Introduction Currently, most vehicles on the road use internal combustion engines (ICEs). This type of engine has existed from as early as the 19th century, when Nikolaus Otto created the first 4-stroke cycle (Otto-cycle) system, which is still used in cars to this day. As of 2010, the vehicular population surpassed 1 billion (according to the research by Ward’s Auto [1]), meaning the IC engine is extremely widespread throughout the world. However, this does not mean that an IC engine is the most effective way of producing power for vehicles nowadays. They have many problems, which include but are not limited to increased fuel consumption and high CO2 emissions. There have been many attempts to improve the IC engine, including the …show more content…
For each cylinder, there is a piston attached to a crankshaft, allowing it to move up and down (i.e. complete a stroke), an intake manifold housing the intake valve, connected to the combustion chamber and exhaust valve. The intake valve opens, and air is taken into the combustion chamber, as the piston is pulled towards the crankshaft (Intake Stroke). Then the valves are closed, and the piston is extended, pressurising a combination of air and fuel in the compression chamber, causing combustion (Compression Stroke). This instantaneous combustion causes the pressure in the combustion chamber to increase and act on the face of the piston, causing it to be pushed back towards the crankshaft (Power Stroke). After this, the exhaust valve is opened, and the gas escapes (Exhaust Stroke). Idling However, every time one cycle is completed, some fuel is used to create the spark during the power stroke. This means that when the car is idling (i.e. the engine is on, but the car is stationary), a lot of fuel and energy is wasted. This will not only negatively affect fuel consumption, but also increase the CO2 emissions, which are already quite high. As stated by the U.S. Department of Energy, around 27 million tonnes (30 million tons) of CO2 is produced in the US alone [3], just due to idling vehicles. Personal vehicles also waste approximately 3 million tonnes of fuel annually, just
After many years of trial and error, a combination of inventors and engineers developed a practical, effective internal combustion engine that greatly affected the world. This paper will give opposing views on the background and analyze the effects it had on transportation and the environment.
Idling may cause air pollution that harms the health. Cars emit pollutants that form smog like nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide. These pollutants may cause fatal human diseases, including: asthma, heart disease, chronic bronchitis and cancer. Moreover, idling cars emits carbon dioxide (CO2), a main forming gas of greenhouse effect. In New York City, idling cars produce 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year. Also, idling wastes fuel and money. You can save around 1/5 to 7/10 of a gallon of fuel for every hour of not idling ("Attention Drivers! Turn Off Your Idling Engines"). According to Sustainable America, Americans spend in average 16 minutes of idling per day, which equals driving eight miles
Electric cars are becoming very popular in today’s world and are becoming more main stream. One reason for this is the need for automobiles that have a lower or a zero carbon footprint. For the majority of the history of the automobile, the propulsion system was a gas or a diesel engine that would run off of fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels is very hazardous to our world and also creates much toxic pollution. However, electric cars run off of electricity, which is a very clean and pollution free resource, depending on how the electricity was produced of course. In this paper we are going to examine the history of electric cars, look into modern electric car technology, and peer into the future of electric car technology to see if EVs might be the answer to dramatically reducing our global pollution.
In today’s sociality almost every aspect of life depends on the use of energy, especially in automobiles. There are about 253 million automobiles in the United States, but only about 500,000 of them are electric based. That is why I chose the topic to inform people of hydrogen powered electric cars. While, there is a large supply of fossil fuel, it is important to note that fossil fuels are a non-renewable source of energy. It is important to incorporate renewable sources of energy such as electricity in case we run out of fossil fuel. Therefore, electric powered cars should be popularized to limit the dependence on fossil fuel. There are many methods that generate electricity such as: solar, wind, hydropower, and hydrogen.
The piston then travels down pulling in fresh air, (third stroke), after the piston bottoms again it travels up compressing the fresh air, (fourth stroke). The fuel is then injected and one cycle is completed in 720 degrees or two full rotations of the crankshaft.
In 10 years, it is believed that the electric car will slowly start to push the gasoline/petrol vehicle to the curb, and it will do it with style and swagger. In this ever growing age of technology and advancement, more and more people are either looking very seriously into or have already transitioned from ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. The transition is seemingly a slow one for the majority of the public and although it is understandable, it is also inevitable. Combustion engine vehicles have been around for over a century and have dominated the car industry greatly. The reliance on ICE engines can be visible in any direction someone turns, walking through the streets of any city. The mindset that ICE rules, and is the only efficient and viable method of transportation is slowly being replaced by the ever decreasing well of fossil fuels and oil on earth. Oil has been the spine of the Earth and the gasoline car, it’s pumping heart.
