Future of the diesel?

horton333 wrote:

thomasmnile wrote:


Now if they could only make a lithium ion battery with a decent lifespan in a smartphone, especially since more and more of them come with integrated, not consumer replaceable batteries. :B

I have replaced the batteries in several phones that supposedly had non-serviceable batteries (including ones that were not even listed for replacement by a tech). Buy the battery on Amazon and they even throw in the miniature screw drivers and a tool to pry open the case.
Where there is a need ...

Or better yet, don't support that segment of the market in the first place, and it will disappear. I do admire that you found a solution, though.

DC Electric motors can have up to or over 300% torque at ZERO RPM vs
any ICE that has ZERO torque at zero RPM...nature of that beast (laws of physics)

And that, that electric motor torque curve is FLAT...main issue is with the max RPM...electric motors do not have the high RPMs folks are used to with ICE's. There are specialty electric motor that can, but they are expensive and their duty cycle is low...or if they will make a brushless DC motor where you can weaken the field...then very high RPMs can be attained...down side is reduced torque

Burbman is right on the power source. Saline batteries are of great interest to me in this regard, but they are not ready for prime time in automotive. They are becoming the standard for the telecom industry.

As for the life of a Lith-Ion battery...it has to do with both the controller design and how low it is drained down to. Drain it down below 40% (on some, but not all) will reduce a lith-ion's life by a very large margin.

It taken care of (a good controller will do most of that via not allowing you to drain it down too low...and the three charge cycles)

Capacitor batteries are another potential, but they too are not ready for prime time in automotive. Lith-Ion or any of the current battery technologies employed in automotive can NOT take a charge quickly....the why regenerative braking is not a big deal...as they can NOT brake enough by absorbing that regen power

Pretty cool and thank you Burbman for posting...brings back memories of my first career in motor controls !!!! :C

PS...Burbman touched on locomotive traction motors...locomotive engines have been hybrids since about 1950. Diesel directly connected to a generator, which powers the electric traction motors, which are double shafted where the steel wheels are bolted to those electric motor shafts...why locomotive traction motors has a flat area on their case...that is the bottom to allow a bit more ground clearance

thomasmnile wrote:


Now if they could only make a lithium ion battery with a decent lifespan in a smartphone, especially since more and more of them come with integrated, not consumer replaceable batteries. :B

I have replaced the batteries in several phones that supposedly had non-serviceable batteries (including ones that were not even listed for replacement by a tech). Buy the battery on Amazon and they even throw in the miniature screw drivers and a tool to pry open the case.
Where there is a need ...

thomasmnile wrote:
Now if they could only make a lithium ion battery with a decent lifespan in a smartphone, especially since more and more of them come with integrated, not consumer replaceable batteries. :B

It's called Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence. :(

Why sell a battery when they can sell you a new phone?

Nikola motors has a hydrogen fuel cell tractor- 1200 mile range, 1000 horsepower- software limited because of tire limitations.

rjstractor wrote:
The scary stuff about hybrid battery replacement has turned out to be largely urban legend. My son drives an Escape hybrid with over 160,000 miles on the original battery with no decline in performance.

Now if they could only make a lithium ion battery with a decent lifespan in a smartphone, especially since more and more of them come with integrated, not consumer replaceable batteries. :B

BurbMan wrote:
but the electric trains around here run on 750v AC power, not on-board batteries.

Most diesel electric trains have a generator off the diesel to run the electric traction motors. I'd expect to see the same on large trucks as fuel costs go up and the larger the truck the more likely, and the batteries really only need to run for a couple of minutes if they are added to the equation to make a significant fuel improvement.

The scary stuff about hybrid battery replacement has turned out to be largely urban legend. My son drives an Escape hybrid with over 160,000 miles on the original battery with no decline in performance. Prius batteries routinely go 200,000+ and can be reconditioned for as little as $1500, far cheaper than a set of diesel injectors. But I will admit that hybrids may not fare so well in the RV world. The key to the long battery life is the controller maintaining a state of charge between a fairly narrow range. For more power on long pulls you may have to draw the battery down much more, resulting in shorter battery life.

I can see a hybrid, aka Prius using a small diesel motor running at a constant speed supplying power to a large battery bank in turn feeding an electric motor. Cost is still going to be the biggest hurdle. DD had a Honda hybrid for a while. When she found out how expensive a replacement battery pack cosg and how often it would need replacing..... well lets just say the hybrid went away pretty fast.