Machine design, tập 84, số 11, 2012

August 9, 2012
A Penton Media Publication
Tune in to EngineeringTV.com

200 mph
and

BATTERY
POWERED
page 20

FOCUS on

ENERGY
WILL NATURAL GAS
POWER OUR CARS
AND TRUCKS?,
page 40
HOW TO MAKE
PNEUMATICS
MORE ENERGY
EFFICIENT,
page 44
ULTRACAPACITORS
HOP UP
MICROHYBRIDS,
page 48


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VOLUME 84
ISSUE 11
AUGUST 9, 2012

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Chrysler had already
adapted several of its
vehicles, including the
Ram truck, to bifuel
technology, letting

them run on natural
gas or gasoline. Such
vehicles could help
make the transition to
vehicles predominantly
powered by natural gas.

FEATURES
Should the U. S. switch to

natural
gas
for
transportation?

motorcycle
20 Electric
tops 200 mph
Rocket, an electric dragster, set
the quarter-mile record not only
for electric motorcycles, but for all
electric vehicles.

The technology
and gas is readily
available. And it could
save the U. S. over
$200 billion annually.
40

MACHINE DESIGN.com

Americans spend about $260 billion each year on oil from outside of NAFTA
for transportation. This transfer of capital to other countries increases our
national debt and interest load. Fortunately, analysis shows that we can
quickly convert vehicles to domestic natural gas, which would let Americans
remain mobile, keep the environment clean, and provide trillions of dollars
over the next half century for developing alternative energy and transportation options for the long-term future.

What the U. S. needs
In terms of energy, the U. S. gets about 14.78 quads (1015 Btu) for its $260 billion. A trillion ft3 (Tcf) of natural gas contains approximately one quad. So 14.78
quads used for transportation per year can be replaced with 14.78 Tcf of natural

AUGUST 9, 2012

Honda leases its hydrogenpowered FCX Clarity in
California. Here is one at a
hydrogen refueling station
that gets it hydrogen direct
from a pipeline.

Standards are already in place to govern the safe operation of natural-gas
fuel stations, like this one.

Authored by:

Dick Medvick
Contributing Editor
Cleveland, Ohio
Edited by Stephen J. Mraz

For more on natural-gas vehicles, scan this
code or go to: http://
machinedesign.com/
article/uneven-prospectsfor-natural-gasvehicles-0810

gas. That might seem like a lot of natural gas, but last year
the U. S. Potential Gas Committee reported that the U. S.
has at least 2,170 Tcf.
America currently uses 23.37 quads from natural gas
each year for residential, commercial, transportation, and
industrial applications — either directly, or by generating
electricity. Adding another 14.78 quads for transportation would push the total use to 38.15 quads per year, or
38.15 Tcf of natural gas. At this rate, 2,170 Tcf of natural
gas would last a minimum of 57 years. In addition, Canada
has at least another 780 Tcf of natural gas, the equivalent
of another 20 years of gas use. So there’s plenty of natural
gas, and converting transportation to it could save North
American consumers $20 trillion ($260 billion annually
for 77 years). That’s money that could fund research and
development into new sources of safe and clean energy
and transportation.

Current NGV
CSA America, the organization that writes standards
for gas appliances and accessories and alternative-energy
products, has already written standards for compressed
natural-gas vehicles (NGV) and filling stations. The design work is done, and NGVs are in dealers’ showrooms.
Honda, for example, sells NGVs which store natural gas at
3,600 psig. Other automobile manufacturers could quickly

follow suit.

And natural gas in its liquid form (LNG) is already
becoming popular for long-haul trucking. It costs about
$1.50 less for the equivalent of a gallon of diesel fuel, which
can lead to significant savings for truckers routinely buying 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.
In fact, several truck and engine manufacturers offer
LNG models, including Cummins-Westport, Kenworth,
PACCAR-owned Peterbilt, Navistar, Freightliner, and
Caterpillar. LNG trucks still cost more, but as more models are available, costs are coming down to the point many
models pay back the price premium with the first year of
savings on fuel.
But there are problems with NGVs: Customers won’t
buy them because there aren’t enough natural-gas filling
stations and companies won’t install filling stations because there are not enough NGVs on the road.
For truckers, this chicken-and-egg dilemma is being
partly solved by an agreement between Clean Energy
Fuels, a national natural gas supplier, and Pilot/Flying J
truck stops. They plan to install refueling pumps at 150
locations along major interstate trucking routes by the
end of next year, then add at least 100 more. The goal is to
make it possible for an LNG truck to travel coast to coast
and border to border — anywhere a diesel rig can go.
For consumer cars and trucks, the solution to the fillingstation problem might be in the hands of the auto companies. They could design and sell bifuel vehicles, which run
AUGUST 9, 2012

40

the U. S. switch
40 Should

to natural gas for
transportation?
Switching to natural gas could end
U. S. dependence on foreign oil for its
transportation needs.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Getting

ENERGY

SAVINGS

44

from pneumatic systems

Getting energy savings
from pneumatic systems

There are three basic ways
to boost the efficiency of
industrial pneumatics.

There are three basic ways to
boost the efficiency of industrial
pneumatics.

Industrial machines and production systems that are

designed to run efficiently and save energy are undoubtedly important considerations in manufacturing today.
The reasons not only include rising energy prices and
the need to hold down production costs, but also an
increasing awareness of the environmental impact on an
organization’s sustainability.
All of these issues should not simply be the responsibility of production-floor personnel. Machine and system
designers and financial managers of industrial and manufacturing corporations have a stake in this as well.
With pneumatic systems, there are basically three different ways to approach energy savings: leak detection,
design, and advanced machine diagnostics. Here’s a closer
look at each.

Leak detection

a cap in it!
48 Put
The rapid charge and discharge
ability of ultracapacitors opens a
myriad of uses for quick and cleanenergy-storage needs.

A good leakage-management program is essential. It
radically lowers compressed-air consumption and the associated costs as leaks are a waste of compressed air, which
translates into lost energy and money. In addition, leaks
create pressure losses that can significantly slow production processes and prevent machines from running at
peak capacity.
A study by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany
looked at compressed-air systems in the European Union
and concluded that 42% of the total potential savings
in optimizing pneumatic systems comes from simply
implementing a solid leak-detection program. The
objective should be to completely check the pneumatic

system from the compressor (supply side) to each machine
and device (demand side). On the demand side, using a
simple ultrasonic leak detector can help manually identify individual leaks on machines — usually for an entire

The energy-efficient
OVEM vacuum
generator has an
integrated filter and
sensors that monitor
the status of the
vacuum system.

44

MACHINE DESIGN.com

AUGUST 9, 2012

44
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AUGUST 9, 2012

MACHINE DESIGN.com

41


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Accepts #18/3 to #10/3 cord
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