Illustration - Representation a motor-wheel similar to those developed by the team of Pierre Couture Hydro-Quebec and presented to the public in 1994. The author of this blog has drawn from public information contained in marketing materials and patents.
Quebecers over 30 years remember seeing on television in 1994 and 1995, an experimental car equipped with a revolutionary electric wheel motors high performance. It was a Chrysler Intrepid amended by researchers from Hydro-Quebec under the direction of Dr. Pierre Couture, a brilliant physicist, ahead of its time, the principal inventor of the locomotive unmatched to this day. The press conference to announce this revolutionary technology was held December 1, 1994. To see the promotional material distributed on this day click HERE , and to read the transcript of remarks by Pierre Couture explaining technology click HERE and download the episode 2-29 of volume 2 of my book S n the road electricity.
The basic idea was to make the Intrepid plug-in hybrid car. By recharging the battery at night at home, the owner of the car could travel 65 km in electric mode every day, without consuming fuel. For journeys longer than 65 km, a small heat engine-generator would recharge the battery by the way, giving the car an autonomy similar to that of a conventional car. This is called today a series hybrid car, whose motor fuel is not connected mechanically to the wheels. Moreover, as 80% of people are under 65 km per day with their cars, on average, the vast majority of their mileage would have made electricity. It is this concept that GM has incorporated in its Chevy Volt, which should be commercialized in 2011. However, the Chevy Volt is not equipped with wheel motors, but a central electric motor under the hood, which makes the car heavier, more expensive, leaving less space available.
Unfortunately, in 1995 Hydro-Quebec has made a decision totally incomprehensible to drastically reduce its proposed development of locomotive Couture, which led to the resignation of its inventor in 1995. Pierre Couture has never worked on this project since. The company TM4, a subsidiary of Hydro-Quebec to market the locomotive engines to 4-wheeler hence its name also adopted, for all practical purposes, the development of motor-wheel electric motors for central, like everyone else. Readers wishing to know more about this dismal saga of the motor-wheel Hydro-Quebec are invited to check out my latest book Roll without oil.
The author of this blog is absolutely convinced that the locomotive Couture 4-wheel motors is still the best and that is the locomotive of the future. Here's why.
Firstly, looking at the illustration above, shows that the permanent magnets (green and orange) are glued close to the rim of the wheel, which gives the engine a large diameter (38 cm) and increases the strength as well as engine power. There are of course other innovations designed by Pierre Couture, who helped to give his wheel motors efficiency above 96%, while having a capacity greater than 100 kW engine and a torque ("force") of 1200 Nm for each engine, which was 2.5 times more than a Corvette engine of the time! The total power with 4-wheel motors would have exceeded 400 kW and the total torque 4800 Nm enough to propel the Chrysler Intrepid from 0 to 100 km / h in 3 seconds, as calculated by Pierre Couture!
The performance of these wheel motors have been validated in the laboratory, but at the time of the resignation of Dr. Couture, only 2-wheel motors were installed on the Intrepid and the power electronics was not yet complete, of Hence the inability to complete tests on the road. However, the illustration below shows a test field where motorized wheels turning on the spot by burning rubber tires. This performance was not possible with the big V8 original the Chrysler Intrepid.
Graphic - Images from the show Discovery of Radio-Canada, presenting a report on the motor-wheel made in 1997. (Photo: Archives de Radio-Canada)
Now order to have performance as stunning was not grandstanding, but to recover more energy from braking, even when braking suddenly . With four good wheels and engine-good batteries can be recovered almost 90% of the kinetic energy of the car when slows. The motors act like brakes that generate power and recharge the battery. This is called regenerative braking . In a conventional car, the kinetic energy is lost as heat in the mechanical brakes. In a mid-engine electric car was recovered in the order of 20-25% maximum kinetic energy, because the electric motor is connected to two wheels, and rear differential to boot. But a car has to brake all four wheels and an electric car in central motor brake must be added mechanical motorized two-wheeler, because you can not stop behind a differential only. Indeed, if one wheel is on the ice, the other would be to turn quickly and the driver could lose control of the car.
