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This Metra EMD F40PH locomotive uses a Diesel-electric transmission designed by EMD.

Diesel-electric transmission or diesel-electric powertrain is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion.

A diesel-electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors. No clutch is required.

Before diesel engines came into widespread use, a similar system, using a petrol (gasoline) engine and called petrol-electric or gas-electric, was sometimes used.

This kind of power transmission is used on railways by diesel electric locomotives and diesel electric multiple units as only electric motors are able to supply full torque at 0 RPM. Diesel-electric systems are also used in submarines and surface ships and some land vehicles.

In some high-efficiency applications, electrical energy may be stored in rechargeable batteries, in which case these vehicles can be considered as a class of hybrid electric vehicle.

Ships[link]

Siemens Schottel azimuth thrusters

The first diesel motorship was also the first diesel-electric ship, the Russian tanker Vandal from Branobel, which was launched in 1903. Steam turbine-electric propulsion has been in use since the 1920s (Tennessee class battleships), using diesel-electric powerplants in surface ships has increased lately. The Finnish coastal defence ship Ilmarinen, laid down in 1929, was among the first surface ships to use diesel-electric transmission. Later, the technology was used in diesel powered icebreakers.

Some modern ships, including cruise ships and icebreakers, use electric motors in pods called azimuth thrusters underneath to allow for 360° rotation, making the ships far more manoeuvrable.

Gas turbines are also used for electrical power generation and some ships use a combination: the Queen Mary 2 has a set of diesel engines in the bottom of the ship plus two gas turbines mounted near the main funnel; all are used for generating electrical power, including that used to drive the propellers. This provides a relatively simple way to use the high-speed, low torque output of a turbine to drive a low-speed propeller, without the need for excessive reduction gearing.

Submarines[link]

Early submarines used a direct mechanical connection between the engine and propeller, switching between diesel engines for surface running, and electric motors for submerged propulsion. This was effectively a 'parallel' type of hybrid, since the motor and engine were coupled to the same shaft, with the option to disconnect the engine for submerged operation, and using the motor as a generator to recharge the batteries while on the surface.

True diesel-electric transmissions for submarines were first proposed by the United States Navy's Bureau of Engineering in 1928; instead of driving the propeller directly while running on the surface, the submarine's diesel would instead drive a generator which could either charge the submarine's batteries or drive the electric motor. This meant that motor speed was independent of the diesel engine's speed, and the diesel could run at an optimum and non-critical speed, while one or more of the diesel engines could be shut down for maintenance while the submarine continued to run using battery power. The concept was pioneered in 1929 in the S-class submarines S-3, S-6, and S-7 to test the concept. No other navy adopted the system before 1945, apart from the British Royal Navy's U-class submarines, though some submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy used separate diesel generators for low speed running.^[1]

In a diesel-electric direct drive arrangement, the (usually single) propeller is driven directly by an electric motor, while two or more diesel-generators provide electric energy for charging the batteries and/or driving the electric motor. This mechanically isolates the noisy engine compartment from the outer pressure hull and reduces the acoustic signature of the submarine. Additionally some nuclear submarines also decouple their reactor room this way, having turbo-electric propulsion driven by reactor steam. Many submarines with diesel and electrical propulsion are mistakenly referred to as "diesel-electric" when they in fact have separately coupled diesel and electric engines.

Railways[link]

In the 1920s, diesel-electric technology first saw limited use in switchers (or shunters), locomotives used for moving trains around in railroad yards and assembling and disassembling them. One of the first companies to offer "Oil-Electric" locomotives was the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). The ALCO HH series of diesel-electric switcher entered series production in 1931. In the 1930s, the system was adapted for streamliners, the fastest trains of their day. Diesel-electric powerplants became popular because they greatly simplified the way motive power was transmitted to the wheels and because they were both more efficient and had greatly reduced maintenance requirements. Direct-drive transmissions can become very complex, considering that a typical locomotive has four or more axles. Additionally, a direct-drive diesel locomotive would require an impractical number of gears to keep the engine within its powerband; coupling the diesel to a generator eliminates this problem. An alternative is to use a torque converter or fluid coupling in a direct drive system to replace the gearbox. Hydraulic transmissions are claimed to be somewhat more efficient than diesel-electric technology. ^[2]

Road and other land vehicles[link]

Trucks[link]

The diesel-electric-powered Liebherr T282 dumper

Examples include:

• Large mining machines, such as the Liebherr T 282B dump truck or LeTourneau L-2350 wheel loader.
• NASA's huge Crawler-Transporters.
• Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid commercial truck.
• International DuraStar Hybrid diesel-electric truck.^[3]
• Dodge is conducting fleet tests of a diesel-electric version of the Dodge Sprinter.^[4][5]

Concepts[link]

In the automobile industry, diesel engines in combination with electric transmissions and battery power are being developed for future vehicle drive systems. Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles was a cooperative research program between the U.S. government and the "Detroit Three" automobile manufacturers (DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Corporation) that developed diesel hybrid cars.

