Short Programs

The Future of Vehicular Transportation: Propulsion, Fuels, and Emissions [2.65s]

Date: June 18-22, 2012 | Tuition: $3,000 | Continuing Education Units (CEUs): 2.9
*This course has limited enrollment. Apply early to guarantee your spot.
Application Deadline »

Overiew  |  Learning Objectives  |  Who Should Participate  |  Program Outline  |  Schedule  | 
Staff  |  About the Presenters  |  Location  |  Updates

Overview

Our transportation systems face many challenging issues as we look ahead. Critical among these are the fuels and energy sources that will drive our vehicles, and the air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions that result as we attempt to reduce our petroleum consumption. There are several promising options: improving mainstream internal combustion engines and the gasoline and diesel fuels they utilize; propulsion system electrification using hybrid internal combustion engine, battery, and electric motor, combinations in charge-sustaining and plug-in versions that draw electricity from the power grid; pure battery/motor electric drive systems; natural gas fueled vehicles; and fuel-cell powered vehicles operating on hydrogen. For all of these, vehicle weight and tire and aerodynamic friction can be significantly reduced.

This course will examine the performance and emissions characteristics of these options, addressing the engineering basics of how these various propulsion systems with their associated fuels perform, and their future development potential. It will also explore the impacts that deploying these propulsion technologies in vehicles, in use, would have on future petroleum consumption, other energy streams, and emissions. It will also discuss the factors that govern the market attractiveness and constraints that affect the deployment of these more efficient propulsion system technologies, and the fuels and energy sources they would need.

Learning Objectives

The participants of this course will be able to:

1. Understand principles of operation of current and future vehicular propulsion systems, their practical performance capabilities, and their advantages and drawbacks.
2. Appreciate the potential for alternative fuels and other energy sources, and their infrastructure challenges, based on their technical characteristics.
3. Assess the potential of these more advanced propulsion systems, vehicle changes, and fuels to reduce energy consumption and emissions.
4. Formulate and evaluate the impact of various different scenarios that would reduce land transportation’s petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades.

Who Should Participate

This course is intended for professionals interested in better understanding the real-world opportunities for improving the energy efficiency of our current transportation system, and transitioning to new propulsion technologies and fuels. The course assumes that attendees have an introductory knowledge of vehicular propulsion systems and energy conversion processes, and can follow engineering-science discussions of the technologies and fuels involved.

Program Outline

Day One
Session 1—1.5 hours
Overview: Our transportation systems: past, present, future (Heywood)

Break

Session 2—1.5 hours
Major transportation and environmental issues (Heywood)

Lunch (provided)

Session 3—1.5 hours
Overview: Available fuels and other energy sources (Cheng)

Break

Session 4—1.5 hours
Discussion (Cheng)

Day Two
Session 5—1.5 hours
Today’s engine technologies: How they operate; their development potential:

• Fuel conversion thermodynamics and engine efficiency measures (Cheng)

Break

Session 6—1.5 hours
Today’s engine technologies: How they operate; their development potential:

• SI engine technology and operation (Cheng)

Lunch

Session 7—1.5 hours
Today’s engine technologies: How they operate; their development potential:

• Gasoline engine emissions and emission control (Heywood)

Break

Session 8—1.5 hours
Discussion

Day Three
Session 9—1.5 hours
Today’s engine technologies: How they operate; their development potential:

• Diesel engine technology and operation (Cheng)

Break

Session 10—1.5 hours
Today’s engine technologies: How they operate; their development potential:

• Diesel engine emissions and emission control (Heywood)

Lunch

Session 11—1.5 hours

• Coupling the powertrain to the vehicle and hybrid vehicles (Cheng)

Break

Session 12—1.5 hours
Movies of engine combustion; discussion

Day Four
Session 13—1.5 hours
Hydrogen, fuel cells, batteries, and super-capacitors (Cheng)

Break

Session 14—1.5 hours
Vehicle electrification: PHEV’s and EV’s (Heywood)

Lunch

Session 15—1.5 hours
Natural gas and bio-fuels: their characteristics and potential role (Cheng)

Break

Session 16—1.5 hours
Discussion

Day Five
Session 17—1.5 hours
Opportunities for improving vehicle technology (Cheng)

Break

Session 18—1.5 hours
Evolving behavior of in-use vehicle fleet (Heywood)

Lunch

Session 19—1.0 hours
Looking ahead: reducing transportation’s petroleum consumption and GHG emissions (Heywood)

Break

Session 20—1.0 hours
Questions and discussion

Course schedule, registration times, special events

Class runs 8:30 am – 4:30 pm each day, except for Friday when class
runs 8:00 am - 2:30 pm.

Registration is on Monday morning from 7:45 - 8:10 am.

Special events include a bbq for course participants and faculty on Wednesday night. Evening activities are included in tuition.

Staff

Wai K. Cheng is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and Associate Director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory.

John B. Heywood is Director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory and the Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT.

About the Presenters

Wai K. Cheng
Professor Cheng received his B.S. degree from Caltech in 1974 and his Ph.D. degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT in 1978. He is currently Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and Director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory. His research interests are in internal combustion engine combustion, emissions, fuels, and engine control systems. He is involved more broadly in propulsion system characterization. He is a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

John B. Heywood
Professor Heywood has been a faculty member at MIT since 1968, where he is the former Director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory and Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical Engineering Emeritus. His research is focused on internal combustion engines, their fuels requirements, and broader studies of future transportation propulsion technology and fuels, and their impacts on petroleum consumption and emissions. He has published 200 papers in the technical literature, and is the author of a major text and professional reference, Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals. He is a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers. He received a 1996 U.S. Department of Transportation Award for the Advancement of Motor Vehicle Research and Development. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has honorary degrees from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden and City University, London.

Location

This course takes place on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We can also offer this course for groups of employees at your location. Please contact the Short Programs office for further details.

Updates

• Professor Heywood's book about Internal Combustion Engines is featured in an MIT News article on December 20, 2010--click here to read the article.
• Charting a course toward cleaner car--Professor Heywood's group is the focus of an April 1, 2010 MIT News article.
• Professor Heywood talks about reducing greenhouse gas emissions--click here to watch the video.