Fuel Consumption

ABSTRACT 4 September 2009. The authors are solely responsible for the content of this technical presentation. The technical presentation does not necessarily reflect the official position of the International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (CIGR), and its printing and distribution does not constitute an endorsement of views which may be expressed. Technical presentations are not subject to the formal peer review process by CIGR editorial committees; therefore, they are not to be presented as refereed publications. ABSTRACT The material embodiment in agricultural production systems is important because it determines the convergence of inputs (indirectly, the natural resources) into the crop. Besides this, the material flows are the basis for any environmental (energy analysis, emergy evaluation, life-cycle analysis and carbon inventories) and economical analyses. Since different materials cannot compose a single index, generally these flows are not shown and this fact makes comparisons difficult to be done. Another aspect that makes comparisons more difficult is the establishment of the studied system's boundary. If they differ, results will be different, disguising actual distinctions among systems. This study aimed to apply a methodology in order to determine material flows in agricultural production systems. A secondary goal is to show that machinery management can propitiate less material convergence into the crop. A diagram language to represent the analyzed system was adopted in order to establish the systems' limit. The determination of the material flows of indirectly applied inputs (fuel consumption; the machinery depreciation; and labor) included the determination of the effective field capacity, since the latter aggregates efficiency and is able to make data related to time to be related to area. Data of fuel consumption were compared with the models presented (the most accurate for the surveyed system was presented by Molin and Milan, 2002). The material embodiment of a maize silage production system was determined and compared with regional data, presenting similar data. For this system and a haylage (Tifton 85) production system the embodiment was calculated for different aspects (area, yield and qualitative aspects) in order to show the importance of establishing the limit of study and indicators. A comparison approaching the efficiency was also done, the variables considered were farm size, machinery use and labor requirement, efficiency increased more than the area increase.

ABSTRACT One of the most efficient ways to reduce the pollution and fuel consumption of an automotive engine is to downsize the engine, whilst maintaining a high level of power and torque. This is achieved by using turbochargers. In urban, and often in suburban, traffic conditions the engine power demand is weak in relation to the maximum power available, so the turbocharger runs at low speed. To appreciate and improve engine performance, it is necessary to know the characteristics of the turbomachinery in this functioning area, characteristics which are not given by turbocharger manufacturer. The reason for this lack of information will be explained and the experiments we are currently conducting at low turbocharger speed are presented. Experimentally, it has been demonstrated that the measured performances of the compressor are dependent on heat exchange (convection and conduction) and are also linked to the pressure and temperature of the lubricating oil. At the CNAM laboratory, the turbocharger test rig has been equipped with a special torquemeter, allowing rotation speeds of up to 120000 rpm, set up between the turbine and the compressor. The turbine is thus separated from the compressor and could be considered as a drive which provides mechanical power to the turbocharger (torquemeter + compressor + bearing unit). Temperature and pressure of the lubricating oil can be adjusted to an experiment’s requirements. The test bench lay out is described. To achieve accurate measurements and evaluate the influence of heat exchanges, tests have been carried out with the whole compressor thermally isolated and with preheated inlet air. The compressor can be assumed to be adiabatic, and the power given to the air flow can be calculated using the first law of thermodynamics. Mechanical bearing losses can be deduced from this calculation and torquemeter power, but also from measurements of lubricating oil flow, and oil temperature at inlet and outlet. The results of experiments for different lubricating oil temperatures and pressures and turbocharger speeds are presented. Real compressor characteristics curves are set up and a comparison of experimental mechanical power losses with a journal bearing CFD model is presented.

The consumption of fuel in vehicles depends on many factors such as the state of the roads, the state of the engine and the driver's behavior. A mathematical model for evaluating vehicle fuel consumption on a 100 km interval at standard operating weather conditions was developed. This mathematical model developed took into consideration many factors, but the main factors were those related to weather conditions and temperature. Here a new simulation program for determining the influence of temperature and weather conditions on fuel consumption is built using the software Matlab. For efficient simulations the model uses a set of data for an SUV and then makes varying only the parameters that are related to weather and temperature for the simulation. During the simulation process, a set of 10 vehicle models and 8 roads conditions were chosen to run down the simulations and only the parameters of temperature, the drag coefficient and coefficient of rolling resistances respectively were subjected to variations during each of the simulations. Upon simulation, different results were obtained for the different parameters considered. For every 15% drop in temperature, 0.1litre, 0.12litre and 0.04litre increase in fuel consumption for the set of parameters chosen was noticed. These results were analyzed and interpreted with the help of Microsoft Excel and were found to be satisfactory given that it permits manufacturers and car users to have a notion of the impact of ambient temperature and weather conditions on fuel consumption, thereby promoting optimum usage of fuel, hence reducing the effect of greenhouse emissions in the atmosphere.