Moreover, with four-wheel motor, no transmission or differential elsewhere. It is a direct drive, and there is no energy loss between engine and wheels, as is the case in a mid-engined car. That is another reason why wheel motors consume less energy.
Moreover, since energy consumption is lower, we can reduce the size of the battery, motor-generator and fuel tank. Besides the wheel motors themselves are lighter than a central engine of equivalent power, since their external structures serve a dual function, serving also as a supporting structure to the wheels. Easing the car is therefore a third cause for reduction of energy consumption .
Now that with the wheel motors there is no engine under the hood can taper it and close the bottom of the car ahead. These modifications to the bodywork of the car improve aerodynamics and provide a fourth contribution to reducing energy consumption .
These four factors combine to give an energy consumption of motor cars motorbikes around 35% lower than a mid-engine electric car for city driving, and about 15% lower for conduct on the highway. In mixed driving, we obtain a reduction in consumption of around 25% due to the wheel motors. It's a big difference, especially for urban cars, delivery trucks and buses! This reduction in consumption not only lowers operating costs but also the cost of purchasing the vehicles, since the battery (very expensive) and the heat engine (for plug-in hybrid vehicles) may be reduced in size considerably . In addition, vehicle wheel motors have several components in less (no difference, no transmission, no PTO, no mechanical systems to ABS).
Furthermore, not only cars with wheel motors are more efficient energy but they are also the most powerful, which in itself represents a major paradigm . James Bond and Al Gore could carpool together in a car wheel motors and the two would be very happy!
In closing, it is worth mentioning four other benefits wheel motors that are not linked to the consumption of energy. The fact that there is no engine under the hood increases the crushing zone (crunching zone) of the metal during a frontal impact, which improves safety passenger reducing the brutal shock. Moreover, lack of engine under the hood gives much more flexibility the designer to decorate the spaces . Moreover, with four-wheel motors, can integrate a system antirérapage Software, and a braking system with ABS anti-blocking software as well. Finally, the driver has four-wheel drive, which is popular in winter in northern countries, as well as by those who have to travel on dirt roads.
In a future post I will discuss the various motor vehicle-wheels were made by various manufacturers.
The basic idea was to make the Intrepid plug-in hybrid car. By recharging the battery at night at home, the owner of the car could travel 65 km in electric mode every day, without consuming fuel. For journeys longer than 65 km, a small heat engine-generator would recharge the battery by the way, giving the car an autonomy similar to that of a conventional car. This is called today a series hybrid car, whose motor fuel is not connected mechanically to the wheels. Moreover, as 80% of people are under 65 km per day with their cars, on average, the vast majority of their mileage would have made electricity. It is this concept that GM has incorporated in its Chevy Volt, which should be commercialized in 2011. However, the Chevy Volt is not equipped with wheel motors, but a central electric motor under the hood, which makes the car heavier, more expensive, leaving less space available.
Unfortunately, in 1995 Hydro-Quebec has made a decision totally incomprehensible to drastically reduce its proposed development of locomotive Couture, which led to the resignation of its inventor in 1995. Pierre Couture has never worked on this project since. The company TM4, a subsidiary of Hydro-Quebec to market the locomotive engines to 4-wheeler hence its name also adopted, for all practical purposes, the development of motor-wheel electric motors for central, like everyone else. Readers wishing to know more about this dismal saga of the motor-wheel Hydro-Quebec are invited to check out my latest book Roll without oil.
The author of this blog is absolutely convinced that the locomotive Couture 4-wheel motors is still the best and that is the locomotive of the future. Here's why.
