By:Sham

Recent Trends in Automobile Engineering

• What is it?- A Natural gas vehicle or NGV is a vehicle that uses compressed natural gas (CNG) or, less commonly, liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a clean alternative to other automobile fuels.

Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs)

Sources

• Where do we get natural gas from?

- The Gulf of Saudi Arabia : A Long-Lasting Source of Natural Gas.

• 85-99% Methane• Clean burning• Exhaust emissions from NGVs are much lower than those

from equivalent gasoline-powered vehicles • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions• Noise reductions • Lower cost

Benefits of NGVs

LGV ENGINE AND ITS VARIOUS COMPONENTS

CombustionChamberGeometry

High PowerDensity

WaterInjection

ExhaustAftertreatment

LNC, TWC, SCR

Combustionof DiluteMixtures

Modified orAlternative

EngineCycles

MultipleSourceIgnition

ExhaustEnergy

Retention

Turbo-compounding

FrictionReduction

A: Gas fill valve

B: Cylinders

C: Master manual shut-off valve

D: High-pressure fuel line

E: Regulator

F: Natural gas solenoid valve

G: Fuel-injection system

The pressure regulator must be firmly attached to the vehicle’s body, making sure that there is no movement whatsoever. The manometer must be placed on the regulator in such a way that it can be easily read at the time of filling the gas tank; therefore, the pressure regulator must not be installed under any part of the motor that blocks the view of the manometer

REDUCER / MIXER SYSTEM

STOICHIOMETRIC A/F Ratio Controller, Cool EGR and 3-Way Catalyst

The tanks have a valve that must be installed very tightly. For this purpose, the cylinder is placed on a specially prepared bracket-clamp that will hold the tanks while the valve is installed avoiding its turning when the valve is being tightened. Before installing the valve in the cylinder thread, 30 rounds of Teflon tape must be applied for better sealing. The valve must be tightened in the cylinder with no greater than 25 kgm. The cylinders should be placed in the same direction as the car axels. The Manual Safety Valve must be easily accessible, so that it can be closed without problems in case of a leak.

NGV TANKS AND THEIR VALVES

• What types of vehicles run on natural gas?

2) Dedicated NGVs

2) Bi-Fuel NGVs

Types of Vehicles

• A dedicated NGV runs on natural gas only.• Dedicated NGVs can be gasoline-fueled vehicles

that have been converted to run on natural gas.• Mostly dedicated NGVs are produced by original

equipment manufacturers.

Dedicated NGVs

Examples of NGV Cars

Honda Civic GX The Omni Cargo

Light-Duty NGVs Suitable for light-duty needs in private and

government fleets Honda Civic GX

Medium-Duty NGVs Vans and shuttles Airports and taxi fleets

Heavy-Duty NGVs Refuse haulers Transit buses School buses Long-haul trucks Street sweepers Snowplows Short-haul delivery trucks

• A bi-fuel vehicle can run on either natural gas or gasoline.

• Many are designed to switch automatically to gasoline when the natural gas fuel tank reaches empty.

• These vehicles get the same or slightly fewer miles per equivalent gallon of natural gas as do vehicles using gasoline only.

Bi-Fuel NGVs

• The Absence of Transportation• The Absence of Storage Infrastructure• Loss of Cargo Space• Increased Refueling Time• Lower Driving Range• Price

Obstacles to The Widespread of Use of NGVs

• Building more pipelines.• Establishing more liquefied tankers.• A slow fill gets more gas into the tank than does

a fast fill. • Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) is now

promoting the new plan.

Solutions (1)

• Tax Reductions for CNG Vehicles - Tax reductions of 25% for CNG buses and taxi

cabs - 20% for other CNG vehicles• Giving an import tariff exemption for NGV cylinders and other related equipment

Solutions (2)

Solutions (3)• Building more NGV refueling stations

- PTT plans to increase the number to 160 stations next year

- 740 nationwide in 2010

• Natural gas combustion produces no significant aldehydes or other air toxins.

• Natural gas price is cheaper than the price of gasoline.

• Safety

Conclusion

• In Europe, a group of nine auto manufacturers are currently researching and testing body panels that can store energy and charge faster than conventional batteries of today. The body panels being tested are made of polymer fiber and carbon resin that are strong enough to be used in vehicles and pliable enough to be molded into panels. These panels could reduce a car's weight by up to 15 percent.

