GE debuts hybrid dump truck
LONDON, UK - We have seen the advent of hybrid cars, hybrid trains and even hybrid tanks. Now General Electric (GE) has announced that it has successfully tested a giant hybrid dump truck.
Writing on the GE Global Research blog, Tim Richter an engineer in the conglomerate's hybrid vehicle team, said that the haul truck had been fitted with a hybrid system based on the same battery technology used in the hybrid locomotive the company demonstrated last year.
Haul trucks are huge dump trucks typically used to transport ore at open pit mines.
Richter said the new 600hp hybrid battery pack worked in much the same as a conventional hybrid car engine, capturing energy lost during brake to re use as the vehicle accelerates.
"When the driver calls for acceleration or power to climb a hill, the energy that was captured from the wheel motors during braking is released from the battery," he explained. "The energy is used to supplement the engine and reduce fuel usage or provide a power boost to increase speeds."
He added that the company plans to continue testing the new vehicle as it seeks to optimize the batteries and assess how reliable they prove in the harsh environment in which mine haul trucks operate.
Richter also predicted that the company can expect to see growing interest in hybrid technologies from a range of industries. "These technologies continue to gather interest and value against the continuing increase in fuel prices and price pressures on manufacturers and distributors," he observed.
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Here's what we know about the mistaken Pickering nuclear alert one week later
TORONTO - A number of questions still remain a week after an emergency alert was mistakenly sent out to people across Ontario warning of an unspecified incident at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station.
The province’s solicitor general has stepped in and says an investigation into the incident should be completed fairly quickly.
However, the nuclear scare has still left residents on edge with tens of thousands of people ordering potassium iodide, or KI, pills that protect the body from radioactive elements in the days following the incident.
Here’s what we know and still don’t know about the mistaken Pickering nuclear plant alert:
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