A Garbage Truck That Would Make Elon Musk Proud

curtwoodward writes: Ian Wright knows how to build high-performance electric cars: he was a co-founder at Tesla Motors and built the X1, a street-legal all-electric car that can go from zero to 60 in 2.9 seconds. But he only cares about trucks now — in fact, boring old garbage trucks and delivery trucks are his favorite. Why? To disrupt the auto industry with electrification, EV makers should target the biggest gas (and diesel) guzzlers. His new powertrain is very high tech, combining advanced electric motors with an onboard turbine that acts as a generator when batteries run low.

Comments

Distance and Charge Time

[mythosaz]

The two major factors for electric usefulness are the distance you can go on a charge, and the time it takes to recharge.

You could cut out the middleman on this vehicle's charging turbine by removing the electrical system altogether and running it on gas, or diesel or propane.

I'm a Leaf owner (and soon to be a Fusion Energi owner), but the duration driving necessary by a fleet of garbage trucks isn't there unless you have a bunch of "tender" vehicles running them fresh batteries all day long.

Aside: I believe all curbside trash pickup is a conspiracy to generate HOA fines.

Re:Distance and Charge Time

[Adriax]

An electric drive train weighs a fraction of what an axle drive train does for those monsters, and an electric motor is MUCH better for a stop&go traffic pattern due to resting torque differences and regenerative braking.
Plus the generator can be tuned for a singular operating RPM since the battery bank will be buffering the energy. That right there simplifies the engine and boosts efficiency.

I'm a fan of the electric + generator hybrid setup. It can take advantage of the existing fuel infrastructure for distance, while giving efficiency gains and allowing designers to use a wider range of engine designs for the generator. I would guess there are a couple engine designs out there that are more efficient/powerful for the mass and/or volume but can't do the variable RPM a 4-12 piston IC does.

Re:Distance and Charge Time

[MichaelSmith]

Its just like a British milk float. It spends a lot of its time stopped, so an engine which doesn't need to idle is more efficient.

Good video on this

[Tailhook]

Capstone Turbine Corporation makes the LNG burning turbine for this application. Here is a good video about it, showing the vehicle in operation and explaining the trade-offs; basically high initial capital costs with good long term savings in fuel and maintenance. Regenerative braking is a big win both in fuel savings and maintenance for garbage trucks which can perform more than 1000 hard stops per day.

Technical details on the turbine include; 200 lbs, 250 hp, 40,000h service life between overhauls (13+ years @ 8h / day.) The turbine has air bearings to eliminate wear, which implies a gas generator/power section arrangement to drive the generator, I believe.