Hybrid Vehicle

As a consequence of problems related to air pollution, the Industrial World has started designing and manufacturing models of smart vehicles.
The thermal-electric hybrid motorisation, or smart vehicle motorisation, has been given that name because two or more energy sources are available.
Hybrid motorisation provides remarkable benefits in terms of fuel saving and emissions.

Hybrid Vehicle Features

The distinguishing feature of hybrid vehicles – or smart vehicles – lies in that two Driving Units coexist and interact in a single vehicle: an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
The internal combustion engine transforms the chemical energy of fuel, thus ensuring an acceptable efficiency level.
The electric motor shows greater conversion efficiency and versatility since it transforms the energy available in the batteries that are on board the vehicle, but its efficiency is much compared with that of an internal combustion engine.
The performance of these Engines, plus their control systems, is closely dependent on how they have been designed, and they can run with different types of fuel: LPG, Diesel Oil, Natural Gas, Biodiesel and Hydrogen. These fuels are easily available at the networks of refuelling stations.
Each Hybrid vehicle tries to exploit – during deceleration – the capacity to brake with the Electric Motor by generating energy that would otherwise be dissipated in the brakes.
Electric energy can be recovered and stored through different devices.

Energy Storage Devices

Talk about different devices where electric energy can be recovered:

• Batteries: they have a lower energy density compared with fuel. Batteries can be properly sized to store as much energy as possible in order to extend a vehicle’s range. They can be recharged during long car stop periods (for example, at night).
• Super capacitors: compared with batteries, super capacitors have a lower energy density but can give and receive greater power. They are based on a physical process, which can be more readily controlled.
• Electrically driven flywheels: energy is stored as kinetic energy by a flywheel that is turned by an electric machine. It is a 100% mechanical process and has particular control problems different from any previous ones.

In the Designing stage, Four Strokes and its Team of engineers and designers are committed to:

• Develop, validate, implement and manufacture almost any vehicle architecture thanks to a deep technical and proven expertise.
• Prototype, develop and design hybrid transmissions.
• Collaborative R&D projects for future hybrid models and improvement of vehicle efficiency.