Hydraulics Blog

Take the energy value of gasoline, multiply by .15 to get the effective propulsion energy and then multiply by 15 gallons to see how much useful energy you will get out of a tank of gas for the average automobile. Then see what size and pressure accumulator you will need to store the same amount of energy. I'm no hydraulic expert but I don't see this as a viable primary energy storage medium. To use this technology in a hybrid system, makes good sense. Garbage trucks and city buses are good examples of where diesel-hydraulic drive trains can shine.

proponents of hydraulic hybrids are not generally proposing using accumulators for

a primary power source only for recovering some of the energy to be used for

re -accelerating the vehicle.

Additionally the weight of the hydraulic fluids would not be anywhere near the

weight you suggest. Lines would be much smaller and the reservoir can be of minimal

size with proper cooling.

In the UPS hydraulic hybrid trucks, the accumulator and fluid weigh in excess of 1000 lbs, but can only store 1/3 the energy of a Prius battery pack, which weighs 88 lb. The fluid alone is a big part of that 1000 lbs, so I can't see the two systems ever being equal. For large heavy vehicles, moving at low speed and stopping and starting very frequently, (garbage truck, UPS truck to a lesser extent) then there might be an advantage to hydraulics (the motors are compact, high instantaneous power from regen brakes can be stored more effectively -- no Peukert's problems), although even in earthmoving equipment the trend has been toward diesel-electric hybrids. Electrics also have advantages in smoothness of control and quietness.

Good points. But I wouldn't want a quiet garbage truck. Otherwise, I wouldn't know they are coming and I would miss the pick up.

Good points!

As technology is beeing developed new ideas will lead to new basis rules. If batteries will be developed wich are stronger, lighter and can absorb a lot of energy during braking, hydraulics will loose at the end.

Simply because hydraulics can't effectively store sun or wind energy to drive a car. It's much to heavy! Batteries can store but, today they are still to heavy.

On the otherhand. If there will a powersource in the future car, hydraulics can a be verry light, strong, flexibele and regerative drive compared to any other drive system. The newest hydraulic developments have a much better overall effeciency compared the automatic gearbox and approach the overall efficiency from a manual shift gearbox.

See the site from the Dutch company (www.Innas.com) download the brochure from their HyDrid car drive. Each time I open their site I am amazed by their ideas and developments.

Lets increase the tax on fuel. Use the money for new developements, create new jobs and prevent any dependence from oil and their suppliers (countries). Why do most people sit still and only start to develop in case off war or crisis.

Crisis is here! We need to think freely and futher than todays technology, see posibilities in stead of problems. This way of thinking already has made us slaves from oil and we create our own future problems

Good ideas.

It would be interesting to tax fuel in a way that would level prices at the pump (higher tax when fuel is cheap, lower when fuel is expensive). Where I live, the price of a gallon of gas has gone from almost $5.00 (and even $9.00, by "gougers") about a month ago to $1.90 today. If that price holds, people will start buying SUV's again (although they won't be able to get loans), and then will whine about the cost of gas, when it goes up again. Perhaps in the US, there will never be any long term interest in small, efficient cars. Many people are convinced that they "need" a large SUV, but when I was a kid, trucks and truck-like vehicles were a very small part of the vehicle mix. Back then, (1960's) when people were driving 4000 lb station wagons, no one was saying, gosh I wish I had a 7000 lb Ford expedition. Now, if a bigger, heavier, flashier vehicle is available, people start to think that they need one. Low fuel prices encourage such thinking.

If GM thought more like Toyota, and produced a mix of cars that people want, rather than focusing only on those vehicles (SUVs) that generate large short term profits, perhaps they would not now be asking for a government bailout. Stable, relatively higher gas prices might have enabled them to think long term, producing more reasonably-sized vehicles.

Maybe.

You wrote:

Why do most people sit still and only start to develop in case off war or crisis. Crisis is here! We need to think freely and futher than todays technology, see posibilities in stead of problems.

Of course, this combination of statements is somewhat circuitous. Seeing a "crisis" seems to be seeing a "problem". Seeing a "problem" is a necessary part of coming up with solution. The attitude here has been that there is no problem at all in buying gas guzzlers, and that any "crisis" exists only in the eyes of naysayers. Ordinarily, with our current low fuel prices, people would go back to buying the largest available vehicles, without any thought to where the oil comes from, whether or not oil is running out, the impact of large amounts of CO2 generation by large vehicles, the depletion of resources from manufacturing huge vehicles, etc. The only thing slowing the sales of SUVs is the dismal economy, along with the expectation that fuel prices will go up.

Unfortunately, real long term thinking, reflected in a desire to leave our children with some resources, (and which would be demonstrated by most people driving Honda Civics, etc.) is rarely practiced in America -- we are destroying oursleves in what I would call a fundamentally un-American, un-patriotic way, strongly supported by our current administration. We talk a good game, with every corporation now calling itself "green" but in practice, we still consume twice as much energy per capita as most developed nations, and 8 times as much as the world average. If actions speak louder than words, we really don't care what sort of world we hand to our children.

This way of thinking already has made us slaves from oil and we create our own future problems.

Here in the US, we are creating them about twice as fast as you are in Europe.

Dear Global Specs,

The technology made public by DaS Energy generates 2400 watts or 3.2 hp. per 1 litre of stroke volume each second. All parts shown schematics.

151hp. or 120,000 watts per second is 5 litre turbine generator 3000 rpm.

Is as yet unconsidered by the auto industry.

Question will 2400 watts per second heater maintain a +27c pool of water.

The cooled R-744 (Co2) micro bubbles rising in water heat takes out 1 litre of 15c heat per second. each second.

Now everytime we stop at the service station it's does feel like being hold uped for real. Too much. Unbeliavable. I saw this cartoon the other day where the pump are actually a bandit hold uping the driver with the fuel gun on his back and his arms up as a robbery in action, wooaauhh... I agree absolutly.

Hopeful they bring it back to $1.00 per Gallon like the good old days to 'TurboBoost' this economy back to business as usual. Imagine that. The other part of the scenario is that all end out to the consumers folks pokets anyway eventually but the pokets are also runing on empty since everything else went Kapouusshh..sky-hi like a rocket to the universe.

Great deal hopefuly this next week things keep on settle down to the 'bottom line' eventually reaching a happy ending after all. In the meantime just hanging in there.

Running on empty,

MC

OhhLyy... Now probably by the application of such 'Laser Beams' we'll be able to heat it up enougth steam for auto propulsion, Imagine That! This will be like a superheat generator that make water fuel steam-up big time to move the auto turbine at enougth revolutions to have a decent output out of this puppy. Or by directing such laser beam to some kind of heat collectors and distribute to the steams nozzles in the turbine housing some how in order to make it turn fast, I dont know this is again just brainstorming here a little just in case something nice came out of it.

Anyway let me know some data about such crazy idea for the moment... Hey, Who Know's???

Superheated Turbine,

MC