The Aerodynamics of Future Electric Cars Research Paper

The Aerodynamics of Future Electric Cars - Research Paper Example The researcher states that changes in global demand patterns, market forces, environmental concerns and the ever present danger of fleeting fossil fuel reserves are forcing automobile manufacturers and research scientists to look for alternative means to fuel automobiles. One facet of these developments has been electric vehicles that are powered exclusively through electric batteries. The emergence of electric vehicles has put in motion a number of new design challenges such as the aerodynamics of such vehicles because aerodynamics represent a large loss during normal functioning of all kinds of automobiles. Drag created by a moving vehicle represents one of the largest losses of energy created by an automobile’s engine. Conventional automobiles may lose as much as 40% of the total power to air drag. As with other conventional bodies, the aerodynamic drag exerted by air on a vehicle is directly proportional to the square of the velocity of the vehicle. For typically aerodynam ic automobiles the coefficient of drag and the accompanying area need to be as small as possible in terms of design considerations in order to minimize the drag encountered. There has been an ongoing struggle to create vehicles with as low a coefficient of drag as possible. Typically well designed vehicles display coefficients of drag of the order of 0.13 while a coefficient of drag of 0.1 is achievable through special design considerations.... Moreover considerations of an acoustical nature are also reduced through the use of electric engines that produce far less noise than conventional engines. However this has been criticized for increasing danger to blind people because the incoming vehicle would not possess a sound. (The Week, 2010) Based on these considerations it can be seen that the design of electric vehicles is an altogether different domain from conventional automobile design. The inclusion of new components such as the electric engines places new constrains on design that require solutions through out of the box thinking. This paper will attempt to describe the various major challenges being posed in terms of design and their current solutions along with their future outlook. 2. Conventional Automobile Packaging and Acoustics Conventional automobiles have been built and packaged in nearly the same way for decades. The early pioneering research into automobiles has created a stable platform that is dogmatically used as per vehicle class and usage. For example most passenger cars created along conventional design philosophy house the engine in the front and use a front wheel drive system while load carriers such as trucks use front mounted engines with rear wheel drive. Moreover recent advances in computational fields have allowed designers to create more light weight and singular construction frames better known as monocques. While some of these design elements such as a light weight bodies, four wheels and singular construction have been applied to building electrical vehicles but other packaging constraints have changed altogether. The design configuration and considerations for conventional automobiles are being

Case study analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis - Case Study Example Leadership defines the company and its purported growth pattern, as leaders possess the power to make the needed strategic as well as operational decisions. The ascent to power of new leader in an organization either may define the growth or continual slack of the company. At Ernst Benary, the current leadership has failed to take grasp of the needed changes that will conform to the changing needs of the consumers. Though history defines the growth pattern of any organization and is an important factor in leadership and positioning, there needs to be a disintegration or shift from known ways of operations to cater for the developing market. Klaudia Benary on entering the marketing department realized the stagnation and the struggling position of the company. Family ties could be purported as determinants in decision making within the company, taking to consideration the positions that Katrin Benary Thimm occupied, yet she did not have enough experience and education to play part in m anagement board. This can be defined as the beginning of the stagnation state. Failure by management to take effective and bold steps, implies that the company also lacks a directional strategy. The Benary company began its failing by lacking of strategizing leaders. The current management system at Benary is taking steps towards ensuring the initial growth associated with the company exists. Current 10 year strategy plan in the increasingly concentrated industry means that this is an important growth strategy. As the assistant managing director puts it (beyer et la p2), there is need to demonstrate capability to fulfill the growth strategy plan. Goal setting is an important strategy for growth, but has to go hand in hand with strategy implementation process that will define the steps towards ultimate achievement of organizations goal. Streamlining of the company’s resources with the strategy implementation is another managerial tool whose adoption defines the growth pattern. Any organization’s mission, vision, objectives, and steps taken towards achievement of these goals is also an important management tool for the growth strategy of the company. Ernst needs to have well defined company’s vision, mission and objectives that will help in achievement of its goals. The company was adversely affected by the World War 1, where business relations were abruptly cut following the war. This emerges as a threat to the company and so does the emergence of new international competitors from USA, Japan and Netherlands. The company was able to favorably build on its strengths that involved the breeding knowledge which helped introduced a new seed variety in the 1920’s. Management is also defined by the ability to capitalize on it strengths as it tries to outdo the threats. More threats emerged after the country experienced a struggling economy and later the coming to power of the German Nazis also became a threat. The company was headed by a fa mily of Jewish origin. This stipulated challenges and threats to the organization which it was able to conquer. The managements capability to identify threats and weaknesses and devise strategies to overcome the weaknesses will define the growth of a particular company. Motivation of employees, an important factor in any production and company dependent on employee output, also is affected by decisions of top managers. Incorporation of employees in decision making and decentralization of power is a