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| CSIRO | SOLVE | Issue 13 | Jun 08 | |
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COVER STORY
The quest for greener cars is driving CSIRO scientists to step up research into hybrid engine and battery technologies, and light metalsThe automobile has come a long way since the first Australian-made car – the Holden 48-215 (known as the fX) – came off the assembly line in 1948. Yet, while the sci-fi flying cars depicted in films like Back to the Future still remain far into the distant future, scientists and engineers are working on the next generation of cars that are cleaner, smarter and safer.
Hybrid vehicle technologies are a particular area of CSIRO research, with expectations that the technology can be taken much further than the first of such vehicles now on the market. Dr Howard Lovatt, leader of a team researching energy-conversion devices, says the big-picture benefit from hybrid cars, which use petrol and batteries to power the vehicle, is fuel saving, which is important in reducing CO2 pollution. “But you can also reduce many other forms of pollution – particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) – because you can operate the petrol engine more efficiently, which tends to help reduce all the emissions,” he says. Hybrid cars, which sell for about $2000 more than an equivalent conventional car, predominantly fall into two main categories: ‘series’ and ‘parallel’ hybrids. In series hybrids a petrol engine provides power for the batteries which, in turn, power the car via an electric motor. In parallel hybrids the engine turns the wheels, like a conventional car, and the electric motor boosts the power using the batteries. The electric motor can be run as a generator to supply the car’s battery. It is estimated that hybrid cars save between 30 and 50 per cent of fuel compared with a conventional petrol-powered vehicle, depending on the size of the battery pack used. The Energy Transformed Flagship is advancing research in this area through the development of the UltraBattery, a technology that combines a supercapacitor and a lead-acid battery in a single unit, creating a hybrid car battery that lasts longer, costs less and is more powerful than current technologies used in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Director of the Energy Transformed Flagship Dr John Wright believes the UltraBattery is a step forward for low-emission transport and the uptake of HEVs. “Our tests have shown the UltraBattery has a life cycle that is at least four times longer and produces 50 per cent more power than conventional battery systems. It’s also about 70 per cent cheaper than the batteries currently used in HEVs,” he says. An HEV utilising the power of an UltraBattery recently d a series of tests in the UK, clocking up 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometres) under rigorous conditions. “Passing the 100,000- mile mark and maintaining its strong and healthy condition is evidence of the UltraBattery’s capabilities,” Dr Wright says. CSIRO’s ongoing research will further improve the technology’s capabilities, making it lighter, more efficient and capable of setting new performance standards for HEVs. The technology is expected to be commercially available for the automotive market in 2009. CSIRO has been involved in hybrid car development since the late 1990s and was instrumental in the development of the ECOmmodore in 2000, a test vehicle built in Australia by Holden.
In addition to hybrid technology, CSIRO is also researching the use of light metals to improve fuel economy simply by making cars much lighter. Substantial weight reductions are possible by using more lightweight materials such as aluminium and magnesium. One project undertaken through the CSIRO Light Metals Flagship has resulted in the creation of a new permanent-mould casting process for magnesium. This has led to the creation of a new company, T-Mag Pty Ltd, a joint venture between CSIRO, casting manufacturer Alloy Technologies International, machine manufacturer Flotek and automation provider SAGE Automation. Barrie Finnin, general manager of alloy technologies at CSIRO, says that while the aluminium version of this process has in the past typically been used to create ‘safety critical structural components’, such as brake components and wheels, prior to the creation of T-Mag, a similar process has not been available for magnesium. GETTING FROM A TO B WITH ALTERNATIVE FUELSAs CSIRO works towards developing a greener car, the Energy Transformed Flagship is also looking at a greener way to fill the tank. CSIRO’s alternative transport fuels (ATF) research explores the feasibility of alternatives to traditional fuel types, such as petrol or diesel, and looks at the possible biophysical, social and economic impacts of their production and adoption. CSIRO’s ATF research covers a broad range of options for our transport fuel future, including
The research seeks to answer vital questions such as:
