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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number GR/T19810/01
Title HYSTOR: Controlling a High Density Energy Storage System for Hybrid Vehicles
Status Completed
Energy Categories Energy Efficiency(Transport) 25%;
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Energy storage) 75%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Professor PRN (Peter ) Childs
No email address given
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Imperial College London
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 01 May 2005
End Date 31 October 2008
Duration 42 months
Total Grant Value £466,134
Industrial Sectors Transport Systems and Vehicles
Region London
Programme Materials, Mechanical and Medical Eng, Process Environment and Sustainability
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Professor PRN (Peter ) Childs , Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London (99.995%)
  Other Investigator Professor R K Stobart , Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, Loughborough University (0.001%)
Dr C. A. Long , Engineering and Design, University of Sussex (0.001%)
Mr P Neller , Engineering and Design, University of Sussex (0.001%)
Dr TC Yang , Engineering and Design, University of Sussex (0.001%)
Dr P Morrell , Engineering and Design, University of Sussex (0.001%)
  Industrial Collaborator Project Contact , Menard Engineering Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , Spirax Sarco UK (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract Hybrid vehicles are considered as the solution to the requirement to enhance the efficiency of the road vehicle fleet. Hybrid vehicles have begun to appear in a commercial form, but progress to a widely acceptable technical solution is painfully slow. The hybrid vehicle is dogged by the need for a heavy, expensive and underperforming battery pack. Mechanical storage has proved difficult to engineer. While batteries and regenerative fuel cell stacks remain a long term objective, there is a needfor radical solutions which are more accessible.Thermal storage of energy using water has the advantage of cleanliness and efficiency, but while the approach looks feasible there is no significant science base to support its development. Initial investigations show that the store is compact and outperforms batteries comfortably. The control of steam flow and the design requirements of a small steam engine are not understood and require new engineering principles to be established. The overallcontrol of the vehicle's thermal processes are a further area of research since the inclusion of such a system in a vehicle will force changes in other systems. The proposed programme includes an investigation of system aspects of thermal storage and the control requirements for storage and recovery of energy. The design and operation of the steam engine itself forms a large part of the investigations. The final step is a practical demonstration
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 01/01/07