Hydraulic Hybrids

[NSXType-R]

Just read a somewhat old article on Howstuffworks.

An interesting read for those who are interested.

Howstuffworks "Introduction to How Hydraulic Hybrids Work"

The system is more efficient than a traditional gasoline electric hybrid in that it has less moving parts, thus it loses less energy to friction.

It's actually really simple- there is a tank of high pressured fluid (what it is I don't think the article goes into) and it is let go, powering the vehicle and captured in another less pressurized tank. Through regenerative braking, power is taken in and the highly pressurized tank is repressurized. Sounds interesting.

Faults that the article doesn't talk about-

Wouldn't you need batteries (or at least a capacitator) and stuff to store the energy to power the pump to repressurize the tank? Doesn't that mean that it isn't as simple as originally touted by the article?

How much power exactly are you getting out of the system?

Or, maybe I read the article too fast and didn't answer the questions I asked.

Oh, forgot about this too, UPS trucks have been using this system in the US, I think.

I'm pretty sure garbage trucks and buses would benefit from this system too.

[Taipan]

Whoever came up with the idea forgot one small fact - liquid is incompressable, hence you can't actually use liquid to store energy via pressure. You'd need to actually include a resovoir of gas to store pressure energy, then use the liquid as the energy transfer medium. Mind you, the weight involved and the losses incured in the fluid transfer would make it incredibly inefficient. The test of a great idea is whether it survives the 'seems like a good idea at the time' phase.

[Matra et Alpine]

"The accumulator holds not only the fluid brought over by the pump, but also pressurized nitrogen gas

With pic at Howstuffworks "Parallel and Series Hydraulic Hybrids"
Links provided by posters are your friend
Especially as UPS are USING IT

[NSXType-R]

With pic at Howstuffworks "Parallel and Series Hydraulic Hybrids"
Links provided by posters are your friend
Especially as UPS are USING IT

Oh.

[drakkie]

first thing that comes to mind is what about leakages ? Will the car break down or can they continue driving ? What fluid they using ? Normal hydraulic fluid is quite a bitch to the environment..

[NSXType-R]

Whoever came up with the idea forgot one small fact - liquid is incompressable, hence you can't actually use liquid to store energy via pressure. You'd need to actually include a resovoir of gas to store pressure energy, then use the liquid as the energy transfer medium. Mind you, the weight involved and the losses incured in the fluid transfer would make it incredibly inefficient. The test of a great idea is whether it survives the 'seems like a good idea at the time' phase.

first thing that comes to mind is what about leakages ? Will the car break down or can they continue driving ? What fluid they using ? Normal hydraulic fluid is quite a bitch to the environment..

I was mistaken. It's not a liquid, it's a gas that is being compressed, I think.

Check Matra's post.

[ruim20]

Howstuffworks does have some weird views on thing, check the diesel engine literature... hilarious!

[Matra et Alpine]

hmmm, I usually end up pointing lots of folks at HSW as it's good, concise and easy language.
What do you mean by "weird" ?

[ruim20]

hmmm, I usually end up pointing lots of folks at HSW as it's good, concise and easy language.
What do you mean by "weird" ?

I've read not so long ago on "howstuffworks" that diesel engines are noisy, polutent and dirty, i think it still says that diesel are used for rigs, boats and other industrial equipment... maybe not weird, but outdated

[nota]

I was mistaken. It's not a liquid, it's a gas that is being compressed, I think.

For trivia, this technology was perfected in a sleepy coastal town in rural Australia by three blokes working in a tin shed

With the support of a local truck dealer who provided a test vehicle and $10,000 capitol, these inventors formed a small company called Permo-Drive which secured international patents for their Regenerative Drive System (RDS) as described in this 2002 interview transcript

In heavy vehicle applications the 'parallel hybrid' RDS can deliver fuel savings of between 20% to 40%, along with commensurate improvements in pollution, performance & braking, and wear rates

[NSXType-R]

I've read not so long ago on "howstuffworks" that diesel engines are noisy, polutent and dirty, i think it still says that diesel are used for rigs, boats and other industrial equipment... maybe not weird, but outdated

I think they took that back now, with Bluetec diesels and such.

For trivia, this technology was perfected in a sleepy coastal town in rural Australia by three blokes working in a tin shed

With the support of a local truck dealer who provided a test vehicle and $10,000 capitol, these inventors formed a small company called Permo-Drive which secured international patents for their Regenerative Drive System (RDS) as described in this 2002 interview transcript

In heavy vehicle applications the 'parallel hybrid' RDS can deliver fuel savings of between 20% to 40%, along with commensurate improvements in pollution, performance & braking, and wear rates

Didn't know that. That's pretty cool. HSW never really said who invented the technology.

[ruim20]

I think they took that back now, with Bluetec diesels and such.

The first time i read it was about two months ago, common rail diesel engines have been around for a bit more and even injector pumps ones for even longer, i guess it's an american based site so it's understandable it focus on it's major users.

[tezla34]

I was mistaken. It's not a liquid, it's a gas that is being compressed, I think.

Check Matra's post.

It is a gas that is being compressed in the accumulators. See these guys from the article. They have some stuff on their site about the efficiencies of it.

Scottish company claims hybrid breakthrough | Cleantech.com

[NSXType-R]

It is a gas that is being compressed in the accumulators. See these guys from the article. They have some stuff on their site about the efficiencies of it.

Scottish company claims hybrid breakthrough | Cleantech.com

That's very interesting. Nice to see that they've modified a BMW.

Seems like a good technology to put to use in large vehicles, like trucks where that torque low down is more useful.

BTW, welcome to the forums!

[tezla34]

Cheers