Category Archives: Science & Engineering

You gotta know some heavy stuff in order to build cool cars. Get your learn on.

HydroICE Solar Engine

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A couple of inventors in Missouri have figured out a way to convert combustion engines to run on solar power. Yes, you read that right. They are calling to the Hydro Internal Clean Engine (it’s a play on the common acronym for Internal Combustion Engine). Here is a diagram of how it works from their patent application:

The process involves using a parabolic mirror to focus sunlight in order to super heat oil to somewhere between 400 and 700 degrees Fahrenheit (205 to 371 degrees Celsius). The oil is then pumped into the cylinder of the engine while the piston is at the top of its stroke. A small amount of water is then injected into the cylinder. Once the water makes contact with the hot oil, it’s instantly vaporized into a cloud of steam which has the potential of having 3,000 times the volume. The steam expansion is what pushes the piston down the cylinder and turns the crank. The oil and water are then exhausted out of the cylinder, separated and reused. The brilliance of this idea is that it uses existing engine technology. Their prototype is a converted 31cc two stroke engine from a weed whacker. The overall efficiency isn’t projected to be better than current photovoltaic cells, but the HydroICE Engine will be significantly cheaper. The two inventors are planning to team up with the Missouri University of Science and Technology and Missouri State University to continue development of the HydroICE engine. They’re currently trying to raise money for the research and development on Indiegogo. Here is their investor pitch with a detailed animation of how the HydroICE engine will work featuring a cutaway version of their prototype:


This is one of those simple ideas that makes you bonk yourself on the head and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” I think it has potential to become a very practical and inexpensive way to harness solar energy once all the details are worked out. If you agree with me, head over to their Indiegogo page and take part in their crowd funding.

Source: Missouri Sustainable Energy LLC via Gizmag

HKS GT800R Turbo Kit for the R35 GT-R

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What you’re looking at is the HKS GT800R 800 hp turbo kit for the Nissan GT-R. HKS has 575 and 600 horsepower kits for the GT-R that maximize the stock turbines. This 800 horsepower kit upgrades the turbos, engine internals and fuel system. If you look closely you can see that the turbos on either side of the engine block are mirror images of each other. HKS had to design a new turbo with a reverse flow direction just for the GT-R because the engine bay was so tight. There wasn’t space for a larger turbo whose output pointed straight into the engine block on the right cylinder bank. Seems like something simple, but nobody had ever done it before. The result is the perfectly neat and symmetrical twin turbo V6 package you see above.

Check out these video interviews with the lead engineer, project engineer and engine engineer from HKS Japan. HKS Europe had the video translated, so be sure to hit the “CC” button on the bottom right next to the video quality control to turn on the English subtitles. The guys set out to increase the output of the GT-R to compete with European supercars of the likes of Porsche and Ferrari. If you’re actually in the market for an HKS turbo kit for your R35 GT-R, head over to the HKS Website for details on all of their offerings.


Source: HKS Motorsport on YouTube

Real World Engineering – The Freedom Leverage Chair

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Often times when you speak to people about engineering, you begin to hear about two seemingly different factions: Practical and Theoretical Engineering. Many professors and industry professionals will tell young engineering students that you need experience in both camps. Why is it Practical and Theoretical Engineering can be so different? If you go to college and get a mechanical engineering degree, they will teach you engineering analysis. This is how you make an idealized mathematical model of a situation and here are the equations you need to calculate maximum loading, stress etc. This is what Theoretical Engineering consists of and an engineering degree generally means you are an expert at it.

Practical Engineering is a different story. You don’t improve your skills doing Practical Engineering in a classroom. The only way to get better at Practical Engineering is with hands-on experience building and fixing things. Where Theoretical Engineering is an analysis procedure, Practical Engineering is a creative problem solving process. The more varied types of problems you solve, the better you are at it. The key is have a repertoire of previous solutions to draw from when you are faced with something new. You could even go as far as to say that Practical Engineering draws on the creative side of your brain more so than the analytical side.

