Transportation systems of today is facing essential changes. This is due to the headlong depletion of fossil fuels, growing population of the world, rising living standards, more globalization of trade with increasing volumes for transport and last but not least health and environmental problems. To keep up with these challenges advantageously, renewable energy is the more effective form turned to, and are multiplying briskly to outpace the combustion engines which send out massive pollution which have low productivity and extremely high fuel cost. Ensuring the transportation to come in the time ahead must be non- polluting and extremely efficient. Types of energy being expected to use are natural gas, solar, electric and wave. The engine must be supplied with suitable grids from clean energy sources. This should not cause and environmental or health problems. This transition to this clean form of sustainable energy is possible, feasible already been undertaken and soon I will discuss some of the projects of the future of transportation with the use of renewable energy as its source of power.
Introduction.
Conventional transportation technologies involve the use of fossil fuels for vehicle propulsion. Rising oil prices are causing mainstream awareness and interest in alternative transportation technology.
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Many transportation companies like Boeing, BMW and some universities are working hard to develop more sustainable vehicles in order to counter fuel costs and the adverse environmental effects of oil sources. This next section of the paper talks about the projects being done to help in the development of sustainable transportation alternatives.
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The following lists of projects were research done to find out the future of clean efficient transportation, by looking at the different companies and the projects they are undertaken to battle emulsion of deadly gases to the environment.
The following projects are:
• NASA's Puffin
• Car fuel from Carbon Dioxide?
• PlanetSolar
• BMW Hybrid Car Evolution]
• The Solar Powered UAV Plane under Development
There are many more but these are the main ones I chose to talk about because of their originality and in depth research and also its relation to Mechanical engineering.
NASA'S Puffin:
As we all know, NASA is known to be one of the biggest technological to say. Needless to say, they have come up with one of the most impressive flight vehicles ever, The NASA Puffin. It is an airplane concept conjured up by the mind of aerospace engineer Mark Moore. The unusual looking, vertical launch and landing tail sitter are suggestions, but from the reviews gotten online, it seems to be its basic concept. The plane is 12-foot long; 14.5-foot (4.4 m) wingspan personal air vehicle all electric power. The vehicle functionality is absurd, flying a single man, more of with the concept of a jet pack.
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Even the technical details were quite intriguing. If ever built the vehicle is assumed to be remarkably lightweight, -- about 300 pounds (136 kg) empty weight plus another 100 pounds (45 kg) of battery and 200 pounds (91 kg) for the pilot or payload. This would be powered by a total of 60 hp. through electric motors, which are designed to support hovering if any one side of the powered engine should fail. It has a cruising speed of 150 mph (241 kph), but cruises more efficiently at lower speeds. The field with current battery technology would be about 50 miles (80 km).
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Moore publicized saying: "I've been doing conceptual design studies for 25 years, and this is the first time that I have performed a six month conceptual design study that involved such detailed analyses performed right from the onset (that is viscous full Navier Stokes Overflow aero solutions feeding WopWop aeroacoustic analysis, along with MBDyn rotor dynamics, with detailed transition trajectory analysis)," said Moore. "So I think it is a poster child of higher-order methods being able to push themselves far forward to the front stages of design -- to avoid the nasty 'real world' surprises that higher-order analysis can bring at later stages. Getting systems analysis to work in closer collaboration with discipline experts is greatly needed as we progress towards greater multi-disciplinary coupling to solve highly complex problems."
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In the future ahead we will see this project boom into fortification, to help innovate air flights to new heights.
Car Fuel from Carbon Dioxide
It is known by the university of Bath of an ongoing research of vehicles running on carbon dioxide is being undertaken. The research is a 1.4 million pounds, which uses the carbon dioxide to develop a porous material used to absorb natural gases from the air. The research is joined by the university of west of England and the university of Bristol. Dr Frank Marken, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry (University of Bath) said: "Current processes rely on using separate technology to capture and utilize the CO2, which makes the process very inefficient. By combining the processes the efficiency can be improved and the energy required to drive the CO2 reduction is minimized. It will be a massive challenge but we have a strong inter-disciplinary team that includes chemists, chemical engineers, biologists, and life-cycle analysts."
