Browse Topic: Environmental technologies
There's a chaotic elephant in almost every room of the 2025 Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo: Tariffs and the Trump administration's seemingly hostile approach to environmentally friendly technology like EVs and alternative energy sources. The Trump administration's announcement on the second day of the ACT Expo that it would be lowering auto tariffs only underscored the uncertainty.
Defying engineering challenges in record time, researchers at the University of Maryland developed a machine learning model that eliminates hassles in materials design to yield green technologies used in wearable heaters.
The researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed an algorithm, which gives an accurate measurement of tree diameter, an important measurement used by scientists to monitor forest health and levels of carbon sequestration. The algorithm uses low-cost, low-resolution LiDAR sensors that are incorporated into many mobile phones, and provides results that are just as accurate, but much faster, than manual measurement techniques.
Previous material solution for industrial inverter applications was PC/ABS for more than 10 years. Recently, PC/ABS has been reduced in the market due to customer needs for improved performance of existing materials and market trends for improved material like raising carbon credits are emphasizing the need for eco-friendly environmental technologies and rapidly growing smart factories to deliver, smart power consumption technologies for environmental protection and energy saving. This trend is rapidly changing in common life and various industries, so new material solutions are required to improve effective material solutions such as less or no outgassing, thermal stability and lower process temperature availability, color stability, better flame retardant properties and so on. In this study, according to new industry requirements, material evaluation was conducted with SABIC NORYLTM N-series PPE resins and incumbent PC/ABS material. Through various experiments, we confirmed the excellence of N1050 which can be processed at a lower temperature as 260~275°C injection molding process with less outgassing, fewer flow mark and gate mark and weld line. Better flowability for each processing temperature and MFR and flammable retardant properties and thermal analysis through TGA are also checked, so the thermal stability of N1050 is identified superior properties for the inverter application comparing to incumbent material.
As we move towards greener technologies in the transportation sector, it becomes mandatory to monitor its impact or the utilization of such a technology in the intended manner. Improper usage results in lesser utilization of benefits of such green technologies. One such scenario is the range anxiety; users of parallel hybrid vehicles face a dilemma between charging and refueling the vehicle. If the hybrid vehicle is operated in a gas-powered mode most of the time, the emission levels would be comparable to those of gas-powered vehicles. On the other hand, gas-powered vehicles have no mechanism to completely cut CO2 emissions, unlike hybrids (electric drive). Emission regulatory bodies are facing difficulties in regulating each road vehicle. Therefore, the actual emission levels emitted from the vehicles are higher than the estimate provided by regulations. This paper discusses the possibility of implementing a Carbon Credit Scoring for each class of vehicles. The paper also proposes the possibility of implementing a flexible-fuel pricing model. Each vehicle is assigned a credit score while purchasing, equating to the total CO2 the vehicle can emit during its lifetime. The credit score drops whenever the user exhibits poor driving behavior, which affects the environment, for example, when the user utilizes the engine drive (in the case of parallel hybrid systems or gas-powered vehicles) over the electric drive. The credit score shall improve whenever good practices are adapted by the driver. For example, when the driver charges from a station that utilizes renewable sources to generate electricity or if he prefers to do slow charging instead of fast charging. The engine can be immobilized if the carbon credit score is too low. To undo the immobilization, the user must purchase additional carbon credits from the emission regulatory bodies. The emission regulatory bodies can utilize this additional revenue to develop more charging stations and infrastructure that utilizes renewable energy sources.
Researchers have developed a low-cost device that can selectively capture carbon dioxide gas while it charges. Then, when it discharges, the carbon dioxide (CO2) can be released in a controlled way and collected to be reused or disposed of responsibly.
As it became clear at the onset of COVID-19 pandemic that the novel coronavirus was transmitted through the air, several companies realized their NASA-derived air-quality technologies could help combat its spread. And they soon found themselves overwhelmed by demand from schools to hospitals, shopping centers, office buildings, airports, and even buses.
Recent technical advances have enabled flywheel energy storage systems (FESS) to become more compact and able to support higher-power applications. Due to their proven reliability, low cost of ownership, and favorable green environmental aspects, engineers and managers of data centers, hospitals, industrial systems, electric rail, and microgrid applications are reaping the benefits of clean energy storage that flywheels offer.
