Oak Ridge Today

ORNL demonstrates 120-kilowatt wireless charging for vehicles

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Researchers demonstrated a 120-kilowatt wireless power transfer at the National Transportation Research Center, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. From left to right above are ORNL’s Saeed Anwar, Burak Ozpineci, Gui-Jia Su, and David Smith; DOE Vehicle Technology Program’s Lee Slezak; and ORNL’s Veda Galigekere, Omer Onar, and Jason Pries. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Researchers demonstrated a 120-kilowatt wireless power transfer at the National Transportation Research Center, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. From left to right above are ORNL’s Saeed Anwar, Burak Ozpineci, Gui-Jia Su, and David Smith; DOE Vehicle Technology Program’s Lee Slezak; and ORNL’s Veda Galigekere, Omer Onar, and Jason Pries. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

By Stephanie Seay/ORNL

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a 120-kilowatt wireless charging system for vehicles—providing six times the power of previous ORNL technology and a big step toward charging times that rival the speed and convenience of a gas station fill-up.

The wireless system transfers 120 kilowatts of power with 97 percent efficiency, which is comparable to conventional, wired high-power fast chargers. In the laboratory demonstration, power was transferred across a six-inch air gap between two magnetic coils and charged a battery pack.

ORNL researchers created and demonstrated the world’s first 20-kilowatt wireless charging system, which is being modified for applications such as commercial delivery trucks.

“It was important to maintain the same or smaller footprint as the previous demonstration to encourage commercial adoption,” said project lead Veda Galigekere of ORNL’s Power Electronics and Electric Machinery Group. [Read more…]

ORNL: Neutrons peer into a running engine

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Researchers used neutrons to probe a running engine at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source, giving them the opportunity to test an aluminum-cerium alloy under operating conditions. From left, researchers Orlando Rios, Ke An, and Eric Stromme show off a cylinder head made from the new alloy. (Photo by ORNL/U.S. Department of Energy)

Researchers used neutrons to probe a running engine at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source, giving them the opportunity to test an aluminum-cerium alloy under operating conditions. From left, researchers Orlando Rios, Ke An, and Lt. Eric Stromme show off a cylinder head made from the new alloy. (Photo by ORNL/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

By Ashley C. Huff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

In a first-of-a-kind experiment, researchers used neutrons to investigate the performance of a new aluminum alloy in a gasoline-powered engine—while the engine was running.

A team from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory worked with industry partners to perform the test, which looked at whether a high-performance alloy that is promising for automotive applications held up under the heat and stress of an internal combustion engine.

Researchers used neutrons to probe a running engine at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source, giving them the opportunity to test an aluminum-cerium alloy under operating conditions.

The feat was a first for the Spallation Neutron Source, said Ke An, lead instrument scientist for the facility’s VULCAN instrument.

“This was the first time an internal combustion engine has been run on our diffractometer, and, as far as we know, on any other,” he said. [Read more…]

New director hired at ORNL Carbon Fiber Technology Facility

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Merlin Theodore, new director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Carbon Fiber Technology Facility. (Photo by ORNL)

Merlin Theodore, new director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility. (Photo by ORNL)

 

A new director has been hired at the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Merlin Theodore most recently worked in Moses Lake, Washington, where she established a laboratory and promoted organizational excellence at a startup facility, SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, ORNL said in a story published on its website in March. SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber is one of the largest carbon fiber production facilities in the United States, ORNL said.

While at SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, Theodore boosted workflow efficiency by 97 percent and achieved 94 percent cost savings by developing new testing methods to determine sizing concentration on fiber surface, ORNL said. She also played an instrumental role in resolving technical issues for automaker BMW.

Theodore was the first in her family of 11 siblings to pursue graduate studies and then take up a career as a technology innovator. Her path eventually led her to ORNL, the lab said.

