"Seven of ten
Americans expect to rely on automobiles as much in the future as they do
now...."
"Private
autos were used by 94% for one or more purposes. Airplanes were used by 25% and
public Transit by 23%." (Survey in 1975 by P. D. Hart Research Assoc. for
USDOT)
"Our great
business in life is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what
lies clearly at hand" (Thomas Carlyle).
In 1973 North Americans
were jolted out of their compacency by the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries) that is mainly controlled by groups of Islamic faith. OPEC
declared an embargo on exports for a number of political reasons. The
resolution of the disputes resulted in the upward adjustment of the well head
price for crude oil.
This produced what
has become to be known as the 'Energy Crisis'. In reality it was not an energy,
but a 'money crisis' because the oil supply was available if it could be paid for.
The 1973 crises has produced many changes in petroeum consumption habits and
more fuel efficient technology. It has also resulted in serious trade and
payment imballances. The deficit problems in many countries that import major
quantities of oil has become very severe.
The major effect
has been moves toward conservation, self sufficiency, and the use of
alternatives to petroleum combustion relating to energy supplies. The transport
sector, especially passenger car design has been profoundly effected. The
makers of small fuel efficient reliable cars expanded their market share. The
long time notion of what was acceptable in
Attempts to
develop east coast supplies of oil from the Grand Banks, and gas from
Many of the old
norms have become obsolete, but many have remained essentially the same. The
general trend is toward better fuel efficiency. The values given below belong
to the period when improving effeciency was a prority.
Some energy
requirements of Passenger Transportation Modes:
Mode PAX Eq. Paxmiles Heavy Rail Transit Car mpg per gal. Peak Load (a) 135 4.0 540 Off-Peak Load (a) 35 4.0 140 Commuter Rail Car Diesel Powered (a) 125 2.0 250 Transit Bus Peak Off-Peak Load 30 4.1 123 Intercity Pax Train Diesel Powered (b) 540 720 0.5 270 360 Turbine Powered (b) 320 0.33 110 Intercity Bus (d) Standard sized Pax Car (e) Intercity max ld 6 18 108 Intercity av ld 2 18 36 Intracity max ld 6 14.4 86 Intracity av ld 1.4 14.4 20.2 Small Pax Car Intercity max ld 4 30 120 Intercity av ld 1.7 30 12.75 Intracity max ld 4 22 88 Intracity av ld 1.4 22 30.8 Wide-Body Airliner 256-385 .14-.22 56-60 1000 mile stage(f) Twin Jet Airliner 500 mile stage (f) 68-106 .44-.54 37-47`
Transportation
uses over 25% of the total energy used by modern society. The % of petroleum
fuel is much higher. Canadians are the highest per capita energy consumers.
Recent and future
concerns about shortages and high prices for various forms of fuel raise
'ENERGY ISSUES'.
Other energy
issues stem from: POLLUTION and ENVIRONMENTAL concerns such as GREENHOUSE
GASSES.
To deal with these
issues it is helpful to have knowledge of technical matters related to how we
live today, and what may happen in the future.
The following are
some of my views. They are based on years of study of transportation. Energy
was not the target, but it has always been a major concern.
Beginning in 1973,
a great deal of attention has been focussed on reducing fuel consumption per
unit of transport. It began in ernest since heat engine power for boats and
railways came into use.
Steam boats ran on
the
Fuel type and use
was always a problem. The first boats used wood. The last used diesel oil.
Benjamin Tibbets
designed and built the 'Reindeer' at the mouth of the
Tibbets installed
the first ever COPOUND ENGINE in the 'Reindeer' and made the record run from
Saint John to Fredericton with several stops in 6 hr, 21 min. This was about 20
times faster than the average 6 day schooner trip of 30 years earlier.`
The Reindeer used
less than two chords of mill edgings. Mill edgings were cheap because they were
waste. This was about half fuel used by contempory steamboats The Reindeer was
130 ft long by 16 ft wide. Tibbets not only had an efficient engine, he built a
boat with low power requirements for high speed.
Tibbets was
chasing the dream of all builders of transport vehicles, better speed and fuel
efficiency. The Reindeer was a very productive passenger boat, but not good for
freight.
Differences in
cargo make big differences in suitable vehicles. Trip pattern and geography
also effect the choice of Air, Rail, Road or Water transport. Fuel efficiency
is not the major decision variable. Mode, speed & power requirements effect
fuel consumption.
On board fuel
limits payload and reduces the transport efficiency of a vehicle. With a given
amount of fuel, better fuel consumption increases range between refueling
stops. Higher speed increases fuel consumption and productivity.
In Tibbets time
and place the onboard fuel was wood. Where coal was available it was used. Coal
has very high energy density. The Royal William the first steam powered boat to
cross the
The best modern
example of increased range is the Boeing 747-400. It will fly almost twice as
far as the original 747 due to more fuel efficient engines and wings. It will
fly so long that passenger and crew endurance become limits. Well over half its
takeoff weight is fuel. By some standards it is a poor transport vehicle.
Flying routes across
the Pacific provided the market for very long range. Such range is not useful
for domestic or Trans-Atlantic routes. The 707, DC-8 airplanes were matched to
these markets. Dometstic and Trans-Atlantic are the major markets for long
range aircraft.`
Modern transport
depends mostly on motor vehicles with onboard power. About 80% of current North
American pasenger transport is by passenger car. About 50% of the freight
movements are by truck.
Internal
combustion (IC) piston and turbine engines burning petroleum fuels provide most
of the power.
