Ion engines work their magic in slow motion. An ion engine can push gently for months or even years - as long as the sun shines and a small fuel supply lasts. Since normal-sized solar panels deliver only a few kilowatts of power, a solar-powered ion engine can't compete with the whizz of a chemical rocket—however, a typical chemical rocket burns for only a few minutes.
In 1998, NASA launched the Deep Space 1 demonstration spacecraft, which flew past a near-Earth asteroid and intercepted a comet. With much less chemical support, ESA's SMART-1 probe only made it as far as the Moon. However, it demonstrated the more delicate operations needed for distant missions. These will combine solar-electric propulsion with manoeuvres using the gravity of planets and moons.
The Koenigsegg Gemera is a four-seat hypercar that can do 0-62 mph in a claimed 1.9 seconds, but perhaps the most remarkable thing about this Swedish rocket ship is its 2.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-3, which makes a staggering 600 horsepower (plus 443 pound-feet of torque).
Jason Fenske at Engineering Explained has the details on how Koenigsegg extracted so much power from such a small engine. It starts with the cylinders. There may not be many of them, but they are pretty big. They're actually larger than the cylinders in Koenigsegg's 5.0-liter V8, Fenske noted.
Koenigsegg also dialed this engine up to 11. Its twin turbos produce a lot of boost (29 psi) but, like a naturally aspirated engine, the 3-cylinder can also rev high. Redline is at 8,500 rpm. That means the pistons move extremely fast. The speed is about the same as that of current Formula One engines, according to Fenske.
The 3-cylinder engine also uses Koenigsegg's cam-less FreeValve system. This allows greater control over valve operation, providing more opportunities to make power. The downsides are complexity, cost (you won't be seeing FreeValve on a Ford Fiesta or Mini Cooper anytime soon), and the extra energy needed to drive the pneumatic actuators that open and close the valves.
FreeValve did make the complicated 3-cylinder twin-turbo setup work, though. Each cylinder has one set of exhaust valves for each turbo. FreeValve allows one of those valves to stay closed at lower rpm, meaning only one turbo is used. That allows the single turbo to spool up faster. At higher rpm, the second valve opens and exhaust gases are sent to both turbos.
Mounted behind the rear seats, the 3-cylinder engine works with two electric motors, for a total of 1,700 hp. Some of that power can be sent to the front wheels via a torque tube and clutch assembly, giving the Gemera all-wheel drive. A 16.6-kilowatt-hour battery pack provides the electricity, and allows for around 30 miles of electric driving, as measured on the European testing cycle.
Gemera production will be limited to 300 units at an unspecified price. That's exclusive even compared to many other supercars, but will still make the Gemera the most prolific Koenigsegg to date.
Koenigsegg has confirmed that it is working on a 1.6L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, but don’t expect to see it in any of their vehicles any time soon. In an interview, Christian von Koenigsegg, the company’s founder, confirmed that the Swedish supercar maker is working on a high-performance 4-cylinder engine on behalf of Chinese automaker Qoros.
“We are currently working on a 1.6-litre engine with Chinese carmaker Qoros that will have the potential to produce 400hp (298kW) or more,” von Koenigsegg said. “The same principles with which we designed the Agera and Regera engines can be applied to these smaller engines.”
That means that for now, Koenigsegg will stick to producing insanely powerful supercars with their large displacement engines. So the Koenigsegg/Qoros engine collaboration is only intended as a proof of concept at this stage, with the Swedish car maker keen to show that through careful engineering heat dissipation in such a small engine can be kept in check.
To improve the engine’s efficiency, Koenigsegg has employed forged pistons and connecting rods, and high quality valves. Although von Koenigsegg considers electric compressors interesting, it was ruled out for this project as it was deemed too “clumsy, expensive and heavy”.