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Dr Petra Cameron, RCUK Fellow from the Department of Chemistry (University of Bath), said: "We hope that the use of renewable energy to recycle CO2 will be an effective way to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere." This project means new synthetic fuels can be made from older emissions that are generated from factories, plants and even cars themselves. This totally takes into to consideration the 'recycling' carbon emitted from the fossil fuels. Now there is no dearth of funds for such innovative ideas.
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Dr David Fermin from the University of Bristol said: "Currently, there are no large-scale technologies available for capturing and processing CO2 from air. The facts are that CO2 is rather diluted in the atmosphere and its chemical reactivity is very low. By combining clever material design with heterogeneous catalysis, electrocatalysis and biocatalysis, we aim at developing an effective carbon neutral technology."
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The project, funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), is in its nascent phase but the researchers predict the new technology could make a real difference in the fight against climate change. The project is part of Research Councils UK (RCUK) cross-Council programme 'Nano science: through Engineering to Application The future of renewable energy needless to say is looking promising everytime. More projects if successful, like this will help increase the green earth and reduce more and more pollution emitted every day.
Planet Solar
The next new renewable creation for the future in transportation on renewable energy is The SunPower Solar boat called PlanetSolar. This is known to be the Largest Solar boat ever. It weighs about 60- ton and a 470 square-foot meter and covered with about 38,000 solar cells. The amount spent to build such an ingenuous device was a smacking 18 million euros. The conversion of the solar power is about 22% and produces an intense power of about 103.4 KW. Jorn Jurgens of SunPower expresses his joy, "We are proud to support the unveiling of the world's largest solar boat. SunPower's technology will enable the catamaran to circumnavigate the globe with the speed and performance expected from the planet's most powerful solar." The solar powered boat is known to sail at an average of 8 knots and 15knots at full speed.
The boat SunPower was the first fastest to cross the Atlantic and from rumors speculating It will be the first to cross the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The power generate on this is about 103 KW but its engine merely runs on 20 kilowatts. The remaining power is either stored for future use or used for other purposes. The ships manufacturing company is known to exchange transportation of 90,000 of world goods, in exchange for 1.4 million CO2 emissions (no CO2 emissions) a year. This ship will be launched in April. In May, the boat will make a public appearance at celebrations for the port of Hamburg. Later on the boat will be out for sea trials until September. In 2011, it is supposed to cover 40,000 (km). PlanetSolar will depart from France to the Panama Canal, across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, through the Suez Canal and across the Mediterranean back to Marseilles.
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BMW HYBRID CAR
We all know about the transition of cars from carbon-emitting fuels( fossil fuels) to hybrid engines like hydrogen engine, electric, natural gas and solar. Most of these cars though are not too attractive to be on the market and therefore find it a problem selling. Now cars are moving on to new heights in the market industry. They tend to increase the competition of creating a uniquely attractive car with the engine like the heart of a lion. YES, I am talking about the new BMW hybrid car. The car is predicted to be released in the year 2013, and it is right now a prototype. From BMW it is known that having access to 356-horsepower and 4.8 second 0-60 speed has speed freaks sitting up and taking notice that there may actually be a car out there that is both economical and fast. The 63 mpg tag that it boasts is utterly unreal in terms of conservation. The combination of electric and diesel offers mileage that is up there with pure electric cars. The difference here is of course the design. This car looks like it belongs on the race track instead of the local BWM showroom floor. The crucial question is whether it will ever come to fruition or not.
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If the car is released as expected and meets with success, it will surely open up a whole new niche. Up until now, the high end electric sports car has been a market that few companies are willing to take a chance.
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The Solar Powered UAV Plane under Development
The next generation of flight, The Green Falcon, Is one other transportation on the line. It is being designed by the University of Queensland and runs up to 24h of services mostly targeting the emergency services as primary. The aircraft is updated with remote visualization sensing and data capabilities. It also will have an advanced warning system. According to Dr. Gonzalez is "Unlike manned aircraft, which have restricted air time, unmanned aerial vehicles could provide 24 hours surveillance and coverage of disaster areas."
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The green falcon looks promising for the future of air transportation.
Conclusion
The future for renewable energy is looking bright and promising. With proper funding and an excellent project, the face of the earth will see the true possibility of renewable energy. This form of energy will make the world more efficient, cleaner, and greener. This will also help reduce or maybe eradicate pollution, environmental and health all in one. So let us try to support what is best for planet earth.
