Since the beginning of the century, electrical goods have invaded our everyday lives. Now, electric power is coming to be seen as a solution to the pollution caused by cars. While this transition has remained very slow during the last ten years, it has been accelerating as the statutory constraints and needs of the market have changed. Even if the electric car itself fails to dominate the market, electric traction is taking an important place in our drive to move away from gas-powered vehicles. Another solution, hybrid vehicles, combine two sources of energy (electric and chemical), reducing the global consumption of fossil fuels. Fuel cell vehicles are also one of the most promising technologies for the future, with the capacity to use any fuel - hydrogen being the ideal fuel ecologically, but constrained by infrastructure and storage issues. This book explores all these different solutions for moving our vehicles from fossil fuel consumption to new, more environmentally-friendly power sources.Content:
Chapter 1 Introduction (pages 1โ4): Joseph Beretta
Chapter 2 Basic Definitions (pages 5โ26): Joseph Beretta
Chapter 3 Electric?Powered Vehicles (pages 27โ172): Joseph Beretta, Cyriacus Bleijs, Francois Badin and Thierry Alleau
Chapter 4 The Components of Electric?Powered Vehicles (pages 173โ267): Joseph Beretta, Jean Bonal and Thierry Alleau
Chapter 5 Prospects and Evolutions of Electric? Powered Vehicles: What Technologies by 2015? (pages 269โ289): Joseph Beretta