Koenigsegg and Qoros are working together on other projects. At the recent Beijing motor show, Qoros and Freevalve, Koenigsegg’s sister company, unveiled the ‘Qamfree’ engine that does away with camshafts in favour of Freevalve’s Pneumatic-Hydraulic-Electric-Actuator technology.
]]>The engine with two shafts are rotates in opposite directions through synchronizing gears, with four rotors moving in pairs on the two shafts. The first pair handles intake and compression, while the second pair performs the combustion and exhaust stroke. These are supplemented by a rotary plate valve and a prechamber, which are located between the two pairs of rotors. This is where the fuel is injected.
The principles of operation of this engine are a little more difficult for a layman like you or me to understand. Fortunately, Astreon has shown us a detailed video to help us visualize the whole process. The video also describes in detail the different parts of the engine and their role in the combustion process. Thanks to the precision craftsmanship, this engine doesn't need any seals to keep the fluids inside. This incredibly simple design could be considered a threat to the future of electric vehicles, promising a long life with little maintenance required.
As the company's name suggests, it should be an ideal aero engine that is lightweight and powerful while being completely vibration-free. It could also power a all vehicles, from motorcycles to the heavy machinery. According to Astreon, the new combustion engine is capable of developing 160 hp and 170 lb-ft (230 Nm) of torque, while weighing just 35 kg. (15.9 kg). It reaches idle speed at 1,000 rpm, but can reach up to 25,000 rpm at full load.
Of course, Astreon suggests that you could daisy-chain two or more of these engines to get more power, and we suppose bigger ones can be built. There are no sealing issues with this engine concept, unlike a conventional rotary engine. Astreon also promises that it can run on a variety of fuels with very low emissions. Sounds a little too good, but we'll certainly keep an eye on this engine and see how it develops in the future.
The water fuel cell is a technical design of a "perpetual motion machine" created by American Stanley Allen Meyer (August 24, 1940 – March 20, 1998). Meyer claimed that an automobile retrofitted with the device could use water as fuel instead of gasoline. Meyer's claims about his "Water Fuel Cell" and the car that it powered were found to be fraudulent by an Ohio court in 1996.
In a news report on an Ohio TV station, Meyer demonstrated a dune buggy he claimed was powered by his water fuel cell. He estimated that only 22 US gallons (83 liters) of water were required to travel from Los Angeles to New York.[11] Furthermore, Meyer claimed to have replaced the spark plugs with "injectors" that introduced a hydrogen/oxygen mixture into the engine cylinders. The water was subjected to an electrical resonance that dissociated it into its basic atomic make-up. The water fuel cell would split the water into hydrogen and oxygen gas, which would then be combusted back into water vapor in a conventional internal combustion engine to produce net energy.[3]
Philip Ball, writing in the academic journal Nature, characterized Meyer's claims as pseudoscience, noting that "It's not easy to establish how Meyer's car was meant to work, except that it involved a fuel cell that was able to split water using less energy than was released by recombination of the elements ... Crusaders against pseudoscience can rant and rave as much as they like, but in the end, they might as well accept that the myth of water as a fuel is never going to go away."[2]
To date, no peer-reviewed studies of Meyer's devices have been published in the scientific literature. An article in journal Nature described Meyer's claims as one more "water as fuel" myth.[2]
In 1996 Meyer was sued by two investors to whom he had sold dealerships, offering the right to do business in Water Fuel Cell technology. His car was due to be examined by the expert witness Michael Laughton, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Queen Mary, University of London and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. However, Meyer made what Professor Laughton considered a "lame excuse" on the days of examination and did not allow the test to proceed.[3]According to Meyer, the technology was patent pending and under investigation by the patent office, the Department of Energy and the military.[citation needed] His "water fuel cell" was later examined by three expert witnesses[who?] in court who found that there "was nothing revolutionary about the cell at all and that it was simply using conventional electrolysis." The court found Meyer had committed "gross and egregious fraud" and ordered him to repay the two investors their $25,000.[3]