CSIRO is also using titanium – another lightweight metal – to create components and sheets using powdered metallurgy processes. “We think that’s probably going to be the most greenhouse-friendly approach to manufacturing shaped components in titanium,” Mr Finnin says. As well as using lighter metals, fuel economy in vehicles can be improved by removing sources of wear and friction within an engine, with data showing an estimated 20 per cent of fuel is lost due to friction and pumping losses. Mr Finnin says that while friction can be dealt with through lubrication, once wear sets in there can be a significant degradation in performance. To counter this, CSIRO has developed diamond-like carbon coatings that will not only reduce friction but result in greater durability against the normal wear and tear of running an engine. “It’s attractive to have a material such as carbon for things like valve stems and roller rockers – the things that are going to get worn as an engine ages,” Mr Finnin says. The quest for greener cars has also led CSIRO to work on developing technologies that recover the thermal energy which vehicles usually lose without benefit. It is estimated that only about 20 per cent of energy created in a standard car by burning fuel is actually used to move the vehicle. Of the 80 per cent that is lost, about 40 per cent goes down the exhaust and 30 per cent is used in the radiator. CSIRO has demonstrated that if this escaping heat can be captured, it can be used to generate electricity, which can be used to power a car’s electrical systems or, if the car is a hybrid, to power battery packs. The key to achieving this capture is what is known as a thermo-electric device – a device with no moving parts, made out of semi-conductors, which acts as a heat pump when electricity is fed into it, pumping heat from one side to the other, and which can generate electricity if one side of the device is kept hot and the other cold.
Dr Lovatt says this can be achieved if heat from the exhaust, which measures about 500?C, is used to heat one side of the thermo-electric device, and the car’s existing cooling system, which typically sits at about 100?C, is used to keep the other side of the device comparatively cool. “You can get in the order of a 20 per cent fuel saving by doing that,” he says. CSIRO has also employed thermo-electric devices to power a car’s air conditioning, even when the vehicle is stationary and not running. This can also be used to provide individual cooling to each part of a car, rather than the current centralised systems favoured by car manufacturers. Dr Gary White, research program manager at the AutoCRC, an organisation CSIRO helped establish in 2005 with the aim of developing technology and processes to strengthen the viability of the Australian automotive industry, says the connection between CSIRO and industry is helping drive the future of Australia’s automotive industry. “That’s the great thing about CSIRO – being able to marshal resources to throw at a problem in response to what our industry is saying, and helping them innovate with their products and processes,” Dr White says. “Innovative companies that become technology leaders will be our success stories in the future automotive industry. “Our industry is finding its global position, and is seeking to transform into a much more technologically innovative and competitive cohort of companies. AutoCRC, CSIRO, and all our research partners are committed to supporting this transformation by collaborating to develop world-class innovative technology. It’s an exciting chemistry that has been created, and the world is noticing.” APPLICATION Improving hybrid technologies and using light metals in vehicle manufacture for the next generation of cars that are more intelligent, greener and safer. BENEFIT Fuel savings and reduced pollution.  The AutoCRC’s concept car, the Duoleta. VIRTUAL CAR IN CLASS OF ITS OWNIt was a big ask – to create a four-person passenger car that uses less than three litres of petrol per 100 kilometres, has a kerb weight of about 650 kilograms and can travel from zero to 100kph inside 10 seconds while, at the same time, conforming to all safety standards. The result was the AutoCRC Duoleta, a ‘virtual concept car’, which CSIRO’s Barrie Finnin says is in a class of its own: “There are no vehicles out there that can do that right now.” The project, which started in late 2006 and was conducted in conjunction with the University of South Australia, used virtual modelling of new technologies, including ultra-low fuel-consumption technology, to determine whether such a car was possible. The study examined market drivers that influence vehicle purchasing behaviour, as well as performance and costing of the car given the market requirements. The results, which were publicly released in mid-2007, showed that using available technology such a car would be possible. Mr Finnin says although it would have been exciting if a manufacturer had decided to take the concept into production, none of the issues that the car dealt with will go away. The lessons learnt from the study can be applied to other vehicle platforms to help reduce fuel consumption and emissions in the short term and, in the long term, to influence the design of future generations of vehicles. “Now that we’ve done that work, we actually have some confidence that a manufacturer – whether in Australia or elsewhere – is going to able to achieve these sort of performances.”
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