Virginia Tech mechanical engineering students and RIDE Inc., a Virginia-based corporation concentrating on the development of hybrid vehicles, are working together to develop hybrid vehicle components.
Al Kornhauser, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, who specializes in internal combustion engines, fuel cells, and other energy-conversion systems, is working with RIDE. Mechanical engineering students under Kornhauser’s guidance will design, build, and test a hydraulic pump/motor for use in a hydraulic hybrid vehicle.

“Hybrid vehicles use two or more distinct power sources, as opposed to conventional automobiles that rely on internal combustion engines alone,” Kornhauser said. “An electric hybrid vehicle has a motor/generator that can either supply power to the wheels or store energy in a battery.”

RIDE already has a patent pending on the Rotational-Inertial-Dampening-Engine (RIDE), a hybrid engine that stores energy in a flywheel rather than a battery or hydraulic accumulator. According to Phillip Vera, president of RIDE, it achieves double the fuel economy and sharply reduces emissions compared to a similar-sized conventional engine. It also provides hybrid capabilities without the necessity for separate components to perform the energy storage and retrieval functions.