UWindsor Researcher Offered Solution for Idling Big Rigs

A University of Windsor researcher and his team of students developed a system that could help truck drivers cut down on the amount of fumes spewed by idling large vehicles.

Dr. Narayan Kar, an associate professor in the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has developed an auxiliary power unit for truck drivers who idle their rigs for long periods to run on-board appliances such as radios, air-conditioners, heaters, televisions, refrigerators and microwave ovens.

Rather than idling a 400-to-500 horsepower diesel engine to run the devices, Dr. Kar’s solution involves installing a secondary, on-board seven-horsepower motor, drawing from the same fuel source.

Said Kar: “It’s like a power generating station, but on a smaller scale. This will save a lot of fuel and it will result in less environmental pollution, less noise and less wear and tear on the engine.”

Kar’s work addresses problems associated with similar systems currently on the market, such as an overall decrease in voltage for each appliance added to the electrical load.

“We have developed a control system so that as load on the unit increases, it will sense the voltage and feed it back to the control unit and then send more power to the generator,” he says. “We’ve done experiments in the lab to prove that our control system works.”

Kar’s work was published in the August 2007 edition of the International Journal of Environmental Studies.

“This is a temporary solution,” said Kar. “Ultimately, it should be a standard part of all new truck engines.”
   

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