Semi OT: EV charging

Jun 12, 2016 29 Replies

It would be difficult to see how they'd implement that in the "Voltec" system.

The drivetrain is fairly complex, it's a "series" hybrid, instead of a "parallel" hybrid like the Prius. There's a planetary gear which operates in reverse to how the Prius drivetrain operates; in the Prius the engine is connected to the planet carriers, the secondary motor/generators are are connected to the sun gear, and IIRC the wheel output is taken from the ring gear. The ICE is directly connected to the drivetrain at all times.

In the Volt, the main electric motor is connected to the sun gear, and the wheel output is taken through a reduction from the planet carriers. There's a secondary electric motor/generator with a clutch to both the ICE and the ring gear, which is used for regenerative braking, and when running on gas operates as a generator for the main electric motor.

But since there's a clutch on each side of the secondary motor/generator, at "high speeds" (some have said 70 mph, but AFAIK there's no hard cutoff, it's whenever the computer decides it would be most efficient to do this) the car can engage both clutches, so the gas engine can turn the ring gear directly, along with the main motor.

Diagram:

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The Gen 2 Volt, which was released for 2016, is more complicated and has about 6 different operating modes..I don't fully understand it yet...

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I have finally given in and admitted that manual transmissions and clutches are mostly barbaric. My Audi is a pleasure to drive on the hills here, compared to a manual tranny.

It has six real gears and no torque converter, and can be incrementally shifted like a motorcycle, but I rarely do that.

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc lunatic fringe electronics

Manuals are a pain in traffic in hilly places. Vancouver isn't quite as hilly as SF, but there are still a lot of hills.

Westchester is pretty flat by comparison. Plus manuals are more fun, and I don't have to lend it to the kids. ;)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net

Mo and The Brat won't drive a manual, so I'd have to do all the driving on trips if I didn't have an automatic.

But really, I'm over clutching and shifting. Along with slide rules and pay phones and typewriters and sticking black tape onto sheets of mylar.

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc picosecond timing precision measurement jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com http://www.highlandtechnology.com

I have to quote my friend when I asked about changing to an automatic: 'The current gearbox oils are so good that you do not need to mix them by hand'.

The next step will then be a good hybrid. (I'm happy with my Lexus 300h).

-TV

Watch out--driving is more like skiing than it is like taping layouts!

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

It used to take two people a couple of days to check the artwork against the schematic; one to call out the connections while the other traces it out. Now a check takes 5 seconds maybe.

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc lunatic fringe electronics

as

The slower process did give you time to think about the schematic and layou t ...

On one occasion the schematic and the layout matched perfectly, but we sent the layout back because the power supply routing and the decoupling capaci tors were all over the place. It wouldn't have been difficult to fix, but i t would have been time-consuming, and that time wasn't coming out of my bud get.

Bill Sloman, Sydney

That means it would be even more efficient if the car burned natural gas, but the market is not allowed to decide.

That's assuming that cheaper means more efficient, but they would mean the same thing if the government didn't screw up the market by subsidizing here and there.

On Sunday, June 19, 2016 at 12:10:55 PM UTC-7, Tom Del Rosso wrote: ...

CNG (also called NGV) vehicles that use natural gas do get government incentives and also get white stickers here in CA that allow the access to HOV lanes.

kevin

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