Energy Efficient Vehicles

This theme aims to direct the expertise of iESD members in lightweight materials, smart control systems, computer modelling and structural optimisation towards the goal of making vehicles more energy efficient and therefore less harmful to the environment. In this context, vehicles refers to all forms of road-going vehicles (cars, bikes, buses, trucks), rail vehicles, aircraft / aerospace vehicles and certain types of sports vehicles (e.g. race cars). External drivers for this research come from governmental organisations (UK Technical Strategy Board, research councils, EU Framework 7) and the engineering professional institutions (IMechE, RAEng) as well as vehicle manufacturers and suppliers who see energy-efficiency as a key selling point.

Current or future project areas include the following: