The ladybug cars, the dinosaur slide and the children's tank ride awaited 3-year-old Jonas Smith as usual at this year's Johnson County Fair, but something was missing.
"It looks like there are fewer rides," his mother, Marcia Smith, said as she strolled the grassy midway. "The swing ride we rode last year is gone. And when I went to buy tickets with a group of moms, our jaws dropped."
Traveling carnivals throughout Iowa and the nation are facing a scary ride this summer as high diesel costs shorten tour routes, inflate ticket prices and limit the number of rides that many can offer at local events and county fairs.
The cutbacks come during the peak season for the carnival industry, as county and state fairs commence across Iowa and the nation.
"There's no question it's putting a strain on our industry," said Bob Johnson, president of the Florida-based Outdoor Amusement Business Association. "It's taken a big bite out of our operating costs."
Carnivals in the United States still draw an estimated 350 million visitors each year and offer a cheap alternative to vacations and other entertainment, said Johnson, whose group represents most of the 350 traveling carnivals in the United States and Canada.
But diesel prices in the Midwest averaged $4.52 per gallon this week, up $1.64 from this time last year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The national average hovered at $4.61 per gallon, a $1.72 increase from last year.
The increase forced Superior Equipment, which once served fairs throughout the Midwest, to limit its travel this year to Iowa and southern Minnesota, said manager Shawn Exum. The Clarence, Ia.-based carnival operator also reduced the amount of equipment it carries, and cut about five traveling workers who act as backups for ride operators.
"We won't attend as many fairs this year, and we won't drive as far to get to them," Exum said. "The cost of fuel, insurance, transportation, merchandise we have to buy, all greatly increased this year. It just came to be too much."
Fuel-related expenses for Superior Equipment have more than doubled since last summer, Exum said. The company's rides and games, like most modern carnival machines, run on electric generators powered by diesel engines.
The problem worsened this summer when severe weather and record floods swept through Iowa, blocking key travel routes and displacing thousands of regular fairgoers.
Financial pressures forced one local fair in northern Iowa to go without rides this year. The North Iowa Fair in Mason City had scheduled Merriam's Midway Shows to visit in late July, but a scheduling conflict prevented the carnival from attending, said fair manager Katy Elson. In its place, she said, the fair erected inflatable games for children and managed to secure a slingshot ride from another company.
Todd Merriam, who owns Merriam's Midway Shows, said he helped the fair's organizers find a replacement carnival to fulfill his three-year contract. The replacement carnival then canceled abruptly because it went out of business.
"We did the best we could," Merriam said. "Unfortunately, it was strictly financial."
Ticket prices also could rise if fuel expenses continue to grow, Exum said. Some operators, including Superior Equipment, have effectively raised prices already by requiring more tickets for a single ride, he said.
"People can't pay as much as we need to be charging," Exum said. "We're trying to raise it just enough to get by."
Exum said parents this year are telling their children to choose just one or two rides. Last year, he said, the number of 20-ticket family packs he sold outnumbered single-ticket sales by a ratio of 4-to-1. This year, single tickets -- at $1 apiece -- outperformed the $18 family packs.
Demetrious and Charlotte Ramirez of Iowa City scampered across the midway at the Johnson County Fair last week, past the spinning strawberry ride and the pink-and-green lights near the game pit. Their mother, Margo Ramirez, watched 6-year-old Demetrious hop aboard a children's tank ride while Charlotte, 3, eyed the flying swings.
"They had more cool stuff last year," Margo Ramirez said. "I can tell they're offering fewer rides, and the ones they are offering are smaller."
Mac's Carnival Rides & Attractions, a South Dakota-based carnival that serves seven states, raised its ticket prices 25 percent this year to offset fuel costs, said co-owner Lon McWhorter. Travel expenses for the show's 15 rides have grown to $3 per ride for every mile traveled, he said. Last year's rate was less than $2.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Researchers seek power from exhaust
Researchers are competing to meet a challenge from the U.S. Department of Energy: Improve fuel economy 10 percent by converting wasted exhaust heat into energy that can help power the vehicle.