: This report summarizes the results of a two year project led by the Naval Facilities Engineering and ExpeditionaryWarfare Center to demonstrate the potential for the patented I2 infusion system to reduce the rate of foul within Department of Defense shipboard heat exchangers. Fouling of DoD shipboard heat exchangers is a chronic and costly operating problem that requires significant maintenance. The heat transfer performance and efficiency decreases due to the fouling of the heat exchanger plates and tubes resulting in additional fuel consumption and increased greenhouse gases. Costly and labor consuming, remedial chemical cleaning protocols currently used produce considerable hazardous waste. Through the infusion of air containing elemental iodine vapor into the heat exchanger, this demonstration has shown that the formation of biological foul has been reduced and the period between physical cleanings extended while maintaining acceptable system parameters.

To investigate static tire enveloping characteristics, a three dimensional (3-D) finite element model is proposed. The vertical stiffness of the tire is studied on a flat surface with and without cleat. Tire rubber materials and cord layers are represented independently using “rebar” elements available in MSC Marc Mentat. Comparisons of numerical and experimental results are given to show the validity of the proposed model. It is shown that after a certain displacement, the results of the proposed model agree well with experimental results. In addition, the model results show that regardless of the type of the cleat placed under the rim center (hub center), all vertical force curves intersect after a certain displacement, which indicates typical static enveloping characteristics. Moreover, another typical characteristic of the radial tires that is unlike those of bias-ply constructions confirms that the contact patch does not expand laterally after a level vertical load is applied to the tire, which is directly related to fuel consumption and tire tread life.

This experiment was conducted in the farmer’s field to evaluate the performance of a modified planter machine for establishing direct seeded rice during aman and aus seasons in 2010 with four tillage treatments: (i) conventional tillage (CT) (ii) strip tillage (ST), (iii) bed formation (BP) and (iv) zero tillage (ZT). In later three treatments, seeding and fertilizer application was done simultaneously in a single pass operation by the planter. Flute type seed metering device was tested to study the seed dispensing rate, placement of seed and fertilizers. Minimum tillage saved fuel consumption by almost 25-46% and could represent a 27-48% cost saving in land preparation compared to CT. In addition to fuel savings, substantial time savings and additional benefits can be achieved. Seedling emergence was not affected by tillage options which indicated that seeds were placed at proper depth. Seed meter worked well to dispense rice seeds by maintaining actual seed rate. Seeds were not br...

This paper presents an experimental assessment of fuel cell hybrid propulsion systems for scooters based on a modular 1.2 kW PEM fuel cell. The tests of the hybrid system are carried out using a programmable electronic load. Different configurations of the fuel cell/battery and the fuel cell/supercapacitor hybrid systems are explored. Both systems demonstrate their ability to deliver the requested load satisfactorily. The distributions of the fuel cell power delivery, although different between the two systems, are within the region where the fuel cell efficiency is approximately constant. As a result, the rates of fuel consumption show no discernable difference between the two systems for all three driving cycles considered. In addition to the fuel consumption, considerations including bus voltage, cost and packaging issues suggest that the supercapacitor has advantages over the battery for the use as secondary energy storage in fuel cell hybrid propulsion system for scooters.

The impact of air traffic on the global atmosphere is characterised by a high degree of uncertainty, concerning both the physico-chemical phenomena involved and the extent of the forcing due to anthropogenic emissions. The different effects of these emissions (eg on ...

The increasing demand for more fuel efficiency and environmentally friendly cars coupled with the consumers' drive for more comfort, safety and luxury has led to the introduction of more electrical and electronic systems in the passenger car. This is further impacted by the current trend in automotive industry to replace mechanical and hydraulic systems with their electrical counterparts. The handling

This paper measures technical and scale efficiencies of public transport sector in India. The study makes an attempt to provide an overview of the general status of the State Transport Undertakings (STUs) in terms of their productive efficiencies for the years 2004-05 to 2007-08. Efficiencies of the STUs are measured by applying the new slack DEA Model with categorical DMUs (STUs transported in Rural, Hill and Urban area). Fleet size, Total staff and Fuel consumption are considered as inputs and Passenger kilometers as output. The paper concludes that performance of the STUs has not improved over the earlier three years and has improvement in the last year but still very far from the optimal level. Further, results of sensitivity analysis reveal that by and large, efficiency scores are robust and stable.

