Towards Sustainable Road Transport

Towards Sustainable Road Transport

by Ronald M. Dell, Patrick T. Moseley, David J. Rand
Released June 2014
Publisher(s): Academic Press
ISBN: 9780124046917

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Increasing pressure on global reserves of petroleum at a time of growing demand for personal transport in developing countries, together with concerns over atmospheric pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, are leading to a requirement for more sustainable forms of road transport. Major improvements in the efficiency of all types of road vehicles are called for, along with the use of fuels derived from alternative sources, or entirely new fuels. Towards Sustainable Road Transport first describes the evolution of vehicle designs and propulsion technologies over the past two centuries, before looking forward to possible new forms of energy to substitute for petroleum. The book also discusses the political and socio-economic drivers for change, investigates barriers to their broad implementation, and outlines the state-of-the-art of candidate power sources, advanced vehicle design, and associated infrastructure. The comprehensive technical informationsupplied by an expert author team ensures that Towards Sustainable Road Transport will provide readers with a clear understanding of the ongoing progress in this field and the challenges still to be faced.
  • Drivers of technological change in road transport and the infrastructure requirements
  • Discussion of alternative fuels for internal combustion engines and fuel conversion technologies
  • Detailed exploration of current and emerging options for vehicle propulsion, with emphasis on hybrid/battery electric traction, hydrogen, and fuel cells
  • Comparative analysis of vehicle design requirements, primary power source efficiency, and energy storagesystems

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Copyright
  5. The Open Road
  6. Preface
  7. Biographical Notes
  8. Acknowledgements
  9. Acronyms, Initialisms, Symbols and Units used in this book
  10. Chapter 1. The Evolution of Unsustainable Road Transport
    1. 1.1. Bicycles and beyond
    2. 1.2. Steam takes to the road
    3. 1.3. The age of electricity
    4. 1.4. The age of the motor vehicle – from dream to necessity
    5. 1.5. Growth of the petroleum industry
    6. 1.6. Development of roads
    7. 1.7. Growth of the automotive sector
  11. Chapter 2. Drivers for Change
    1. 2.1. Challenges for new-generation road vehicles
    2. 2.2. Demographics and vehicle ownership
    3. 2.3. Petroleum production and consumption
    4. 2.4. Conventional petroleum reserves
    5. 2.5. Atmospheric pollution
    6. 2.6. Fuel and vehicle efficiencies
    7. 2.7. Emissions and climate change
    8. 2.8. Electricity and hydrogen as energy carriers
  12. Chapter 3. Unconventional Fuels
    1. 3.1. The need for ‘unconventional fuels’
    2. 3.2. Raw materials
    3. 3.3. Motor fuels
    4. 3.4. Summary
  13. Chapter 4. Development of Road Vehicles with Internal-Combustion Engines
    1. 4.1. Early days of the motor industry
    2. 4.2. Developments in vehicle body design
    3. 4.3. Engines and transmissions
    4. 4.4. Suspension, steering, brakes
    5. 4.5. Exhaust systems and emissions
    6. 4.6. Other key components
    7. 4.7. Safety
    8. 4.8. Accessories
    9. 4.9. The future for internal-combustion-engined vehicles
  14. Chapter 5. Progressive Electrification of Road Vehicles
    1. 5.1. Electricity to the rescue
    2. 5.2. Stop–start and hybrid electric vehicles
    3. 5.3. Electric vehicles with batteries charged from the mains
    4. 5.4. Solar cars
    5. 5.5. Benchmarks of progress towards cleaner and more efficient vehicles
    6. 5.6. Road transport in transition
  15. Chapter 6. Mains Electricity Supply for Charging Vehicle Batteries
    1. 6.1. Why is electricity supply relevant to road transport?
    2. 6.2. Electricity – a driving factor in the world economy
    3. 6.3. Generation and distribution of electricity
    4. 6.4. Electricity availability in selected countries: contemporary case studies
    5. 6.5. Recharging electric vehicles
    6. 6.6. De-regulation of electricity markets
  16. Chapter 7. Batteries and Supercapacitors for Use in Road Vehicles
    1. 7.1. Fundamentals of energy storage in batteries
    2. 7.2. Key criteria for candidate batteries
    3. 7.3. Battery duty in different road vehicles
    4. 7.4. Lead–acid batteries
    5. 7.5. Nickel–metal-hydride batteries
    6. 7.6. Lithium-ion batteries
    7. 7.7. Sodium–metal-halide batteries
    8. 7.8. Characteristics of batteries used in hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles
    9. 7.9. Supercapacitors
    10. 7.10. The UltraBatteryTM
    11. 7.11. Better batteries: future prospects
  17. Chapter 8. Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Fuel Cell Vehicles
    1. 8.1. Why use hydrogen?
    2. 8.2. Hydrogen as a fuel
    3. 8.3. Present uses for hydrogen
    4. 8.4. Hydrogen from fossil fuels and biomass
    5. 8.5. Hydrogen from water
    6. 8.6. Hydrogen distribution and storage
    7. 8.7. Hydrogen utilization: fuel cells
    8. 8.8. Hydrogen-fuelled road transport
    9. 8.9. Present status and outlook for fuel cell vehicles
  18. Chapter 9. The Shape of Things to Come
    1. 9.1. Over-arching issues
    2. 9.2. Global climate change: extent and consequences
    3. 9.3. Choice of vehicle technology
    4. 9.4. Roads
    5. 9.5. Choice of fuel: hydrocarbon, hydrogen or electricity
    6. 9.6. The carrot and the stick: role of governments
    7. 9.7. Possible futures
  19. Glossary of Terms
  20. Index

Product information

  • Title: Towards Sustainable Road Transport
  • Author(s): Ronald M. Dell, Patrick T. Moseley, David J. Rand
  • Release date: June 2014
  • Publisher(s): Academic Press
  • ISBN: 9780124046917