The proposed Center for PHEV/EBVs: Transportation and Electricity Convergence will focus on integrating and extending existing studies, and exploring new research needs in order to conduct a truly comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts of PHEV/EBVs. The research efforts will be anchored by the University of Texas at Austin (lead institution) partnered with Texas A&M University.
The proposed activity address a timely and important topic of high priority as a major national emphasis is being placed on the development and improvement of the electrical power infrastructure, methods of improving transportation energy efficiency, transitioning automobiles from fossil fuel energy sources and controlling potential contributors to climate change. The Center for Transportation and Electricity Convergence (CTEC) proposed in this document will take a unique systemic approach to the study of a potentially massive adoption of PHEVs/EBVs. It will consider the technical aspects of PHEVs/EBVs deployment along with a variety of socio-economic, commercial, environmental, regulatory, and industrial factors which need to be understood and carefully coordinated in order to maximize the opportunity for economic and societal benefit brought about by these vehicles. The Center will identify the dynamics of the meta-system comprised of energy, transportation, consumer choice, and infrastructure development, using advanced system-level modeling, optimization, and analysis techniques.
The proposed Center will lay the intellectual groundwork for characterizing and managing the inevitable changes in energy, transportation, and the built environment that will occur with increased adoption of PHEV/EBVs and other cross-cutting innovative sustainable solutions. Widespread deployment of PHEV/EBVs will have effects on numerous industries including electric utilities, automotive, manufacturing, transportation planning, air quality management, and construction of the built environment. The industry participation will enhance the students educational experience by providing a pipeline for talented engineers and scientist to industry. The Center plans to attract a diverse group of researchers and students with highly interdisciplinary interests and training.
Advanced next generation hybrid vehicle drive trains are being developed. This will be the foundation of the new technologies incorporated in future generations of vehicles by the manufacturers. In particualar a new concept of effieicnet vehicles that will save the kinetic energy of the vehicle at brake time in a new kind of inertial energy storage machine invented at Texas A&M University. This machine, which is named transmotor, has been under development here for the past 20 years but is now being used in the vehicle in a new way. Regenertive braking is used to store the vehicle kinetic energy in a flywheel by use of transmotor. This energy can then be returned to the vehicle in the next acceleration cycle, or stored in long term local electrical storage for future drive cycle. The advantage of this new system is that it is much more compact than batteries for regenerative braking in electric and hybrid electric vehicles. It can also be distributed to each wheel or each axel. Furtehr it is a less costly, more compact, fewer parts and much longer life system. New publications and patents will be based on this research. Furtehr, this will be incorporated in the next edition of this Priniciple Investigator's book on vehicles.
