Hybrid vehicles

Due to galloping technological development and it’s impact on day to day life of people, it’s effect on the various genres of society has become invincible and so is effect on automotive industry and people directly attached to this massive industry, manufacturers, customers, transport departments etc. Thus day to day increase in no. of vehicles on road is creating two major problems

• creating pollution endangering people’s life
• reducing natural resources of earth

To tackle these problems, modern day car makers have come up with the new revolutionary concept named Hybrid, which more no.of car makers are applying day be day. But many people fail to find a reply to the basic question, why a Hybrid, what does it actually mean, is it a kind of vehicle using mixed and impure fuels? Is it actually beneficial? These questions even came to me at one point of time and believe me searching the Internet or inquiring I got nothing but more confused. So I thought of coming up with this brief and simple description of a hybrid vehicle, it’s use, boons and banes.

Any vehicle that combines two or more sources of power that can directly or indirectly provide propulsion power is a hybrid. Most hybrid cars on the road right now are gasoline-electric hybrids, although French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen has two diesel-electric hybrid cars in the works. In this article my topic of discussion would be limited to gasoline-electric hybrid car which is a cross between a gasoline-powered car and an electric car.

A gas-powered car has a fuel tank, which supplies gasoline to the engine. The engine then turns a transmission, which turn the wheels. Whereas an electric car has a set of batteries that provides electricity to an electric motor. The motor turns a transmission, and the transmission turn the wheels. Performance wise when a gasoline engine can produce         100hp@5000-6000rpm, an electric engine can produce 100Kw(135hp)@15000rpm. Also an electric vehicle transmission has no need of a single gear with such high available motor rpm. But on the other hand consumption in electric vehicles is much higher and refueling is not convenient. So considering the factors that gasoline engine gives us better mileage and economy, but is prone to pollution, and electric vehicle very much anti polluting but less economic, scientists thought of conglomerating the boons of the two into one vehicle to get the best out of it.

Components of a Hybrid car:

• Gasoline engine: Smaller but more fuel efficient and anti emmisive
• Fuel tank:              Energy storage device (energy density of gasoline is much higher than batteries)
• Electric motor:  It acts as a motor as well a generator. It can draw energy from batteries and also return it.
• Generator:           Produces electric power
• Batteries:              Energy storage device for electric motor (both to and fro)
• Transmission :  Same as gasoline engine

Types of hybrid cars:

1. Parallel hybrid
2. Series hybrid

1.Parallel hybrid: There is a fuel tank that supplies gasoline to the engine and a battery that supplies power to the motor. Both engine and motor can turn the transmission which as a result turns the wheel.

2.Series hybrid: Here a gasoline engine turns a generator, and the generator can either charge the batteries or power an electric motor that drives the transmission. Thus, the gasoline engine never directly powers the vehicle.

Performance :

In a hybrid car the gasoline engine is much smaller in size and thus more efficient due to less no.of cylinders, less weight , operation neat to maximum load,less fuel consumption,smaller piston strokes. Thus a hybrid car engine with the smaller engine and with the aid of motor can perform as a car with some v6, v8 engine. Genuinely the hybrid car uses the full power range available and uses the peak power too which is hardly found in gasoline engines because of car dangerous vibration and ample heat generation may take place.

Improving fuel economy:

Modern day hybrid cars are even developing in providing a much better fuel economy which is indeed increasing its demand allover.

• Restoration of energy: Unlike normal vehicle, hybrid vehicles capture the kinetic energy of a moving vehicle during braking and store it in batteries for later usage. It does this by Regenerative braking procedure, i.e. while braking the motor acts as generator and charge the batteries.

• Engine shut-off: A hybrid vehicle can easily shut off the gasoline service because it has alternative power source through motor and batteries.
• Other techniques common to normal cars like reducing aerodynamic drag, using light weight metal bodies etc.

Good examples of hybrid cars are Honda Accord hybrid, Honda Civic hybrid, Toyota Prius, Honda Insight. Indian UV giant Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd is also coming up with their hybrid in some time, already launched in Delhi auto expo, 2008.

Benefits of Hybrid car:

• Reduce tailpipe emission
• Improve mileage

N.B:  Mahindra Scorpio, Bolero micro-hybrid:

A micro hybrid is not a full hybrid – but in India, it is a pathbreaking technology. A full hybrid switches between petrol engine and an electric motor while driving. A micro hybrid engine, on the other hand, switches off the engine when the vehicle is in neutral gear and restarts it seamlessly when the the vehicle is shifted out of neutral gear.

In heavy traffic in a city, the micro hybrid technology can save a substantial amount of fuel for the Scorpio and Bolero which used the FuelSmart technology. The Micro Hybrid Fuel Smart enabled Scorpio and Bolero shuts down the engine when the vehicle is stationary while in neutral gear or idle after waiting ten seconds. When the vehicle has to move, just depressing the clutch pedal again, the engine restarts seamlessly.

It’s a unique feature in an Indian road vehicle since people are hardly concerned about switching off the engine in traffic signals and jams to reduce pollution. It’s an eye opener to various manufacturers too.