The hybrid offensive

October 1, 2008

(PhysOrg.com) -- Fraunhofer research engineers are busy converting a standard production gasoline-engine car into a hybrid. By doing so, they aim to demonstrate what hybrid technology can do, and prove that it can even be integrated in existing vehicle design concepts.

A car that consumes half as much fuel in the urban cycle – who could refuse that, given the price of fuel today?

Researchers at the Center for Automotive Power Electronics and Mechatronics ZKLM in Nürnberg have set out to prove that this is feasible by integrating modern hybrid technology in conventional gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles. The Center is a branch lab of the Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB. The researchers plan to create an open technology platform where it will be possible to present, test and optimize all systems required for hybridization, including their interaction under real environmental and operating conditions. The model they have chosen to work on is an Audi TT roadster.

“We are specialists in the design of power electronics systems that are so compact that they can be easily accommodated in the restricted space of a volume-production vehicle,” declares Dr. Martin März, who heads the ZKLM. Consequently, the new hybridization concept only requires minor modifications to the powertrain, unlike certain Japanese solutions already available on the market.

The main components are two electric motors installed in the center of the rear axle and each driving one wheel. Otherwise, the familiar front-wheel drive has been retained, as in cars with standard internal combustion engines. This approach permits the integration of additional functions, such as a temporary all-wheel drive mode. Some of the “home-made” components that the developers intend to incorporate in the TT roadster include a voltage converter to control the flow of current from the storage battery to the drive system.

Hybrid technology offers many advantages. It reduces fuel consumption and provides a power source for stationary heating and cooling, active suspension, and a variety of plug-in electrical devices and appliances including notebook PCs, domestic vacuum cleaners, a full range of camping equipment, or professional power tools. But what does it cost to equip a car with hybrid technology?

According to März’s estimates, “It doesn’t cost much more than you would pay for optional premium leather seats.” The components being developed as part of the project, in addition to the power electronics for energy management and the electrical drive system, include an energy-storage module based on lithium-polymer batteries designed for onboard use in vehicles.

Provided by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

4.4 /5 (7 votes)  

Rank 4.4 /5 (7 votes)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • How to tilt a object
    created2 hours ago
  • How to calculate total compressibility in liquid porous solid system
    created7 hours ago
  • Need help reading 3-D
    createdFeb 11, 2012
  • A way to send and receive wireless data
    createdFeb 11, 2012
  • Calling function with no input argument
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • Force free body diagram problem on gym equipment
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - General Engineering

More news stories

Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...

Technology / Internet

created 15 hours ago | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 5 | with audio podcast report

Iran blocks email, restricts net access: reports

Iran has further restricted access to the Internet and blocked popular email services for the past few days, in a move a top lawmaker said could "cost the regime dearly," media reports said on Sunday.

Technology / Internet

created 8 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 5

Love a click away in Indonesia's Twitter Republic

He was a geeky kid from Yogyakarta, she a glamorous city girl in Jakarta. In a country with one of the world's most vibrant social networking scenes they fell in love on Twitter.

Technology / Internet

created 16 hours ago | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Feb 11, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (14) | comments 52 | with audio podcast weblog

Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher

The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...

Technology / Engineering

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (19) | comments 95 | with audio podcast


Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy

For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...

New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside

There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...

A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell

Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...

Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact

Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.

Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV

A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...

Overeating may double risk of memory loss

New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...