IEEE Consultants' Network of Long Island

DETROIT SHEDS POUNDS FOR GAS-MILEAGE GAINS-----Carl Schwab

In the 14 January 2013, WSJ, the above article title appeared and caught the writer’s eye. To summarize the thrust of the article, within four to six years, car companies will roll out vehicles completely redesigned and built using a mixture of specialized materials. The federal government is requiring auto makers produce vehicle fleets that average 54.5 mpg by 2025. Europe has similar limits in place.

Shaving weight is one strategy auto makers will use to help reach these goals. Ducker Worldwide, a market researcher based in Troy Michigan, predicts the average vehicle will shed 400 pounds by 2025 through a doubling use of aluminum. Steel, which now accounts for 56% of the average vehicle, is expected to fall to 46% according to the group. The group predicts that magnesium will replace steel in many parts and even today this is starting to happen selectively. Also they expect that aluminiium will be used extensively for main frames. Also they expect that polycarbonate plastic will replace glass now used for side windows reducing that weight component by about one-half.

LEAD-ACID BATTERIES GET NEW LOOK-SEE-----Carl Schwab

Using a souped-up version of a chemistry that’s been around since the days of Edison, a Detroit area start-up wants to slash the costs of batteries for hybrids and PHVs. The new company, EPS, (Energy Power Systems) claim it has boosted the POWER density (not to be confused with ENERGY density) and cycle-life of the venerable lead-acid battery, without touching the low costs that made it desirable in the first place.

SOME BACKGROUND—The lead-acid battery technology is basic to the fact that every car has a starter which by all standards is a horrible battery load. But it is serendipity. The starter motor while starting the ICE has to produce very high torque and good speed. This requires very high battery current. Once the ICE has started the battery must be recharged quickly at a high charge rate to replace the depleted charge. Lead-acid can do both---deliver very high current for a short period and then accept a very high recharge current to replace the depleted charge. This is a demanding POWER load. So people expect about 5-7 years of service from a lead-acid battery that has a nominal Amp-hr capacity of say 90 Ahr at a reasonable cost. What EPS is attempting to do is combine an EV battery pack in 2 parallel parts; one with POWER density and one with ENERGY density i.e. one for acceleration/braking and the other for electric range. Other experimenters have had simuliar ideas combining a SuperCap with Li-ion. EPS just may have something here.

FORD QUESTIONS EPA MILEAGE TESTING---Carl Schwab

Ford Motor Co. is trying to turn the tables in a controversy over fuel economy ratings for some of its new hybrids, suggesting the problem is how the government ratings for such cars are calculated. I must say at this point, as the writer of the BLOG I have to agree---the ratings can be misleading. Specifically Ford’s C-Max hybrid wagon and Fusion hybrid are rated 47 mpg, using the method developed by EPA, Environmental Protection Agency. But in road tests by Consumer Reports magazine, the C-Max and the Fusion are rated 37 and 39 mpg respectively. Ford said the EPA test may require modifications to more accurately reflect a hybrid's fuel economy.

In EPA-designed tests, a vehicle’s wheels sit on giant metal spinning drums that run through a driving cycle meant to capture city and highway scenarios, including stops, starts, heavy acceleration and highway driving speeds. Most of the highway testing is done at an average speed of 48 mph, below the 62 mph threshold of the Ford vehicles. However, most customers typically drive faster than 48 mph on the highway and accelerate faster than required to keep the car in the electric mode, eliminating or reducing much of the hybrid’s benefit.

UPDATE ON HYBRID & EV CAR TECHNOLOGY-----Carl Schwab

This BLOG is intended to provide an update on Hybrid and EV (electric only) car status as of end of 2012. At this point in time the Toyota PRIUS is the most successful Hybrid (including PHV). At this time more than 1 million PRIUS have been sold world-wide. Currently 5 models are offered and customer satisfaction is high. The writer knows several owners that are on the second, third or even fourth PRIUS. They are not perfect but they are damn good. In spite of this good performance, Toyota readily admits that the PRIUS does not have the profit margins of it conventional cars and in fact has an aggressive campaign in place to reduce the manufacturing cost of the PRIUS. Most of the other car manufacturers that are offering Hybrids are avoiding competing with the PRIUS and trying to find other features that they can offer to fetch a significantly higher price. So towards this end Hybrids offered by Cadillac, BMW, Audi, Mercedes are offering AWD and 8-speed transmission as inducements to make the sale. These Hybrids are slightly different and use KERS, Kinetic Energy Recovery System, and stress recovery of KE into either SuperCap or small Li-ion battery for immediate reuse to reaccelerate. The thrust is to reduce the weight carried for electric storage. Not surprising the sell price is now upwards of $90,000------the apparent philosophy is to make it luxury and hope the price is less of a consideration. FWIW Audi is also experimenting with hybrid all-wheel-drive systems that use electric motors instead of gears, and fiber optics instead of drive shafts.

