Hybrid Vehicles

The Problem

Researchers have been thinking on how they can increase the efficiency, speed and energy of hybrid vehicles. At one point it was suggested that the efficiency could be increased by changing the battery. However, they are still studying on how they could make it become faster and make its energy last longer.

Possible Solutions

Nuclear energy should be considered as a potential chemical and electronic alternative to not only raise the efficiency of the hybrid vehicles but also the speed and make their energy last long. Apart from that, current thermal solar plants are able to provide a viable electronic solution. To decrease energy consumption the halogen light Philips EcoVision energy saver should be implemented in the main lighting system. Electric vehicles (EVs) powered by the battery were initially considered to tackle global warming and the energy crisis. However, their limitation has been proved through reduced cargo and passenger space, high initial cost, long charging time and short driving range (Chan, 2002).

To bring this night mare to an end this paper proposes the development of advanced HEVs (Hydrogen Electric Vehicles).This can be done through harnessing both ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) technology and EVs technology. The HEV will utilize the onboard ICE in the conversion of energy from diesel or gasoline to mechanical energy which will be employed in driving the electric motor in an HEV. The electric motor will be used to increase the ICE efficiency while at the same time recover kinetic energy in the coasting of the car. When the vehicle’s speed is lowered below a certain threshold or stops the ICE is also stopped. The operation of the ICE will have to be optimized through adjusting the engine’s torque and speed. In the end this will not only increase the vehicles speed but also its efficiency and length of energy storage (Yamada, 2006).

The electric motor will use the engine’s excess power to charge the battery incase more power is generated by the engine than what is required by the driver. Upon optimizing the ICE operations the vehicles maintenance will be greatly reduced.

Electronic Engineering students will play a big role in providing the design that will make the vehicle safe and comfortable even as they implement the technology that will increase the vehicles engine power and ensure it becomes faster. Mechanical Engineering students will provide the technology that will be needed to tap kinetic energy from the coasting of the car to drive the electric motor of the vehicles. Chemical engineering students will provide the knowledge that will be needed to break the Hydrogen compound and use it to provide energy while ensuring that its final discharge is water and not carbon dioxide.

How solutions will be evaluated

The solutions would be evaluated by monitoring how competitive they would be in comparison with inexpensive fossil fuels. Experience indicates that their large scale construction minimizes their cost by a factor of two (Chan, 2002).

Research methodology

The researcher will consider using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Qualitative research derives its strength from the fact that it has the ability to provide complex textual descriptions of how people experience a given research phenomena. Qualitative research is especially critical when obtaining cultural specific information on the social contexts, values, behaviors and opinions of certain populations. On the other hand quantitative research aims at validating and testing theories that a.............