The Hy-wire (Hydrogen drive-by-wire) is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

from General Motors originally introduced in January 2002. The car runs on

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

fuel cells and uses a

drive-by-wire Drive by wire, DbW, by-wire, steer-by-wire, fly-by-wire or x-by-wire technology in the automotive or aviation industry is the use of electrical or electro-mechanical systems for performing vehicle functions traditionally achieved by mechanical link ...

system, meaning that the car is controlled

electronically The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

. GM asked school children to name the car, and one of them suggested "Hy-wire". In 2003, General Motors stated that it was confident that it could produce a commercially viable model by 2010.

Design

Due to hydrogen fuel cell drive system used by the Hy-wire, the conventional car layout has been revamped. Without the need for a conventional

engine block In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...

and transmission system coupled to the

steering column The automotive steering column is a device intended primarily for connecting the steering wheel to the steering mechanism. Secondary functions A steering column may also perform the following secondary functions: *energy dissipation management ...

and

pedals A pedal (from the Latin '' pes'' ''pedis'', "foot") is a lever designed to be operated by foot and may refer to: Computers and other equipment * Footmouse, a foot-operated computer mouse * In medical transcription, a pedal is used to control ...

through mechanical linkage, the car's power system and single electric motor are built into a flat skateboard configuration. This serves to lower the car's

center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force ma ...

, but more importantly to standardize vehicle drive train systems. Because all propulsion and energy storage systems are housed in the skateboard, designers are free to arrange the passenger compartment however they see fit. This allows for highly flexible modular vehicle configurations such as a 4-door sedan, mini van, or even a small bus to be placed on the same drive system, with the only difference being the shape of the car's upper body and the location of seats. The skateboard itself contains crumple zones similar to those in conventional automobiles.

Driver interface

The car's drive-by-wire system coupled with cameras instead of mirrors and multiple LCD displays for feedback to the driver theoretically allows the driver's seat to be located anywhere; however, most current designs still favor the driver in front of or beside the other passengers for maximum visibility. The coupling of the controls to the drive system means neither the driver's seat nor the steering and throttle controls must be fixed in place. For example, the 2003 concept model has a single control interface that can be operated from either the right or left front seats, and the 2004 concept design places the two front seats on a rotating platform which allows the driver and passenger seats to be swapped or the driver to sit in front of the passenger for greater flexibility.

Powerplant

The Hy-wire is powered by a fuel cell capable of producing 94 kilowatts of power continuously and up to 129 kilowatts for short periods. The fuel cell itself is supplied with hydrogen from 3 tanks of

compressed hydrogen Compressed hydrogen (CH2, CGH2 or CGH2) is the gaseous state of the element hydrogen kept under pressure. Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks at 350 bar (5,000 psi) and 700 bar (10,000 psi) is used for mobile hydrogen storage in hydrogen vehic ...

located in the chassis. With its three-phase electric motor the 1,814 kg (4,000 lb) vehicle has a top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Motors Hy-Wire Hydrogen cars Fuel cell vehicles Hy-wire

Design

Driver interface

Powerplant

See also

References