VOLT STORY CONTINUES-----Carl Schwab

The writer has written BLOGs regarding GM/Chevy problems trying to find customers willing to pay the VERY high price for the VOLT. It appears that GM/Chevy has decided to present the VOLT as on “extended range electric” rather than a HYBRID. The VOLT, full charge, full tank will go 40 miles on electric and 340 miles on ICE. If your local driving is less than 40 miles per day then you don’t have to use the ICE.

THEY JUST MAY HAVE SOMETHING!

A123 Battery Maker Files Bankruptcy-----Carl Schwab

Electric-car-battery manufacturer A123 Systems Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy October 16, 2012. The reason for the BLOG is that the writer is a little bit acquainted with A123 and understands how un-intended consequences have set in. The writer has used Li-Fe type cells from A123 for hobby purposes for several years in preference to either Li-ion or Li-po. Reason being that the A123 cells are tougher and can take more accidental abuse than either the Li-ion or Li-po and won’t burst into flames. This small market in the RC hobbies came about because A123 produced a 2.3 Ahr cylinder cell that functions quite well in power hand-tools. The above has taken place over the last 6-10 years. After getting itself established in the handtool market, A123 attempted to penetrate the EV or E-car battery pack field.

TOYOTA PILES INTO HYBRIDS-------Carl Schwab

Some of this information comes from an article appearing in the WSJ September 25, 2012. Toyota Motor Corp appears to be putting its full weight behind hybrids and perhaps placing a side-bet on the EV as well. Japan’s largest auto maker predicted it sales of hybrids world-wide will likely top one million this year and every year through 2015. Toyota’s most popular Hybrid, the PRIUS, is now offered in 5-different models.

While the rollout and forecast signal Toyota’s confidence in it hybrids, the company acknowledges cost must still be cut further to increase profitability and spur sales. “Profits from conventional (gas) powered cars are still higher, so we need to reduce hybrid costs more in order to promote diffusion”. Hybrids are becoming more main-stream in Japan. Toyota’s sales of gasoline-electric vehicles last year reached 310,000 or 26% of its total sales. But they remain a niche in other important markets, such as the U.S. Last year, Toyota sold 178,600 hybrid models in the U.S., just a fraction of the 1.64 million vehicles sold here in 2011.

New Cab Plan Curbs Hybrids--------Carl Schwab

 November 24, 2010 I wrote a BLOG entitled “CAB OF FUTURE: STILL YELLOW, BUT DIFFERENT”. In that BLOG I questioned how this new project fit in. I was not sure. It would be obvious if this "CAB OF THE FUTURE" was required to be a hybrid AND meet a stated minimum MPG. But such is NOT the case. In the September 20, 2012 WSJ the top title appears.

New York City taxi officials are expected Thursday to approve one of the most sweeping changes in years, ratifying the Nissan-built, NV-200 as the ONLY acceptable new yellow cab starting 2013. Conversion is to be completed within 3 years.

KERS-------VS------BER-----Carl Schwab

KERS and BER are acronyms; Kinetic Energy Recovery System and Brake Energy Recovery respectively-------i.e. related to brakes they mean the same thing. Actually BER is more specific while KERS can relate to KE more generally. BER pretty specifically relates to regenerative braking. KERS is somewhat more broad.

BER is used in both EV (electric only) and HYBRID vehicles and is needed to improve the mileage. In this context the BER idea is coupled to the electrically driven wheels and during stopping can provide re-charge energy into the main battery. I have written BLOGS on this subject and won’t repeat that here.

Kwh---Mwh---Gwh---?------Carl Schwab

These three abbreviation stand for Kilowatt-hour, Megawatt-hour and Gigawatt- hour.  They are measures of energy and are related to each by 1000 i.e. Megawatt is 1000 times a Kilowatt and a Gigawatt is 1000 times a Megawatt.

When we talk about the energy in say an EV or a home Kilowatt-hour is convenient. When we speak about peaking generators, the Megawatt-hour is convenient. When you start speaking about a state or a collection of states then the Gigawatt-hour is needed.

For example an EV such as the Nissan Leaf has a battery capacity of 23 Kwh and a range of 70 to 100 miles depending upon how you drive it. My home has a 200 amp service, hence can draw up to 200 x 240= 48,000 wh or 48 Kwh. Now that is a maxed out case but Kwh fits for comparison.