Diff’rent Strokes Alternative Power for Automobiles Matt Merritt.
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Transcript of Diff’rent Strokes Alternative Power for Automobiles Matt Merritt.
Diff’rent Strokes
Alternative Power for Automobiles
Matt Merritt
Background: Internal Combustion
• An engine, such as an automotive gasoline or diesel piston engine, in which fuel is burned within the engine rather than in an external furnace, as in a steam engine.
• First design drawn by Christian Huygens in 1680 and used gun powder as fuel.
• Established primary use in automobiles by Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler in the late 19th Century.
How It Works
• Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine: 4 stages of movement:
– Intake- fuel is added
– Compression- fuel is compressed
– Combustion- fuel explodes
– Exhaust- burn-off leaves cylinder
Pros and Cons
Pros• Dependable and long-lasting• Already has stations for refueling, no need for upgrades
or brand new pump stations• Relatively inexpensive
Cons• Emissions cause pollution• Very inefficient, only 25-30% average• Rate of consumption of fossil fuels expected to leave oil
reserves dry by the mid 21st Century
Background: Hybrid Engine
• Hybrid engines: Internal combustion engines that utilize electronic motors for improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions.
• Has been proven to nearly double overall fuel efficiency in automobiles. Cars can get excess of 50 to 60 miles per gallon (mpg)
Pros and Cons
Pros• Much more fuel efficient and emission-less than
conventional engines• Maintains reputation carried over by conventional
engines for reliability
Cons• Many sacrifice power for efficiency, or vice versa• Higher in price• Only certain car companies currently using Hybrids
Background: Hydrogen
• Hydrogen vehicles can be used in a variety of ways– Replace intakes on internal combustion engines to use hydrogen
rather than gasoline– Use hydrogen in cells, much like a battery, to power an electric
motor– Run gasoline through a generator, discharging the carbons and
toxins so that only hydrogen is used and burnt off.
Pros and Cons
Pros• Clean and very efficient• Requires no fossil fuels (unless gasoline is used for
separation of hydrogen)Cons• Production and distribution of hydrogen projected to be
vastly worse on the environment than the production of gas.
• Very inconsistent in reciprocating engines, best used in Wankel Rotary Engine
• Still in development stages
References
• Southern Illinois University
http://www.siu.edu/~autoclub/frange.html• How Stuff Works
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/• National Hydrogen Association
http://www.hydrogenus.com/