RIVERSIDE, Calif. (https://www.ucr.edu) — Batteries that power electric cars have problems. They take a long time to charge. The charge doesn’t hold long enough to drive long distances. They don’t allow drivers to quickly accelerate. They are big and bulky. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have redesigned the component […]
Automotive/Transportation
New approach advances wireless power transfer for vehicles
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new technology and techniques for transmitting power wirelessly from a stationary source to a mobile receiver – moving engineers closer to their goal of creating highway “stations” that can recharge electric vehicles wirelessly as the vehicles drive by. “We’ve made changes to both the receiver and the […]
Government speeds research on car safety systems
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is speeding up research on safety systems that automatically prevent drivers from operating their cars if they are drunk or aren’t properly buckled in. Officials also said Thursday that they expect to decide by year’s end how to encourage automakers to make some special safety systems already in certain high-end […]
Scientists to gain from view inside of fuel cells
Powerful scanners that give scientists a direct line of sight into hydrogen fuel cells are the latest tools Simon Fraser University researchers will use to help Ballard Power Systems Inc create more durable, lower-cost fuel cells. Use of these fuel cells in vehicles can substantially reduce harmful emissions in the transportation sector. The new Nano […]
Wrangling flow to quiet cars and aircraft
‘Serpentine plasma actuators’ described in Journal of Applied Physics may reduce noise and drag and increase fuel efficiency for future land and air vehicles WASHINGTON D.C. Oct. 18, 2013 — Plasmas are a soup of charged particles in an electric field, and are normally found in stars and lightning bolts. With the use of high […]
Hybrid cars are a status symbol of sorts for seniors, Baylor consumer study shows
Prestige, price and quality are major influences on older people’s decisions to buy ‘pro-environment’ vehicles, researchers say Paying extra bucks to “go green” in a hybrid car may pay off in self-esteem and image for older drivers, as well as give a healthy boost to the environment, according to a Baylor University study. The finding […]
Inductance-to-digital converter is presented as industry’s first for position and motion sensing
Texas Instruments unveiled what it asserts is the industry’s first inductance-to-digital converter (LDC), a data converter category that uses coils and springs as inductive sensors. This contactless sensing technology can be used to measure the position, motion, or composition of a metal or conductive target, as well as detect the compression, extension or twist of […]
Tesla fire shows electrics face safety challenges
When debris on a Seattle-area freeway pierced the battery of a $70,000-plus Tesla Model S and touched off a raging fire, it raised new safety concerns for electric-vehicle owners. It also caused rare jitters among investors, who of late have viewed Tesla as nearly invincible. Electric vehicles have scored well in government tests of front […]
Tesla says car fire began in battery after crash
SEATTLE (AP) — A fire that destroyed a Tesla electric car near Seattle began in the vehicle’s battery pack, officials said Wednesday, creating challenges for firefighters who tried to put out the flames. Company spokeswoman Liz Jarvis-Shean said the fire Tuesday was caused by a large metallic object that directly hit one of the battery […]
NSF, DOE partner to support University of Houston’s diesel emissions research
$1.2 million grant will fund work to develop new approach in designing a catalyst to better capture diesel emissions One of the ironies of automobile research: As diesel engines become more fuel efficient, reducing their emissions becomes more challenging. Better efficiency means that more of the energy in diesel fuel is being used to move […]