Firstly, looking at the illustration above, shows that the permanent magnets (green and orange) are glued close to the rim of the wheel, which gives the engine a large diameter (38 cm) and increases the strength as well as engine power. There are of course other innovations designed by Pierre Couture, who helped to give his wheel motors efficiency above 96%, while having a capacity greater than 100 kW engine and a torque ("force") of 1200 Nm for each engine, which was 2.5 times more than a Corvette engine of the time! The total power with 4-wheel motors would have exceeded 400 kW and the total torque 4800 Nm enough to propel the Chrysler Intrepid from 0 to 100 km / h in 3 seconds, as calculated by Pierre Couture!
The performance of these wheel motors have been validated in the laboratory, but at the time of the resignation of Dr. Couture, only 2-wheel motors were installed on the Intrepid and the power electronics was not yet complete, of Hence the inability to complete tests on the road. However, the illustration below shows a test field where motorized wheels turning on the spot by burning rubber tires. This performance was not possible with the big V8 original the Chrysler Intrepid.
Graphic - Images from the show Discovery of Radio-Canada, presenting a report on the motor-wheel made in 1997. (Photo: Archives de Radio-Canada)
Now order to have performance as stunning was not grandstanding, but to recover more energy from braking, even when braking suddenly . With four good wheels and engine-good batteries can be recovered almost 90% of the kinetic energy of the car when slows. The motors act like brakes that generate power and recharge the battery. This is called regenerative braking . In a conventional car, the kinetic energy is lost as heat in the mechanical brakes. In a mid-engine electric car was recovered in the order of 20-25% maximum kinetic energy, because the electric motor is connected to two wheels, and rear differential to boot. But a car has to brake all four wheels and an electric car in central motor brake must be added mechanical motorized two-wheeler, because you can not stop behind a differential only. Indeed, if one wheel is on the ice, the other would be to turn quickly and the driver could lose control of the car.
Moreover, with four-wheel motor, no transmission or differential elsewhere. It is a direct drive, and there is no energy loss between engine and wheels, as is the case in a mid-engined car. That is another reason why wheel motors consume less energy.
Moreover, since energy consumption is lower, we can reduce the size of the battery, motor-generator and fuel tank. Besides the wheel motors themselves are lighter than a central engine of equivalent power, since their external structures serve a dual function, serving also as a supporting structure to the wheels. Easing the car is therefore a third cause for reduction of energy consumption .
Now that with the wheel motors there is no engine under the hood can taper it and close the bottom of the car ahead. These modifications to the bodywork of the car improve aerodynamics and provide a fourth contribution to reducing energy consumption .
These four factors combine to give an energy consumption of motor cars motorbikes around 35% lower than a mid-engine electric car for city driving, and about 15% lower for conduct on the highway. In mixed driving, we obtain a reduction in consumption of around 25% due to the wheel motors. It's a big difference, especially for urban cars, delivery trucks and buses! This reduction in consumption not only lowers operating costs but also the cost of purchasing the vehicles, since the battery (very expensive) and the heat engine (for plug-in hybrid vehicles) may be reduced in size considerably . In addition, vehicle wheel motors have several components in less (no difference, no transmission, no PTO, no mechanical systems to ABS).
Furthermore, not only cars with wheel motors are more efficient energy but they are also the most powerful, which in itself represents a major paradigm . James Bond and Al Gore could carpool together in a car wheel motors and the two would be very happy!
In closing, it is worth mentioning four other benefits wheel motors that are not linked to the consumption of energy. The fact that there is no engine under the hood increases the crushing zone (crunching zone) of the metal during a frontal impact, which improves safety passenger reducing the brutal shock. Moreover, lack of engine under the hood gives much more flexibility the designer to decorate the spaces . Moreover, with four-wheel motors, can integrate a system antirérapage Software, and a braking system with ABS anti-blocking software as well. Finally, the driver has four-wheel drive, which is popular in winter in northern countries, as well as by those who have to travel on dirt roads.
In a future post I will discuss the various motor vehicle-wheels were made by various manufacturers.
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