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Peugeot Bets on a Different Kind of Hybrid Car

nytimes.com

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Re: Peugeot Bets on a Different Kind of Hybrid Car

#11

Post by gus_massa »

rikacomet wrote: post #7

Oh gosh, I don't want to complain, but I reported this about 1 month ago, and it didn't even get 1 point. It seems different timezones, have different taste :P hehe

I saw you submission last month. The problem is that it looked like direct copy of an AFP new that looked like a direct copy of a press release of Peugeot, so it was difficult to know how interesting the new method was and how much was only hype.

The NYT has a little more credibility and the article seams to be written more independently, but until there are some more real use case reports with the new cars it's still difficult to separate the reality from the hype.

Re: Peugeot Bets on a Different Kind of Hybrid Car

#12

Post by gus_massa »

DeepDuh wrote: post #9
pilap82 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same "concern" but they say: The energy stored in the nitrogen tank is small — equivalent to only about five teaspoons, or a couple dozen cubic centimeters, of gasoline So I guess that the explosion of a tank full of "about five teaspoon" should not wreak too much damage :)

What I gather from the article it's not the stored energy that's of some concern, but the 250 bar nominal pressure in the tanks - a rupture might lead to metal splinters flying around. However, they claim that the car's underfloor is enough shielding. I'd say let some independent safety tests figure that one out. So far I think this is a very promising concept - I was always weary about electrical hybrids because of…

Here in Argentina ~1/5 of the cars use compressed natural gas (mostly methane) tanks at 200 bars, because it is cheaper than gasoline. I don't remember any horror story of a crash, and these cars are generally considered almost as safe as the usual cars. The main drawback is that the tank is very big and uses half of the back trunks.

More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_natural_gas

Re: Peugeot Bets on a Different Kind of Hybrid Car

#13

Post by StavrosK »

gus_massa wrote: post #12
DeepDuh wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I gather from the article it's not the stored energy that's of some concern, but the 250 bar nominal pressure in the tanks - a rupture might lead to metal splinters flying around. However, they claim that the car's underfloor is enough shielding. I'd say let some independent safety tests figure that one out. So far I think this is a very promising concept - I was always weary about electrical hybrids because of…

Here in Argentina ~1/5 of the cars use compressed natural gas (mostly methane) tanks at 200 bars, because it is cheaper than gasoline. I don't remember any horror story of a crash, and these cars are generally considered almost as safe as the usual cars. The main drawback is that the tank is very big and uses half of the back trunks. More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_natural_gas

We do the same in Greece, the tank is 50-60 liters (not sure if that volume is when the gas is at STP or compressed), though, and takes around the room of the spare. That's also where they put it.

Re: Peugeot Bets on a Different Kind of Hybrid Car

#14

Post by rikacomet »

lnanek2 wrote: post #10
rikacomet wrote: post #7

Oh gosh, I don't want to complain, but I reported this about 1 month ago, and it didn't even get 1 point. It seems different timezones, have different taste :P hehe

Also strongly depends on what else is going on when it is posted. Only time I can recall being on the front page for long was when a hurricane had tons of people out of power and not posting. :)

haha yeah, people can be odd sometimes. I just had a -4 on a post saying that a particular thread (is so good) that it should go front page on HN, apparently it did, but oh the irony.

Re: Peugeot Bets on a Different Kind of Hybrid Car

#15

Post by rikacomet »

gus_massa wrote: post #11
rikacomet wrote: post #7

Oh gosh, I don't want to complain, but I reported this about 1 month ago, and it didn't even get 1 point. It seems different timezones, have different taste :P hehe

I saw you submission last month. The problem is that it looked like direct copy of an AFP new that looked like a direct copy of a press release of Peugeot, so it was difficult to know how interesting the new method was and how much was only hype. The NYT has a little more credibility and the article seams to be written more independently, but until there are some more real use case reports with the new cars it's stil…

Yeah, I see what you mean. I will remember that in future. Cheers, and thanks for reply.

Re: Peugeot Bets on a Different Kind of Hybrid Car

#16

Post by mistercow »

pilap82 wrote: post #8
pkulak wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there's always a risk when you're storing energy. In this case it would be explosion. Could be a very small risk, though.

I had the same "concern" but they say: The energy stored in the nitrogen tank is small — equivalent to only about five teaspoons, or a couple dozen cubic centimeters, of gasoline So I guess that the explosion of a tank full of "about five teaspoon" should not wreak too much damage :)

> "about five teaspoon" should not wreak too much damage

Well, using a little WolframAlpha magic[1][2], it looks like the energy would be equivalent to about 200 grams of TNT. The internet tells me that that's about equivalent to a hand grenade. The internet also tells me that this video is only 50 grams of TNT, but take that with a grain of salt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rE-8o9NDZk

Point is, be wary of scoffing at small amounts of gasoline. That stuff is potent.

[1] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%28%28energy+density+of...

[2] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=851+kJ+to+%CE%BCt

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