This article on the Shell Eco-Marathon competition in the United Kingdom was on the “Gizmag” Blog recently.  I wonder what the difference is between the UK competition and the US competition, that the UK got such higher fuel mileage?  (See the previous blog entry.)  More inspiration and maybe ideas for the AFV Lab students.

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/go/2946/

Shell Eco-Marathon winner averages 9737mpg

By Mike Hanlon

The Shell Eco-Marathon is an annual fuel economy competition held in the UK with competitors ranging from 11 year-old students through to senior university academics and semi professional independent teams.

The rules are simple - build a machine which uses the least fuel possible while averaging averaging more than 15mph around a circuit. Beyond engine efficiency, there are many related design considerations which influence the final fuel economy returned, such as aerodynamics, rolling resistance and driving techniques to achieve the highest.

Last year saw a new world economy record set during the event when Team MicroJoule achieved an average fuel consumption of 10,705 mpg - to put that in perspective, that’s the distance from London to Melbourne, Australia on less than one gallon of fuel!

The French team beat their own previous world fuel consumption record by nearly 500mpg, their previous record having been set during the 2001 Eco-Marathon UK.

This year the event was held over two days of intense competition at the Rockingham Motor Speedway, Corby, Northants, and the French Microjoule, team from St Sebastien, again took the top step on the podium with an average fuel consumption of 9737 mpg.

The team won despite many problems over the weekend, suffering a broken chain and then mechanical problems which necessitated an overnight engine rebuild, but they still managed to beat their nearest rival by over 2000mpg.

While the best competitors in the Shell Eco-Marathon continually push the limits of the internal combustion engine, there are many classes and categories which encourage students to put theirknowledge into practice.

Overall results:1st - Microjoule (France): 9737mpg2nd - Team Callo (France): 6952mpg3rd - BSMM (Finland): 5667mpg

Class Awards:Best University - Eco Veiculo (Portugal): 4699mpgBest School - Newland House School (UK): 1645mpgBest UK - Team Green (Bath, UK): 5296mpgBest LPG - Team Green (Bath, UK): 3683mpgBest Hydrogen - PAC Car (Switzerland): 5718mpg

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/go/2946/

I haven’t posted anything to the blog lately, but not because I haven’t been searching for something. There has been a paucity of relevant articles lately. This article came across the “Gizmag” blog just today. One of our students, Troy Page, was working on a similar concept recently, but I never heard how it turned out. Perhaps bamboo as a structural element in a vehicle could be a viable project for the AFV Lab. Go to http://www.gizmag.com/calfee-design-bamboo-bikes/14378/ to see the original article

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/calfee-design-bamboo-bikes/14378/

Calfee Design building bamboo bikes for the first and third worlds

By Ben Coxworth

15:09 March 2, 2010

We’ve seen bikes with frames made out of aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, and even IsoTruss tubes, but bamboo? Well yes, actually, we saw some here in Gizmag just last May. Back then, we were looking at some fairly basic city bikes built by Brazilian designer Flavio Deslandes. This time around the bamboo bikes are decidedly higher-end creations, built by Californian designer Craig Calfee, of Calfee Design. Although these bikes are definitely high-end, he’s also working on using bamboo to provide employment and cheap transportation for the people of Ghana.

Calfee started out building carbon fiber frames in 1987. In 1995, as a publicity stunt, he built a bamboo-framed errand bike. It spawned 11 others, built for staff, family and friends, who commented on how smooth the ride was. By 2005, he decided to go into production. He now offers road racing, triathlon, cyclocross and mountain models.

Bamboo is used for all the main tubes, although you can choose carbon chainstays for extra stiffness. The bamboo is smoked and heat treated before construction, to prevent splitting. The tubes are joined together using hemp fiber lugs, then everything gets coated with polyurethane.

The finished frames weigh four to six pounds, and are said to offer excellent vibration damping, while also providing good stiffness. Calfee claims that the bamboo is very crash-resistant, to the point where he doesn’t even offer carbon mountain bike frames anymore. Bamboo also, of course, has a much lower carbon footprint than traditional frame materials - only water and sun are required to produce it.

While Craig’s bikes are definitely aimed at the affluent buyer, he’s also trying to get inexpensive bamboo bikes into the hands of villagers in Ghana. In 1984, he came up with the idea of a bamboo bike program while visiting Africa. He noticed that there was a lot of bamboo, but not enough cargo bikes, and not enough jobs. Since that time, he has been working on teaching local entrepreneurs how to build their own bamboo bikes, and looking for sponsors to provide funding and supplies. He plans to extend the project to other developing nations.

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/calfee-design-bamboo-bikes/14378/

All of us here at the Alternative Fuels Vehicle Lab have been watching and waiting for news from the Automotive “X” Prize, that Multimillion Dollar prize contest for vehicles that get more than 100 miles per gallon and are capable of being put into production.  Finally, on April 7 this news item came out.  I highly recommend anybody who has an interest in alternative fuels and supermilage vehicles to check it out, especially the video.

111 Teams Get Green Light to Advance in Multimillion Dollar Competition

PLAYA VISTA, Calif., (April 7, 2009) –The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, a multimillion dollar competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles, today announced its official list of 111 Registered Teams.

Having passed this first wave of judging, these teams now move one step closer to competing for their share of a $10 million prize purse that will be awarded to teams that win a rigorous long distance stage competition and can exceed 100 MPG equivalent fuel economy (MPGe).

The teams, which collectively represent 136 vehicle entries with 14 different fuel sources, include diverse groups from 25 U.S. states and 11 countries. Established automakers, emerging start-ups, universities and inventors are among those represented. Six of the Registered Teams remain confidential….

Go to http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/news-events/press-release/111-teams-get-green-light-to-advance-in-multimillion-dollar-competition for the article

This article was on the ScienceDaily website today.  From below:  “The team hopes to improve on the current Dalhousie record of 420 kilometres per litre on regular unleaded gas, with a vision to beat the record at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas of 1,445 kilometers per litre.” 420 km/l equates to 988 mpg and 1445 km/l equates to almost 3400 mpg.  Maybe the AFV Lab Supermileage team can get some ideas from this article.

Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218223151.htm

Engineering Students Build And Design A Fuel-Stingy Vehicle

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Dalhousie University mechanical engineering students and the “Maritime Mileage Machine.” (Credit: Image courtesy of Dalhousie University)

ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2009) — With its light body made of Kevlar, sleek aerodynamic design and three Olympic-racing wheelchair tires, it looks like something that escaped from the Batcave.

But actually it’s a school project by a team of six Dalhousie University senior mechanical engineering students.

The ultimate in fuel efficiency, the “Maritime Mileage Machine” will be entered in the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas taking place on April 15 to 18 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The event challenges high school and post-secondary students across Canada, the U.S., Mexico and South America to design and build a vehicle that will drive the farthest using the least amount of energy.

The students who win will have a chance to make history and take home thousands of dollars in prize money.

“The main thing is to keep it simple and efficient,” explains Matthew Harding, the team’s manager. Other members include Liam Jeffrey, Craig Arthur, Chad Batterton, Brad Marcus and the driver Carmen McKnight. “The whole point of the competition is maximum fuel economy.”

The vehicle runs on a 35-cc engine—“It’s basically a big weed whacker,” says Mr. Harding.

The team hopes to improve on the current Dalhousie record of 420 kilometres per litre on regular unleaded gas, with a vision to beat the record at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas of 1,445 kilometers per litre.

“Considering the average car is getting about 30 miles per gallon (or 13 kms per litre), that’s pretty drastic.”

Carmen McKnight, selected for her petite size, will drive the vehicle while lying in a hammock-like seat with a headrest to prop up her head. She steers the car using handles on either side of her body.

Circuits are about seven miles long and the race will last roughly 45 minutes a circuit.

