|
|
|
|
|
|
I saw something about using flywheels to generate electricity, they were to run in a vacuum chamber, using magnetic bearings, and with modern materials could be spun up to huge RPM, the idea was to spin them up gradually overnight and use them in combination with batteries to give a substantial range increase when you hook them into the circuit, the main issue was the magnetic bearings not giving very much lateral support and if the flywheel hits the edge of the vacuum chamber at umpty bazillion RPM they can explode, cant find the site i was looking at but they seemed to be suggesting the problems were solvable and flywheel buses (or trams, can't remember) had actually already been used somewhere.
|
| |
Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ive worked for tuning companies here in the uk and australia. The last company i was with in australia had a modified golf cart we used around the pits, we used fuel cells instead of batteries and a separate smaller electric motor to run a generator to charge the batterries. We simply took the petrol motor off of the generator and put on the electric motor, with the fuel cells it was almost self charging. Unfortunately the company was sold and so was the golf cart.
|
| |
|
|
Stiff
Posted a lot
'kin 'ell
Posts: 3,007
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There's a guy who works for Junheinrich (sp?) the forklift truck manufacturer, and he's done a really good Mk3 Polo conversion using forklift parts from work.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I saw something about using flywheels to generate electricity, they were to run in a vacuum chamber, using magnetic bearings, and with modern materials could be spun up to huge RPM, the idea was to spin them up gradually overnight and use them in combination with batteries to give a substantial range increase when you hook them into the circuit, the main issue was the magnetic bearings not giving very much lateral support and if the flywheel hits the edge of the vacuum chamber at umpty bazillion RPM they can explode, cant find the site I was looking at but they seemed to be suggesting the problems were solvable and flywheel buses (or trams, can't remember) had actually already been used somewhere. Completely off topic, but some of the largest flywheel power systems in the world are down the road from me, they provide an instant dump of hundreds of megawatts of power to start a nuclear fusion reaction. Put one of those in your EV!  www.jet.efda.org/pages/focus/flywheels/index.html |
| |
Last Edit: Dec 8, 2009 12:14:29 GMT by herald948
"Jeremy Clarkson, a man we motor enthusiasts need on our side like Lewis Hamilton's F1 car needs a towing ball and a Sprite Musketeer" My motor |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blimey that dog looks pee'd off ! |
| |
"Jeremy Clarkson, a man we motor enthusiasts need on our side like Lewis Hamilton's F1 car needs a towing ball and a Sprite Musketeer" My motor |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If I were doing it (and I'm not, just talking out loud here) I'd get an ac motor (two small ones?)and a proper controller for it (them) that's that part of the car future proofed, can't sort decent battery's yet so some lead acid batterys AND a capacitor or two AND a small generator in the back.
The idea is that at 50mph it takes X wattage, so sort a genny that has X and you go as far as a can of petrol can take you, anything under 50 and the caps are charged up for over taking manoeuvres and acceleration and if your in town or some where with a speed limit of 30 off goes the generator until you run out of charge, won't need many battery's for 30 mph, lighter car then.
Didn't know ultra capacitors were heavy thanks for the info herald948, how heavy would a normal-ish one be?
Stick a solar panel on top as well for extra complication.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proper deep cycle traction lead-acid batteries (like milk float or fork lift batteries, not leisure cells), treated properly (3-stage charging with occasional equalising charges to de-sulphate the cells), will deep cycle to about 30% residual charge about 1,000 times. Coupled with a large super-capacitor to provide for surges of power (deep cycle batteries don't like high current draws) they should provide a decent power source. One thing to consider for improving range is the aerodynamics - decent aero can cut the fuel bills from a petrol engine by half, so I'd imagine that you could double the range of an EV with similar techniques. It would also allow you to go faster when being powered by a low-output generator in series-hybrid mode. www.aerocivic.com/ |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I saw something about using flywheels to generate electricity, they were to run in a vacuum chamber, using magnetic bearings, and with modern materials could be spun up to huge RPM, the idea was to spin them up gradually overnight and use them in combination with batteries to give a substantial range increase when you hook them into the circuit, the main issue was the magnetic bearings not giving very much lateral support and if the flywheel hits the edge of the vacuum chamber at umpty bazillion RPM they can explode, cant find the site I was looking at but they seemed to be suggesting the problems were solvable and flywheel buses (or trams, can't remember) had actually already been used somewhere. I read somewhere this technology is in use in France as backup power for their telecommunications network.. don't know if its true though |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Found this on the Wiki
|
| |
Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Have some electric 914s. Seem to be popular in for conversion in the Yankee States of Amerikee.
Wonder if a Mk1 MR2 would work in the same way.
|
| |
|
|
