BigLove

http://www.cpowert.com/Products/COBRA



Controlled Boosting for Rapid response Applications; a fully integrated electric supercharger including all control and power electronics for Commercial Vehicles >3.5 Tonne, emission control and Off Highway applications.



By supplying instantaneous on demand air COBRA is an enabling technology which can support a number of CO2 and emission reducing solutions. COBRA compliments engine downsizing by supporting the low end torque gap allowing for the same drivability as a larger powertrain. COBRA’s on demand over boost enables the use of down speeding, longer gearing and a simplified transmission to provide the same fuel cost benefits. The increased airflow delivered by COBRA not only improves acceleration and response times it also provides the ability to maintain the correct Air-Fuel ratio at key points to avoid transient smoke limit.

• Based on 3 machine configurations using a 6/4 Switched Reluctance (SR) motor, bespoke designs easily catered for
  
• Liquid-cooled system
  
• Low intertia and high speed
  
• Integrated control and power electronics
  

Wonder how much power it really produces. Its not like those plastic junky ones on ebay that sell for $20.

Stocker

I still wonder why people think it would be somehow better to convert gas to rotation to electricity, then rectify the electricity, THEN convert to rotation again, than to just use waste heat energy directly in a REAL turbo. This can no way be anything close to the efficiency of a turbocharger. Could it be a power adder? Maybe it will add power to the engine output, but I wonder if it will make more than it uses. Will it likely be at least extremely inefficient? You betcha.



That's not to say it can't be done right by an auto maker. But just to slap on your car with nothing else? Nah.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ake-sense-now/

Tibbi

And electric turbo that actually works and requires no intercooling (though it still usedes one due to F1 regulations.)

A similar unit is used in the LaFerrari.

i8acobra

That's an electric assisted turbo. The F1 cars use electricity to keep the turbo spooled at low rpm. After a certain rpm, the exhaust gasses spin the turbo.

Stocker

Plus, KERS - which is why it is a net power adder.

Tibbi

Hence more efficient as the electricity isn't used but at lower RPM range. BTW, that 2nd image is of a demo model being r&ded for aftermarket use.





The problem with any electric s/c is that it's going to cause significant drain on the alternator which robs power by causing significant drag on the crank. I cannot see any fully electric system ever being efficient enough to overcome alternator drag. Of course unless that were an independent electrical system using heat regen as the power collector, and dedicated low weight storages... so basically KERS.



The best method would be a typical belt driven s/c with a unidirectional gear so once the exhaust gasses reach desired speed/temp the drag on the belt is eliminated. But the cost of building such a device would basically place it out of market for any hobbyist vehicle, and it's not an efficient system for racing applications now that KERS is a thing.

i8acobra

Actually, there was a company making an electric Eaton s/c that used 3 starter motors to turn it. It was powered by a separate battery that was not charged by the alternator. It was meant to be used on drag cars and then charged in between runs. Not suitable for daily use.

Tibbi

While conceptually a good idea, on a race application a turbo or traditional SC would be so much better. Those motors are ridiculously heavy and will be only used for a very limited time. For a system like that Toyota implimented am electronic clutch on the supercharger on the 4GZE back in the 80's. While not completely drag free it's a much better solution for a production car.





I still much prefer the like the F1/HY-KERS turbo, the electric side is only in use when the turbine pressure drops so the turbo never drops below 100krpm. even at idle the turbo is at 2/3 spool. It's all the benefits of a turbo and supercharger, without the alternator drag as it's an independent system. Of course the cost is still vastly out of range of any tuner.





As far as the OP is concerned an electric fan isn't the worst idea, but not being electronically independent is going to be the biggest draw back. Also a rotation speed of 70k RPM is very slow for a blower. I'll be shocked if this works as a power adder. It may well work as a minor efficiency as is being advertised, but I think we can all agree it's never going to replace the traditional blower.

i8acobra

Still much lighter than a conventional s/c or turbo. We're talking about a drag race that lasts less than 12 seconds.