Stanley Meyer died suddenly on March 20, 1998, after dining at a restaurant. His brother claimed that during a meeting with two Belgian investors in a restaurant, Meyer suddenly ran outside, saying "They poisoned me".[1] After an investigation, the Grove City police went with the Franklin County coroner report that ruled that Meyer, who had high blood pressure, died of a cerebral aneurysm.[1] Some of Meyer's supporters believe that he was assassinated to suppress his inventions.[1][2][12]
Meyer's patents have expired. His inventions are now in the public domain, available for all to use without restriction or royalty payment.[13] No engine or vehicle manufacturer has incorporated Meyer's work.[14][15]
[5]
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iesel cars should be phased out to cut the tens of thousands of deaths caused each year from air pollution, the government’s chief medical officer has said.The AA also warned that diesel car drivers were unfairly targeted when haulage was the biggest problem. Many bought their cars during Gordon Brown’s "dash for diesel" when ownership was encouraged to tackle climate change by cutting carbon dioxide emissions.“Diesel car drivers are seen as an easy target but that is really missing the point, and barking up the wrong tree,” said Luke Bosdet, AA spokesman.“If you are going to have ever-increasing numbers of people living in urban areas then they need to be serviced with goods, and their waste is taken away. It is the big delivery and refuses trucks that are largely to blame for diesel emissions, so until there is a strategy to replace them, penalizing car drivers won’t do much good.“The fact is, diesel is 15-20 percent more efficient, and until there is a new technology that can take over from it, I can’t see how it can be phased out.”
Councillor Georgina Milne has described air pollution as the biggest public health concern of our generation.
The comments from the Ormiston Councillor come as a new report was published linking air pollution to lower IQ and impaired cognitive function.
Cllr Georgina Milne said:
“The evidence tells us that air pollution is one of the biggest public health concerns of our generation.
“More people die from air pollution in Northern Ireland than from passive smoking and road traffic collisions combined.
“Exhaust fumes and pollution from cars are some of the biggest sources of air pollution linked to factors such as stroke, heart disease and as this report highlights, low IQ.
“This study has shown that older people are most vulnerable to mental impairment as a result of air pollution. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to take the steps necessary to curb the disastrous effects of air pollution”.
Cllr Milne continued:
“It’s critical that government policies support people in getting out of their cars and using public transport and where possible, into active travel like cycling and walking”.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/08/21/1809474115
Since 1998, there has been a problem with almost one-third of CO emissions in all types of engines.
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She has taken the next step towards the future of non-emission trucks. The new introduced at the Car Center in northern Michigan, with the internal designation "Beta", extends the capabilities of the first Project Portal test truck by extending the journey to more than 480 km per filling.
It also offers greater versatility and maneuverability thanks to a new sleeping cabin and a unique fuel cabinet, which has increased the space for the crew without prolonging the rifle.
The Project Portal "Alpha" truck has passed nearly 16,000 test kilometers with a trailer since its launch in April 2017. It was under realistic conditions of short-haul transport in the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports and their surroundings. Except for water vapor, it did not produce any emissions. A short-distance ride will begin this autumn, increasing the freight-free freight capacity in these ports and again contributing to reducing the environmental impact of transport.
Longer driving and improved processes
Project Portal 2.0 takes advantage of the experience gained since the launch of Alpha in 2017. The first heavy truck was the result of Toyota project teamwork and gradually transformed from the original concept into a full-fledged short-haul truck over the course of a single year. The engineers and technicians in this demanding project have adapted cable harnesses, electronics and other components of two Mirai series fuel cell vehicles. The goal was to create one of the world's first heavy-duty trucks with zero emissions.
The results of their work are surprising. The Alpha truck, with a capacity of more than 493 kW (670 hp), with a total weight of approximately 36,300 kg and a maximum of 320 km per filling, has a torque of 1800 Nm. Two sets of Mirai fuel cells and a 12 kWh battery are behind. Torque and performance values remain the same for the Project Portal Beta, but they have been able to extend vehicle performance while improving other key parameters.
