http://www.valvoline.com/carcare/art...cid=3&scccid=6
Hydraulic Hybrid System
Could EPA's new technology one day mean more mileage for you?
by Cathy Nikkel




The Environmental Protection Agency is testing a cheaper, simpler
hybrid technology it hopes can greatly increase the mpg of American
vehicles. The agency has 20 patents on the system and has already begun
testing it this year. EPA's new hydraulic hybrid technology could improve
fuel economy up to 55 percent-better than the 30 to 40 percent fuel economy
of gas-electric hybrids. The system uses hydraulic pressure to recapture
energy lost through braking, and then releases the pressure during
acceleration.
The System
The basic technology was originally developed and patented by EPA's
National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, over
10 years ago under a Clinton Administration's program to research cleaner
energy technology. The technology is being refined under a cooperative
agreement with Ford, UPS and Eaton Corporation, and the U.S. Army. The
powertrain features a high-efficiency diesel engine teamed with a hydraulic
hybrid propulsion system that uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage
tanks to store energy, in the place of electric motors and batteries used in
electrical hybrid vehicles.
The EPA says the hydraulic system would cost an estimated $600 to
install on a mass-production basis compared to $3,000 to $6,000 for an
electric hybrid system. That cost, they say, could be recouped in the first
year of driving. The system is less complicated than the gas-electric
hybrids, and the simpler components could mean longer life and less
maintenance. However, it adds about 190 pounds to a vehicle and, like other
hybrid systems, does not spectacularly increase highway mileage figures.
Real World Testing
UPS recently unveiled its first delivery truck using EPA's hydraulic
hybrid system and plans to test the technology in real world situations.
Because of the added weight of the tanks used to store pressurized fluid in
the system, the best application may be in heavy-duty trucks that inch their
way through urban stop-and-go driving. UPS says its 88,000 delivery vans now
average about 8.5 mpg costing $1.4 billion in fuel every year. EPA estimates
that the UPS project truck could get a 70 percent increase in fuel
efficiency driving on city routes, and the additional cost of the hybrid
truck would be recouped in 2.5 years.
Ford is working with the EPA on developing a hydraulic hybrid
Expedition prototype. It could get 32 mpg in city driving and 22 mpg on the
highway. The conventional gas Expedition gets only 13 mpg in the city and 20
mpg on the highway. The EPA is working on other pilot projects with the U.S.
Army, and Eaton Corporation, a waste management company. Eaton will test a
fleet of 20 hydraulic hybrid garbage trucks in the last half of 2006.
If these real world tests work, it will be the first time EPA has
transferred a commercially viable automotive technology to the commercial
sector. The agency said this is an indication that their research and
development efforts will be more focused on commercial applications than on
basic science in the future.

 

billy ray wrote:
> http://www.valvoline.com/carcare/art...cid=3&scccid=6
> Hydraulic Hybrid System
> Could EPA's new technology one day mean more mileage for
> you? by Cathy Nikkel

I've seen a similar concept in use in Australia. The rear axle had another output
shaft that would spin (or be spun by) a hydraulic pump. That pump transferred fluid
from a storage tank to a pressure vessel and was used for braking and acceleration
assistance. Must have been in a Popular Mechanics over twenty + years ago.

--
DougW

 

billy ray wrote:
> http://www.valvoline.com/carcare/art...cid=3&scccid=6
> Hydraulic Hybrid System
> Could EPA's new technology one day mean more mileage for
> you? by Cathy Nikkel

I've seen a similar concept in use in Australia. The rear axle had another output
shaft that would spin (or be spun by) a hydraulic pump. That pump transferred fluid
from a storage tank to a pressure vessel and was used for braking and acceleration
assistance. Must have been in a Popular Mechanics over twenty + years ago.

--
DougW

 

billy ray wrote:
> http://www.valvoline.com/carcare/art...cid=3&scccid=6
> Hydraulic Hybrid System
> Could EPA's new technology one day mean more mileage for
> you? by Cathy Nikkel

I've seen a similar concept in use in Australia. The rear axle had another output
shaft that would spin (or be spun by) a hydraulic pump. That pump transferred fluid
from a storage tank to a pressure vessel and was used for braking and acceleration
assistance. Must have been in a Popular Mechanics over twenty + years ago.

--
DougW

 

If the EPA is behind it this has just got to be a really bad idea.

