Fuel economy

[Ryan Wright]

On 11/10/07, Pete Masterson wrote:
>
> Converting the power generated by the magnetic retarder into
> batteries would be an interesting engineering challenge. The amount
> of current made can be quite significant for short periods of time --
> handling it might prove difficult (expensive).

Hybrid automobile battery packs are expensive for a reason: These
aren't your off-the-shelf rechargeable batteries. They're designed for
rapid charge/discharge cycles and that drives the cost up
significantly. I can't imagine the size of the battery bank and
controllers that would go into capturing the energy needed to stop a
20 ton rig. It would be hideously expensive.

All that being said I'll bet there are other options one could
explore. A massive flywheel, for instance, could potentially be used,
but that has it's own set of complications and drawbacks and may well
wind up being more expensive than batteries.

If we're asking, "Is it possible?", the answer is unequivocally yes.
However, cost effectiveness is another question all together.

-Ryan
'86 PT-40 8V92