ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Who'da thunk it?
Conventional (popular?) wisdom says the ICE is on its way out, to be replaced by the electric motor and batteries for our vehicles. And the electric motor sure has some attractive features: simplicity (basically one moving part), efficiency in converting battery power to motive power (but there's a catch there), quiet, the torque curve of the electric motor provides great acceleration without the need for a transmission in most cases, and no “tailpipe emissions” (but there's a catch there, too).
OK, range and cost of battery pack are issues for the EV, but those are improving.
Compared to a modern ICE, with all it's moving parts, fluids for lubrication and cooling system, electric system required to run and start, catalytic converters, spark ignition system, variable valve timing, turbocharger, air cleaners, fuel injectors, sensors everywhere feeding a computer to maintain this delicate balance, etc. Wow, what a mess! I'm actually amazed every time I think about this controlled combustion process, rolling along at ~ 2,000 RPM as we cruise down the highway - it almost seems impossible!
And yet, the modern ICE is extremely reliable. Oil changes are an annual thing for many people, and by that time you probably want to take it in to get the tires rotated, the same as an EV. Spark plugs and many other old-time maintenance components are good for 100,000 miles. Seems we rarely ever have an actual engine/drive-train problem. Our auto problems are far more likely to be in one of the other many systems in our cars, which are common to an EV anyhow.
Despite this complexity, using hybrid technology, we get some very good gas mileage w/o range concerns and less of a cost issue with the much smaller battery pack (just enough to absorb and utilize braking energy). But this is just a stop-gap to full EVs? It would seem so, but...
The engineers and material scientists are not not done improving the ICE. One advance that has been understood for a while, but beyond being ready for “prime time”, is the HCCI mode. But it may hit the road in 2 years. In simple terms HCCI is a gasoline powered ICE that combines the efficiency of a diesel engine, and is cleaner than a gasoline engine. HCCI is kind of a hybrid of gasoline spark ignition and diesel compression ignition, but it is neither.
See this video for more detail, but I think that getting another boost in efficiency, with simpler/lower emissions means the ICE will be around for a long time.
Engineering Explained : Mazda Creates The Holy Grail Of Gasoline Engines - HCCI SkyActiv-X
https://goo.gl/sYT4UG
But what about the efficiency and emissions of an EV? Sure, an EV is efficient in getting battery power to the wheels, but that battery is charged from the grid. And to produce the extra kWh to charge EVs, most grids will need to draw on their fossil fuel plants (the renewable energy is already fully utilized, as its 'fuel' is 'free') for that energy. And power plants use turbines for their simplicity and low maintenance - but turbines aren't as efficient as diesel/HCCI engines. And there are losses in the grid and charging process. So more fossil fuel will be burned doing all this electrical conversion, than will be burned in a high efficiency HCCI-hybrid.
So yes, I expect the ICE to be a part of our future for a very long time. You just can't get these efficiency improvements from EVs, as they are already, by their nature, very efficient. The ICE keeps moving the goalposts forward, and I think material advances will give some incremental improvements as well.
Surprised? Thoughts?
-ERD50
Conventional (popular?) wisdom says the ICE is on its way out, to be replaced by the electric motor and batteries for our vehicles. And the electric motor sure has some attractive features: simplicity (basically one moving part), efficiency in converting battery power to motive power (but there's a catch there), quiet, the torque curve of the electric motor provides great acceleration without the need for a transmission in most cases, and no “tailpipe emissions” (but there's a catch there, too).
OK, range and cost of battery pack are issues for the EV, but those are improving.
Compared to a modern ICE, with all it's moving parts, fluids for lubrication and cooling system, electric system required to run and start, catalytic converters, spark ignition system, variable valve timing, turbocharger, air cleaners, fuel injectors, sensors everywhere feeding a computer to maintain this delicate balance, etc. Wow, what a mess! I'm actually amazed every time I think about this controlled combustion process, rolling along at ~ 2,000 RPM as we cruise down the highway - it almost seems impossible!
And yet, the modern ICE is extremely reliable. Oil changes are an annual thing for many people, and by that time you probably want to take it in to get the tires rotated, the same as an EV. Spark plugs and many other old-time maintenance components are good for 100,000 miles. Seems we rarely ever have an actual engine/drive-train problem. Our auto problems are far more likely to be in one of the other many systems in our cars, which are common to an EV anyhow.
Despite this complexity, using hybrid technology, we get some very good gas mileage w/o range concerns and less of a cost issue with the much smaller battery pack (just enough to absorb and utilize braking energy). But this is just a stop-gap to full EVs? It would seem so, but...
The engineers and material scientists are not not done improving the ICE. One advance that has been understood for a while, but beyond being ready for “prime time”, is the HCCI mode. But it may hit the road in 2 years. In simple terms HCCI is a gasoline powered ICE that combines the efficiency of a diesel engine, and is cleaner than a gasoline engine. HCCI is kind of a hybrid of gasoline spark ignition and diesel compression ignition, but it is neither.
See this video for more detail, but I think that getting another boost in efficiency, with simpler/lower emissions means the ICE will be around for a long time.
Engineering Explained : Mazda Creates The Holy Grail Of Gasoline Engines - HCCI SkyActiv-X
https://goo.gl/sYT4UG
But what about the efficiency and emissions of an EV? Sure, an EV is efficient in getting battery power to the wheels, but that battery is charged from the grid. And to produce the extra kWh to charge EVs, most grids will need to draw on their fossil fuel plants (the renewable energy is already fully utilized, as its 'fuel' is 'free') for that energy. And power plants use turbines for their simplicity and low maintenance - but turbines aren't as efficient as diesel/HCCI engines. And there are losses in the grid and charging process. So more fossil fuel will be burned doing all this electrical conversion, than will be burned in a high efficiency HCCI-hybrid.
So yes, I expect the ICE to be a part of our future for a very long time. You just can't get these efficiency improvements from EVs, as they are already, by their nature, very efficient. The ICE keeps moving the goalposts forward, and I think material advances will give some incremental improvements as well.
Surprised? Thoughts?
-ERD50
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