General Motors Corp. is close to reaching the goal, as is a BMW AG supplier working with Ohio State University in Columbus. Their research into thermoelectrics -- the science of using temperature differences to create electricity -- couldn't come at a better time as high gas prices accelerate efforts to make vehicles as efficient as possible.
GM researcher Jihui Yang said a metal-plated device that surrounds an exhaust pipe could increase fuel economy in a Chevrolet Suburban by about 5 percent, a 1-mile-per-gallon improvement that would be even greater in a smaller vehicle.
Reaching the goal of a 10 percent improvement would save more than 100 million gallons of fuel per year in GM vehicles in the United States alone.
"The take-home message here is: It's a big deal," Yang said.
The Energy Department, which is partially funding the auto-industry research, helped develop a thermoelectric generator for a heavy-duty diesel truck and tested it for the equivalent of 550,000 miles about 12 years ago.
John Fairbanks, the department's thermoelectrics technology development manager, said the success of that generator justified the competitive search in 2004 for a device that could augment or replace a vehicle's alternator. Three teams were selected to participate in the program, with GM and thermoelectrics manufacturer BSST separately working on cars and a team from Michigan State University focusing on heavy-duty trucks.
Fairbanks said thermoelectric generators should be on the verge of production in about three years.
"It's probably the biggest impact in the shortest time that I can think of," he said.
The technology is similar to what NASA uses to power deep-space probes, a perk being it doesn't seem to be susceptible to wear. Probes have used a thermoelectric setup for about 30 years.
Thermoelectric devices can work in two ways -- using electricity to provide heating or cooling, or using temperature differences to create electricity.
The second method is Yang's focus, and for good reason.
In an internal combustion engine, only about one-fourth of the total energy from gasoline is used to actually turn the wheels, while 40 percent is lost in exhaust heat and 30 percent is lost through cooling the engine. That means about 70 percent of the available energy is wasted, according to GM.
"If I can use some of that heat energy and convert it to electricity, you can improve the overall efficiency," Yang said.
A Suburban produces 15 kilowatts of exhaust-heat energy during city driving, which is enough to power three or four air conditioners simultaneously.
But it's not possible to harness all the exhaust heat a vehicle produces, so when the Suburban is cruising between 50 and 60 mph, the generator can produce about 800 watts of power, Yang said. That electricity could go to accessories such as a GPS device, DVD player, radio and possibly the vehicle's water pumps.
Yang's prototype device is to be tested in a Suburban next year. A similar prototype created by Ohio State scientists and BSST could also be tested next year in a BMW.
The thermoelectric generator works when one side of its metallic material is heated, and excited electrons move to the cold side. The movement creates a current, which electrodes collect and convert to electricity.
While it's not clear how much the device would add to the price of a vehicle, the whole point of the research is to make it cost-effective, Yang said.
"There are several other steps that are required to commercialize the material, but we're cautiously optimistic that these steps can be carried out successfully," said Lon Bell, president of BSST, a subsidiary of Northville-based thermoelectrics supplier Amerigon Inc.
BSST also is working with Ford Motor Co. to develop climate-control systems based on thermoelectrics.
Ford wants a system that would target a person's extremities when it's cold or the back of the neck in summer heat, rather than blow out a lot of air to change the temperature of the entire vehicle.
"We think we can make people feel cooler more quickly, feel comfortable more quickly, and that will translate into less power in the central AC system," said Clay Maranville, a Ford senior research scientist.
Honda Motor Co. also has supported university research into thermoelectrics, but a spokesman said the automaker doesn't have its own research program.
General Motors Corp. is close to reaching the goal, as is a BMW AG supplier working with Ohio State University in Columbus. Their research into thermoelectrics -- the science of using temperature differences to create electricity -- couldn't come at a better time as high gas prices accelerate efforts to make vehicles as efficient as possible.
