Kung Lee
QMCS 425
Hybrid cars
Have you ever seen a car like this
and thought
to yourself that that was the ugliest car you have ever seen? Who would want to buy that ugly thing? Or maybe you thought it was the coolest car
on the block. Whatever the sense,
that’s what is called a hybrid car.
What is a hybrid?
Any vehicle can be a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power together. For example, a mo-ped (a motorized pedal bike) is a type of hybrid because it combines the power of a gasoline engine with the pedal power of the rider.
Little do we know hybrid vehicles are all around us. Most of the locomotives we see pulling trains are desil-electric hybrids. Cities like Seattle have diesel-electric buses, which can generate electric power from overhead wires or operate on diesel when they are away from the wires. Huge mining trucks are some example of and often diesel electric hybrids. Other interesting hybrid vehicles are Submarine, some are nucular-electric and some are desil-electric. Basically any vehicle that operates from two or more sources of power is a hybrid. The gasoline-electric hybrid car is a cross between a gasoline-powered car and an electric car.
The key to a hybrid car is that the gasoline engine can be much smaller than the one in a conventional car and therefore more efficient. Hybrids give you 20 or 30 more miles per gallon than the standard automobile. The more gas a car burns, the more pollution it creates.
Overview of Hybrid components
Hybrid cars contains a:
Gasoline engine - much like the one on most cars however the engine on a hybrid will be smaller and use advanced technologies to reduce emissions and increase efficiency.
Fuel tank – the energy storage device for the gasoline engine. Gasoline has much higher energy density than batteries do. For example, it takes about 1,000 pounds of batteries to store as much energy as 1 gallon (7 pounds) of gasoline.
Electric motor – on a hybrid car is very sophisticated. Advanced electronics allow it to act as a motor as well as a generator. For example, when it needs to, it can draw energy from batteries to accelerate the car. When it acts like a generator, it can slow the car down and return energy to the batteries.
Generator – similar to an electric motor, but it acts only to pro duce electrical power.
Batteries – the energy storage device for the electric motor. The electric motor on a hybrid car can put energy into the batteries as well as draw energy from them.
Transmission – performs same basic function as the transmission on a regular vehicle.
Hybrid Efficiency
A hybrid car can:
Recover energy and store it in the battery. Energy is removed from the car whenever you step on the brakes. The faster your car goes, the more kinetic energy it has. Braking eliminates this energy and turns it to heat. A hybrid car can catch some of this energy and store it in the batter for later use by using “regenerative braking.” Meaning that the electric motor can stop the car as well as the brakes.
Engine can shut off sometimes – A hybrid car can sometimes turn off the gasoline engine, for example when the vehicle is stopping at a red light, because it does not need to rely on the gasoline engine all of the time; it has an alternate power source, the electric motor and batteries.
Use advanced aerodynamics to reduce drag – Aerodynamic drag is the force that your engine uses to push the car, like going down the freeway. Reducing or eliminating disturbances around objects that stick out from the car can help improve aerodynamics.
Use low-rolling resistance tires – Hybrid cars use stiffer and inflated to a higher pressure than conventional tires, causing only half of the drag as regular tires.
Use lightweight materials – uses composite materials like carbon fiber or lightweight metals like aluminum and magnesium to reduce weight to increase the mileage.
What’s available now?
Honda Insight Toyota Prius
Available May 2000 First appeared in Japan in Dec. 1998,
5-speed manual transmission available for USA in summer 2000
1-litre VTEC-E gasoline engine 1.5-litre gasoline engine
67 horsepower @ 5700 rpm 70 horsepower @ 4,500 rmp
61 mpg in city, 52 in hwy
about $18,000 about $20,000
Ford Escape SUV Chrysler Citadel
Available 2003 3.5-litre v-6 gasoline engine
2-litre gasoline tank traveling up to 500 miles 253 horsepower
est. $18,725 - $21,900 27 miles to gallon in city
33 miles to gallon in highway
In Conclusion, you might wonder why build such a complex car? Why build hybrids and replace the old cars when most people are perfectly happy with gasoline-powered cars. The reason is twofold:
Reduce tailpipe emissions and to improve mileage.
Resources:
http://www.hybridford.com/index.asp