Trucker Tech

GenShock Turns Bumps into Power

Shakeel Avadhany and Zack Anderson are the CEO and COO, respectively, of Levant Power Corporation, which they co-founded in 2008. The initial product produced by Levant Power is the GenShock. Prior to the foundation of their corporation the two were students at MIT who, along with other engineering students, were studying regenerative braking such as that found on hybrid vehicles.

The brakes of a non-hybrid truck or automobile use friction to absorb kinetic energy and, thus, slow the vehicle. The kinetic energy, via friction, is turned into heat and dissipated. In a hybrid vehicle the kinetic energy, instead of being turned into heat, is transformed into electricity by changing the electric drive motors into generators and adding a load (charging batteries).

Heat is energy and wasted heat is wasted energy. When Shakeel Avadhany looked at the regenerative braking systems he began to wonder how much wasted heat was generated by other devices used to absorb kinetic energy. He turned his attention toward shock absorbers and, along with Zack Anderson and handful of other MIT students, began testing. They were surprised to find that, in the case of Class 8 trucks, as much as 6 to 8 kilowatts of power was being wasted as heat.

To recover that power they've designed a shock absorber, the GenShock, incorporating a small electric turbine, rather than restriction valves, to regulate the flow of hydraulic fluid; providing shock dampening. In initial tests, performed on a Humvee donated to the study by the Department of Defense, they were able to increase fuel mileage by 10%; the amount of fuel that would have been consumed by the engine driving the alternator.

Each GenShock shock absorber is capable of generating up to 1 kilowatt of electricity; the equivalent of 1.34 horsepower.

Further testing has shown a 3% to 5% increase in fuel mileage for Class 8 trucks equipped with the GenShock. Using GenShock shock absorbers on a Class 8 truck generates enough energy to replace the alternator and, possibly, power diesel/electric hybrid refrigeration units.

According to an article in The Economist: "Levant’s first target is the military market. (The) defense department is about to hand out $40 billion for the development of a new light tactical vehicle, and Mr Avadhany hopes the firm’s system will be part of such a vehicle. If that works, then civilian applications beckon, and local authorities will have yet another excuse not to fix the roads."

What I really like about the GenShock is that it's something that can be applied to existing equipment with very little extra effort. Trucking companies that have installed and tested GenShock shock absorbers indicate that their anticipated return on investment is roughly 90%; that's incredible and well worth looking into.

Free Audio Books from Barnes & Noble

I love audio books and I know many of my fellow truckers love 'em, as well. That's why this is such good news. Barnes & Noble is offering 9 free audio book downloads. Because they're free, you might be inclined to think that they're books barely worth the time it takes to download; you might be wrong! The authors range from Kurt Vonnegut to Louis L'Amour and Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the only full length novel included in the "Free Audiobook" offer).

To get the free audiobooks just add one or more of them to your shopping cart. (They're priced at a penny each but your cart will show a $0 balance.) You'll also need to download and install the Barnes & Noble Media Console. This application allows you to download, manage, and listen to all Audiobook MP3s downloaded from Barnes & Noble. It also lets you transfer Audiobook MP3s to your iPod and other portable devices.

The offer comes completely free of any "gotcha" strings, although, if you don't already have a Barnes & Noble account, you'll need to register and you'll also need to provide credit card info. If, however, you don't want to provide any credit card info you can choose the "PayPal" option (even if you don't have a PayPal account) and just complete the name and address form.

Ask Leo!

What's a browser cache, how do I "clear" it, and why would I want to?

The browser cache comes up a lot in answers, more than questions, but in doing so it probably causes even more questions. Even when following instructions to clear it, it's not at all clear what this piece of magic really is, and why clearing it would do anything at all.

Let's review the browser cache; what it is, and why it exists. Along the way we'll review the steps to clear it, in both Internet Explorer and Firefox, and try to dream up some reasons why that sometimes helps.

Continue reading: "What's a browser cache, how do I "clear" it, and why would I want to?"

