Technology spotlight Advances in technology

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TECHNOLOGYSPOTLIGHT

Advances in technology across industry

GKN brings Formula One technology to public transport Dow produces

GKN is one of the first companies to receive funding from a joint UK government and automotive industry fund for projects to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. GKN Land Systems and its partners will receive a £7.6 million grant as part of a £15.6 million project to apply Formula One technology for use in public transport, initially city buses. The project is expected to deliver a 25% fuel saving for bus operators on inner city routes.

Its Gyrodrive system is designed to store the energy generated by a bus as it slows down to stop, and use that energy to help accelerate the bus back up to speed, generating significant fuel savings.

Jules Carter, head of Innovation at GKN Land Systems, explains: “Gyrodrive uses a high speed flywheel made of carbon fibre to store the energy generated as the bus slows down, which then generates electricity used by an electric motor to help the diesel engine drive the bus.”

Consortium members that GKN is working with include bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited, technology experts at Coventry University and S&S Windings, a leading niche technology SME. Visit: www.gknlandsystems.com

Single point control for emergency vehicles

Emergency vehicles are outfitted with a number of complex and intricate systems that allow them to perform essential functions, from emergency lights and sirens through to radio communications and performance of pumping equipment. Recognising the potential for cost and time savings if control of these functions could be streamlined, Emergency One began its search for an alternative control method.

Craig Grant, Mobile Applications manager at Bosch Rexroth, said: “Having reviewed the requirements set out by Emergency one at length, we advised that the RC36-20 controller would be the ideal solution. Designed as a universal central controller for complex mobile working machines, the RC36-20 uses the latest 32-bit TriCore technology to provide enhanced functionality that was only previously available for much larger static applications.”

Developed specifically for mobile applications, the controllers can be integrated with software in combination with pumps, motors, valves, sensors, input devices and actuators, making for a complete system solution. Visit: www.boschrexroth.co.uk

first IMPAXX foam material in Europe

Dow Building Solutions, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, has successfully produced its first STYROFOAM™ extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam product containing the new Polymeric Flame Retardant (PolyFR)technology in Europe. The material, branded IMPAXX™, has been made for Michigan USA based Coastal Automotive, a supplier of energy absorbing materials to the automotive, motorsports and packaging industries.

IMPAXX™ is the first commercial XPS foam product containing PolyFR in Europe. It is produced at the Dow STYROFOAM™ plants in Lavrion, Greece, and Drusenheim, France. Coastal Automotive will use the new IMPAXX™ material to produce pre-cut and custom molded parts for specific automotive applications. Dow’s IMPAXX™ is designed for the automotive industry, and is used in applications such as overhead systems, doors and pillar trims to help absorb energy during impact.

Dow introduced the new PolyFR technology in 2011. It is a stable, high molecular weight, nonPBT (persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic) substance. This more sustainable additive enables XPS and expanded polystyrene (EPS) foams to continue to meet the increasing demands of international sustainability regulations. Visit: www.dowautomotive.com