Recent automotive trend shows that customer demand is moving towards bigger size vehicle with more comfort, space, safety, feature and technology. Global market of SUV is projected to surpass 21 million units by 2020. Despite economic slowdown and weak new car sales worldwide, India and China will continue to be primary market for SUV due to sheer size of population, urban expanding middle class and larger untapped rural market. However, stricter emission norms push for clean and green technology and unfavorable policy towards use of diesel vehicle has made the SUV design very challenging due to conflicting needs. Due to bigger size of vehicle, aerodynamic design plays an important role in achieving emission targets and higher fuel efficiency. This paper highlights the aerodynamic development of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, which is an entry level SUV vehicle with high ground clearance of 198 mm and best in class fuel economy of 24.3 kmpl. CFD has been extensively used for exploring the various design configurations and has helped in selecting the optimized aero-parts configuration based on aerodynamic performance at concept stage which has ultimately reduced the vehicle drag coefficient by around 8%. CFD results have been compared with wind tunnel testing for base configurations which is having more than 97 % correlation.
Nowadays, one of the most important roles in vehicle development is the aerodynamic, which aims efficiency on fuel consumption and leads to a green technology. Several initiatives around the world are regulating emissions and efficiency of vehicles such as EURO for European Marketing and the INOVAR Project to be implemented in Brazil on 2017. Thus, this study intend to perform an optimization to minimize the drag force of a hatchback vehicle. The main goal of this work is demonstrate the potential of optimization techniques to provide an aerodynamic shape improvement for the driver side outside rear view mirror of a hatchback vehicle. The optimization solver used in this work is the Adjoint Solver, which makes shape sensitivity analysis and mesh/volume morphing. The study was conducted using CFD simulations to reduce the drag force of current production hatchback vehicle previously validated and correlated in wind tunnel test. Firstly, the optimization solver is used to improve the surface of the view mirror to decrease its drag force. Results show drag coefficient decrease in 0.008 for the optimized surface of the view mirror. This work demonstrated the potential of optimization technique, which can be applied in early stages of projects and extended to optimize several surfaces of body vehicle.
Aerodynamics plays a key role in nowadays vehicle development, aiming efficiency on fuel consumption, which leads to a green technology. Several initiatives around the world are regulating emissions and efficiency of vehicles such as EURO for European Marketing and the INOVAR Auto Project to be implemented in Brazil on 2017. In order to meet requirements in terms of performance, especially on aerodynamics, automakers are focusing on aero-efficient exterior designs and also adding deflectors, covers, active spoilers and several other features to meet the drag coefficient. Usually, the aerodynamics properties of a vehicle are measured in both CFD simulations and wind tunnels, which provide controlled conditions for the test that could be easily reproduced. During the real operations conditions, external factors can affect the flow over the vehicle such as cross wind in open highways. The aerodynamic behavior of the vehicle can also be affected by the influence of the user such as by opening the windows in order to cool down the cabin, which is the main topic of this paper. In this work, 12 different window-opening combinations are presented and the drag values compared with a baseline model, considering fully closed windows. The study was conducted using CFD simulations of a current production hatchback vehicle, with two passenger inside and full interior cabin representation. Results show drag increment for all presented cases, compared with baseline configuration, which also implies in fuel consumption increase. Further studies on cabin cooling effects and passenger’s thermal comfort are conducted in order to complement this paper.
Rare-earth elements are key to applications as varied as traction motors, catalytic converters, and wind turbines, but high prices and supply shortages have the auto industry grappling with design changes and other alternatives. Not too long ago, rare earths were little-discussed minerals that occupied an obscure row of the Periodic Table of the Elements. Nowadays, neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, and other rare-earth elements (REEs) are globally traded market commodities that command high prices and can be in short supply. That's because when it comes to making magnets and other high-performance products, REEs have almost alchemical abilities. Add neodymium to iron and boron, do some special processing, and presto! You have the strongest permanent magnet ever. Add in a few weight-percent of neodymium's much-rarer cousin, dysprosium, and the magnet will operate at high temperatures and resist losing its magnetism for longer.
Electric Motor and Drivetrain (Electric Mobility) Testing is a critical part of bringing any electric drivetrain into production. In this paper the requirements for an electric drivetrain test cell are discussed. The implementations of such test cells are described and examples of test results are provided. In particular, the energy and power requirements for PM brushless DC dynamometers and a PM brushless Unit Under Test (UUT) connected through a common dc bus are described. Simulation of the set-up is developed using MATLAB/Simulink and verified using empirical data from the test bench. The data used represents various steady state load conditions during durability test cycles. This “Smart Green Technology” concept not only reduces the energy requirement from the grid but also eliminates the inefficiencies related to putting energy back on the grid.
STUDENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING AT THE NED UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY BUILD THE FIRST ONBOARD FUEL-CELL VEHICLE OF PAKISTAN. FUEL -CELL TECHNOLOGY has the potential to change the world. Why? Because it's a green technology and has better heat and power efficiency than the conventional internal combustion engine and other power generation sources. The technology is not new to the world; it was invented by William Grove in 1839 based on the principle that was discovered by German scientist Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1838. Later fuel-cell technology was developed step by step and, in 1959, the Project Gemini space mission launched by NASA was the first commercial use of a fuel cell. After this extensive research and development project, further work was carried out and is still in progress. Today, with energy and environment the main concerns of the world, this technology could lead the world to a new path.
Airbus researchers discuss material options to fulfill current and potential environmental requirements over a product's in-service life. In accordance with the guideline given by Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) and EADS Vision 2020, the development of eco-efficient materials and the corresponding industrial processes is key to reducing the environmental impact of the aeronautics industry. It is a clear need to fulfill legislative requirements-e.g., REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of CHemical substances) or solvent legislation-as well as to be in line with EADS' internal commitments given in the frame of ISO 14001 certification. In this context, environmental-friendly materials and processes are enablers for new aircraft design solutions and also the basis to improve existing aircraft design and build processes. Based on March 2011 figures, 43 entries (groups of substances) are mentioned in the so-called REACH candidate list. Considering the distribution of products that contain these substances and that are currently in use for the Airbus build process, the highest impact is found on products used for aircraft surface protection (89%). The remaining 11% are spread between composite (7%), metallic (3%), and assembly (1%) technology.
Vehicle Development Insights from Industry: Technologies and Trends for Future Growth - A smarter future. The off-highway equipment industry is extremely dynamic, with environmental pressures and wildly fluctuating markets creating daily challenges. Key business decisions are not made lightly or on a whim. Research is conducted, needs are identified, forecasts are projected, and goals are formed. This approach is taken because most of us believe that even more important than what the industry looks like today is what it will look like in the future. Of course, when a global recession suddenly delivers a vicious uppercut that challenges our strategic plans and standard processes, it's easy for any company to get caught up in the present and lose sight of long-term goals. Some may even be hit so hard that they forget to do what's necessary to maintain a position of strength in the market once the economy rebounds.
Due to the air pollution and energy crisis, the added values to environmental protection from the green technology passenger cars have received scrutiny by consumers. In order to enhance the comprehension of consumers' acceptance in green technology passenger cars, the goal of this study is to promote automotive designer's understanding on the affective response of consumers on automotive form design. In general, consumers' preference is mainly based on the vehicles' form features that are traditionally manipulated by designers' intuitive experience rather than an effective and systematic analysis. Therefore, when encountered the increasing competition in automotive market nowadays, enhancing the car designer's understanding of consumers' preference on the form features of green technology passenger cars to fulfill customers' demands has become a common objective among automotive makers. In this paper, adjective evaluation data of customers were screened first from questionnaire to obtain baseline information. Secondly, automotive style features were systematically examined by numerical definition-based form representation. Finally, a predictive model based on these “adjectives” selected earlier was constructed using support vector regression (SVR) to incorporate the relationship between customers' affective responses and automotive style features. The experimental results can be used for the future development of automotive, especially work as references of green technology passenger cars form design and support automotive makers to bring visual expectation on automotive form design to consumers' experience.
The environmental issues confronting the automotive industry are legion at a time when the industry has not been in the best position to respond. Concerns have been raised that the industry needs to be producing “green mobility products” without definition, specificity, or expression of customer need. Business infrastructure and the regulatory landscapes are uncertain, but likely to be restrictive for the automotive sector, especially with regard to the environment and green issues. Actions the automotive industry could consider include: develop a common dictionary of terms related to “green mobility products”; address the issues affecting the industry before regulations are imposed; make the Mobility Sector part of the solution; focus on being environmentally responsive, cost-saving, and time-sensitive; and assure that the Mobility Sector is recognized as a leader for new, green technology. Following an SAE workshop that addressed these issues and was supported by the State of Michigan and the Michigan Green Chemistry Roundtable, SAE's Motor Vehicle Council established the Green Technology Systems Group (GTSG) to serve as a guiding body for consensus standards development for environmental sustainability issues in the automotive sector. GTSG has reviewed existing standards and begun to explore new standards that need to be created for the automotive industry. Four Task Forces have been established: Vehicle Materials, focusing on biobased materials; Implementing Principles for Green Chemistry and Engineering; Automotive Green Technology Case Studies; and Terminology and Definitions for Automotive Green Technologies. Collaboration with other SAE Committees has been initiated so as to leverage expertise and knowledge. A report on the workshop that initiated these activities and a status report on current GSTG activities and projects will be presented.
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