Welcome to our Hybrid Cars essay sample! This paper will explore how hybrid cars work, the structure, performance, and benefits of these vehicles.
How Hybrid Cars Work Essay Outline
The report discusses the operation models of hybrid vehicles. Various aspects of their operations have been discussed taking into consideration the advantages of these vehicles over the usual conventional vehicles.
The gasoline-electric hybrid structure discussed in this paper has illustrations that show how the electric motor and the gasoline engine cooperate in order to save energy. Also, one of the most important things discussed is the ability of hybrid vehicles to save gasoline.
How Hybrid Cars Work Essay Abstract
This paper is a report of research done on hybrid vehicles and how they operate in relation to energy and the environment. Hybrid vehicles are designed with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and to increase the mileage of a vehicle.
They have small engines that enhance their fuel consumption. This is because a car with a small engine uses less gasoline when accelerating or driving uphill Apart from the gasoline engine, hybrid engines also have an electric motor and batteries.
The electric motors installed on electric cars are sophisticated in nature and through the use of advanced electronics they are in a position to act both as a generator and as a motor.
Environmentally, hybrid vehicles have helped reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emission in the atmosphere. This is because as the vehicle uses less fossil fuel, there is less tailpipe emission, less carbon dioxide produced in the atmosphere and therefore, less of ozone depletion and decrease global warm.
How Hybrid Cars Work Essay Introduction
A hybrid vehicle is a car that employs more than one specified power source to propel it. Hybrid vehicles are also called hybrid-electric vehicles because these kinds of automobiles use a combination of an internal combustion engine as well as one or more electric motors.
Hybrid vehicles come in different kinds. Some of the examples of the forms of hybrid automobiles are two-wheeled and cycle- type vehicles. This paper discusses the way hybrid vehicles operate. The research and analysis into this subject is aimed at getting an in-depth understanding of the motor vehicle industry and how improvements can be done to make them more efficient.
It is important to note that hybrid vehicles have gained much popularity due to the ability of the vehicle to improve fuel economy and at the same time improving mileage. Hybrid technology has been advancing throughout all the years mainly due to environmental concerns and mileage. Fuel economy of motor vehicles has been improved by the advancement of aerodynamic and lighter weight vehicles.
Gasoline-electric hybrid structure
The structure of a gasoline-electric engine is composed of the gasoline engine, fuel tank, electric motor, generator and batteries. The gasoline engine of a hybrid vehicle is the same as that of other conventional non hybrid cars. The difference comes in the size factor.
Hybrid vehicles have smaller engines than other conventional vehicles. It is important to note that gasoline has more energy density than battery. This is the reason why the battery pack of a hybrid car is much larger than that of an average conventional non hybrid vehicle.
The energy generated from slowing the car is then used to recharge the battery. The batteries function as the energy storage compartment of the electric motor. The batteries also function in two ways.
The diagram below illustrates how the Mercedes- Benz M-class HyPer- works. This is a good example of a hybrid vehicle.
Performance of a hybrid car
Hybrid vehicles have been designed to reduce fuel consumption and to increase mileage of the vehicle. The decrease in fuel consumption is due to the fact that fossil fuel reserves are being depleted.
Thus, hybrid vehicles are one of the options the automobile industry is working on, together with hydrogen –powered vehicles, to counter the problem of excessive fossil fuel dependency. Currently, Japan is taking the lead in hybrid motor vehicle manufacturing. Hybrids are the key cogs in Toyota’s strategy to become the world’s biggest and most successful car manufacturer.
Hybrid vehicle have a special advantage of combining a conventional gasoline engine with both rechargeable batteries and electric motors. This combination boosts mileage by as much as 40%. Hybrid vehicles operate to save gasoline in such a way that the gas engine shuts down when the car stops or coasts (Zastrow 2010).
Immediately the driver hits the accelerator pedal, the car restarts again. The electric motor drives the car at low speeds. This is because at low speeds, gas engines are least efficient.
Thus, most of the energy provided by the gas engines is supplied during the time when the vehicle is on the highways at high speeds. Also, it should be noted that a hybrid car differs from the gasoline-powered car in the use of energy. This is because in a hybrid car, there is also another source of energy.
The diagram below shows how a hybrid engine performs.
The engine of a hybrid motor vehicle has a sealed battery pack that powers the electric motor and recharges automatically. It is important to note that the size of the sealed battery is much disadvantageous to the hybrid automobile because the battery takes up as much space as that occupied by a storage tire.
In the hybrid engine, the heat energy generated by engaging the breaks is captured and used to recharge the battery pack. The regenerative breaking is an important feature exclusive in hybrid vehicles. It makes the vehicle ideal for stop-and-go driving. In addition to the above features, hybrids have other features associated with drag reduction and weight reduction (Zastrow 2010).
Benefits of a hybrid car
It is important to note that fuel consumption in hybrid motor vehicles is highly reduced. This is because gas is used to provide for the energy during the time when the vehicle is been driven at high speeds. The efficiency of gas is usually high at high speeds.
