sky….” If this is indeed true (The article doesn’t mention any independent verifications of its claims. I hope this isn’t just “grant fishing.”) then solar panels can be installed on roofs in the same plane as the roof. This avoids installing the extra superstructure needed to align panels to the optimum angle to take best advantage of the sun and the attendant unsightliness of such structures.  Go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081103130924.htm to read all the details.

Solar Power Game-changer: ‘Near Perfect’ Absorption Of Sunlight, From All Angles

A new antireflective coating developed by researchers at Rensselaer could help to overcome two major hurdles blocking the progress and wider use of solar power. The nanoengineered coating, pictured here, boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels and allows those panels to absorb the entire spectrum of sunlight from any angle, regardless of the sun’s position in the sky. (Credit: Rensselaer/Shawn Lin)

ScienceDaily (Nov. 4, 2008) — Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered and demonstrated a new method for overcoming two major hurdles facing solar energy. By developing a new antireflective coating that boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels and allows those panels to absorb the entire solar spectrum from nearly any angle, the research team has moved academia and industry closer to realizing high-efficiency, cost-effective solar power.

“To get maximum efficiency when converting solar power into electricity, you want a solar panel that can absorb nearly every single photon of light, regardless of the sun’s position in the sky,” said Shawn-Yu Lin, professor of physics at Rensselaer and a member of the university’s Future Chips Constellation, who led the research project.  “Our new antireflective coating makes this possible.”

An untreated silicon solar cell only absorbs 67.4 percent of sunlight shone upon it — meaning that nearly one-third of that sunlight is reflected away and thus unharvestable. From an economic and efficiency perspective, this unharvested light is wasted potential and a major barrier hampering the proliferation and widespread adoption of solar power.

After a silicon surface was treated with Lin’s new nanoengineered reflective coating, however, the material absorbed 96.21 percent of sunlight shone upon it — meaning that only 3.79 percent of the sunlight was reflected and unharvested. This huge gain in absorption was consistent across the entire spectrum of sunlight, from UV to visible light and infrared, and moves solar power a significant step forward toward economic viability.

Lin’s new coating also successfully tackles the tricky challenge of angles.

Most surfaces and coatings are designed to absorb light — i.e., be antireflective — and transmit light — i.e., allow the light to pass through it — from a specific range of angles. Eyeglass lenses, for example, will absorb and transmit quite a bit of light from a light source directly in front of them, but those same lenses would absorb and transmit considerably less light if the light source were off to the side or on the wearer’s periphery.

This same is true of conventional solar panels, which is why some industrial solar arrays are mechanized to slowly move throughout the day so their panels are perfectly aligned with the sun’s position in the sky. Without this automated movement, the panels would not be optimally positioned and would therefore absorb less sunlight. The tradeoff for this increased efficiency, however, is the energy needed to power the automation system, the cost of upkeeping this system, and the possibility of errors or misalignment.

Lin’s discovery could antiquate these automated solar arrays, as his antireflective coating absorbs sunlight evenly and equally from all angles. This means that a stationary solar panel treated with the coating would absorb 96.21 percent of sunlight no matter the position of the sun in the sky. So along with significantly better absorption of sunlight, Lin’s discovery could also enable a new generation of stationary, more cost-efficient solar arrays….

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081103130924.htm