GM researcher Jihui Yang said a metal-plated device that surrounds an exhaust pipe could increase fuel economy in a Chevrolet Suburban by about 5 percent, a 1-mile-per-gallon improvement that would be even greater in a smaller vehicle.
Reaching the goal of a 10 percent improvement would save more than 100 million gallons of fuel per year in GM vehicles in the United States alone.
"The take-home message here is: It's a big deal," Yang said.
The Energy Department, which is partially funding the auto-industry research, helped develop a thermoelectric generator for a heavy-duty diesel truck and tested it for the equivalent of 550,000 miles about 12 years ago.
John Fairbanks, the department's thermoelectrics technology development manager, said the success of that generator justified the competitive search in 2004 for a device that could augment or replace a vehicle's alternator. Three teams were selected to participate in the program, with GM and thermoelectrics manufacturer BSST separately working on cars and a team from Michigan State University focusing on heavy-duty trucks.
Fairbanks said thermoelectric generators should be on the verge of production in about three years.
"It's probably the biggest impact in the shortest time that I can think of," he said.
The technology is similar to what NASA uses to power deep-space probes, a perk being it doesn't seem to be susceptible to wear. Probes have used a thermoelectric setup for about 30 years.
Thermoelectric devices can work in two ways -- using electricity to provide heating or cooling, or using temperature differences to create electricity.
The second method is Yang's focus, and for good reason.
In an internal combustion engine, only about one-fourth of the total energy from gasoline is used to actually turn the wheels, while 40 percent is lost in exhaust heat and 30 percent is lost through cooling the engine. That means about 70 percent of the available energy is wasted, according to GM.
"If I can use some of that heat energy and convert it to electricity, you can improve the overall efficiency," Yang said.
A Suburban produces 15 kilowatts of exhaust-heat energy during city driving, which is enough to power three or four air conditioners simultaneously.
But it's not possible to harness all the exhaust heat a vehicle produces, so when the Suburban is cruising between 50 and 60 mph, the generator can produce about 800 watts of power, Yang said. That electricity could go to accessories such as a GPS device, DVD player, radio and possibly the vehicle's water pumps.
Yang's prototype device is to be tested in a Suburban next year. A similar prototype created by Ohio State scientists and BSST could also be tested next year in a BMW.
The thermoelectric generator works when one side of its metallic material is heated, and excited electrons move to the cold side. The movement creates a current, which electrodes collect and convert to electricity.
While it's not clear how much the device would add to the price of a vehicle, the whole point of the research is to make it cost-effective, Yang said.
"There are several other steps that are required to commercialize the material, but we're cautiously optimistic that these steps can be carried out successfully," said Lon Bell, president of BSST, a subsidiary of Northville-based thermoelectrics supplier Amerigon Inc.
BSST also is working with Ford Motor Co. to develop climate-control systems based on thermoelectrics.
Ford wants a system that would target a person's extremities when it's cold or the back of the neck in summer heat, rather than blow out a lot of air to change the temperature of the entire vehicle.
"We think we can make people feel cooler more quickly, feel comfortable more quickly, and that will translate into less power in the central AC system," said Clay Maranville, a Ford senior research scientist.
Honda Motor Co. also has supported university research into thermoelectrics, but a spokesman said the automaker doesn't have its own research program.
Cold War effort a problem now
FEMA took over responsibility for this and other programs once administered by the Civil Defense Agency in 1979, by which time some 700 radio stations had participated in this voluntary program. The tanks are made of steel, and over time, rust and corrosion can create leaks that remain undetected for years.
Why does this matter to Delmarva residents? Two of these aging tanks are located here, one in Salisbury and another in Georgetown. FEMA plans to evaluate these tanks, which may or may not be leaking. If they are, it's bad news, not just for the environment, but for people living nearby as well.
One gallon of leaked fuel can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water. And what are the consequences of drinking water contaminated by diesel fuel? It increases the risk of cancer, kidney damage and nervous system disorders.
FEMA has said it is dedicated to inspecting and remediating, removing or upgrading these tanks as necessary. It has, according to a FEMA spokesman, taken decades just to go through the paperwork from various federal agencies that participated in the program at one time or another.
