LIQUID-HYDROGEN-FUELED-VEHICLE TESTS. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A program for the development of a baseline liquid-hydrogen fueled vehicle and a liquid-hydrogen-refueling system was completed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory on September 30, 1981. This program involved the cooperative efforts of the Laboratory (funded by the US Department of Energy), the Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt (DFVLR) of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the State of New Mexico through the New Mexico Energy Institute (NMEI). The results of the program provide a reference point from which future progress and improvements in liquid-hydrogen on-board storage and refueling capabilities may be measured. The NMEI provided the program a 1979 Buick Century 4-door sedan with 3.8-L (231-in. exp 3) displacement turbocharged V6 engine and automatic transmission. The DFVLR provided an on-board liquid-hydrogen storage tank and a refueling station. The DFVLR tank, and the engine modifications for operation on hydrogen rather than gasoline, represented readily available, state-of-the-art capabilities when the program began in March 1979. The original tank provided by the DFVLR was replaced with a larger capacity tank, which was fabricated using more advanced cryogenic engineering technology. The vehicle was refueled at least 60 times with liquid hydrogen using various liquid-hydrogen storage Dewars at Los Alamos and the semiautomatic refueling station designed and built by the DFVLR. At the end of program, the engine had been operated for 133 h and the car driven for 3540 km (2200 miles) on hydrogen without any major difficulties. The vehicle obtained 2.4 km/L (5.7 miles/gal) of liquid hydrogen or 8.9 km/L (21 miles/gal) of gasoline on an equivalent energy basis for driving in the high-altitude Los Alamos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque areas. Without refueling, the car had a range of about 274 km (170 miles) with the first liquid-hydrogen tank and about 362 km (225 miles) with the second tank. (ERA citation 07:004644)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Automotive Technology Development Contractor Coordination Meeting, Dearborn, MI, October 1981. Available in microfiche only.
• Corporate Authors:

  Los Alamos National Laboratory

  P.O. Box 1663
  Los Alamos, NM  United States  87545

  Department of Energy

  1000 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20585
• Authors:
  • Stewart, W F
• Publication Date: 1981

Media Info

• Pagination: 39 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Cryogenics; Fuel substitution; Hydrogen fuels; Liquid hydrogen; Performance; Performance tests; Refueling; Storage tanks; Vehicle power plants; Vehicle tests
• Uncontrolled Terms: Experimental data
• Old TRIS Terms: Automobile engines; Performance testing
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00371770
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: LA-UR-81-3194, CONF-811090-1
• Contract Numbers: W-7405-ENG-36
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 29 1983 12:00AM