Jeff DeWitt

billy ray wrote:
> http://www.valvoline.com/carcare/art...cid=3&scccid=6
> Hydraulic Hybrid System
> Could EPA's new technology one day mean more mileage for you?
> by Cathy Nikkel
>
>
>
>
> The Environmental Protection Agency is testing a cheaper, simpler
> hybrid technology it hopes can greatly increase the mpg of American
> vehicles. The agency has 20 patents on the system and has already begun
> testing it this year. EPA's new hydraulic hybrid technology could improve
> fuel economy up to 55 percent-better than the 30 to 40 percent fuel economy
> of gas-electric hybrids. The system uses hydraulic pressure to recapture
> energy lost through braking, and then releases the pressure during
> acceleration.
> The System
> The basic technology was originally developed and patented by EPA's
> National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, over
> 10 years ago under a Clinton Administration's program to research cleaner
> energy technology. The technology is being refined under a cooperative
> agreement with Ford, UPS and Eaton Corporation, and the U.S. Army. The
> powertrain features a high-efficiency diesel engine teamed with a hydraulic
> hybrid propulsion system that uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage
> tanks to store energy, in the place of electric motors and batteries used in
> electrical hybrid vehicles.
> The EPA says the hydraulic system would cost an estimated $600 to
> install on a mass-production basis compared to $3,000 to $6,000 for an
> electric hybrid system. That cost, they say, could be recouped in the first
> year of driving. The system is less complicated than the gas-electric
> hybrids, and the simpler components could mean longer life and less
> maintenance. However, it adds about 190 pounds to a vehicle and, like other
> hybrid systems, does not spectacularly increase highway mileage figures.
> Real World Testing
> UPS recently unveiled its first delivery truck using EPA's hydraulic
> hybrid system and plans to test the technology in real world situations.
> Because of the added weight of the tanks used to store pressurized fluid in
> the system, the best application may be in heavy-duty trucks that inch their
> way through urban stop-and-go driving. UPS says its 88,000 delivery vans now
> average about 8.5 mpg costing $1.4 billion in fuel every year. EPA estimates
> that the UPS project truck could get a 70 percent increase in fuel
> efficiency driving on city routes, and the additional cost of the hybrid
> truck would be recouped in 2.5 years.
> Ford is working with the EPA on developing a hydraulic hybrid
> Expedition prototype. It could get 32 mpg in city driving and 22 mpg on the
> highway. The conventional gas Expedition gets only 13 mpg in the city and 20
> mpg on the highway. The EPA is working on other pilot projects with the U.S.
> Army, and Eaton Corporation, a waste management company. Eaton will test a
> fleet of 20 hydraulic hybrid garbage trucks in the last half of 2006.
> If these real world tests work, it will be the first time EPA has
> transferred a commercially viable automotive technology to the commercial
> sector. The agency said this is an indication that their research and
> development efforts will be more focused on commercial applications than on
> basic science in the future.
>
>
>

 

If the EPA is behind it this has just got to be a really bad idea.

Jeff DeWitt

billy ray wrote:
> http://www.valvoline.com/carcare/art...cid=3&scccid=6
> Hydraulic Hybrid System
> Could EPA's new technology one day mean more mileage for you?
> by Cathy Nikkel
>
>
>
>
> The Environmental Protection Agency is testing a cheaper, simpler
> hybrid technology it hopes can greatly increase the mpg of American
> vehicles. The agency has 20 patents on the system and has already begun
> testing it this year. EPA's new hydraulic hybrid technology could improve
> fuel economy up to 55 percent-better than the 30 to 40 percent fuel economy
> of gas-electric hybrids. The system uses hydraulic pressure to recapture
> energy lost through braking, and then releases the pressure during
> acceleration.
> The System
> The basic technology was originally developed and patented by EPA's
> National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, over
> 10 years ago under a Clinton Administration's program to research cleaner
> energy technology. The technology is being refined under a cooperative
> agreement with Ford, UPS and Eaton Corporation, and the U.S. Army. The
> powertrain features a high-efficiency diesel engine teamed with a hydraulic
> hybrid propulsion system that uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage
> tanks to store energy, in the place of electric motors and batteries used in
> electrical hybrid vehicles.
> The EPA says the hydraulic system would cost an estimated $600 to
> install on a mass-production basis compared to $3,000 to $6,000 for an
> electric hybrid system. That cost, they say, could be recouped in the first
> year of driving. The system is less complicated than the gas-electric
> hybrids, and the simpler components could mean longer life and less
> maintenance. However, it adds about 190 pounds to a vehicle and, like other
> hybrid systems, does not spectacularly increase highway mileage figures.
> Real World Testing
> UPS recently unveiled its first delivery truck using EPA's hydraulic
> hybrid system and plans to test the technology in real world situations.
> Because of the added weight of the tanks used to store pressurized fluid in
> the system, the best application may be in heavy-duty trucks that inch their
> way through urban stop-and-go driving. UPS says its 88,000 delivery vans now
> average about 8.5 mpg costing $1.4 billion in fuel every year. EPA estimates
> that the UPS project truck could get a 70 percent increase in fuel
> efficiency driving on city routes, and the additional cost of the hybrid
> truck would be recouped in 2.5 years.
> Ford is working with the EPA on developing a hydraulic hybrid
> Expedition prototype. It could get 32 mpg in city driving and 22 mpg on the
> highway. The conventional gas Expedition gets only 13 mpg in the city and 20
> mpg on the highway. The EPA is working on other pilot projects with the U.S.
> Army, and Eaton Corporation, a waste management company. Eaton will test a
> fleet of 20 hydraulic hybrid garbage trucks in the last half of 2006.
> If these real world tests work, it will be the first time EPA has
> transferred a commercially viable automotive technology to the commercial
> sector. The agency said this is an indication that their research and
> development efforts will be more focused on commercial applications than on
> basic science in the future.
>
>
>