• The panels would capture energy produced by technologies like regenerative braking or when the car is plugged in overnight and then feed that energy back to the car when it's needed.

Energy-storing Body Panels

• Volvo has developed a combination of technologies that goes further than simply identifying objects: it can identify pedestrians and cyclists, thus allowing avoidance of collisions and injuries in urban areas, where such accidents are most common. Since this also happens to be one of the most important type of accidents involving cars, this technology should spread pretty quickly

Pedestrian detection

• or lazy brakes, if you wish. Acura's new RLX sedan features a "Brake Hold" button that will keep the brakes pressed automatically. Useful while waiting for that red light to turn green, or for that loooong train to cross the road.

Intelligent braking

• Because the all-new 2014 S-Class does not pack enough new features as it is, Mercedes-Benz has found it necessary to include exclusive hot stone massage bucket seats. 14 tiny air bags inflate and deflate to stimulate the occupant's backside in a traditional, shiatsu fashion.

Hot-stone massage

• Tesla Motors' Model S all-electric sedan sports many exclusive technologies, one of them being almost exclusively aesthetic: the receding door handles retract when the car is locked down or when it is moving, but press the key fob Unlock button and the pop out. They seem pretty solid too. Still, we wonder how they'll fare under an inch of thick winter ice...

Receding door handles

• Dual-stage 'smart' airbags If you've ever felt the force of an airbag hitting you in the face after a fender-bender, you understand the appeal of dual-stage "smart" airbags. More important, an airbag can have fatal results for small children. These smart systems vary in intelligence, but most offer a low-stage and high-stage deployment based on impact, and many take the weight of the human into consideration via an in-car computer. Average cost: $400

Dual-stage airbags

Electro-Hydraulic power steering system

• new power steering system provides the natural, smooth feel of a sophisticated conventional hydraulic power steering system while simultaneously improving fuel economy by using electric power instead of drawing power from the engine.

• System Configuration• Electro-Hydraulic power steering system• Hydraulic assist

(greater reduction ratio than with gears, etc.)• 12V power supply

(Since large reduction ratio possible, DC-DC converter for voltage step-up is not needed)• Small cylinder diameter (50mm)

(Motor does not need to be mounted on rack, since a large reduction ratio is obtained)

Electro-Hydraulic power steering system

• new power steering system provides the natural, smooth feel of a sophisticated conventional hydraulic power steering system while simultaneously improving fuel economy by using electric power instead of drawing power from the engine.

• System Configuration• Electro-Hydraulic power steering system• Hydraulic assist

(greater reduction ratio than with gears, etc.)• 12V power supply

(Since large reduction ratio possible, DC-DC converter for voltage step-up is not needed)• Small cylinder diameter (50mm)

(Motor does not need to be mounted on rack, since a large reduction ratio is obtained)

EPS powered directly by motor• Motor power directly assists steering

(large reduction ratio not obtainable with worm gear or ball screw)• 42V power supply

(small reduction ratio means DC-DC converter needed to provide power)• Large motor diameter(110mm)

(to provide sufficient power, a large motor must be mounted on the rack shaft)

• A supercharger: is an air compressor that increases the pressure or density of air supplied to an internal combustion engine. This gives each intake cycle of the engine more oxygen, letting it burn more fuel and do more work, thus increasing power.

• A turbocharger is a device driven by exhaust gases that increases engine power by pumping air into the combustion chambers. Combustion is limited not by the amount of fuel that can be injected but by the amount of air an engine can gulp in to mix with that fuel.

Tubeless tires or tyres• Tubeless tires or tyres: (are pneumatic tires that do not require a

separate inner tube. Unlike traditional pneumatic tires which use a separate inner tube, tubeless tires have continuous ribs molded integrally into the bead of the tire so that they are forced by the pressure of the air inside the tire to seal with the flanges of the metal rim of the wheel.

continuously variable transmission (CVT)• A continuously variable transmission (CVT) (also known as a

single-speed transmission, stepless transmission, variable pulley transmission, or, in case of motorcycles, a twist-and-go) is an automatic transmission that can change seamlessly through an indefinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values.

Thank you!