The IC engines are
used because of their simplicity, high output to mass ratio and relatively high
efficiencies. The efficiency of IC engines is limited by the 'Carnot' &
'Otto' cycles, and the temperature tolerence of the high temperature component
materials.
Petroleum fuels
are used because of high energy to mass ratios, transport and storage
convienence. The search for alternative fuels & engines has not found
better. What is sought are suppliments when supplies of suitable petroleum are
restricted.
External
combustion (EC) or steam engines are now only used for large high output
plants. The principal current & probable future use is in large ships and
stationary electric power stations. For large ships steam is cheaper and takes
up less space than diesel. For very large tankers cargo space is more important
than engine efficiency. Range is not a problem.
Neucular power is source
of heat for a steam turbine electric generation. Only submarines and a few
icebreakers use mobile neucular power. The necular ship '
There are many
possible engines for powering transport vehicles. During the 1973 to 1980 fuel
panic extra effort was put into alternative engines, but none has proven better
than what we now use. Fuels such as Alcohol, Hydrogen, Methane, LPG, etc have
local advantages. Hydrogen based fuels have the advantage of unlimited supply
but require other energy for manufacture.`
The major
TRANSPORTATION prime movers are:
Electricity,
mostly supplied from external conductors is advantageous for fixed route
systems. Now the major use is 'electrified railways'.
Civilian Rocket
propulsion is little used. So far it has only been used for satalite launches.
Satalites and cable links, especially the modern use of glass fibre have
enhanced the cost effectiveness of telecommunications.
Much tranport is
involved with communication and the substitution of various forms of
telecommunication for transportation is proceeding rapidly. Telecommunication
is a low energy consumer.
Modern engines are
well developed and understood. Nothing appears to have the potential for
displacing them in the near future. This does not mean that better engines are
not possibile. Better however could mean more power from the same mass, better
shape or life.
Transportation
terminals use a lot of energy for heating and cooling. This consumption will
not be discussed. The energy efficiency of these structures is often overlooked
for confort and style. The fuel used and quantity consumed is a local
phnenomenon.
IC engines provide
the standards for comparison. They consume about 0.18 kg (.4 lbs) of fuel per
horsepower-hour. To achive this level or better the engine has to be operated
at optimal speed, load and atmospheric conditions. Passenger car engines seldom
run in optimal conditions because of the ways the vehicles are used.
The mass to output
ratio of IC engines varies greatly. Aircraft turbines have the lowest, marine
and stationary power diesels the highest.`
The lighter fuels
have less heating value because of their higher hydrogen and lower carbon
content. Diesels burning heavy oil are the most fuel efficient IC engines. Hard
coal has the best energy density for carbon based fuels. Hydrogen fusion is
tops as far as is known.
Engines burning
low heat fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG) need to be larger than
heavy fuel engines for the same output. A straight hydrogen combustion engine
is at the high end of this spectrum.
Fuel efficiency is
the principal selection criteria for vehicles that consume large amounts of
power. Large marine high compression ratio IC engines are very fuel efficient.
They use heavy oil that must be heated to make it sufficiently fluid. Long haul
trucks likewise use diesels.
John Gratwick when
he was director of research for CN railways (before VIA) stated that 'diesel
busses' are the most fuel efficient passenger transport available. He was not
alone in this opinion. This situation is not likely to change. They can be made
quiter and cleaner at higher capital and operating costs.
For most vehicles,
fuel convenience, low engine mass, and price narrow the choices. Gasoline
engines for ordinary passenger car use have many advantages. The fuel amount
used per passenger km has at least halved since the early 1970's. Inflation
adjusted 'fuel prices' in the
The fuel
consumption per horsepower-hour still remains about the same. The improvements
have come by reducing the needed horsepower-hours. This has doubled the
passenger transport fuel efficiency in the last 20 years. It may be possible to
double again, but that may be nearly the best that can be done.
Approximately the
same performance improvements have been achieved for passenger aircraft. Here
the fuel consumption per passenger km is quite high. The gains have come from
better engines, wings, load factors, flight plans, etc.
Fuel is a major
cost for airline operations, but speed and load determine production so that
saving fuel is often not the prime objective.
Energy and fuel
pricing have major effects on fuel efficiency. Other factors such as taxing,
safety and environmental policies have major effects on fuel use.
Ever since steam boats,
railways, passenger cas, trucks, and airplanes have been around there has been
a segment of the population who wanted to get rid of the noisy, smelly things.
We have built our lifestyle around their use. That is what we have to change to
drastically lower transport fuel consumption.
Internationally
the use of IC powered vehicles has been growing very quickly.
This trend does
not support the accord where
Canadians have the
reputation of being the world's leading per capita energy consumers. To some
extent this reflects our climate, demography, and industries. We live in a cold
climate, in a thin band over five time zones, handle a lot of raw materials. We
are probably the world's largest per capita consumers of transport.
We import and
export petroleum products, coal, electric power and neucular fuel. Energy is
big business in this country and a large amount of it involves physical transport.
Our trucks and
railways are amoung the most productive in the world and we have done a great
deal to improve fuel efficiency.
Amoung the many
ways to improve energy consumption for transportation is to reduce the amount
of transport needed. The amount can be reduced by rearranement of production
and housing. This means major change to our existing ways of living.
The major unknown
is the extent that CO2 emissons will be reduced in the transport sector. This
could have a very large or small effects.
Oil supply,
pricing, taxing, are geopolitical.
End to date, ams 070118