Archive for the ‘fuel’ tag
Honda system enhances fuel economy
Green: fuel-efficient driving; Blue-Green: relatively fuel-efficient driving; Blue: driving with extra consumption of fuel
Honda Motor Co has developed an Ecological Drive Assist System, which combines three functions to enhance fuel economy.
The ECON Mode utilises harmonized control of the continuously variable transmission (CVT) and engine to support more fuel-efficient driving.
The Guidance function uses speedometer colour to provide real-time guidance on fuel-efficient driving
The Scoring function provides feedback about current driving practices, as well as feedback on cumulative, long-term fuel-efficient driving.
Since driving practices have a large impact on fuel economy, Honda developed the Ecological Drive Assist System to further enhance the real-world fuel economy through controlling the CVT and engine based on the actual driving conditions and enabling the driver to learn how to drive more fuel-efficiently. In particular, the scoring function provides cumulative, long-term feedback through graphic ‘leaves’, which grow over time as drivers become more proficient in fuel-efficient driving.
Read more on: Automotive, fuel, HondaObscure fungus produces diesel fuel components
A wild fungus has been found to produce a variety of hydrocarbon components of diesel fuel. The harmless, microscopic fungus, known as Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50073), lives quietly within ulmo trees in the Patagonian rainforest.
Gary Strobel of Montana State University has found that the fungus produces many energy-rich hydrocarbons, and that the particular diesel components produced can be varied by changing the growing medium and environment of the fungus. The fungus even performs under low-oxygen conditions like those found deep underground.
Strobel’s discovery suggests that fungi living in ancient plants may have contributed to the natural formation of crude oil, a slow process that occurs when organic matter is subjected to high pressure and heat under layers of rock.
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Electrically charged tube improves fuel efficiency
A simple device that could improve fuel efficiency by up to 20 per cent has been developed by a physics professor from Temple University.
The small device consists of an electrically charged tube that can be attached to the fuel line of a car’s engine near the fuel injector. With the use of a power supply from the vehicle’s battery, the device creates an electric field that thins fuel, or reduces viscosity, so that smaller droplets are injected into the engine. That leads to more efficient and cleaner combustion than a standard fuel injector.
Six months of road testing in a diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz car showed that the device increased highway fuel from 32 miles per gallon to 38mpg, a 20 per cent boost, and a 12-15 per cent gain in city driving.
Read more on: Automotive, battery, electric field, engine, fuelDevice using electrical field could boost gas efficiency up to 20%
With the high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel impacting costs for automobiles, trucks, buses and the overall economy, a Temple University physics professor has developed a simple device which could dramatically improve fuel efficiency as much as 20 percent.
According to Rongjia Tao, Chair of Temple’s Physics Department, the small device consists of an electrically charged tube that can be attached to the fuel line of a car’s engine near the fuel injector. With the use of a power supply from the vehicle’s battery, the device creates an electric field that thins fuel, or reduces its viscosity, so that smaller droplets are injected into the engine. That leads to more efficient and cleaner combustion than a standard fuel injector, he says.
Read more on: Energy, fuelSplitting water paves the way for clean, green fuel
A team of researchers has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis, paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This breakthrough could revolutionise the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen, touted as the clean, green fuel of the future – cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale.
Scientists from Monash University, the CSIRO and Princeton University, teamed up to develop system comprising a coating that can be impregnated with a form of manganese, a chemical essential to sustaining photosynthesis in plant life.
Read more on: carbon dioxide, chemicals, coating, Electronics, Energy, Energy, fuel, hydrogen, oxygen, sunlightScientists a step closer to producing fuel from bacteria
Scientists at the University of Sheffield have shown how bacteria could be used as a future fuel. The research could have significant implications for the environment and the way we produce sustainable fuels in the future.
Like all living creatures, bacteria sustain themselves through their metabolism, a huge sequence of chemical reactions that transform nutrients into energy and waste.
Using mathematical computer models, the Sheffield team have mapped the metabolism of a type of bacteria called Nostoc. Nostoc fixes nitrogen and, in doing so, releases hydrogen that can then potentially be used as fuel. Fixing nitrogen is an energy intensive process and it wasn’t entirely clear exactly how the bacterium produces the energy it needs in order to perform. Now the new computer system has been used to map out how this happens.
Read more on: Bio Tech, fuelA low cost route to increased fuel economy
Engineering solutions firm Ricardo, has unveiled a research prototype vehicle that demonstrates the company’s patent pending electromagnetic linear actuator technology, which it says offers a low cost route to robust and highly efficient Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) and Dry Clutch Transmission (DCT) vehicles, capable of providing increased fuel economy and lower emissions.
The development vehicle is based on an Opel Corsa 1.2l petrol automated manual transmission, in which the control and actuation system of the original Easytronic system has been replaced with Ricardo’s patent-pending electromagnetic linear actuator technology which can be multiplexed in order to operate both the clutch control and gear selection functions.
Read more on: Automotive, emissions, fuel, prototype, vehicleSystem stops drivers putting the pedal to the metal
Drivers that try and push their cars to the limit, could find they start to push back.
Nissan Motor Co’s ‘ECO Pedal’ system, promoted as both green and safe – makes the accelerator pedal press upwards when it senses motorists are speeding up too quickly.
The system, which Nissan says will be available next year, calculates the most efficient rate of acceleration in a vehicle based on how fast fuel is being burned among other factors, when it deems the motorist is exceeding the most efficient rate, the accelerator pedal pushes back. A meter on the dashboard flashes and changes colours to alert the driver.
According to Nissan, the system is designed to help drivers become more fuel efficient; implementing it could help drivers improve fuel efficiency by five to 10 per cent.
There is an option for switching the system off.
Read more on: Automotive, Design, fuel, pedal, vehicle