Expo-2010, The Showcase of China! Is China Going To Lead The World?

Quickie said:

The fella who wrote the article got it wrong with the type of battery used in the F3DM hybrid. Apparently he can't tell the difference between Lithium iron phosphate batteries (which F3DM uses and are said to be safer) and the Lithium ion batteries which are used in electronic gadgets. The Prius uses Ni-MH batteries.

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I see what you mean, but how about this then. A new approach to the electric car by Porsche, making its first entrance at Deutsche Messe technology show in Hanover, (Expo's not the only game in town so to speak) Its putting the electric motors in the Hubs.

While most companies appear to still be thinking on innovation with a more conventional approach Porsche have gone back and retrieved a hundred year old innovation, and if they get it to work properly or accepted, they'e got the jump on the rest.However I wonder if you could still drive the thing if one of the motors developed a problem?




THERE are many innovations turning up in the latest experimental and production electric cars, affecting everything from batteries to motors to control systems. The need to make them all work together is prompting a complete rethink about the way cars should be designed and manufactured, and it is unclear which technologies will dominate as the constraints imposed by internal combustion engines give way to the new limits and possibilities associated with electric propulsion. But one group of engineers have stuck their necks out and declared that a particular technology, the electric hub motor, is likely to become the most widely used drive system.

A hub motor, as its name suggests, is built into the hub of a wheel and drives it directly, rather than having a single motor driving the wheels via a mechanical transmission. It is an idea pioneered by Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of the carmaker of the same name, more than 100 years ago. Mr Porsche got his first job in the automotive business with Jacob Lohner in Vienna, and put electric motors into the hubs of the wheels of the Lohner-Porsche, a vehicle which made its debut at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris. It was a hybrid car that relied on both batteries and a generator to produce electricity for its motors. Capable of more than 56kph (35mph), it also set a number of speed records.

At this week’s Deutsche Messe technology show in Hanover, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute displayed an electric vehicle which they are using as a test platform to investigate new vehicle systems. It includes electric hub motors, which they have developed to be markedly more powerful than any such motors currently available. The motors have all the necessary power and control systems integrated into the wheel hub, greatly reducing the number of connections between the hub motors and the rest of the vehicle.

Because hub motors can deliver power independently to each wheel, tricks like four-wheel-drive are possible. With software monitoring each wheel, stability and traction control can also be built-in. Besides dispensing with the traditional engine bay on a car, hub motors save space and weight because there is no need for a mechanical transmission, with its driveshafts and differential units.

Some critics of the technology think having heavy electric motors in the wheels of cars will have a negative effect on vehicle handling. But Hermann Pleteit, a project manager with one of the 33 Fraunhofer research centres that have teamed up to work on the experimental car, says the chassis and many other parts of the vehicle can be configured in such a way to compensate for this.

Several carmakers and component suppliers are interested in hub motors. Michelin, for one, is developing a system it calls the Active Wheel. As well as an electric motor to drive the wheel, it contains a second electric motor to operate an active suspension system that is also built into the wheel hub. Michelin reckons this arrangement, which is now being tested in cars, could make other conventional parts, like shock absorbers,

Such a wheel would, in effect, transform Michelin from being a tyremaker into an engine and suspension supplier as well. Many other such changes are coming for the companies in the automotive business, say the Fraunhofer engineers, because some parts will no longer be required for electric vehicles, but other new parts will be needed instead. So as electric propulsion takes hold, it will not just be the shape and the dynamics of the vehicles themselves that will change, but also those of automotive companies, too.

"Page last updated at 23:21 GMT, Thursday, 29 April 2010 00:21 UK

Shanghai Expo is China's new showcase to the world

By Chris Hogg
BBC News, Shanghai


Millions of visitors are expected at the massive Expo site in Shanghai

The World Expo is opening in the Chinese city of Shanghai - the first time a developing country has hosted the event.

Chinese state media says the country has spent much more on the event than was spent on the Beijing Olympics.

At least 70 million visitors - almost all of them Chinese - are expected to visit pavilions and exhibitions staged by more than 240 countries and organisations from around the world."

John Parker on atimes gives it a far more comprehensive wrap. He views it extremely positively and recomends a week to view it properly

This Lead-You Never Seen It Before!!!!!

What exactly is there to see in the Expo? I'm getting the impression that people go in there to see buildings.

Engineer said:

What exactly is there to see in the Expo? I'm getting the impression that people go in there to see buildings.

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mostly technology and culture of different countries. the buildings are a big part of that. in a nutshell you are seeing the best of the whole world... supposedly.

Hopefully, In Your Lifetime, This Will Not Be Only Once!

Shanghai Expo WIDESCREEN and HD!

Amazing panoramic YouTube WIDESCREEN and HD videos of Shanghai Expo! It's the same as being there!