The whole Project Portal project has been in the spirit of Toyota's innovative traditions, dating back to the time of its entry into the automotive world. A1, the first sedan from Toyota, came about in the same way as the original Project Portal truck - through experiments, attempts, and mistakes, including a lot of effort. After finishing in 1935, the A1 sedan was tested by Kiičirom Toyoda, founder of the company and then turned to the first commercially offered Toyoda AA.
In the same spirit, the knowledge gained from the development of the first freight vehicle has been used to create Project Portal 2.0, which is more sophisticated and offers better functionality and capabilities. Toyota is also committed to supporting the development of a consumer-focused hydrogen infrastructure in the future in order to make full use of the potential of fuel cell vehicles.
H2 drop in the sea
In the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles today, more than 16,000 trucks are produced that produce harmful emissions. It is expected that this number will increase. In all US ports, more than 43,000 trucks are used for short-haul transport, which negatively affects the production of large amounts of carcinogens, solid particles from diesel engines and other pollutants emitted into the air in ports and their environs.
"The purpose of developing the first costly vehicle was to find out if we could do what we could," commented Craig Scott, senior manager of Toyota's electrified vehicle and technology office in North America. "This time we focus on commercial viability. We want to achieve a significant difference in terms of air quality not only in the LA region but also across the US and around the world."
This is not the end of a truck
Toyota's new truck follows the Toyota Strategic Program "Environmental Challenge 2050" to eliminate CO2 emissions produced by Toyota Logistics Services at Long Beach. Toyota has previously announced the construction of the Tri-Gen plant, which will be the world's first-megawatt fuel cell fueled fuel cell, including a hydrogen pumping station. The plant, based on 100% renewable fuel, will use agricultural waste to produce water, electricity, and hydrogen.
Source: https://podkapotou.zoznam.sk/cl/1000612/1729589/Toyota-ma-vodikovy-kamion--prejde-480-km-na-jedno-natankovanie
The goal of the research was to investigate the effect that PM2.5 - the smallest and most harmful particle in the air - has on sperm quality. PM2.5 is caused by vehicles, construction dust, and wood burning.
To determine this, the scientists studied multiple sperm samples from each man, creating three-month and two-year averages. "Because a spermatogenic cycle is around three months, we calculated three-month average concentration...to assess the short-term effects. We also calculated two-year average concentration...as an indicator of long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 air pollution,"the researchers wrote. They noted that semen quality was "assessed according to the WHO (World Health Organization) 1999 guidelines."
The scientists matched each sperm sample date with records of air quality surrounding each participant's home during the relevant time period. "The south-western and middle-eastern areas [of Taiwan] were generally the most and least heavily polluted, respectively. Most of the participants lived in the western area with apparent gradients of exposure," the researchers wrote.
The scientists ultimately found a strong link between PM2.5 exposure and abnormal sperm size and shape. They noted that every increment of 5 µg/m3 in a two-year average of PM2.5 is associated with a decrease of 1.29 percent in normal sperm morphology and a 26-percent increased risk of being in the bottom 10 percent of normal morphology.
The findings could, according to the researchers, "result in a significant number of couples with infertility." They noted, however, that they did not assess any potential fertility problems of the men which could have affected their sperm morphology. "We, therefore, could not exclude the possible influence of infertility disorders for some of the participants, but it should not affect our conclusions because PM2.5 exposure was unlikely to be differentially distributed among fertile and infertile participants," they wrote.
In their conclusion, the researchers advocated global strategies on the mitigation of air pollution in order to improve reproductive health. They also called for further studies on the topic.
The research was published in the journal BMJ Open. It is believed to be the largest study investigating the health effects of PM2.5 air pollution on semen quality.
Discarded plastic could be used to fuel cars in the future thanks to a ground-breaking process developed by scientists from Swansea University.