The team’s goal is to fine-tune their model and get in some practice time to be ready for the competition in April.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218223151.htm

Came across this item in the Science Daily newsletter I get. At first glance, it would seem to be a simple solution to the problem of efficient vehicle propulsion. The concept is to use compressed air to store energy instead of a battery as in a conventional hybrid vehicle. The curious twist here is using the compressed air to assist the conventional internal combustion engine by either direct pressure on the pistons or as a turbocharger. The theory seems to have merit; compressed air is as viable a means of storing energy as a battery and turbocharging can drastically improve the efficiency of an ICE. However, my personal experience with compressed air as a means of energy storage and transfer is that it is highly inefficient. There is quite a bit of heat generated when air is compressed. After all, a diesel engine depends upon the same heat of compression to ignite its fuel. Shop air compressors require substantial cooling fins on both compressor heads and on connecting piping and large fans to keep compressors from self destructing. And shop air is usually only about 120 psi or so. All this heat that must be expelled is lost energy. As a practical matter, I am skeptical of being able to design a compressor and pressure storage tank with enough capacity to overcome this heat loss and be practical and still be lighter than the electric motor, generator, and battery of a hybrid like the Prius or Escape.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090131113216.htm

Saving Gas: Pneumatic Hybrid Engine Is Much Cheaper Than Electric Hybrids And Almost As Economical

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Physics laboratory technician Till Coester works on the new hybrid engine being checked thoroughly on the test stand. (Credit: Photo: P. Rüegg / ETH Zurich)

ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2009) — A pneumatic hybrid engine could be used to power vehicles in the future. The benefit of this technology: it is much cheaper than today’s electric hybrids and almost just as economical.

The Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota has built a car, the “Prius”, which is seen as a concept for the future. It uses an electric hybrid engine to save fuel while still offering the usual drivability standards. However, this vehicle has a serious disadvantage. It is expensive and is unaffordable especially for consumers in up-and-coming countries such as China and India that are increasing rapidly their mobility demands. In addition, the battery needed by the electric hybrid as an energy storage device is heavy and expensive. Last but not least, the technology in the coupling between the gasoline engine and the electric drive is very complicated.

Simpler and cheaper

This is why Lino Guzzella, Professor of Thermotronics, does not think the electric hybrid is the only solution. As an experienced engineer, he therefore looked for an approach that was simpler than an electric hybrid but remained affordable even for people with less purchasing power. Guzzella explains that “The apple must be ripe but still hang just low enough to stay within reach.” The ‘fruit’ ripening in his group is the pneumatic hybrid drive. The concept is simpler than that of an electric hybrid: the new hybrid engine has a compressed air tank connected to the engine instead of a battery unit. When required, e.g. when starting from rest or after changing gear, compressed air flows into the engine through an electronically controlled valve. If fuel is also injected, the engine responds quickly. Although the system used to control the valve is also technologically complex, this challenge can be mastered nowadays thanks to powerful algorithms and computer systems.

The compressed air supply also allows the engine constructors led by Lino Guzzella to achieve extreme downsizing. Conventional car engines can have peak powers of 150 hp or more, but usually need no more than 30 hp for everyday driving. Downsizing the engine halves the number of cylinders from four to two. This also halves frictional losses and increases the engine’s average efficiency. To keep the maximum power and thus satisfy the consumer’s drivability demands, the engine is highly supercharged by a turbocharger – which exploits the exhaust gas enthalpy as an energy source, and which boosts the to the desired levels..

Efficiency up by a third

Initial tests on the test stand in the ETH Zurich Machinery Laboratory show that Guzzella and his group are on the right track. They were able to increase the engine’s average efficiency in the European Test Cycle from 18 to 24 percent. This corresponds to a fuel saving of one third. Energy savings of up to 50 percent are achievable in purely urban traffic, because the engine can pump air into the compressed air tank during braking, thus recovering the kinetic energy.

Although the fuel saving achieved by the pneumatic hybrid is not as large as that of an electric hybrid, it still amounts to 80 percent of the latter. In return, the price-performance ratio is distinctly better. So good, in fact, that Guzzella can imagine the pneumatic hybrid also being suitable for use in poorer countries. He estimates the additional costs compared to a conventional gasoline engine to be approximately 20 percent. On the other hand, the additional costs for an electric hybrid are calculated to be at least 200 percent.

