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Integrating Capacitors Into Car Frames

Posted by Soulskill on from the integrating-is-just-a-fancy-word-for-duct-taping dept.

necro81 writes "It has long been recognized that adding capacitors in parallel with batteries can improve the performance of hybrid and electric vehicles by accepting and supplying spikes of power, which reduces stress on the battery pack, extending range and improving cycle life. The challenge has been figuring out where to put them, when batteries already compete for space. A new research prototype from Imperial College London has integrated them into the body panels and structural frame of the vehicle itself. In their prototype, carbon fiber serves as both the structure for the vehicle and electrode for the energy storage sandwiched within."

9 of 189 comments (clear)

  1. What could go wrong? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    as a side benefit it functions as reactive armor in a collision.

    1. Re:What could go wrong? by Interoperable · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A sure way to see an exploding anything is to hit it lightning.

      --
      So if this is the future...where's my jet pack?
    2. Re:What could go wrong? by ArcCoyote · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Stop spreading FUD.

      Some anti-theft radios have a code, provided with the owner's manual, that you can enter after the radio has lost standby power. Others know what vehicle they are in.

      I'm fairly sure what you were trying to say is that in modern vehicles (As in Fords with the Sync system) the electronics are keyed to the VIN, which is provided by the car's computer. If you remove the radio and put it in another vehicle, it will require rekeying, which can only be performed by authorized service centers.

      There are strict laws when it comes to car safety. Car manufacturers can NOT knowingly (intentional or otherwise) make it dangerous to service a car, as doing so may affect emergency personnel or the driver/passengers in breakdown situations.

  2. We build excitement! by whitelabrat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does anyone fail to see the problem of having what would likely be several Farads of high voltage stashed away in the body panels? I would expect if fully charged the capacitors if shorted, in a fender bender or whatever, they would leave little trace that they or anything that touches them ever existed. Just a spot of charred metal and the smell of electrolyte.

    And what about the aging of capacitors or capacitor failure? It's certainly exiting when a small capacitor goes POP! Imagine when one of these suckers blow your doors off while you're driving!

  3. risk to emergency medical services by sleep-doc · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Besides mechanics, please recall that EMS and police often face the issue of getting through metal to reach injured passengers. The 200 volts typically in a hybrid battery is one issue, knowing the location of batteries and how to disconnnect them another, but the thought of potentially still charged capacitors in the body frame sounds like an issue that could hinder response to emergencies.

  4. Not very well thought out... by s13g3 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Agreed with previous posters, having electricity stored in such a way throughout a vehicle - regardless of volts or amps - doesn't seem like such a hot idea (pun intended). It would certainly be a no-go on any vehicle with any sort of secondary, fueled motor, be it gas, hydrogen, etc., and the potential for other accident based on age, faulty manufacture, simple atmospheric conditions (how well will these fare when exposed to salt air in coastal areas) and too many other things to list here is simply enormous. There is danger enough in basic battery systems during a car accident, especially a major one that might involve another I.C.E. vehicle on fire... I don't relish the idea of trying to an injured person out a car that might kill me for touching the wrong exposed part of a wrecked frame.

    --
    "Inveniemus Viam Aut Faciemus" 'We will find a way... Or we will make one!' --Hannibal of Carthage
  5. Invention of petrol car/LPG by metalmonkey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What could possibly go wrong driving around at speed with a tank of highly flammable liquid strapped to the undercarriage of the car.
    What insanity!!!
    The same can be said for LPG a high pressure canister of highly flammable GAS just behind your seat - imagine that in a crash.

    Any dense energy source put into a car has a potential for that energy to be released in a way that is not intended especially in a crash. It is the details of the design that can make the energy storage (relatively) safe.

    1. Re:Invention of petrol car/LPG by couchslug · · Score: 4, Informative

      Doors, hoods, and roofs are frequently subject to damage in crashes. Th

      Fuel tanks are in protected locations. Bodywork is not a protected location.

      Put the capacitors in a nice standard, removable package and it becomes practical because it can be protected AND easily serviced.

      Why, on a supposedly tech-literate forum, does this need to be explained?

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  6. What about HazMat when the cars burn? by couchslug · · Score: 3, Informative

    Vehicle fires are common, and even without a petrol tank they burn very nicely. Exotic materials can produce dangerous products when burned, and their inhalation isn't just an EMS issue

    When carbon fiber aircraft structures are burned or damaged, Crash Recovery teams are required to spray them with a fixative (commercial floor wax is one) then wrap them in plastic for transport and disposal.

    A CONTAINERIZED capacitor can retain material which will be destroyed in a fire if it's the skin of the vehicle.

    --
    "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."