As the piston reaches the bottom of its travel, the exhaust valve opens. Now, as the piston moves up on the exhaust stroke, it forces the burned gases out of the cylinder through the exhaust port. When the piston reaches the top of its travel, the exhaust valve closes, and the intake valve opens. The cycle repeats again with the intake stroke. The four strokes are continuously repeated during the operation of the engine
In the internal combustion engine, the piston starts form the top. As the crankshaft rotates the piston will start to move down which will allow the intake valve to open so air and fuel can flow inside the combustion chamber. In this process, the mixture of air and fuel gets pulled in the combustion chamber.
Introduction Increasing carbon emissions are becoming a large problem when considering global warming. The high energy intensity transportation sector contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and primary energy consumption, with emissions and energy use steadily increasing as the population grows (IEA 2013; Pollet et al. 2012; World Energy Council 2007). More than half of these vehicles are personal vehicles (EPA 2014; Li & Shimamoto 2011) with a substantial percentage (> 90%) of transport energy coming from fossil fuels, which is inherently coupled with GHG emissions and air pollutants (Avci et al. 2015; Ribeiro et al. 2007). Environmental damage, stricter emissions regulations and depleting oil resources causing economic issues have all motivated research on energy transition away from fossil fuels seeing many automotive manufacturers adopting new technologies (Chiara & Canova 2013; Dings, T&E 2011; US EPA 2013). Therefore, a revolution in the automotive and fuel industries will prevail in years to come. It is essential to alter society’s current reliance on fossil fuel based transportation to decrease the large carbon footprint of the transportation sector, therefore the development of alternative sustainable fuels is imperative not only for the protection of the environment, but for the maintenance of energy security. Environmental and economic issues can be addressed by substituting current fossil fuel based transportation with low-carbon,
The major cause of their ballooning demand in the market is their efficiency and environmental health. The vehicles do not emit pollutant gases. Like the use of the sun, the use of electricity has not been associated to any malicious products. This factors has caused the global demand for the cars rise uncontrollably. Unlike the fuel engine vehicles engine, the electric is less labor intensive. The vehicles also have low maintenance cost as compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. At the same time, the source of energy, the electricity, has become the easiest form of energy generation by many states in the world. Therefore, electric vehicles do not have energy dependency on imported fuels. Electrical energy can be obtained from solar, wind and even nuclear. With many governments showing great efforts in increasing the power generated into the national grid, the possibility for running on absolute electricity vehicles has hit the market.
Since the beginning of the automobile the power plant has been evolving. From the early days of the steam powered vehicle to gas, diesel and hydrogen powered engines of today. The newest power plants now are electric and electric hybrid vehicles but there is still one thing that hasn 't been completely replaced in this type of vehicle, and that is the internal combustion engine. There have been some innovations in recent years for the internal combustion engine, but it still has a way to go.
Gasoline powered cars are everywhere, with 800 million of them in 2008 (Seamans), it would be hard for the civilized world to give the car up for an alternative mode of transportation. The internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) provides transportation to millions everyday, someday though the petroleum supplies will run dry and an alternative will need to be found. If we as a society wait until that day to find the alternative, said alternative will be costly and probably inefficient. Electric cars have skulked in the shadows, neglected and abused, but soon that all will change.
Everyday people use cars to get from one place to another, whether that’s from their home to work or from work to the airport or even city thousands of miles away. Cars especially in the United States are hailed as efficient forms of transportation because of their ease of use and relative affordability. However, in recent years with the rise in crude oil prices and the demand for more efficient vehicles alternative fuel sources have gained more traction than in the past. However, the many caveats of complex technology and increased price are major drawbacks which must be considered when looking at electric cars. In the end electric cars are better for the environment due to increased performance and reduced overall CO2 emissions.
Since it’s invention and birth in 1886 automobiles have influenced the world in a huge way. It saved people a lot of energy, time and money. Motorized wagons replaced horse carriages and within a few decades Ford started making affordable models of cars with higher efficiency, which revolutionized the concept of transportation. The first ever car that was built was powered by steam. But with development in science and technology other efficient fuel sources were invented. The present day cars run on petrol (gasoline), diesel, and electricity and even sound. With the increased depletion of coal and coal-derived products, the continued use of automobiles is becoming uncertain. Energy
Let’s first focus on how an engine works. At first, the fuel (gasoline) is mixed with air and ignited in the cylinder. There will be a piston in this cylinder that moves up and down due to the gasoline-air explosion. When the piston continuously move up and down, the crankshaft (which is connected to the piston) will rotate. This crankshaft will transmit the power causing the car’s wheels to move. This is a process that happens every time you press the accelerator. This sound simple, but each part is considered to create a better engines in the future, the ones with higher efficiency, power and at the same time come with a reasonable size.