Electric motors are responsible for providing the energy when the vehicle is driven at low speed. Also, engines of a hybrid vehicle offer the opportunity of reducing insufficient low-end moments of force. This is because machines that are powered by electricity can provide high peak moments of force at low speeds. Thus, energy is saved since gas is least efficient at very low speeds (Leon 2008).
For these reasons, tailpipe emission is greatly reduced and the mileage of the vehicle is thus improved. The direct benefits of the decreased gas consumption are also associated with the environment. This is because as the vehicle uses less fossil fuel, there is less tailpipe emission, less carbon dioxide produced in the atmosphere and therefore, less of ozone depletion and decrease global warming.
Carbon monoxide, which is also a dangerous gas, especially when inhaled is also produced as a result of combustion of fossil fuel. However, in hybrid vehicles, emission of this dangerous gas is greatly reduced (Nice & Layton 2011). The mileage per charge has been decreased by the weight reduction. The weight reduction is due to chassis simplification and the use of aluminum for bodies.
Also, elimination of resistance from the presence of dirt and grit in the working parts has been done by the provision of improved protection. The more thorough utilization of battery equipment has also helped in increasing mileage per charge as well as cutting down the owner’s operating expenses (Anderson & Anderson 2010).
It is also worth noting that small engines are better than big engines because of the following reasons. The first reason is that a car with a small engine uses less gasoline when accelerating or driving uphill. This is because the vehicle is lighter. Big engines cause the vehicle to become heavy thereby using a lot of energy accelerating or driving uphill.
Secondly the heaviness of the piston in a large engine also requires extra energy as they move up and down the cylinder. This energy is supplied by the gasoline. The third reason is that in a smaller engine, there is less displacement of the cylinders.
This means that less fuel is required by each cylinder. Last but not least, since large engines have more cylinders, the amount of fuel used is also increased since each cylinder uses fuel as long as the engine is ignited. The above reasons are enough to convince anyone that the small engines in a hybrid motor vehicle causes it to be more efficient in energy use.
Improving fuel economy
As it has been discussed earlier, one of the reasons as to why hybrid vehicles use less energy is because they have a smaller engine. There are also other reasons that make hybrid vehicles conserve energy. Hybrid vehicles usually recover energy and store it in the battery. The source of this recovered energy comes mainly from the heat generated during breaking.
Regenerative breaking is achieved in a hybrid vehicle in that the electric motor can also slow the car. Another trick of energy conservation that hybrid vehicles use is that they sometimes shut off the engine. This is made possible by the alternative power source of the hybrid vehicle, that is, the electric motor and the batteries. A lot of energy is saved in this manner.
Aerodynamic drag is the force experienced by a car when it is driven on a freeway. Thus, most of the work the engine does is to push the car through the air. As a result, an aerodynamic drag ensues and in order to decrease it, it is important to ensure that the car’s frontal area is reduced as well. Another example of reducing aerodynamic drag is by putting covers over the wheel housings.
A smooth allow can now be experienced thanks to the covers. This helps to reducing the drag. In addition, it is quite possible to use small cameras as a replacement for the mirrors and in the process, the drag is reduced further. Hybrid cars have also reduced fuel consumption by using low-rolling resistance tires. Since the tires tend to be both inflated and stiffer, by extension, they are also more likely to have higher pressure.
As a result, the tires reduce the amount of drugging by 50%. Lightweight materials have also been used for manufacturing the hybrid car. The reduction in weight causes the vehicle to increase its mileage. This is because a light vehicle uses less energy than a heavy vehicle during acceleration.
How Hybrid Cars Work Essay Conclusion
A hybrid vehicle is a car that employs more than one specified power sources to propel it. Hybrid vehicles are also called hybrid-electric vehicles because these kinds of automobiles use a combination of an internal combustion engine as well as one or more electric motors.
In terms o structure, a gasoline-electric engine entails a fuel tank, gasoline engine, generator, batteries, and electric motor. The gasoline engine of a hybrid vehicle is the same as that of other conventional non hybrid cars. The difference comes in the size factor. The combination of electric motors and batteries boosts the mileage of electric vehicles by as much as 40%.
Hybrid vehicles operate to save gasoline in such a way that the gas engine shuts down when the car stops or coasts. Immediately the driver hits the accelerator pedal, the car restarts again. The main benefits of hybrid vehicles are associated with fuel consumption and mileage.
Also, engines of a hybrid vehicle offer the opportunity of reducing insufficient low-end moments of force. This is because machines that are powered by electricity can provide high peak moments of force at low speeds. Thus, energy is saved since gas is least efficient at very low speeds.
Reference List
Anderson, C. & Anderson, J., 2010, Electric and Hybrid Cars. Ed. 2. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
Cartype Inc., 2011. Energine, South Korea. Web.
Leon, A., 2008, Hydrogen technology: mobile and portable applications. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Nice, K., & Layton, J., 2011. How Hybrid cars work. Web.
Zastrow, C., 2010, Introduction to social work and social welfare: empowering people. Belmont: Linda Schreiber.