Engr 103 - Group 7 - Week 5 - Hybrid/Electric & Hybrid Plug-In Vehicles and Beginning Stages of Memo

Engr 103 - Group 7

Energy and Carbon Footprint of Electric and Conventional Automobiles

Goal:
- Continue with Hybrid Electric research through GREET and other sources. Begin the other aspect,
Hybrid/Plug-In, as well. (Work done by Research Scientists) The Technical Writer will begin compiling
information for drafting the memo. Finally, the Project Manager will begin designing a Decision Matrix for
criteria and constraints.

Technical Notes:

- As mentioned in the goals, the division of labor is separated due to the need to stay consistent with our
project timeline. 
- Our Research Scientists, Andrew and Nii, are both working with GREET and research
mainly fuel emission aspects to compare for our next stages. 
- Alyson, our Project Manager, is designing the overall, comprehensive matrix to show our deciding factors
in what vehicle to use, along with all other aspects such as price and materials. 
- Ali, our Technical Writer, is in the beginning stages of the draft. She is compiling our current research
and aspects of a policy memo to draft.

Research Notes:
Data Figures found in GREET of Hybrid Electric
Figure 2

Engr 103 - Group 7 - Week 4 - Finalizing Diesel/Beginning Hybrid

Engr 103 - Group 7

Energy and Carbon Footprint of Electric and Conventional Automobiles

Goal:
Our goal today is to finalize the majority of our research goals in Diesel, and begin compiling research/data
through GREET on Hybrid cars.

Technical Notes:

- In accordance to the Project Timeline, our research on diesel should be substantial to move forward.

In this goal, we continue to follow our timeline by starting Hybrid Research done by the Research Scientists,

while the remaining members finish and finalize the research on Diesel for references when drafting the memo.

- As you will see in the following Research Notes, there is a list of common health issues. This is only for

an aspect that the Committee will later decide on, since the purpose of our memo is to explain and show through

figures on our choices.

-As suggested from our Technical Adviser, we are going to start using our data and putting it into a
Decision Matrix due to not only our look into different fuels, but the costs that come in making the car,
and all other factors we need 

Research Notes:

Remaining Notes from the Diesel Portion of our Research:

- Our team agreed on adding a 'Materials Portion' to our research. This research was a subtopic that was

summarized by Alynne Jeanty, our Technical Writer:

Materials:

http://energy.gov/eere/vehicles/vehicle-technologies-office-lightweight-materials-cars-and-trucks

• This source discusses the advantages of using lightweight materials in production (which requires less energy to accelerate)
• Such materials can include high-strength steel, magnesium alloys, aluminum alloys, carbon fiber, and polymer composites
• Lightweight materials:

• Reduce fuel consumption (more weight = use more fuel)
• Significant in electric/hybrid/plug in vehicles (lightweight materials improve efficiency and range of electricity)
• Employ additional features in vehicles w/o increasing vehicle weight
• Effects of Pollution:

http://www.ehhi.org/reports/exhaust/exhaust06.pdf

• This source discusses the impacts that vehicles can have on pollution (air)
• CO2 - biggest GHG (Greenhouse Gas) contributor to Global Warming
• Common health issues associated with vehicle emissions are Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Heart Disease, Cardiovascular Disease, Lung Cancer, and Diabetes.
• Diesel exhaust contains approx. 40 pollutants and expels small particles of carbon
• Vehicle - Fuel Compatibility
• http://www.e10bensiini.fi/files/227/Compatibility_of_E10_Petrol_with_Various_Passengers_Vehicles_27_05_2011.pdf

This source provides a comprehensive list of vehicles that are compatible with E10 petrol

• The source states that the compatibility of a petrol w/ a vehicle depends upon the octane rating/ethanol concentration. Octane requirements must be met & the petrol’s ethanol concentration cannot exceed the compatibility limit.
• Petrol = gasoline

Trucks:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/03/21/us-truck-fleets-turning-towards-cng-lpg/

• Discussing the fuel used in different trucks

Engr 103 - Group 7 - Week 3 - Diesel Research

Engr 103 - Group 7

Energy and Carbon Footprint of Electric and Conventional Automobiles

Goal:

Research on Diesel. We are considering many factors such as price, chemical effects, availability, 
energy production, emissions, and several other factors.

Technical Notes:
- During research, the consumer factor became a topic. Decided to add consumer to the list of factors to 
   consider in the overall idea. Although we are sending a letter to the U.S. Budget Committee, investing 
   something also means it has to be reasonable for the consumer, or else, the investment is useless. 
   Therefore, our group is currently trying to find a balance. 
   Having the government/big industries invest in clean energy is, unfortunately, expensive, due to the technology
   that it entails. Even if we were to propose the most ideal vehicle with the cleanest source of energy, the
   companies only want one thing: profit. However, as stated before, it is expensive, leading companies to
   boost their prices. 
   However, we did have the rationale for the future in our decision to pick which side we would lean towards.
  This project is an investment for a cleaner future; decreasing the emissions and leaving a smaller 
  carbon footprint. If we did not make this effort, health issues can/will arise in people, and the question we 
  asked: Are people going to pay more to have them be healthy in the future? Or are they going to pay for their
  health bill?
- Engr 103 - Sources compiled from Weeks 1-3 was updated. This compilation is credited to our Research
Scientists, Project Manager, and Technical Writer. We annotated the references for ease of
accessibility and future use in the drafting of the memo.

Research Notes:
In the research we have been allocating, through GREET and online research, our group Research Scientists 
created a on-working Spreadsheet (Figure below)
Figure 1:

Engr 103 - Group 7 - Week 1&2 - Conventional Automobile Research

Engr 103 - Group 7

Energy and Carbon Footprint of Electric and Conventional Automobiles

Week 1
Goal:
Download and become affiliated with GREET Program. Set up Blog, start planning weekly schedules,
and divide work for the project proposal.

Week 2

Goal: 

Research understanding the workings of conventional automobiles, specifically types of gasoline.

Also, becoming familiar with GREET.

Technical Notes:

- Chose to compare Sedan and its types of engine as well as its materials used for manufacturing.

- We chose to only compare only one type of car to really focus on the differences 

  caused by the material and the fuel used.

- We believed that this will be more important in terms of finding the type of car that is 

   best for the environment in terms of energy and carbon footprint.

- The hope is that the research on fuel and material that we collect for the sedan would also 

  translate to other types of vehicles.

- Leader and other roles were establish, (See Biographies for roles)

Research Notes:

- Firstly, the list of gasoline and its fuel alternatives: Ethanol (E10 & E40) and Diesel.

  In addition, types of vehicular manufacturing materials: aluminum alloy, magnesium alloys,

  high-strength steel, carbon fiber, and polymer composites.

- In regards to Ethanol, the number following the 'E' tells percent amount of Ethanol in the fuel.

Engr 103 - Group 7 - Project Overview

Engr 103 - Group 7

Energy and Carbon Footprint of Electric and Conventional Automobiles

Source: http://carblueprints.info/eng/view/ford/ford-fiesta-3-door-2008

The Freshman Design project is to prepare a letter to the U.S. Congressional Budget Committee regarding the life cycle energy, greenhouse gas, and air pollutant emissions of conventional internal combustion engines and electrical cars. This will also include hybrid electric vehicles and plug in hybrids. The goal of the letter is to inform the committee where to invest money and promote the type of car that has the best energy and carbon footprint. The letter will be persuasive and will also contain a comprehensive sheet of data regarding the cars.