Earlier this year I visited my brother in Michigan. We took a trip up to Hibtac (Hibbings Tachonite Mine). They use those dump trucks that haul (no joke) over 100 tons of tachonite ore. We looked at a retired truck and had a chance to speak with a similarly retired mechanic who maintained these monsters. The drive technology is as this article describes (sans the batteries). A deisel engine delivers DC directly to the wheels. As an added benefit reversing the current makes for a great non-mechanical braking system. This stuff has been around for many years. I wonder why they cant make a car like this?
. A deisel engine delivers DC directly to the wheels. As an added benefit reversing the current makes for a great non-mechanical braking system. This stuff has been around for many years. I wonder why they cant make a car like this? The diesel-electric trucks work on exactly the same principle as locomotives. The energy is delivered directly to the motors driving the wheels. There is no energy storage in batteries, except for the incidental storage for starting and housekeeping electricity--just like the battery of an ordinary car.
In this scheme the only thing the generator-motor replaces is the transmission. As I said current locomotives still work this way. The design has not changed since the early 1900s, and old electric motors from that era are still rebuilt.
The advantage is that for handling large amounts of power this is more efficient than a mechanical transmission.