They have been able to transform unwanted plastic into hydrogen which in turn could be used to run cars.
Dr. Moritz Kuehnel of the University’s chemistry department explains how light-absorbing material is added to the plastic before it is placed in an alkaline solution and then exposed to sunlight, which creates hydrogen.
He said this process could be cheaper than recycling because any kind of plastic can be used and it does not need to be cleaned first.
“There’s a lot of plastic used every year – billions of tonnes – and only a fraction of it is being recycled. We are trying to find a use for what is not being recycled,” he told BBC.
Most plastic bottles are made from PET [polyethylene terephthalate] which can be recycled but often end up being burned or thrown into a landfill.
Kuehnel said: “But even if you do recycle it, it needs to be very pure – so only PET, nothing else mixed in with it… and it has to be clean, no grease, no oil.
“Potentially, you need to wash it which is very expensive, and even if you do all of that, the plastic you get isn’t always as nice as virgin material,” he added. “The beauty of this process is that it’s not very picky. It can degrade all sorts of waste.
“Even if there is food or a bit of grease from a margarine tub, it doesn’t stop the reaction, it makes it better.
“The process produces hydrogen gas. You can see bubbles coming off the surface. You can use it, for example, to fuel a hydrogen car.”
However, he warned that rolling out the project on an industrial level may still be years away.
Kuehnel added that the work, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and an Austrian petrochemical company, had also shown how the remains of the plastic could be recycled to make new plastic.
Just one part of PET is used to produce the hydrogen and carbon dioxide – the other part stays intact and remains in the solution.
He said: “We get the hydrogen fuel and we get a chemical we can use to make new plastic.
“We don’t make a full new plastic, we use just half of the material to make new plastic and the rest can be recycled – a clean, clear water bottle out of plastic.”
Reprinted from Swansea University
Are you thinking about leasing the Honda Clarify Fuel Cell Hydrogen Electric Car? Honda Hydrogen Electric has now revealed that the vehicle will cost $369/m and 36 months. The first plan was USD500 so a great deal; a new plan for the 2017 year is now much better than before.
Signed the Honda Clarity Hydrogen Electric, customers, will have to prepareUSD2499 when customers sign up for the Honda Hydrogen Electric Car lease. The Clarity Hydrogen Electric will be available at 12 of the fuel cell hydrogen-electric car dealers, that Honda has in the countries across of the world. Currently in Southern California is six, in Bay Area is five and in Sacramento one.
Honda Hydrogen Electric Fuel Cell is not the only keeping things low as well. Toyota has also announced that its customers can now lease the Toyota Mirai for only $349 a month this year.
Vehicles powered by electricity, such as fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) can store, or generate, significant amounts of electricity. By utilizing this electricity, vehicles can act as a “power source on wheels” in various situations.
By connecting Honda’s Power Exporter 9000 portable external power output device to vehicles equipped with external power output, various electrical equipment (up to 9kVA) can be powered. Connected to the Clarity Fuel Cell, the Power Exporter 9000 can supply enough electricity to power an average home for approximately seven days.
Vehicles Direct Current (DC) Output electricity, which cannot be used to power supply household electrical equipment, which is requiring AC alternating current electricity. The vehicle’s DC must be converted to AC. Power Exporter 9000 is the interface that enables vehicles and electrical equipment to “get connected"
Honda Power Exporter 9000 is powered by vehicles equipped with external power DC output. After confirming the vehicle is ready to output electricity, the car is to connect to the Honda Power Exporter 9000, which is switched to position ON. Honda Hydrogen Electric Power Exporter 9000 is communicating with the car, and once ready draws DC electricity from the car, converted to AC outputted power electricity which can be used to power supply household customers' electrical devices. The Honda Hydrogen Electric Power Exporter 9000 can output both AC100V and AC200V simultaneously, powering a wide range of user devices- from low-load electronics such as smartphones to high-load appliances such as lights and heating...