Before the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility and SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, Theodore worked for Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Georgia Tech, and Universal Technology Corporation, or UTC, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a research scientist and laboratory manager. [Read more…]

ORNL surges forward with 20-kilowatt wireless charging for vehicles

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s 20-kilowatt wireless charging system features 90 percent efficiency. (Photo by ORNL)

 

By Ron Walli

A 20-kilowatt wireless charging system demonstrated at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has achieved 90 percent efficiency and at three times the rate of the plug-in systems commonly used for electric vehicles today.

This ability can help accelerate the adoption and convenience of electric vehicles. Industry partners from Toyota, Cisco Systems, Evatran, and Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research contributed to the technology development demonstrated today at ORNL.

“We have made tremendous progress from the lab proof-of-concept experiments a few years ago,” said Madhu Chinthavali, ORNL Power Electronics Team lead. “We have set a path forward that started with solid engineering, design, scale-up, and integration into several Toyota vehicles. We now have a technology that is moving closer to being ready for the market.” [Read more…]

Wireless electric charging: The future of plug-in electric vehicles is going cordless

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Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory test a wireless charger on the fully-electric Toyota Scion iQ at a demonstration site. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

 

By Nay Chehab

What if charging your plug-in electric vehicle was as easy as parking it? No need for cords or cards. Just as Wi-Fi has freed consumers of wires when accessing the Internet, wireless charging technology may soon be as widespread, thanks to research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

With support from the Vehicle Technologies Office, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. have been working since 2012 to demonstrate wireless charging on a variety of vehicles. ORNL is working with a mix of Toyota vehicles, including models of the all-electric RAV 4, plug-in hybrid electric Prius, and all-electric Scion iQ, while Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. is testing its technology on five all-electric Kia Souls.

The technology behind wireless charging creates a connection between a transmitting pad on the ground (such as in a garage) and a receiving pad integrated on the bottom of the vehicle. In the projects ORNL is leading, the transmitting pad is connected to a 240-volt outlet and generates a magnetic field of a certain frequency. When the coil in the receiving pad is tuned to oscillate at the same frequency, the magnetic field will generate a current in the receiving coil, charging the vehicle’s battery. [Read more…]

ORNL wins six R&D 100 awards

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BAAM-RD100-ORNL-2015

The Big Area Additive Manufacturing-CI system, developed by ORNL and Cincinnati Incorporated, was among ORNL’s six 2015 R&D 100 award winners. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received six R&D 100 awards, increasing the lab’s total to 193 since the award’s inception in 1963.

The competition, sponsored by R&D Magazine, recognizes advances in the nation’s most impactful technologies and the scientists and engineers who led the effort. This year, ORNL researchers earned awards for the following innovations:

The Big Area Additive Manufacturing-CI system was developed by ORNL researchers and Cincinnati Incorporated. BAAM-CI also received an Editor’s Choice award from R&D Magazine. [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…]

Three ORNL staff members cited for vehicle technologies work

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Scott Curran

Scott Curran

Ron Graves

Ron Graves

Three Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff members—Scott Curran, Ron Graves, and Janet Hopson—were recognized following a U.S. Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office, or VTO, annual merit review.

Curran was recognized with a 2013 VTO Research and Development Award for “his leadership in transitioning reactivity controlled compression ignition combustion from a single cylinder to a multi-cylinder engine using bio-renewable fuels.” [Read more…]

New all-solid sulfur-based battery outperforms lithium-ion technology

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ORNL Lithium-Sulfur Battery

A new all-solid lithium-sulfur battery developed by an Oak Ridge National Laboratory team led by Chengdu Liang has the potential to reduce cost, increase performance, and improve safety compared with existing designs. (Submitted photo)

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today’s electronics.

The ORNL battery design, which uses abundant low-cost elemental sulfur, also addresses flammability concerns experienced by other chemistries.

“Our approach is a complete change from the current battery concept of two electrodes joined by a liquid electrolyte, which has been used over the last 150 to 200 years,” said Chengdu Liang, lead author on the ORNL study published this week in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. [Read more…]