 

If the EPA is behind it this has just got to be a really bad idea.

Jeff DeWitt

billy ray wrote:
> http://www.valvoline.com/carcare/art...cid=3&scccid=6
> Hydraulic Hybrid System
> Could EPA's new technology one day mean more mileage for you?
> by Cathy Nikkel
>
>
>
>
> The Environmental Protection Agency is testing a cheaper, simpler
> hybrid technology it hopes can greatly increase the mpg of American
> vehicles. The agency has 20 patents on the system and has already begun
> testing it this year. EPA's new hydraulic hybrid technology could improve
> fuel economy up to 55 percent-better than the 30 to 40 percent fuel economy
> of gas-electric hybrids. The system uses hydraulic pressure to recapture
> energy lost through braking, and then releases the pressure during
> acceleration.
> The System
> The basic technology was originally developed and patented by EPA's
> National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, over
> 10 years ago under a Clinton Administration's program to research cleaner
> energy technology. The technology is being refined under a cooperative
> agreement with Ford, UPS and Eaton Corporation, and the U.S. Army. The
> powertrain features a high-efficiency diesel engine teamed with a hydraulic
> hybrid propulsion system that uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage
> tanks to store energy, in the place of electric motors and batteries used in
> electrical hybrid vehicles.
> The EPA says the hydraulic system would cost an estimated $600 to
> install on a mass-production basis compared to $3,000 to $6,000 for an
> electric hybrid system. That cost, they say, could be recouped in the first
> year of driving. The system is less complicated than the gas-electric
> hybrids, and the simpler components could mean longer life and less
> maintenance. However, it adds about 190 pounds to a vehicle and, like other
> hybrid systems, does not spectacularly increase highway mileage figures.
> Real World Testing
> UPS recently unveiled its first delivery truck using EPA's hydraulic
> hybrid system and plans to test the technology in real world situations.
> Because of the added weight of the tanks used to store pressurized fluid in
> the system, the best application may be in heavy-duty trucks that inch their
> way through urban stop-and-go driving. UPS says its 88,000 delivery vans now
> average about 8.5 mpg costing $1.4 billion in fuel every year. EPA estimates
> that the UPS project truck could get a 70 percent increase in fuel
> efficiency driving on city routes, and the additional cost of the hybrid
> truck would be recouped in 2.5 years.
> Ford is working with the EPA on developing a hydraulic hybrid
> Expedition prototype. It could get 32 mpg in city driving and 22 mpg on the
> highway. The conventional gas Expedition gets only 13 mpg in the city and 20
> mpg on the highway. The EPA is working on other pilot projects with the U.S.
> Army, and Eaton Corporation, a waste management company. Eaton will test a
> fleet of 20 hydraulic hybrid garbage trucks in the last half of 2006.
> If these real world tests work, it will be the first time EPA has
> transferred a commercially viable automotive technology to the commercial
> sector. The agency said this is an indication that their research and
> development efforts will be more focused on commercial applications than on
> basic science in the future.
>
>
>