About new classes of elect. engines

[1plusmorehp]

I was reading some articles on resonante (alternative) engines and Jack Kerlin patent and I come across this forum (thread237-122293). In what class or type of engine tech. do you position the new upgraded class of engine (more performant? engine, besides the controler and batt.) from the new Tesla Motors' car? and Ian Wright X1 electric?
Thanks for your help.

 

[jraef]

Not sure what you are asking, but as much as I like (and crave) a Tesla Motors car, at $92,000 base price I can afford 20 years worth of $3.00/gal gas for a $30,000 conventional car with an IC engine that gets only 20 GPM.

As to the motor (not engine) technology, they are not using anything all that revolutionary or unusual. They use marketing terms that imply this, but to their credit they provide accurate engineering information. They state that the motors run from 85-95% efficient. That is well within the current design capabilities of AC motors, in fact, maybe even a little on the low side! From what I have heard, the only real tangible improvement is the power to weight ratio, something very critical to vehicle design, but not a big deal for industrial motors. they have probably sacrificed something to get that, most likely life span. But hey, we don't EXPECT cars to last forever!

What I think Tesla Motors has done well, which is very important, was to design an entire car as a complete system that is intended to be powered by electricity, rather than adapt an IC engine designed car to hold an electric motor and drive. They also got completely away from the boxy ugly practical vehicle designs that existed in the past which only appealed to the counter-culture green types. Ian Wright has added market buzz as well, which also furthers this ideal. Again, his car doesn't use anything out of the ordinary either. Electric motors ARE ALREADY capable of this kind of performance, they just proved it can be sexy too.

Hopefully by making it flashy and sexy, the concept of all-electric cars will gain some cache' and become more desirable by those of us who LIKE our cars to be an expression of ourselves (or at least our warped image of ourselves), which will finally start to force the auto makers to re-introduce them in more affordable versions. I think the unexpected success of hybrids has already lead the way for that.


Funny side note on a quote from one of the articles on Wrightspeed's X-1 where they were describing benefits;

Zero oil consumption (electricity does not come from oil).

LOL, sure it doesn't....

JRaef.com
"Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems." Scott Adams
For the best use of Eng-Tips, please click here -> faq731-376

 

[Skogsgurra]

I know I will be punished now...

There are oil fired power stations.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[jraef]

That's what I meant Gunnar, I was being sarcastic.

 

[1plusmorehp]

The point is not price or if there are oil fired power stations (tky skogsgurra/jraef, tky for your poste) but that hidro/solar/wind are recicable. Look forward guys.

Jraef, you said that 'They state that the motors run from 85-95% efficient'. How much the breaking or recharching special coils in the motor (as in the case of Tesla) draw from that percentage. More than 5%? Everything you add to the rotor is supposed to make it go slower from a 99/100% efficiency perspective. Is that right?
From a pure theoretical (electrical) point of view a well tuned resonant engine is supposed to go for ever, independent of it's weight?
Tankyou for your help.

 

[1plusmorehp]

I didn't say I am studing railroad enginnering. Is there a forum on that?
Another question: I am looking for an idea in what's the best electric car in the market (not hibrid)? In price and performance; cheap, a good performer and good quality, day to day use & small mileage. (I am not going to buy at least for now , just looking).
Thanks.

 

[DickDV]

It's ok, guys. The toughest thing to pull off successfully in a group of techies or engineers is getting the desired response to a joke!

I guess we're just now "wired" for humor!

 

[1plusmorehp]

Thanks for your answer DickDV. Which document(s) should I read or study (101). Sorry for being so out of sink here (to all).

 

[cswilson]

jraef, skogs:

There are virtually no oil-fired electric plants left in the developed world. The oil crises of the 70s weeded out those that were still around then. There are still plenty of fossil-fuel-fired plants left -- in the US, still a majority. (From top down, the sources of electric power in the US are: coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro; nothing else is significant.)

For both reasons of geopolitics and possible impending scarcities, I would love to see vehicles powered from other sources besides oil. Whether we can do this at any reasonable cost is still an open issue. We should start seeing plug-in hybrids available by the end of the decade. From a direct ROI standpoint to the buyer, I doubt that they will be worth it, at least initially. But hopefully, they will still appeal to enthusiasts, and this initial market could start these down the cost/volume/experience curve.

Curt Wilson
Delta Tau Data Systems

 

[jraef]

Curt,
I guess I am guilty of over generalization when I made my sarcastic remark on the "electricity does not come from oil" comment. I was thinking natural gas plants, of which there are a bunch around me here in the SF Bay Area. I was equating "oil" as fossil fuels.



JRaef.com
"Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems." Scott Adams
For the best use of Eng-Tips, please click here -> faq731-376

 

[1plusmorehp]

I have a diesel Range Rover (2.500cc VM engine). I am trying to change, for my 5 mn rides (about 3Km), with a small electric vehicle like Smart or Segway (as soon as I get a job, also for the fun of it and it's quiet).
Plus I want to get some knowledge on electric motors for trains, Maglevs, TGVs, etc. I am trying to get two answers in one I guess. I got lost a little. I joined this forum yesterday.