TWO steps out of the electrolysis box.....

[AlaskaStar]

What about regenerating from a down-hill run?

And what of the BACK EMF (BEMF) inside a motor? Great source of power there!

And any other good sources?

AlaskaStar

[Jehu]

With travelling down a hill, depending what type of engine/gearbox setup you are using, with an ordinary ICE we wil get a braking effect from the engine. Work well as a break but a waste of energy. Having a electric engine though would be great for regenerative power down a hill.

BEMF in an electric motor? Sounds like Bendini again to me.

[AlaskaStar]

What if the gear-box was set-up so that while driving, it is 1:1 ratio (direct drive) and when rolling or decelerating, the ratio goes to say 9:1, so that the car pushes the motor as a generator at 9 times faster than the motor pushes the car.

This could be set up using a one way roller clutch/ sprag (similar to the ones used in automatic transmissions) for the driving/ driven motion. This would allow the driving motion from the motor to push the car, but when being driven the one way roller sprag/ clutch is released on one end and held by the other causing it to go through a geartrain to change the speed and step up a bunch.

Note the differences in the wording:

DRIVING= powered by motor

DRIVEN= pushed by car in regenerative mode

so when using two roller sprags, it can be achieved in a away that is automatic, doesn't use clutches and allows for automatic switching between the functions.

Some food for thought...also because I am rebuilding a Ford AX4S-HO transaxle today... and replacing the clutch in a Ford Bronco II.

AlaskaStar

[Jehu]

But wouldn't that cause too much engine breaking resulting in wasted energy in the form of lack of inertia? Yes it would recharge the batteries at a faster rate but wouldn't any electrical losses negate that effect to some extent? wouldn't it be better to just leave it in the same gear ratio, say 0.71:1 and let it do some charging but keep the inertia going as well. Wouldn't you waste more power trying to bring the car back up to speed if this engine breaking was too strong?

[AlaskaStar]

TORQUE DEMAND is what really sucks up the wattage and power requirement.

If you have little to no torque demand, then the power source wont be pushed too hard.

If you have the ABILITY to stop the vehicle in the fashion of the "red-to-red-tire-smoking-pink-slipping-street-rod-drag-racing"

AND be ABLE to regeneratively brake at the same time, then wouldn't that make sense?

Not only that, but you don't have to mash that brake pedal every time you stop. The regenerative brakes work much like the exciting of the rotor on an alternator: If you barely put any current into the rotor, the output will be very small on the stator, and the horsepower will be minimal to turn it. If you put a ton of current into the rotor, the output of the stator will be very high and result in the large requirement to make it rotate.

This very ability to change the duty cycle of the regenerative braking force is what allows the 'variable braking force' to be applied and NOT use the brake friction surfaces during the stopping motion/ operation of the vehicle.

The ability to capture more power in a more efficient manner is a great thing to have.

AlaskaStar

[AlaskaStar]

Seems this died a bit...

First stages of building have commenced. We have to heat the shop.

Cold fingers and frozen metal are a dangerous mix. Makes a person want to eat ice cream.

So we are converting a chest freezer into a heater for the shop.

Big John (I refer to him as "John, Notorious B. I. G. " when his boss calls looking for him) is going to get a crash course in refrigeration, and I get some help with the heavy lifting. I run the saw and power tools, he picks up the disaster.

When we are done, we should have heat in the shop, and be ready to start building.

AlaskaStar