The sooner these tanks are inspected and dealt with, the better. The program was deemed important when it was put in place. People were living in fear of a nuclear holocaust and any measures that might help rein in chaos in the event of an emergency were well-received. The problem is a lack of foresight and planning for future consequences.
Let this be a lesson for us in making sure --as much as possible -- that whatever we do today to make our lives better, more secure or more convenient will not come back to bite our descendants someday
Why does this matter to Delmarva residents? Two of these aging tanks are located here, one in Salisbury and another in Georgetown. FEMA plans to evaluate these tanks, which may or may not be leaking. If they are, it's bad news, not just for the environment, but for people living nearby as well.
One gallon of leaked fuel can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water. And what are the consequences of drinking water contaminated by diesel fuel? It increases the risk of cancer, kidney damage and nervous system disorders.
FEMA has said it is dedicated to inspecting and remediating, removing or upgrading these tanks as necessary. It has, according to a FEMA spokesman, taken decades just to go through the paperwork from various federal agencies that participated in the program at one time or another.
The sooner these tanks are inspected and dealt with, the better. The program was deemed important when it was put in place. People were living in fear of a nuclear holocaust and any measures that might help rein in chaos in the event of an emergency were well-received. The problem is a lack of foresight and planning for future consequences.
Let this be a lesson for us in making sure --as much as possible -- that whatever we do today to make our lives better, more secure or more convenient will not come back to bite our descendants someday
Piezoelectrics to relish billion-dollar future
The emergence of wireless communications and the increased need for wireline-based data transmissions have swelled demand for piezoelectric quartz crystals and crystal devices. Emerging industrial and consumer applications are steering the industry—once overly dependent on military demand—to a more balanced mix of apps.
Data transfer must be synchronized in high-bandwidth systems, a requirement that has boosted demand for timing products. Crystal devices provide the precise timing signals needed to ensure reliable data transfer at high speeds in applications ranging from notebook computers to network switches, the study observes.
Among the seven major market segments for piezoelectric crystal frequency control devices, telecommunications has the largest market share—as much as 30 percent. It is followed by consumer applications including video games, A/V and amusement, computing, military and government; automotive, industrial; and medical.
The iRap study notes that in the 1980s, Japan was the world leader in mass-produced piezoelectric crystals and crystal devices. In the later part of the 1990s, however, the balance shifted, with China and South Korea taking over the low-end products. Japan still supplies the high end.
At present, Japan and South Korea are supplying quartz devices for microprocessor-based and extended-temperature products. China is supplying large quantities of low-end products for applications such as toys and games.
Data transfer must be synchronized in high-bandwidth systems, a requirement that has boosted demand for timing products. Crystal devices provide the precise timing signals needed to ensure reliable data transfer at high speeds in applications ranging from notebook computers to network switches, the study observes.
Among the seven major market segments for piezoelectric crystal frequency control devices, telecommunications has the largest market share—as much as 30 percent. It is followed by consumer applications including video games, A/V and amusement, computing, military and government; automotive, industrial; and medical.
The iRap study notes that in the 1980s, Japan was the world leader in mass-produced piezoelectric crystals and crystal devices. In the later part of the 1990s, however, the balance shifted, with China and South Korea taking over the low-end products. Japan still supplies the high end.
At present, Japan and South Korea are supplying quartz devices for microprocessor-based and extended-temperature products. China is supplying large quantities of low-end products for applications such as toys and games.
Govt explores ways to beat diesel crunch
The government has called the chiefs of state-run oil companies to discuss the problem of diesel shortage in the country.
“There have been reports of diesel shortages in Pune and other parts of Maharashtra, among other places. I have called a meeting of oil PSU chiefs on August 19 to seek an explanation,” petroleum minister Murli Deora said.
The demand for diesel has risen nearly 25 per cent in recent times as it is increasingly being used in power generation instead of fuel oil and naphtha that are costlier.
“The demand-supply gap seems to have widened because of this,” Deora said.
