PhD - Essay Example

..51 7 3.34.REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………..53 7 3.48.CHAPTER 2 8 3.49.2.1 Fuel Economy 9 3.50.The fuel economy(FE) of any vehicle can be calculated as a ratio of distance travelled per unit volume of fuel consumed or as the ratio of fuel consumption per distance travelled (GFEI,n.d.). An et al (2011, p4) note that fuel economy standards can be of various forms such as liters of fuel consumed per hundred kilometers of distance travelled or kilometers travelled per liter of vehicle fuel.

The global average vehicle fuel consumption hovers around 8L/100 km corresponding to 29.4 mpg and a global drive under the aegis of GFEI, whose partner organizations are the UNEP, IEA, ITF , ITCC and the FIA Foundation has been launched to bring it down to 4L/100km corresponding to 58.8 mpg by 2050 (GFEI,n.d.).The regulations pertaining to fuel economy followed by the four largest automobile markets, namely, the US, the EU, Japan and China differ significantly from each other (An et al, 2011, p4). 10 3.51.

The fFactors affecting fuel economy of a vehicle 11 4.Power for consumption by accessories such as air conditioners and heaters is obtained from fuel consumption. The electric power required for operating an air conditioner in a vehicle can be split up into two components, namely, as the power for the compressor and the power for fans. It was found that there was an average increase in power consumption of around 27% in cars with air conditioners running at full power as compared to cars with air conditioners switched off OECD(2004,p124-125).

The additional weight of the air-conditioning system by itself results in more fuel consumption due to extra energy required to beat the inertia of the system during acceleration and in turn increases the tailpipe emissions. Auxiliary heaters also contribute to increased fuel consumption and emissions. The ongoing technological developmental work for fuel economy carried out in vehicle air conditioners include reduction in component weight, improvement in compressor efficiency by adopting variable displacement or engine speed independent propulsion, intelligent control accuracy to increase temperature control accuracy, heat pumps, absorption systems, thermal storage, use of refrigerants with lower Global Warming Potential(GWP) with non-conventional system configuration and secondary loop systems(OECD,2004,p126-127).

The power requirement of electrical equipment in a modern car is around 1kW and could go up to 12kW in the near future. Table 2.2 (Pundir ,2008,p20) gives the power consumption of accessories in a typical European car.The voltages of the auxiliary electrical systems being developed in vehicles are expected to be changed to around 42V.Since the advanced range of on-board equipment in cars would comprise of computer controlled systems, mobile internet, fax, GPS,TV and video systems which need enhanced power input, highly efficient engines are required to be eq1uipped with alternator or Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) to supply the power(OECD,2004,127). 22 5. 25 6.Table 2.2 the power consumption of accessories in a typical European car ( Pundir,2008,p20) 26 9.1.2.

2 Importance of fuel economy 26 9.2. 36 9.3.Table 2.3 fuel economy technologies for automobiles and light trucks ( NRC ,1992,p41) 36 9.5.2.2.1 Design and technology for fuel economy 36 9.6.Pundir(2008,p16-17) lists out the