Abstract
In many industrial countries, road transportation accounts for a significant portion of the country’s energy consumption. In developing countries, the use of energy for transportation is on the rise. The recent increase in petroleum prices, expanding world economic prosperity, the probable peaking of conventional petroleum production in the coming decades, and concerns about global climate changes require efforts to increase the efficiency of the use of, and develop alternatives for, petroleum-based fuels used in road transportation. The energy efficiency of a vehicle could be improved in several ways: lightweighting the vehicle structure and powertrain using advanced materials and designs, improving the efficiency of the internal combustion engine, reducing tire rolling resistance, and hybridization. Each of these efforts will require improvements in materials and processes.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
From analysis of data in Key World Energy Statistics 2007 (International Energy Agency, Paris, 2007); www.iea.org/Textbase/nppdf/free/2007/key_stats_2007.pdf (accessed January 2008); click on “Statistics” and then “Key Statistics.”
S.C. Davis, S.W. Diegel, Transportation Energy Data Book (Report ORNL-6978, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, ed. 26, 2007); Table 2.6.
S.C. Davis, S.W. Diegel, Transportation Energy Data Book (Report ORNL-6978, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, ed. 26, 2007); Tables 3.1 and 3.2.
The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030 (ExxonMobil, Irving, Texas).
U.S. Government Fuel Economy Web site, Advanced Technologies & Energy Efficiency, www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/atv.shtml (accessed January 2008).
Committee on the Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards, National Research Council, Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Ecomomy (CAFE) Standards (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2002).
W.F. Powers, Adv. Mater. Processes 157 (5), 38–41 (2000).
G. Davies, Materials for Automobile Bodies (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, 2003).
S. Das, in Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, Oxford, UK, 2004); vol. 3.
Energy and Analysis, Inc., Analysis of Light Duty Vehicle Weight Reduction Potential (U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, July 2007 draft).
A.I. Taub, P.E. Krajewski, A.A. Luo, J.N. Owens, JOM: J. Miner. Met. Mater. Soc. 48 (2), 1047 (2007).
K. Duffy, Diesel Engine-Efficiency and Emissions Research (DEER) 2004 Presentation: Caterpillar Heavy Truck Clean Diesel (HTCD) Program: Heavy Duty HCCI Development Activities.
M. Christensen, B. Johansson, P. AmnJus, F. Mauss, “Supercharged Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition” (SAE Technical Paper 980787, SAE International, Warrendale, PA, 1998).
T. Aroonsrisopon, V. Sohm, P. Werner, D. Foster, T. Morikawa, M. Iida, “An Investigation into the Effect of Fuel Composition on HCCI Combustion Characteristics” (SAE Technical Paper 2002-01-2830, SAE International, Warrendale, PA, 2002).
G. Shibata, K. Oyama, T. Urushihara, T. Nakano, “Correlation of Low Temperature Heat Release with Fuel Composition and HCCI Engine Combustion” (SAE Technical Paper 2005-01-0138, SAE International, Warrendale, PA, 2005).
W. Cheng, Control of Turbo-Charged LTC Gasoline Engines (Presented at the DOE University Projects Review Meeting, June 28, 2006).
J. Szybist, B. Bunting, “The Effects of Fuel Composition and Compression Ratio on Thermal Efficiency in an HCCI Engine” (SAE Technical Paper 2007-01-4076, SAE International, Warrendale, PA, 2007).
R. Marquard, H. Sorger, M. McDonald, Engine Technol. Int. 2, 58 (1998).
M. Westbrook, The Electric and Hybrid Electric Car (SAE International, Warrendale, PA, 2001).
K. Hellman, R. Heavenrich, “Light-Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends” (Report EPA420-R-03-006, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 2003).
F. An, D. Santini, “Mass impacts of fuel economies of conventional vs. hybrid electric vehicles,” 2004-01-0572 in Society of Automotive Engineers, SP-1833, Advanced Hybrid Vehicle Powertrains, 2004.
M.R. Cuddy, K.B. Wipke, “Analysis of the Fuel Economy Benefit of Drivetrain Hybridization,” SAE International Congress & Exposition, February 24–27, 1997, Detroit, MI.