Indian Oil Corporation chairman Sarthak Behuria has said the company would not be importing diesel and sell it at low prices to meet the rising demand.
Diesel is heavily subsidised because it is used in the public transport system and by the farm sector and truckers.
Oil marketers say the fuel is now being used by commercial and industrial users, which is pushing up the demand. There is also a heavy demand for the fuel in shopping malls and housing projects as they use diesel generators for back-up.
The high-powered committee on the financial health of oil companies, headed by B.K. Chaturvedi, which has been pushing for a price hike in petrol and diesel, has suggested different pricing norms for industrial and commercial users.
The committee felt industrial units, which account for about 10 per cent of the total consumption of diesel, should not be eligible for subsidy. The sale of the fuel to industrial and commercial users should be done at market prices.
It has also proposed an increase of 75 paise per litre in the price of diesel every month till 2010. In addition, it has suggested a “metro extra” tax of Rs 2 a litre.
Oil companies are losing Rs 23 a litre from selling diesel at subsidised prices, even after a price hike of Rs 3 per litre in June.
The annual consumption of diesel is around 48 million tonnes (mt).
The government continues to subsidise the fuel heavily as it is fighting a 16-year high inflation of 12.44 per cent. Diesel is the favoured fuel of truckers and any increase in its price has a cascading effect on inflation.
“There have been reports of diesel shortages in Pune and other parts of Maharashtra, among other places. I have called a meeting of oil PSU chiefs on August 19 to seek an explanation,” petroleum minister Murli Deora said.
The demand for diesel has risen nearly 25 per cent in recent times as it is increasingly being used in power generation instead of fuel oil and naphtha that are costlier.
“The demand-supply gap seems to have widened because of this,” Deora said.
Indian Oil Corporation chairman Sarthak Behuria has said the company would not be importing diesel and sell it at low prices to meet the rising demand.
Diesel is heavily subsidised because it is used in the public transport system and by the farm sector and truckers.
Oil marketers say the fuel is now being used by commercial and industrial users, which is pushing up the demand. There is also a heavy demand for the fuel in shopping malls and housing projects as they use diesel generators for back-up.
The high-powered committee on the financial health of oil companies, headed by B.K. Chaturvedi, which has been pushing for a price hike in petrol and diesel, has suggested different pricing norms for industrial and commercial users.
The committee felt industrial units, which account for about 10 per cent of the total consumption of diesel, should not be eligible for subsidy. The sale of the fuel to industrial and commercial users should be done at market prices.
It has also proposed an increase of 75 paise per litre in the price of diesel every month till 2010. In addition, it has suggested a “metro extra” tax of Rs 2 a litre.
Oil companies are losing Rs 23 a litre from selling diesel at subsidised prices, even after a price hike of Rs 3 per litre in June.
The annual consumption of diesel is around 48 million tonnes (mt).
The government continues to subsidise the fuel heavily as it is fighting a 16-year high inflation of 12.44 per cent. Diesel is the favoured fuel of truckers and any increase in its price has a cascading effect on inflation.
Truckers helped by technology
In New Brunswick, he said, almost 100 per cent of goods move by truck, and the high fuel costs are passed on to consumers, who end up paying more for things such as clothes, food and medicine.
So in order to lighten their environmental footprint, and help save money on diesel fuel, the industry is looking to new technologies for help. In the fall of 2006, an ultra low-sulphur diesel fuel was introduced, and the new 2008 truck engines come equipped with a diesel particulate filter.
"As we purchase these new trucks, we're reducing our nitrous oxide emissions by 40 per cent and our particulate matter output by 90 per cent," Nelson said. "We're the only transportation sector in North America that has gotten that far, that fast. And that's all because of the new technologies."
In addition to the innovation in fuel and engine filters, Nelson said the industry will soon be adopting a single, wide-based tire to replace the dual configuration.
He said there's evidence that these tires can create fuel savings of one to two litres per kilometre, which translates into thousands of dollars per year.
