Authors : Sanchita Abrol, Kunal Rana and Ankit Dhir
Abstract: In USA, nearly 6% of the total fuel consumption every year (i.e., 700 crore gallons of petrol) is due to the employment of air conditioners in passenger vehicles. Taking the refrigerant leaks into account, the environmental protection agency reported that each year, there is an additional 5 crore metric tons of carbon emissions added to the atmosphere beyond the general fuel use. The main objective of this project is to propose a way to deal with this grave issue in order to drastically reduce the tail emissions and increase the efficiency and mileage of a car by carefully altering its interiors. Simultaneously, the project has proven to be useful in improving the car performance and greatly diminishing the air pollution by making the proposed changes. The idea is to fit an automated mechanism which would be attached between the front and the back seats. It would consist of a transparent insulated sheet (with very low thermal conductivity) that would roll down whenever required so that the effective working volume for the air conditioner is significantly declined. This is particularly helpful if the driver is travelling alone or when only the front seats are occupied. The cut down of this volume is responsible for the optimal use of the air conditioner so as to attain the desirable results. On a normal day, the temperature inside a closed car can rapidly rise to a lethal level. In case the car is stationary, it is vital that insulation is provided beneath the metallic body. It helps in the increase in transmissivity and further declines the heat transfer. This results in a smart car divider which does not cool the entire vehicle but only the volume in use. Feasibility studies, theoretical and experimental results and system engineering were performed by the researchers, verifying the conceptual idea and carrying out the testing of the actual product.
Sanchita Abrol, Kunal Rana and Ankit Dhir, 2017. Reduced Tail Emissions by Optimum Usage of Car Air Conditioners. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 12: 6163-6166.