Brown's gas (HHO) was recently introduced as a new source of energy to the automotive industry. The present work suggests the development of a new device connected to the engine for compatibility gasoline engine with HHO production system. The HHO generation unit being proposed is lightweight and can be mounted in the engine compartment. This unit is tested and Integrated on a gasoline engine. The four-stroke single cylinder engine of Pulsar DTSi 150cc has been procured for the venture. “Belt rope dynamometer”, frames of mounting and test setup were fabricated and designed. HHO gas kit was installed with the engine. Analysis of efficiency and emission was conducted using Petrol and Petrol-HHO on the engine separately. It was found that around 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption is achieved through the use of petrol-HHO and significant reduction in pollutant emissions such as CO, CO particularly during idle 2 condition and unburned hydrocarbons..

Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FCHEV) are being investigated in many research and development programs motivated by the urgent need for more fuel-efficient vehicles that produce fewer harmful emissions. Hybridization can greatly benefit fuel cell technology. There are many potential ad vantages such as the improvement of transient power demand, the ability of regenerative braking and the opportunities for optimization of the vehicle efficiency. The coordination among the various power sources requires a high level of control in the vehicle. This work presents a control system that fulfils the power demanded by the electric motor making use of two power sources: a primary source (fuel cell) and a battery pack. Both power sources, independently or together, supply power to the vehicle in order to satisfy driver's demand. The real-time control computes the power distribution between the primary energy source and its associated Energy Storage System (ESS) to optimize the global hydrogen consumption while maintaining drivability. The coordination between the various power sources requires a high level of control in the vehicle. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is used in order to minimize the overall energy use in the presence of several constraints that appear due to drivability requirements and the characteristic of the components. The proposed control strategy has been tested on a simulated model of a SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle), showing that a good control strategy can fulfil the power requested by the driver with the minimum fuel consumption.

Background, Aims and Scope In recent years, the automotive industry has been experiencing an increasing concern with environmental requirements. A particular focus is being given to light-weighting of cars, to reducing fuel consumption and to the use of different recycling materials. Consequently, decisions on product design and development must involve economic and technological as well as environmental considerations. In adequate conditions, the LCA methodology enables one to assist an effective integration of the environmental considerations in the decision-making process [1]. In this paper, a multi-material car component which is part of the current automotive brake system, has been modified by its original manufacturer. Such a modification included the use of a new multi-material injection moulding process and the consumption of recyclable materials. The new and the current component were comparatively assessed throughout their life cycles in order to evaluate their respective environmental impacts and, thus, to verify if the new component offers a lower environmental load. The results described in this paper are part of the outcome of a broader research project involving industrial companies, university, technological centres and research institutes based in Portugal, Spain and Germany. Main Features The car component under focus has four subcomponents whose base materials consist of steel and plastic. The LCA methodology is used to evaluate two scenarios describing the new car component, on the one hand, and the reference scenario, which consists of the existing car component, on the other. The former results from the selection of new subcomponents materials, aiming to use a new production process together with a recycling strategy. Results and Discussion The inventory analysis shows a lower energy consumption in the alternative scenario (4.2 MJ) compared to the reference scenario (6.1 MJ). Most of that energy is still non-renewable, relating in particular to crude consumption in the car use phase and in the production phase (transports and plastics production). The life cycle inventory analysis indicates also that the alternative scenario has lower air emissions of CO2, CO, NOx, SOx, NM VOC and PM10, as well as lower solid wastes and water emissions of oils and BOD5. Otherwise, the water emissions of undissolved substances and COD are higher for the alternative scenario. Most of the energy consumed and the air pollutants inventoried occur as a consequence of the use phase. Otherwise, for most of the life cycle water emissions inventoried and solid wastes, the production phase is the major contributor. The impact assessment, performed with the CML method, allows one to conclude that the alternative scenario exhibits lower results in all the impact categories. Both scenarios have similar environmental profiles, being: (i) the use phase, the major contributor for the abiotic depletion, global warming, photochemical oxidation, acidification and eutrophication; and (ii) the production phase, the main contributor for ozone depletion, human toxicity, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity. The sensitivity analysis, with respect to the fuel consumption reduction value, the impact assessment method and the final disposal scenario, performed in this study allows one to confirm, as a main conclusion, that the alternative scenario is environmentally preferable to the reference scenario. Conclusion The results obtained through the application of the LCA methodology enable one to conclude that the alternative component has a lower environmental load than the reference component. Recommendations and Perspectives Considering that the time required for the inventory data collection is a critical issue in LCA practise, the insights provided by this particular case study are likely to be useful to product developers in the car component manufacturing industry, particularly to brake system manufacturers supporting the environmental design within the sector.

An energy management strategy–torque distribution and charge sustaining control–for a parallel hybrid electric vehicle with continuously variable transmission is proposed in this study. The torque distribution control problem is formulated as a multi-objective nonlinear optimization problem. In order to facilitate the implementation of the proposed approach in real time, the aforementioned multi-objective nonlinear optimization problem is recast as a single objective linear optimization problem by linearization of the objective functions and ...