HyperCar

Hypercar

Pollution Prevention

Michelle Bates

What is a Hypercar?

•
Ultralight, Low
-
Drag, Hybrid
-
Electric
Vehicle (HEV)

•
2 Sources of energy:

–
Fuel cells, gas turbines, diesels, lean burn
gasoline engines

–
Flywheels, batteries, ultracapacitors

•
2 Drive trains

–
Internal Combustion Engine
-

gas or alt. fuels

–
Battery driven electric

Drivesystems

•
Conventional

–
Internal combustion engine coupled to wheels
through the transmission, driveshaft, etc.

•
Hybrid
-
Electric

–
Engine (or other power source) generates
electricity from fuel, which then powers electric
motors that turn the wheels

Six Main Sources of Energy Loss
in a Conventional Car:

Hypercar Strategies to Reduce
Energy Losses

•
Ultralight

–
1994 Average U.S. Passenger car 1439 kg

–
2000
-
2005 Hypercar (4
-
5 seat) 521 kg

•
Low Aerodynamic Drag

•
Hybrid
-
Electric Drivesystem

•
Efficient Accessories

Ultralight

•
Composites

–
Embed strong reinforcing fibers in a supporting
"matrix" of polymer

•
Advanced Composites

–
Long or continuous reinforcing fibers such as
carbon or aramid (kevlar) in addition to glass






Advanced Composite Materials

•
Advantages

-
50
-
65% reduction in
weight

-
Crashworthy

-
Design Flexibility

-
Durability

-
Manufacturing


•
Disadvantages

-
$

GM’s 1991 Ultralite Concept Car

Mass Decompounding


Low
-
Drag Aerodynamic Design

•
Smooth underbody

•
Low
-
angle windshields

•
Tapered rear end

•
Minimized body seams

•
Aerodynamically designed air intakes,
suspension, and wheel wells

•
Result: 40
-
50% decrease in drag

Rolling Resistance

•
1/3 engine output lost

•
Solution

–
lightweight car

–
tire improvements

–
improved wheel
bearing and brake
design

•
Reduction in rolling
resistance by 50
-
80%

Hybrid
-
Electric Drive

•
Series

–
Engine with generator
to supply electricity for
battery pack and
electric motor

–
No mechanical
connection

–
Power transferred
electrically to wheel
motor

•
Parallel

–
Direct mechanical
connection between
hybrid power unit and
wheels

–
Electric motor drives
the wheels

–
Example

Hybrid
-
Electric Drive

Series

Parallel

Hybrid
-
Electric Drive

•
Generate electricity
from the fuel, powers
wheel motors

•
Electric motors can
recover part of the
braking energy


Wheel Motor

Hybrid
-
Electric Drive

•
Large decrease in engine size

–
reduces weight, cost, fuel consumption


•
Drive system efficiency doubled

Efficient Accessories

•
Avoid heat buildup by using:

–
Insulation, special heat
-
reflecting glass, solar
-
powered vent fans

–
Innovative cooling and dehumidification systems

–
Improved headlights and taillights

•
More efficient electronics and interior
lighting systems

Hypercar

Whole Systems Approach

•
Optimizing parts individually results in
inefficiency overall

•
Hypercar is cost effective when the entire
system is designed for efficiency

Hypercar Safety

•
Advanced composites

•
Smaller propulsion system

–
room at both ends of the car for materials
dedicated to crash energy management

•
Front and side airbags, harnesses with
pretensioners and stress
-
limiters, padding,
active headrests


Pollution Prevention

•
Hypercars would go roughly 2
-
4 times
farther on a unit of fuel

–
decreased overall carbon dioxide emissions

–
lower emissions per vehicle mile traveled

•
Alternative fuels



Fuel Efficiency

Life Cycle Assessment

•
Advanced Composites are durable

–
won’t rust, dent or chip

•
Total weight is much less, so there is less
pure waste produced


Current Status

•
Hypercars do not currently exist

•
Hybrid
-
electric vehicles (HEVs) do exist

•
Chrysler, Ford and GM

–
Year 2000 prototype HEVs

–
Year 2003 release HEVs on the U.S. market

•
Department of Energy HEV Propulsion
Program

–
Funds 50% of development costs

Toyota’s Hybrid
-
Electric Prius
Sedan


•
Japanese market for
one year

•
Not ultralight (weighs
330 lbs. more)

•
66 miles per gallon

•
Emissions reduced to
1/10th the Japanese
legal requirement

•
U.S. market year 2000


Toyota Prius

Toyota Camry


Engine

1.5
-
liter, 16
valve, 4
-
cyl

2.2
-
liter, 16
valve, 4
-
cyl

Engine
Output

58 hp at 4,000
rpm

136 hp at 5,200
rpm

Fuel
Efficiency


66 mpg


23 mpg

Max.
Range


850 miles


500 miles

ABS

Standard

Optional

Price

~$20,000

$17,873



Future Projections

•
Zero
-
Emission Vehicles (ZEVs)

–
One tenth of new cars sold in five U.S. states
by 2004

•
Half of all vehicles Hypercars by 2020


–
Overall fuel consumption 25 percent less than
today's level




Battery Electric Cars vs. Hybrid
-
Electric Cars

•
Battery Electric

–
Run on electricity stored in
onboard batteries

–
Gasoline contains 100 times
more energy per pound than
batteries

–
Several thousand pounds of
batteries (mass compounding)

–
Range less than 150 miles



Battery Electric Cars vs. Hybrid
-
Electric Cars

•
Battery
-
Electric

–
Batteries must be
replaced every few
years

–
Batteries cost $2000
-
$15,000 each

–
Batteries not recyclable

–
Emission shifting

GM’s EV1

Battery Electric Cars vs. Hybrid
-
Electric Cars

•
Hybrid
-
Electric Cars

–
Wheels powered by electric motor or motors,
convert fuel into energy as they go

–
Alternative fuel sources (Ex: renewable fuel
cells)

–
Decrease carbon dioxide emissions

–
Increased engine and drive systems efficiency

–
Mass decompounding


Economic Impacts: The Winners

•
Makers of power electronics,
microelectronics, advanced electric motors
and small engines, alternative power plants
and storage devices, and software

•
Composite materials, structures, and tooling
and manufacturing equipment suppliers

•
Providers of polymers, fibers, coatings, and
adhesives for the composites industry

•
Aerospace firms


Economic Impacts: Losers

•
Iron and steel industries (a Hypercar has
92% less iron and steel)

•
Heavy machine tools

•
Oil for motor fuel

•
Automotive fluids and lubricants

For More Information

•
The Hypercar Center

–
www.hypercarcenter.org

•
Hybrid Electric Vehicle Program

–
www.hev.doe.gov

•
Rocky Mountain Institute

–
www.rmi.org

•
Toyota Prius

–
www.toyota.com