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| Locomotive of the Future? 01/09/2012 at 10:11 #35326 | |
BarryM
2158 posts |
Interesting. http://inhabitat.com/university-of-birmingham-students-build-uks-first-hydrogen-powered-locomotive/ Barry Barry, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Log in to reply |
| Locomotive of the Future? 01/09/2012 at 10:54 #35327 | |
birchy74
151 posts |
That would weigh quite a lot if it was built full size, I think the batteries alone would be huge :woohoo:
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| Locomotive of the Future? 01/09/2012 at 11:35 #35329 | |
outofsection
149 posts |
VERY interesting! Looks like they've solved the main problem/safety issue with such vehicles which is the carrying of the hydrogen fuel. Fuel cell cars such as the Honda FCX Clarity store it highly compressed in liquid form at around 1300 psi. This vehicle stores it at around 75-80psi. I can honestly see this vehicle becoming (and not far off either) a realistic and practical answer to reducing CO2 emissions from cars, as the hydrogen-powered fuel cell car is already a practical reality (well in California anyway). But TBH, I see it being an awful long time before such a means of propulsion becomes practical for use in locomotives. As Birchy implies, the weight and size of any loco powerful enough for the job would be gargantuan - simply because of the capacity of the batteries needed. But if "the great leap forward" could occur with battery capacity in relation to weight and size, then maybe - but not until! And I reckon replacing the battery packs would cost an arm and a leg (and probably the odd kidney or liver thrown in to pay the VAT!) I'm all for this technology though, bring it on! Log in to reply |
| Locomotive of the Future? 01/09/2012 at 12:03 #35331 | |
postal
5197 posts 
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The way I understand it, the batteries are there as auxiliary power when the demand is greater than the fuel cell can supply. That means that you have a design trade-off between fuel-cell capacity and back-up battery capacity. This could well allow an engineering solution of putting more fuel-cells in reducing the size/weight/cost of the battery. On the other side of the coin, the battery has to be large enough to take in the energy created by the regenerative braking which will determine a minimum size. Then you get into the efficiency trade off between harnessing the regenerative energy and lugging round the extra weight for the battery system. It would be interesting to know how these factors were balanced off when the design was put together.
“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| Locomotive of the Future? 01/09/2012 at 13:52 #35335 | |
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outofsection
149 posts |
Good point! I really do hope this prototype can be made a "go-er" as I think it has enormous potential. And the spin-off for all of us would be far greater capacity (and no doubt lighter) rechargeable batteries for everyday use! Just think: a laptop with a battery that lasts a week on one charge!
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| Locomotive of the Future? 02/09/2012 at 05:16 #35349 | |
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pilotman
189 posts |
I am slightly confused by the stated means of storage. Metal hydride is a battery technology, but is there a way to store hydrogen in quantities at low pressure using this means?
Last edited: 02/09/2012 at 05:16 by pilotman Log in to reply |
| Locomotive of the Future? 03/09/2012 at 11:38 #35377 | |
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taffy
28 posts |
The way I understood things, was that the battery storage was in association with the regenerative braking system, which was required as part of the design proposals for these trial.
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| Locomotive of the Future? 03/09/2012 at 12:58 #35378 | |
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pilotman
189 posts |
That's my understanding too, but the article mentions metal hydride storage for the hydrogen. Incidentally a lot of bus applications use a flywheel for regenerative storage. Not sure how that stacks up weight for weight with a lead-acid battery.
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| Locomotive of the Future? 03/09/2012 at 13:25 #35379 | |
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postal
5197 posts
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" said:That's my understanding too, but the article mentions metal hydride storage for the hydrogen. Incidentally a lot of bus applications use a flywheel for regenerative storage. Not sure how that stacks up weight for weight with a lead-acid battery.And a flywheel is the principal traction mode while the Parry People Mover (Class 139) is on the move up and down the Stourbridge Town branch. The flywheel is spun up to speed by a small onboard internal combustion engine. The flywheel then drives a generator supplying electricity to the traction engines (and driving the flywheel back up to speed when the traction engines are in regenerative mode). There is a bit more about the metal-hydride storage system in the Wikipedia article about the Ross Barlow which is referenced in the article at BarryM's original post if anyone wants to see the science and engineering involved. “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Last edited: 03/09/2012 at 13:26 by postal Log in to reply The following user said thank you: pilotman |