Government Fuel Economy Web site: Find a Car (listing of fuel economy of vehicles of various model years); www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm (accessed January 2008).
T. Markel, A. Simpson, “Cost–Benefit Analysis of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology,” World Electric Vehicle Assoc. J. 1, 1–8 (May 2007).
2007 Annual Progress Report for Energy Storage Research and Development (U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, January 2008); www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/program/2007_energy_storage.pdf (accessed January 2008).
A. Chu, “Nanophosphate Lithium-Ion Technology for Transportation Applications,” 23rd Electric Vehicle Symposium, Anaheim, CA, December 2007.
T. Tan, H. Yumoto, D. Buck, B. Fattig, C. Hartzog, “Development of Safe and High Power Batteries for HEV,” 23rd Electric Vehicle Symposium, Anaheim, CA, December 2007.
2006 Annual Progress Report for Energy Storage Research and Development (U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, January 2007); www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/program/2006_energy_storage.pdf (accessed January 2008).
D. Doughty, E. Roth, C. Crafts, G. Nagasubramanian, G. Henriksen, K. Amine, “Effects of additives on thermal stability of Li ion cells,” J. Power Sources 146, 116 (2005).
G.-H. Kim, A. Pesaran, “Analysis of Heat Dissipation in Li-Ion Cells and Modules for Modeling of Thermal Runaway,” Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Large Lithium Ion Battery Technology and Application, Long Beach, California, May 15-18, 2007.
A.N. Jansen, D.W. Dees, D.P. Abraham, K. Amine, G.L. Henriksen, “Low-Temperature Study of Lithium-Ion Cells using a LiSn Micro-Reference Electrode” J. Power Sources 174, 373 (2007).
Z. Chen, K. Amine, “Tris(pentafluorophenyl) Borane as an Additive to Improve the Power Capabilities of Lithium-Ion Batteries,” J. Electrochem. Soc. 153, A1221 (2006).
2006 Annual Progress Report for the Advanced Power Electronics Technology Area (U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, December 2006); www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/resources/fcvt_apeta_fy06.html (accessed January 2008).
R.H. Staunton, C.W. Ayers, J.N. Chiasson, T.A. Burress, L.D. Marlino, “Evaluation of the 2004 Toyota Prius Hybrid Electric Drive System” (Report ORNL/TM-2005/178, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, April 2005).
R.W. Johnson, J.L. Evans, P. Jacobsen, J.R. Thompson, M. Christopher, “The Changing Automotive Environment: High Temperature Electronics,” IEEE Trans. Electron. Packag. Manuf. 27 (3), 164 (July 2004).
G. Gallegos-López, F.S. Gunawan, J.E. Walters, “Optimum Torque Control of Permanent-Magnet AC Machines in the Field-Weakened Region,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. 41 (4), 1020 (July/August 2005).
K.J. Kelly, T. Abraham, K. Bennion, D. Bharathan, S.V.J. Narumanchi, M. O’Keefe, “Assessment of Thermal Control Technologies for Cooling Electric Vehicle Power Electronics,” 23rd International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition, December 2007.
S.V.J. Narumanchi et al., “Advanced Thermal Interface Materials to Reduce Thermal Resistance” (NREL Technical/Milestone Report TP-540-40617, NREL, Golden, CO, 2006).
H.B Pacejka, Tire and Vehicle Dynamics (SAE International, Warrendale, PA, ed. 2, 2005).
Encyclopedia of Britannica On-Line, Tire Materials, www.britannica.com/eb/article-7283/tire (accessed January 2008).
T. Markel, A. Brooker, V. Johnson, K. Kelly, M. O’Keefe, S. Sprik, K. Wipke, “ADVISOR: A Systems Analysis Tool for Advanced Vehicle Modeling,” J. Power Sources 110 (2), 255 (June 2002).
California Energy Commission, Fuel-Efficient Tires and CEC Proceeding Documents Page, www.energy.ca.gov/transportation/tire_efficiency/documents/index.html (accessed January 2008).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carpenter, J.A., Gibbs, J., Pesaran, A.A. et al. Road Transportation Vehicles. MRS Bulletin 33, 439–444 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2008.86
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2008.86