How energy efficient is your car?

A detailed energy balance indicating how fuel energy is transferred from the engine to the wheels of a commercial car is obtained using non-specialized experiments that can be readily understood using elementary mechanics. These experiments allow us to determine the engine's thermal efficiency,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physics 2012-07, Vol.80 (7), p.588-593
Main Authors: Pere Roura, P, Oliu, D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerodynamics
Auto
Energy efficiency
Friction
Fuels
Mechanik
Physik
Physikunterricht
Thermodynamik
Wirkungsgrad
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Summary:A detailed energy balance indicating how fuel energy is transferred from the engine to the wheels of a commercial car is obtained using non-specialized experiments that can be readily understood using elementary mechanics. These experiments allow us to determine the engine's thermal efficiency, its mechanical losses, and the rolling (friction) and aerodynamic (drag) coefficients. We find that approximately 28% of the fuel energy is transferred to the wheels. 2012 American Association of Physics Teachers.
ISSN:0002-9505
1943-2909
DOI:10.1119/1.4704821