How do I find a file on my computer in Windows XP?

This is actually a composite of many questions I get where people are unable to locate a file on their computer. Most common is Microsoft Outlook's PST file, which can be buried in a non-obvious place, but I also get this question relating to everything from downloads to pictures do documents that took hours of work, were saved and then apparently vanished.

In many cases, the tools you use can tell you where the files were placed (for example, you can use Outlook to tell you where its PST file is located). On the other hand, for various reasons, you can't and just want to locate the file yourself.

So, we'll search.

Continue reading: "How do I find a file on my computer in Windows XP?"

Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine Update

Truck and auto companies are constantly bombarded with new engine designs; most of which never make it past a first glance. In fact, because of its simplicity, Nicolaus Otto's basic design of the internal combustion four-stroke engine has remained largely unchanged since the introduction of Rudolph Diesel's innovation.

That's beginning to change. In their July 2008 issue, Popular Mechanics briefly covered 5 different concepts, three of which are design modifications, that could significantly improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines. The three design modifications are:

• HCCI: Considered and dismissed in the 1970s, homogeneous charge-compression ignition is now being given a second, more serious, look. The design should yield a 30% to 40% increase in fuel economy.
• Sturman Camless Engine: Eddie Sturman's engine design replaces the camshaft with digitally controlled valves and hydraulic actuators; predicting a 50% to 60% increase in efficiency.
• Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine: By splitting the four strokes of the Otto Cycle (intake, compression, combustion and exhaust) across two cylinders (compression and power) the Scuderi design results in increased cylinder pressures resulting, it's hoped, in fuel economy increases of 50%.
  

Scuderi Unveils Prototype

Back in January of 2008 I wrote a post at Life on the Road regarding the Scuderi Split-Cycle engine and then followed it up with a Trucker Tech podcast interview of the company's CEO, Sal Scuderi. During the interview Mr. Scuderi indicated that a proof-of-concept prototype was in the works and they expected it to be completed sometime in September of '08.

That timetable was, apparently, somewhat optimistic but yesterday, at a news conference at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2009 World Congress in Detroit, a cutaway model of the first proof-of-concept prototype was unveiled. The engine cutaway is an exact duplicate of the proof-of-concept prototype undergoing testing and analysis by Southwest Research Laboratory in San Antonio, Texas.

Challenges Ahead

The development of any new engine design faces a number of challenges; not the least of which is just getting someone to take a close enough look to realize the potential. For quite some time, every letter to a truck or auto manufacturer was matched with a letter of rejection. Ford's response concluded with the phrase: "Good luck in your development of advanced engine technologies!"

Finally, in 2006 Honda began showing some interest and, in 2007, so did Daimler AG. Robert Bosch GmbH, builders of fuel pumps, injectors and other engine parts, is developing components for the Scuderi prototype.

Whether or not the engine ever makes it into production, either as a diesel or gasoline powered design, is dependent on the results of testing, scheduled to begin in May, at Southwest Research Labs. As a Daimler researcher familiar with the engine said: "There's a big difference between simulations and a working engine. It all seems interesting, if they can get it to work."

SpywareProtect2009

I'm a bit late with this post; about a week late to be more specific. The Conficker worm that was scheduled to forever alter life as we now know it, on April 1st, has finally made its appearance. To be honest, the revealed purpose of this once fearsome creature is somewhat disappointing; it's nothing more than a simple scam. It seems that infected PCs have sprouted pop-up windows informing their viewers that the machine is infected with any number of nasty items and only the purchase of "Spyware Protect 2009" will save them from certain doom.

There's been a bit of discussion regarding the question of whether or not this pop-up producing worm is the exact worm we were all worried about on April Fool's day, or if it's a mutant of the original, but you can read all about it, and get removal advice, from blog posts at PC Magazine or PC Pitstop.

eMail Humor: Female Drivers

Okay, politically correct it's not - but, hey, it's funny and, remember, most of the stuff I publish in the eMail Humor category, including this video, I got from my sister!!

