Can hybrids be charged by exhaust gases?

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crooky369

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phillip_andrews
I was just wondering if it was possible to have turbocharger styler blades in the exhaust that power a generator which in turn recharges the battery?

The thing that got me thinking about this was the Honda CRX '10 challenge at Toyko where I was minding my own business making my way through cars not realising that soon the essential electrical "boost" would run out before the end...

Also has the "Ask GTplanet" forum been taken down?
 
I suspect the amount of power you'd generate from using exhaust gases would be fairly insignificant, and trying to use any more power to generate a good flow of gases would just result in parasitic losses.

At the moment, regenerative braking is still the best method of topping up the batteries in a hybrid.
 
Don't completely shelve the idea yet, HFS. It couldn't power the wheels, no, but it probably could replace the Alternator to power accessories. The other thing to do would be to use an adaptation of a Stirling Hot Air engine to do the same thing.
 
Jim Prower
Don't completely shelve the idea yet, HFS. It couldn't power the wheels, no, but it probably could replace the Alternator to power accessories. The other thing to do would be to use an adaptation of a Stirling Hot Air engine to do the same thing.
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Most hybrids' alternators only spin when decelerating so as not to consume power when making progress. They basically disconnect under load. And if we're talking about powering small accessories then something like the Nissan Leaf's little solar panel would be a better bet I reckon.
 
The problem would not be in how fast you can spin the blades... it would be in the amount of torque you can get out of them... which is the part you want to generate electricity.

And with such a system, where the losses incurred by having extra backpressure are not countered by having that backpressure generate boost on the intake, you'd have a severely compromised engine. It's much more efficient to use an exhaust turbine to turn an intake turbine to generate more horsepower directly.

Perhaps the system you want is BMW's experimental steamcharger, which uses exhaust heat to generate steam, which is then used to run an electrical generator. All without increasing backpressure or incurring any loss of engine efficiency. But it's bulky and not very effective.

Personally, the alternator I can live with. It's a much more effective way of generating electricity from the engine than a turbine-driven generator.

Solar panels can't generate enough wattage in real time to supply all of a car's needs.
 

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