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First, they can't build the cars they keep promising because the parts aren't up to snuff. So the big rigs may be a little longer out then thought.
I see driver elimination being more of an issue, that's a lot of people out of a job they can do nationwide. And the liberal view that they will just learn to do something else is a false promise, as it's been in the past. If they really wanted to do something as a betterment for society, how about a better train network including distribution hubs.
Petroleum fuel for vehicles is a good medium for energy.
Really cold winter mornings already make it hard to start a vehicle.. imagine needing to DRIVE anyway on battery power... at -20.
Got AAA?
I can see a hybrid, where there is a little gas engine to re-charge the batteries.. but with air conditioning, lights on at night, etc. the battery isn't going to be a solution - IMO.
The best part about electric? It's like, free energy man!
The electricity to charge things just comes from magic pixie dust.
Oh, and the batteries are 100% bio degradable and enviro friendly.
Excuse me while I go hug a tree
And here I thought I was the only one.... I don't know where the rumor (or truthful) story came from, that compared the total carbon footprint of a Hummer to a Prius, and you can guess which one was less. And the Prius crowd think they are so environmentally friendly...
I've always thought the best our current technology should be producing is a hybrid, using a steady state small diesel generator, charging the battery pack, that runs the electric motor to propel the vehicle. I think somebody stole that idea....
Just wait until there's no drivers, and the autonomous trucks freight-train up running 100+mph at night on the interstates. All those big wide medians across the Midwest are ripe for a pair of lanes down the middle for nothing but self-driving haulers to move down.... railroads on pavement.
Just wait until there's no drivers, and the autonomous trucks freight-train up running 100+mph at night on the interstates. All those big wide medians across the Midwest are ripe for a pair of lanes down the middle for nothing but self-driving haulers to move down.... railroads on pavement.
Its on its way , id like to see one back into a inside dock in windy city one time.
The company I work for is switching to all electric "push-back" tugs now. (They're used to push a Boeing 737-700---900 back from the gate) They seem to work ok. The tug-drivers tell me that they're good for all day and must be charged every night.
Cummins has a truck prototype that will probably be massed produced. and it appears that they'll beat Tesla to the punch.....I don't think I'd trust one from Tesla. They cannot even get their cars out without problems. https://www.trucks.com/2017/08/30/cu...uck-prototype/
We have been running tug boats or locomotive engines off the: diesel powered generator to electric motors for a loooong time....
What has changed? We (particularly in CA) Think Climate Change, is either something we caused or can affect; and it isn't.... We are merely here by the grace of God, or if you don't subscribe to that...
Take a :LONG view of earth.... Funny, but it seems that it gets really hot and has droughts for many, many, years. Or it freezes... Yup, climate change.... Can I do anything about it other than pay the idiots that run my state that think they can?!
Its on its way , id like to see one back into a inside dock in windy city one time.
Gonna be the same way as airplanes. First the autopilot does the normal flying, then later it gets upgrades and learns to land. Cutting the human factor on long hauls only and still relying on humans for last-mile delivery would be a massive shift in the industry. Like intermodal but not tied to train tracks, just needs a guy to meet it at the terminal and climb in to finish the trip.
Another step is standardized sizes of pallets and automated picking and cross docking clearing out distribution centers faster.
I'm not impressed, where's the trailer with a 10 to 20 ton load. It won't work, the problem is that the battery weight requirement subtracts from the payload. For example, say a rig has a 20 ton capacity, 6 tons of batteries may be required to haul 20 tons of freight therefore the payload has to be reduced. A diesel rig does not have that handycap and therefore can haul and get paid for the full load.
As far as no driver goes, let me just say, one morning while traveling my I noticed that my GPS was approximatly a hundred feet off. I don't immagine that will ever happen again. And how about that internet; I never loose the signal and my computer never freezes up.
There's a reason trains run on tracks and have engineers at the controls.
As I said above, the only thing more fairy dust then Tesla's promise is a Clinton Charitable Organization.
Until you can develop really lightweight batteries it's going to be tough in the commercial market. It's good P R, but reality sucks. The last half dozen years of my career had me doing a lot of field testing on metro buses. The problem was as the industry moved to natural gas sources, the hefty tanks mounted on the roofs took up the weight of passengers, so many times the busses were overloaded and brakes suffered. Batteries weigh even more.
Same bus route, same in-service miles, NG vs diesel. Disc air braked both axles.
I think metro busses and delivery like UPS/FedEx would be a better application for electric but in order to reduce the battery pack weight you have to use brake regeneration to recovery the energy use to accelerate and travel. There's a lot of energy there. This is an example of a day with a bus in a smaller, but capital city. The route has some faster roads and longer stops then something like inner NYC, Philly (short blocks), LA, Wash DC, so more energy could be captured at those locations.
The top header area shows energy dissipated by braking.
OTR truck transport is 99% travel energy, so little opportunity for regeneration from the brakes. It's all storage and deplition.
We would be better served using a modern format for railroad, different track design and routes, to move freight from the docking and supply centers to the end use regions, then use truck for shorter distribution paths. Rail gets ridiculous mpg for tonnage compared to trucks, and you could utilize LPG/NG in a better format.
03-16-2018, 07:04 AM