In case you were wondering, the song is called "Hampster Dance by Hampton the Hamsters".

Ask Leo!

How do I stop my computer from being a zombie?

My computer is a zombie. My IP has been blacklisted as a spammer. I am not and never have been a spammer. I don't know how to liberate my computer. The spammy network grabs control for 48 to 72 hours at a time, and won't let me log on to the internet. My ISP is unfamiliar with zombies.

Unfortunately, while your visible symptoms are more severe than most, what you're experiencing is frighteningly common. It seems like every day there's another study out showing that some incredibly high percentage of machines are infected with malware that can turn them into zombies at a moment's notice.

I'll look at exactly what we mean when we say "zombie", how to tell if your machine is one, how to prevent it and how to try to recover if your machine has been taken over.

Continue reading: "How do I stop my computer from being a zombie?"

I thought I deleted these files, how were they recovered?

My son brought up some files in my computer that I had deleted such as emails on my yahoo account, deleted photos and deleted conversations on yahoo messenger. How is this possible and where do I go in my computer to get rid of that information and how do I prevent this from happening again?

I usually get the reverse of this question: "how do I recover files I deleted?". But it's absolutely worth looking at how things can be recovered, so that if you actually want something to be deleted and stay deleted you can take appropriate steps.

Continue reading: "I thought I deleted these files, how were they recovered?"

Net Neutrality: Consumer Right or Privilege?

What is Net Neutrality?

Simply put, it's the concept that all Internet Traffic should be treated equally. Those promoting Net Neutrality, however, have established three general definitions, as follows:

• Absolute non-discrimination: University of Michigan Law School professor Susan Crawford "believes that a neutral Internet must forward packets on a first-come, first served basis, without regard for quality-of-service considerations."
• Limited discrimination without Quality of Service tiers: Allowing for QoS discrimination as long as no special fee's are charged for higher-quality service.
• Limited discrimination and tiers: Allowing tiered fees; higher fees for higher QoS and lower fees for lower QoS, as long as all get equal access - receiving the QoS level that we each pay for.

Net Neutrality nothing new

The current concept of "Net Neutrality" has its roots in the The Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860 which created a Federal subsidy to build a coast-to-coast telegraph line. Language included within the Act stated:

"messages received from any individual, company, or corporation, or from any telegraph lines connecting with this line at either of its termini, shall be impartially transmitted in the order of their reception, excepting that the dispatches of the government shall have priority ..."

What does this mean to all of us?

On one side of the issue, the side that opposes "Absolute Non-discrimination", sit the major Internet Service Providers, cellular providers and hardware producers. On the other side sit consumer advocates, web-based businesses, and a few technology companies.

Mac vs. Windows: $2000 Laptops Compared

A very interesting article at PC World takes a look at, and compares, high-end laptops from Apple and based on Windows. I'm still on the fence which, at least for me, is a move because, for years, I stood squarely in the middle of the Windows PC field. I'm not even sure I could see the fence from my position; let alone sit on it.

But here I am. Sitting on the fence is uncomfortable so, soon, I'm going to have to get off on one side or the other. Pieces like the one to which I've linked are a definite help. Take a look at the article: Mac vs. Windows: $2000 Laptops Compared.

8 Things You Should Know About iTunes’ New Pricing Scheme

I just received the following blurb from Ziff Davis Publishing, the folks who publish, among other things, PC Magazine, and I must say, after reading the linked article, I'm intrigued.

"April 7 was a momentous day in the world of digital music. It marked, for all intents and purposes, the end of digital rights management, and a new, tiered pricing scheme on digital music’s most popular service, iTunes. While those are easily the most significant changes on iTunes, they’re not the only ones. Audio analyst Tim Gideon outlines everything you need to know. I, on the other hand, am sort of fixated on the Death of DRM. This is a big deal and could mean some big changes in the world of digital content. Read it all and you’ll come away informed."