Electric tractor trailer

[stealth]

Still seems like we're missing the boat....

Gas is plentiful and produced by every landfill....Making fuel from garbage! (not quite as cool as the banana peel in the flux-capacitor, but still pretty cool.......

[Lizardracing]

I've been working on a project for a couple years. The tractor trailer is powered by electric motors, and the batteries are charged by a small(5L) turbo diesel V8 "Generator"
So far, it's working very well.

Locomotives have been doing this for a very long time and works well. I'm surprised passenger cars and trucks are doing this more. I'd guess that's where were are headed though.

[Carnut1]

19_Wood_Electric_Truck_(Medium).jpg

117 years later. Maybe it will stick this time.

[stealth]

I've been working on a project for a couple years. The tractor trailer is powered by electric motors, and the batteries are charged by a small(5L) turbo diesel V8 "Generator"
So far, it's working very well.

Locomotives have been doing this for a very long time and works well. I'm surprised passenger cars and trucks are doing this more. I'd guess that's where were are headed though.

This works well because you can optimize the fuel efficiency of the engine at a certain sustained RPM making it VERY fuel efficient over an engine that has to deal with various load, RPM, and throttle position (vacuum).

Agreed.... hard to believe it's not more popular in automotive world.

[Zmechanic]

I've been working on a project for a couple years. The tractor trailer is powered by electric motors, and the batteries are charged by a small(5L) turbo diesel V8 "Generator"
So far, it's working very well.

Ah yeah, diesel-electric is a whole different ball game. Probably even BETTER with batteries, as the generator only needs to be sized for average power output, and the batteries could do the transient power.

[CamKing]

I've been working on a project for a couple years. The tractor trailer is powered by electric motors, and the batteries are charged by a small(5L) turbo diesel V8 "Generator"
So far, it's working very well.

Locomotives have been doing this for a very long time and works well. I'm surprised passenger cars and trucks are doing this more. I'd guess that's where were are headed though.

This works well because you can optimize the fuel efficiency of the engine at a certain sustained RPM making it VERY fuel efficient over an engine that has to deal with various load, RPM, and throttle position (vacuum).

For locomotives, they use a steady-state engine.
Without giving too much away, to deal with the different load requirements of "over the road" use, we made a steady-state engine that switches from one "steady-state" to another "steady-state".

[Nefario]

Just out from my employer

http://www.hyster.com/north-america/en- ... ig-trucks/

[FC-Pilot]

My employer has a hydrogen-electric semi running right now at the long beach dock. It is still in the testing phase, but it may not suck too bad. Time will tell.

Paul

[lefty o]

Not zero by a long stretch but much better than gasoline for total system energy use.

On top of that, since power generation locations are more centralized, they can be cleaned easier. Like the coal scrubbers that are already being used all over. Cry once, as they say.

Solar panels on the trailer is preposterous, unless you want to charge your battery while you sit idle for a whole day or something. If you could cover the whole top of a semi trailer, it'd take approx. 31hrs to charge a 140kWh battery. If you covered the ENTIRE trailer and someone through some magic trick got Sun on 3 sides at once, it'd still take 9 hours to charge. Also, solar panels have finite lifespans and are brittle. They work okay on rooves, because it's nice and stationary and generally out of harms way (except hails storms and such).

Does Cummins own the means to produce their own lithium cells? Tesla does, and they intend to use it to dominate every market they can. Feasibility be damned (as long as Elon Musk's investors will let him keep operating in the red anyway!)

solar panels would only be to extend range, it would be beyond stupid to assume they would be used as the sole source of charging.

[GARY C]

Even with charging stations you can't make a living stopping every hundred miles.

No you can't. I've seen stuff about adding wireless charging to highways that would bill you like easypass...that could work maybe.

Why do people think that electric vehicles are pollution free?

They are...at the point of use anyway

In a place like LA moving the pilomurion out of the valley is helpful, even if it means mire total polution (hybrids).

Electrics are tough. A gas piston engine is about 25% peak efficiency but is normally operating well below that.
Then there are losses converting oil to gasoline and transporting it....10-15% is where you end up overall


Electricity is generated at about 45-62%, about 10% is lost in drlivery so say about 45% average. Batteries are about 70% in and out, so 50%,overall dropping the system to 22% before you even turn the key on....but then modern electric motors and controllers are 95% or better so 20-21% overall.....1/3 to 1/2 better than gasoline...something right in that ballpark. Not zero by a long stretch but much better than gasoline for total system energy use.

....as long as you don't need to go very far at any 1 time which was your first point. This is kind o f funny if you haven't seen it, a criss country race between a tesla s and Ford model t which drives home the point quite well

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/20 ... es-feature

Your leaving out all of the processes from mining to finished product of said energy saving device, all of which requires coal, oil and natural gas. Not to mention disposal.

[Zmechanic]

solar panels would only be to extend range, it would be beyond stupid to assume they would be used as the sole source of charging.

My point is that they provide so little power, they are nearly useless unless you hope to use them for idle periods to slowly recharge.

140kWh = 100miles. Translated at 60MPH average gives 1hr 40min run time. In 1hr and 40min, a trailer with its entire roof covered in solar panels would produce about 7.5kWh, adding a WHOPPING 5 MILES (Assuming direct sunlight, assuming there even IS sunlight)

[mk e]

I've been working on a project for a couple years. The tractor trailer is powered by electric motors, and the batteries are charged by a small(5L) turbo diesel V8 "Generator"
So far, it's working very well.

Locomotives have been doing this for a very long time and works well. I'm surprised passenger cars and trucks are doing this more. I'd guess that's where were are headed though.

This works well because you can optimize the fuel efficiency of the engine at a certain sustained RPM making it VERY fuel efficient over an engine that has to deal with various load, RPM, and throttle position (vacuum).

Agreed.... hard to believe it's not more popular in automotive world.

It's called a hybrid

[lefty o]

solar panels would only be to extend range, it would be beyond stupid to assume they would be used as the sole source of charging.

My point is that they provide so little power, they are nearly useless unless you hope to use them for idle periods to slowly recharge.

140kWh = 100miles. Translated at 60MPH average gives 1hr 40min run time. In 1hr and 40min, a trailer with its entire roof covered in solar panels would produce about 7.5kWh, adding a WHOPPING 5 MILES (Assuming direct sunlight, assuming there even IS sunlight)

[MadBill]

..In a place like LA moving the pilomurion out of the valley is helpful, even if it means mire total polution (hybrids)...

OK, my vocabulary is quite extensive, but this is a new one to me. Please define and provide references. (Ah wait, perhaps we're supposed to go phonetic and sound it out as "pile o' manure"?)

[statsystems]

..In a place like LA moving the pilomurion out of the valley is helpful, even if it means mire total polution (hybrids)...

OK, my vocabulary is quite extensive, but this is a new one to me. Please define and provide references. (Ah wait, perhaps we're supposed to go phonetic and sound it out as "pile o' manure"?)

Glad I'm not the only on who didn't have a clue what that word means.

It was so tough I didn't even look that one up. I'm not smart enough to ever use it so why bother?