Motor manufacturers interested

The new engine concept has aroused the interest of several major motor companies and automitive suppliers, who have obtained information on-site. Some of the ideas of the new concept have already been patented. Only the financial crisis and the global recession worry Guzzella slightly. He says that these are difficult times in which to launch a new drive concept. Nevertheless, he is convinced that he will find people interested in adopting this system, since no other technology is on the horizon that could replace the internal combustion engine, even in the next two decades. This is why the way leads via hybrid concepts, which remain affordable while retaining the advantages of a gasoline or diesel engine.

Source:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090131113216.htm

I ran across this item on the Autobloggreen.com website today. The picture doesn’t really correspond to the title’s promise, as the four seat, wheelchair accessible version would be the one most likely to use Handicapped Parking. However, it uses diesel power in a Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Diesel makes more sense in a PHEV, to my way of thinking. When you consider all the single speed stationary pumps and generators out there that are diesel powered and have already proven their efficiency and durability, it is evident that diesel would be a logical choice for recharging batteries in a PHEV. After all, there are thousands of diesel powered semitrailer refrigeration units like ThermoKing or TransiCold out there plugging merrily along for years in applications and environments that make a PHEV look like a garden party. And all of the modern diesel emissions controls like regenerative particulate filters and high pressure common rail fuel injection systems make the “stinking, smoking old diesel” a thing of the past. Diesel seems like the ideal ICE solution for a PHEV. Go to http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/02/01/whats-green-three-wheeled-and-can-park-by-the-blue-signs/ to see the original post and comments. Also, go to http://www.biotrike.com/ for the home page of the Bio-Trike.

What’s green, three-wheeled and can park by the blue signs?

by Sebastian Blanco on Feb 1st 2009 at 9:24AM

Using fewer resources to get around isn’t limited to any particular group of people. Heck, there are more 43 percent electric wheelchairs in the U.S. than electric vehicles (this statistic brought to you by the Department of Made Up statistics, but I hope my point is clear). If you often travel in a wheelchair but like the idea of an aerodynamic, biofuelled ride for your longer trips, check out the BioTrike-B3XH. Sure, all of the standard add-on equipment that helps the differently-abled (is that the right term these days?) drive an SUV would work just as well on the Volt or the Focus EV, but the BioTrike (the four-seat version, anyway) has been designed from the ground up to be accessible to people who use a wheelchair or are in other ways physically handicapped.

The BioTrike is a tadpole-style three-wheeled plug-in hybrid vehicle that burns diesel (or biodiesel, natch) in a Caterpillar-sourced engine. The builders claim that the range with a full tank and a full charge is somewhere between 700 and 900 miles. They don’t give a lot of details on the powertrain, but do say that the BioTrike has a 50-mile electric-only range. Prices start at $23,999 for the two-seat version and rise to $35,999 for the four-seat, wheelchair-ready version. Options extra.

Source:  http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/02/01/whats-green-three-wheeled-and-can-park-by-the-blue-signs/

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

Bellow is an excerpt from this article on the greencarcongress.com blog this morning.  Direct Injection may be an idea whose time has come.  Go to http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/10/hotfire-project.html#more to read the full article.  The article states the strategy achieves an approximate 15% fuel savings through use of direct injection and variable valve timing.

HOTFIRE Project Wins Engineering Award; Homogeneous Direct Injection with Fully Variable Valve Train

21 October 2008

Project HOTFIRE has taken the top award in the automotive sector in ‘The Engineer Technology + Innovation Awards 2008’ in the UK. The project team, comprising engine designers from Lotus Engineering, fuel injection specialists from Continental Powertrain and thermodynamics and mechanics experts from University College London and Loughborough University, developed a gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine concept that reduces fuel consumption by 15%. The project was funded by EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council).

The end application of this project is a direct injection spark ignition engine architecture that does not require stratified lean burn combustion to achieve the approximate 15% fuel savings. This ensures that the system can be used over all speed/load ranges and eliminates the need for an expensive lean NO_x trap which is usually required when lean combustion is employed.

—Geraint Castleton-White, Head of Powertrain at Lotus Engineering…

Source: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/10/hotfire-project.html#more