CNET walks through the difference between two high tech automotive trends, turbos and superchargers, to increase power with less fuel. For more information visit www.cnet.com.
Automotive/Transportation
There’s a New Twist in Wind Blades
NSE Composites used Abaqus FEA to validate a Sandia-funded sweep-twist design that captures 12 percent more energy The basic physics and economics of wind turbine blades are relatively simple. For one, their power output is roughly proportional to the square of blade length. This relationship pushes designers to create increasingly longer blades for harvesting additional […]
Wind Farm in Colorado Expanding
Tri-State expects construction to start in July to expand the new 67-megawatt Colorado Highlands Wind project. The wind farm in Logan County became operational last December. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. says 14 GE turbines will be used to expand the project to 91 megawatts. Construction is expected to be completed this fall. Under […]
IAEA Inspects Japan’s Crippled Nuclear Plant
A U.N. nuclear watchdog team has begun inspecting Japan’s crippled nuclear plant, which has been plagued with radioactive water leaks and other glitches more than two years after it was struck by a tsunami. The International Atomic Energy Agency team is primarily reviewing the decommissioning of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which was ravaged in the […]
Alaska, DOE Agree to Study Unconventional Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy and the state of Alaska will collaborate on future research of unconventional energy resources in the Arctic, including abundant reservoirs of methane hydrate. The DOE’s acting assistant secretary for fossil energy, Christopher Smith, and Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan announced the agreement Tuesday and spoke to reporters […]
Honda to Open Energy-Efficient Plant for Compact Cars in Japan
TOKYO, April 16 (Kyodo) — Honda Motor Co. opened to the press on Tuesday an environmentally friendly auto production plant in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo scheduled to start operations in July. With green technologies including an advanced energy management system and solar power generation equipment introduced at the new plant, Honda will be able to […]
S&P Revises Rating Outlook on Toyota
NAGOYA, April 16 (Kyodo) — Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday revised the outlook of its long-term corporate credit rating on Toyota Motor Corp. to stable from negative, citing recovery in sales and reduced risk from the adverse impact of a strong yen. “The outlook revision reflects our view that Toyota Motor is likely to accelerate […]
UCLA engineers craft new material for high-performing ‘supercapacitors’
Discovery could provide rapid power to small devices, large industrial equipment Taking a significant step toward improving the power delivery of systems ranging from urban electrical grids to regenerative braking in hybrid vehicles, researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have synthesized a material that shows high capability for both […]
ORNL leading study focused on afterlife of electric vehicle batteries
Once they’ve finished powering electric vehicles for hundreds of thousands of miles, it may not be the end of the road for automotive batteries, which researchers believe can provide continued benefits for consumers, automakers and the environment. Five used Chevrolet Volt batteries are at the heart of the Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s […]
BP Manager Testifies at Trial Over Gulf Oil Spill
A BP team leader who supervised managers on the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 testified Monday that he was frustrated by last-minute changes to the drilling project, but didn’t have any safety concerns before the deadly blast. John Guide was BP’s wells team leader for the Deepwater Horizon project […]