| Our previous article talks about careful | | | | |
| planning in order to | | | | making these vehicles more |
| | | | attractive.Accessories like air-conditioning, |
| save unnecessary trips, adopting carpooling | | | | power steering, windshield |
| to share out the | | | | |
| | | | wipers, and others use the energy generated |
| costs, avoiding traffic jams at peak hours | | | | from the engine. |
| to avoid | | | | |
| | | | These use up to 2.2% of the energy. Efforts |
| unproductive burning of fuel, avoiding | | | | in developing more |
| carrying unnecessary | | | | |
| | | | efficient alternator systems and power |
| loads and other tips that will help in some | | | | steering pumps can |
| way or another to | | | | |
| | | | improve the fuel economy by up to |
| save on fuel consumption.I did touch a bit | | | | 1%.Driveline losses can account for up to |
| on more efficient smaller cars that are | | | | 5.6% of the total. The |
| | | | |
| lighter and do not have to carry excess and | | | | energy is lost through the transmission and |
| unproductive weights | | | | other parts of the |
| | | | |
| in their frames, chassis and body. However, | | | | driveline. To reduce these, technologies |
| very often, these | | | | such as automatic |
| | | | |
| smaller and lighter cars are not as | | | | manual transmission (AMT) and continuously |
| comfortable to ride compared | | | | variable transmission |
| | | | |
| to the heavier ones.So, in this article, I | | | | (CVT) has been developed.Next comes the |
| won't compare lighter cars with heavier | | | | shape of the vehicle. Aerodynamic drag |
| | | | accounts |
| cars. I will explore with you the kinds of | | | | |
| efficiency losses | | | | for 2.6% of the energy losses. As the speed |
| | | | of a vehicle |
| that are quite typical even within the same | | | | |
| class of cars.If you look through the sales | | | | increases, the drag caused by expending |
| brochures of new cars, very often | | | | energy to push air out |
| | | | |
| you can find figures that indicate the fuel | | | | of the way increases. By designing the shape |
| efficiency of the | | | | of a vehicle for |
| | | | |
| car. With that information, you can compare | | | | smoother air flow, significant drag |
| and find out the | | | | reduction can be achieved.Rolling resistance |
| | | | is another loss encountered in a vehicle. It |
| most fuel efficient vehicle that will meet | | | | |
| your needs. Even | | | | accounts for 4.2% of the losses. This |
| | | | rolling resistance is a |
| within a specific size class, there is a | | | | |
| tremendous range of | | | | measure of the force necessary to move the |
| | | | tire forward. To |
| MPG (miles per gallon) performance that you | | | | |
| can find.Just for example, for the same model | | | | counter this, tires technologies like thread |
| year compact cars, we can | | | | and shoulder |
| | | | |
| find fuel efficiency ranges from 21 to 48 | | | | designs, and the use of improved materials |
| MPG. If you choose | | | | on the tire belt and |
| | | | |
| the 48 MPG car, you could be saving hundreds | | | | traction surfaces are being developed.For |
| of dollars in fuel | | | | passenger cars, a 5~7% reduction in rolling |
| | | | resistance |
| costs each year. I think that should be an | | | | |
| important point to | | | | increases fuel efficiency by 1%. However, |
| | | | these improvements |
| note when buying a new car.Having decided on | | | | |
| the model that fulfils your needs, you might | | | | must be balanced against traction, |
| | | | durability and noise.Related to the driver's |
| be interested to know where the energy | | | | behavior is braking loss. This can |
| goes.Idling losses could account for as much | | | | |
| as 17.2% of all the | | | | account for as much as 5.8%. Each time a |
| | | | vehicle moves forward, |
| losses. In urban driving, this much of | | | | |
| energy is lost to idling | | | | the vehicle's drivetrain must provide enough |
| | | | energy to overcome |
| at stop lights or in the traffic. There are | | | | |
| technologies | | | | the vehicle's inertia. This inertia is |
| | | | directly related to the |
| available such as integrated starter / | | | | |
| generator (ISG) systems | | | | weight of the vehicle. So for lighter |
| | | | vehicles, less energy is |
| that help to reduce this type of losses. It | | | | |
| does this by | | | | expended to overcome the inertia of the |
| | | | vehicle compared to a |
| automatically turning off the engine when a | | | | |
| vehicle comes to a | | | | heavier vehicle. The less a driver brakes, |
| | | | the less energy is |
| stop and restarting it instantly when the | | | | |
| accelerator is pressed.Another very | | | | expended to move the vehicle again.As you |
| significant loss is through the engine | | | | can see, there are many factors that can |
| itself. The | | | | affect the fuel |
| | | | |
| internal combustion engine of | | | | efficiency even of similar vehicles. Factors |
| gasoline-powered vehicles is very | | | | like the vehicle |
| | | | |
| inefficient. Over 62.4% of the fuel's energy | | | | condition, tire pressures and design, |
| is lost through the | | | | driver's habit, planning |
| | | | |
| engine combustion process of converting the | | | | trips, reducing excess loads, avoiding drag, |
| fuel's chemical | | | | idling at peak |
| | | | |
| energy to mechanical energy. Energy is lost | | | | traffic and many others can affect the |
| to engine friction, | | | | efficiency.With a better understanding of the |
| | | | measures you can control, you |
| pumping of air into and out of the engine, | | | | |
| and removing the | | | | should be able to achieve the best optimum |
| | | | efficiency in your |
| wasted heat.Advanced engine technologies | | | | |
| have been developed to address | | | | vehicle and save money in the process.Thomas |
| | | | Yoon specializes in cartoon |
| these losses. Some of them are: variable | | | | |
| valve timing and lift, | | | | illustrations that will make an impact on |
| | | | people's opinions. |
| turbocharging, direct fuel injection, and | | | | |
| cylinder deactivation.Diesel engines are | | | | Subscribe to engineering facworld ezine. |
| about 30~35% more efficient than gasoline | | | | |
| | | | More information on engineering at Marine |
| engines. New advances in diesel technologies | | | | |
| and fuels are | | | | and M & E Engineer. |