"It doesn't seem like a big deal," he said, "but when you're travelling 150,000 kilometres a year to 200,000 kilometres a year, it makes a huge difference."
They've also slowed their trucks down to 100 km/h instead of 110 on two-lane highways.
"Depending on the driver, that can save anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 a year," he said. "We're the only transportation sector in North America that has gotten that far, that fast. The new trucks, especially the ones that Sunbury Transport is using, are incredibly cleaner and greener than the trucks of five years ago, because of the new technologies."
At a tree-planting ceremony at Sunbury's Fredericton headquarters last Wednesday, Environment Minister Roland Haché presented them with the 2007 Environmental Leadership Award on behalf of the provincial government, for their idle-time reduction program and the development of a fuel efficiency, e-learning program for other carriers.
The winners are selected by an independent panel of judges.
In December, Sunbury was given $475,000 from the New Brunswick Climate Change Action Fund to install the diesel-powered auxiliary generators on its fleet to provide climate control and power to parked trucks, eliminating the need to idle.
It was given another $200,000 from the fund to install the aerodynamic skirting on its van trailers to reduce air drag.
"We want to be leaders, not followers, and we have to compete with the world too," said Vernon Seeley, specification manager and technical advisor for Sunbury and Irving Transport. "Our tractors are the most aerodynamic in the world, and the skirts on the trailers deflect the wind, so it slips through the wind a bit faster."
He said the skirts save six per cent on fuel consumption, while the move from single to double trailers has led to a 30 per cent fuel reduction.
Added to this is a four to 10 per cent reduction because of the new tires and that translates into Sunbury using 200,000 litres less fuel in 2006 alone.
So in order to lighten their environmental footprint, and help save money on diesel fuel, the industry is looking to new technologies for help. In the fall of 2006, an ultra low-sulphur diesel fuel was introduced, and the new 2008 truck engines come equipped with a diesel particulate filter.
"As we purchase these new trucks, we're reducing our nitrous oxide emissions by 40 per cent and our particulate matter output by 90 per cent," Nelson said. "We're the only transportation sector in North America that has gotten that far, that fast. And that's all because of the new technologies."
In addition to the innovation in fuel and engine filters, Nelson said the industry will soon be adopting a single, wide-based tire to replace the dual configuration.
He said there's evidence that these tires can create fuel savings of one to two litres per kilometre, which translates into thousands of dollars per year.
"It doesn't seem like a big deal," he said, "but when you're travelling 150,000 kilometres a year to 200,000 kilometres a year, it makes a huge difference."
They've also slowed their trucks down to 100 km/h instead of 110 on two-lane highways.
"Depending on the driver, that can save anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 a year," he said. "We're the only transportation sector in North America that has gotten that far, that fast. The new trucks, especially the ones that Sunbury Transport is using, are incredibly cleaner and greener than the trucks of five years ago, because of the new technologies."
At a tree-planting ceremony at Sunbury's Fredericton headquarters last Wednesday, Environment Minister Roland Haché presented them with the 2007 Environmental Leadership Award on behalf of the provincial government, for their idle-time reduction program and the development of a fuel efficiency, e-learning program for other carriers.
The winners are selected by an independent panel of judges.
In December, Sunbury was given $475,000 from the New Brunswick Climate Change Action Fund to install the diesel-powered auxiliary generators on its fleet to provide climate control and power to parked trucks, eliminating the need to idle.
It was given another $200,000 from the fund to install the aerodynamic skirting on its van trailers to reduce air drag.
"We want to be leaders, not followers, and we have to compete with the world too," said Vernon Seeley, specification manager and technical advisor for Sunbury and Irving Transport. "Our tractors are the most aerodynamic in the world, and the skirts on the trailers deflect the wind, so it slips through the wind a bit faster."
He said the skirts save six per cent on fuel consumption, while the move from single to double trailers has led to a 30 per cent fuel reduction.
Added to this is a four to 10 per cent reduction because of the new tires and that translates into Sunbury using 200,000 litres less fuel in 2006 alone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)