Having experience with both sides of engineering is what leads to the best design solutions. Case in point: the Freedom Leverage Chair. Amos Winter, an MIT Mechanical Engineering Student, set out to produce an all-terrain wheelchair for use in developing countries. He says something very important that I think a lot of engineering students don’t understand: The constraints drive the innovation. In order for Winter’s invention to be successful, it had to cost less than $200, be usable on rough roads yet small enough to maneuver in houses and be easily repaired by local resources. His final solution uses mass produced bicycle parts and ended up being 40% more efficient and 80% faster on rough terrain than a traditional wheelchair. It took three prototype iterations to find a working solution with the input of the end users and the technicians who would be servicing the chairs. Designing a product so simple and effective that it actually helps people and changes their lives, that’s real world engineering.


Source: Ted Talks on YouTube

Volvo V60 Plug-In Diesel Hybrid Production Line

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Check out this raw footage from the production line of Volvo’s V60 Plug-In Diesel Hybrid in Gothenburg, Sweden. The V60 is powered by a 2.4 liter inline-five diesel engine and a 70 horsepower electric motor. The opening shots are of some plasma cutter work on the car’s sheet metal. Special holes have to be cut for the hybrid components since the chassis is the same between the hybrid and non-hybrid cars. At 0:28, the worker is picking up the inverter for the 3 phase alternating current (AC) motor that lives in the back of the car. You can think of the 3 phases of an AC motor like the cylinder firing order of a combustion engine. The phases work in sync to induce electromagnetism to move the motor’s rotor. They can also be adjusted to reverse the direction of work to provide regenerative braking.The inverter’s job is to convert the battery pack’s direct current (DC) energy to the three phase AC power that the motor can use. 0:53 shows the actual 70 horsepower electric motor being lifted from the packaging. Note how small it is, about the size of a differential. 1:00 shows the electric motor being bolted into the rear subframe and suspension. The V60 is an E-AWD car where the diesel engine drives the front wheels and the electric motor drives the rear wheels. At 1:34 you get the first glimpse of the entire vehicle spine. Note the three orange wires that run down the center of the car. Orange is the universal color for high voltage wiring so that emergency responders don’t accidentally cut into it. The three wires running down the center of the car connect the charger and generator at the front of the car with the battery pack in the rear. The generator will essentially be a smaller 3-phase AC motor driven off of the diesel engine. That’s why you’ll pretty much always see the orange high voltage wires in groups of three (one for each phase) in any hybrid car. At 2:30 the body gets mated to the undercarriage and drivetrain. 2:45 is where we see the actual battery pack. Volvo has decided to build it into the floor of the trunk area so they wouldn’t have to modify the sheetmetal too much from the non-hybrid car. Again, the high voltage wiring is contained in orange loom. 3:03 is where we see the battery pack is dropped into the car using the nifty little rotating crane. At 3:45 I think they are filling up a separate coolant circuit for the electric motor, inverter and battery pack. The final shot is giving the battery a bit of charge so it doesn’t drain too low from internal resistance while the car is being shipped to its final location.


Sources: Technologic Vehicles on YouTube and Motor Trend

Ford 1.0 Liter Ecoboost Features

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Ford’s 1.0 liter three cylinder turbocharged engine has yet to make it to American dealerships, but it’s already won an Engine of the Year award in Europe. The aim for the engine was to replace the 1.6 liter naturally aspirated engines found in the Ford Focus. With features liked dual variable valve timing, direct injection and a turbocharger, the 1.0 liter is much more efficient and a better performance engine at the same time. Fifth Gear recently drag raced an Ecoboost Focus against a 1.6 liter base model and the the Ecoboost car was significantly faster down the quarter mile. This promotional animated video from Ford talks about some of the new technologies of the 1.0 liter Ecoboost engine that allow it to have the best of both worlds.


Source: Technologic Vehicles on YouTube