Oak Ridge Today

New electric bucket trucks offer cleaner, quieter operation

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Oak Ridge Electric Department Hybrid Bucket Truck Crew

Linemen Michael Goodpaster, left, and Steve Wilson prepare to demonstrate the Oak Ridge Electric Department’s new hybrid bucket truck, which uses electricity rather than diesel to operate its bucket boom.

 

The Oak Ridge Electric Department has a new hybrid bucket truck that uses quiet electricity rather than noisy diesel to power its bucket boom, making it easier for workers to communicate and reducing emissions and neighborhood noise.

Workers said the electric-powered boom is as fast as traditional diesel-powered booms, and the improved worker communications with the new, quieter booms helps them stay safe.

“It’s been a great thing for us,” Oak Ridge Electric Department Director Jack Suggs said. “The linemen really like it.”

Officials said the city’s Electric Department is one of several local power companies partnering with the Tennessee Valley Authority to bring energy-efficient, hybrid electric-powered bucket trucks to the Tennessee Valley. The new trucks are funded in part by a grant from TVA, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Oak Ridge received one plug-in hybrid bucket truck in October and is awaiting delivery of a plug-in hybrid pickup truck. [Read more…]

Society of Automotive Engineers honors Storey, Wagner, Sluder

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Robert Wagner, John Storey, and Scott Sluder

The Society of Automotive Engineers has honored ORNL researchers, from left, Robert Wagner, John Storey, and Scott Sluder. (Submitted photo)

Three researchers from the Fuels, Engines, and Emissions Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory received major awards at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress.

John Storey was elected an SAE Fellow. The fellowship is the highest level of SAE membership, honoring significant contributions to the automotive field.

Storey was recognized for pioneering new techniques in the characterization of particulate matter and exhaust emissions and for leading a critical sub-committee for the diesel fuel sulfur rule. SAE International also recognized Storey for multiple contributions to the development of lean exhaust emissions control. [Read more…]

Simple driving tips can save gas, money, ORNL study says

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

People who pack their cars and drive like Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s “Vacation” pay a steep penalty when it comes to fuel economy, according to a report by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

For the study, researchers tested a sport utility vehicle and a compact sedan with various configurations, including underinflated tires, open windows, and rooftop and hitch-mounted cargo. The SUV, a 2009 Ford Explorer with a 4-liter V6 engine, was also tested while towing an enclosed trailer. The researchers tested the vehicles at a variety of speeds with the different configurations. While the findings were not unexpected, they serve as a reminder of how drivers can save money by taking simple measures.

“There is fuel economy information and advice available for vehicle maintenance and carrying loads that is quite good, but very little published data to back it up,” said John Thomas, a co-author of the study and member of ORNL’s Energy and Transportation Science Division. “Certainly, suitcases strapped to your car’s roof and trying to keep up with a speeding Ferrari will adversely affect your gas mileage.”

Among the more notable findings was that using a rooftop cargo box with the SUV decreased fuel economy from 24.9 mpg at 60 mph to 22.9 mpg—a drop of 9 percent. The compact sedan, a 2009 Toyota Corolla with a 1.8 liter four-cylinder engine, also suffered as its fuel economy dipped from 42.5 mpg at 60 mph to 33 mpg, or 22 percent, when hauling the rooftop cargo box. [Read more…]

Featured at Obama speech, Sleek SuperTruck saves fuel, money

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David Koeberlein SuperTruck Cummins Engine

David Koeberlein, director of advanced engineering for Cummins and principal investigator on the SuperTruck project, says the prototype tractor-trailer uses exhaust heat that would otherwise be wasted to help power the crankshaft. (All photos courtesy ORNL/Genevieve Martin unless indicated otherwise)

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

Tractor-trailer prototype uses probe developed by ORNL for better gas mileage, cleaner exhaust

It’s a sleek, aerodynamic freight-hauling machine. With its wide tires, rounded edges, and body parts that hug the ground, this million-dollar prototype looks like it could be at home on a race track.

It’s already achieved celebrity status, serving as the backdrop for President Barack Obama during a February speech on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards.

But the SuperTruck is more likely to end up hauling meat and potatoes from Boise to Boston.

SuperTruck at ORNL

The fuel-efficient SuperTruck, the result of a four-year collaboration between the trucking industry and the federal government, made a pit stop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday.

Still, researchers have reason to celebrate. On Tuesday, they said the high-tech tractor-trailer has increased fuel efficiency by 75 percent. Fully loaded, the SuperTruck can drive 10.7 miles on a gallon of gas. That compares to an industry average of 5.8 to 6.5 miles per gallon.

“This is a really big deal,” said Claus Daniel, deputy director of sustainable transportation projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the SuperTruck made a pit stop on Tuesday.

It’s the result of a collaboration between the trucking industry and the U.S. Department of Energy. It’s not clear how soon the new technologies tested in the Cummins/Peterbilt tractor-trailer, which was built in Denton, Texas, will show up on the nation’s highways. [Read more…]

Former energy secretary compares global warming path to Russian roulette, with gun pointed at knee

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Steven Chu on Global Warming at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

During a lecture at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, former Energy Secretary Steven Chu compares global warming to Russian roulette, but with the gun pointed at a kneecap.

Former Energy Secretary Steven Chu sounded an alarm about global warming during a visit to Oak Ridge last week, comparing the current path to Russian roulette, but with the gun pointed at a knee—and with more bullets added each decade.

“Every decade you put in a bullet and you pull the trigger,” said Chu, a Stanford University professor who won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1997. “After four or five more decades, it could be fully loaded.”

The longest-serving secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Chu gave a lecture at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Wednesday.

The globe is warming, and we might not feel the full effect of the greenhouse gases emitted by humans for another half-century or more, after the ocean has been warmed, Chu said.

“We’re going to glide to a temperature that we’re not really sure about, but I can guarantee that it’s warmer than it is today because of that ocean,” Chu said. “The damage that we’ve done today will not be seen for at least 50 years.” [Read more…]

TVA’s Green Power Switch generates one million megawatt-hours of electricity

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TVA Ed Stephens and Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm

Ed Stephens, program manager for the Renewable Energy Program at the Tennessee Valley Authority, explains the 18 wind turbines at the Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm north of Oliver Springs.

WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—A Tennessee Valley Authority program that allows customers to buy electricity produced by renewable energy sources has generated about one million megawatt-hours—enough to power 68,000 homes, officials said Monday.

TVA considers the innovative Green Power Switch program, the first of its kind in the Southeast when it started 13 years ago, a success story. TVA said the program has helped prevent more than 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere. That’s equal to keeping about 135,000 cars off the road for a year.

And it’s grown from 2,000 customers in 2000 to roughly 12,000 today. That could be because customers today are more aware of environmental concerns and have a greater understanding of their power sources, said Patty West, director of TVA’s Renewable Energy Program. [Read more…]