• "Third-Millennium Cruiser", an attempt to commercialize a diesel-electric automobile in the very early 1980s.
• General Motors Precept
• Ford Prodigy
• Dodge Intrepid ESX
• Ford Reflex is a diesel hybrid concept car.^[6]
• Zytek develops world’s first Affordable Ultra Efficient Diesel Hybrid Powertrain System.^[7][8]
• Citroën C-Cactus^[9]
• Chevrolet Volt/Opel Flextreme
• Top Gear Hammerhead Eagle-i Thrust
• Rivian Automotive is developing a diesel-electric engine that should achieve an estimated 90 miles per gallon in the city and over 100 miles per gallon on the highway^[10]

Production-ready cars[link]

• Volkswagen Golf TDI Hybrid^[11]
• Mercedes-Benz E-Class E300 BlueTEC hybrid
• Peugeot 3008 Crossover with HYbrid4 technology
• Volvo V60 plug-in diesel hybrid^[12]

Other land vehicles[link]

Diesel-electric propulsion was tried on some military vehicles, such as tanks. Ferdinand Porsche was the main developer of such drive-trains for military vehicles in World War II Nazi Germany, and created the Elefant tank destroyer and the prototypes of the never-produced, 200-ton class Maus super-heavy tank.

Buses[link]

New Flyer DE60LF diesel-electric bus with rooftop batteries

MCI diesel electric prototype bus with batteries under the floor

Diesel electric based buses have also been produced, including hybrid systems able to run on and store electrical power in batteries. The two main providers of hybrid systems for diesel-electric transit buses include Allison Transmission and BAE Systems. New Flyer Industries, Gillig Corporation, and North American Bus Industries are major customers for the Allison EP hybrid systems, while Orion Bus Industries is a major customer for the BAE HybriDrive system. Mercedes-Benz makes their own diesel-electric drive system, which is used in their Citaro.

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2010)

• How Diesel-fueled Hybrids Work at HowStuffWorks
• EERE Clean Fleet Guide by vehicle type.
• Hybrid-Vehicle.org: Information on hybrid vehicle history, technology and practical application in a broad spectrum of vehicles.
• Diesel Hybrid News

Buses[link]

• CleanBus.
• Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium.
• NRDC.
• Markham’s Clean Air Hybrid Bus by FIBA Canning Inc.

Metro Transit with hybrid buses[link]

• US: 11 transit agencies unite to buy 157 hybrid buses.
• Trimet Hybrid Diesel-Electric Bus Fleet.
• MTA NY Orion electric hybrid buses.
• King County Hybrid Bus Program.
• SF Muni Acquired Buses With Latest Hybrid Bus Technology.
• Western Consortium Orders 157 GM Hybrid-Powered Buses.
• San Francisco Streets to Get Diesel-electric Hybrid Buses.

Cars[link]

• West Philly students and teachers built the "Attack", a biodiesel and electric hybrid that gets 50 mpg.

Vin Diesel
Diesel at a premiere for Fast & Furious in March 2009
Born	Mark Sinclair Vincent (1967-07-18) July 18, 1967 (age 44) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1990–present
Partner	Paloma Jimenez
Website
VinDiesel.com

Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair Vincent; July 18, 1967) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He became known in the early 2000s, appearing in several successful Hollywood films, including The Fast and the Furious and xXx. He founded the production companies One Race Films, Tigon Studios and Racetrack Records.

Early life[link]

Vin Diesel was born in New York City, the son of Delora, a psychiatrist and astrologer.^[1][2] Diesel has white and black ancestry.^[3][4] He has described himself as "definitely a person of color"^[5] and stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity – Italian and a lot of other stuff."^[6] Diesel has never met his biological father, and was raised by his African-American stepfather, Irving, an acting instructor and theatre manager.^[1][5] He made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother, and some friends had broken into Theater for the New City's space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who, instead of calling the police, handed them scripts and offered them parts in the upcoming show.^[7] He remained involved with the theatre throughout adolescence, going on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his creative writing studies led him to begin screenwriting. Diesel became an active film-maker in the early 1990s, first earning notice for the short film Multi-Facial, which was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. Diesel has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor^[8] as a result of early difficulties finding roles due to his mixed heritage.^[8][9]

In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, he said that he changed his name to "Vin Diesel" while working as a bouncer at the New York City nightclub Tunnel, because in that business one's real name is not usually given out. The name "Vin" is simply a shortened version of "Vincent". He received the nickname "Diesel" from his friends who said he ran off diesel fuel, referring to his non-stop energy.

He has a twin brother, Paul, a younger brother, Tim, and a sister, Samantha.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

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Diesel in Munich, April 2005

Diesel's first film role was a brief uncredited appearance in the 1990 film Awakenings. He then produced, directed, and starred in the 1994 short film Multi-Facial, a short semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling actor stuck in the audition process, because he is regarded as either "too black" or "too white", or not black or white enough. He made his first feature-length film, 1997's Strays, an urban drama in which he was self-cast as a gang boss whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series.

He was then cast in Steven Spielberg's 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan on the poignancy of his performance in Multi-Facial. In 1999 he earned critical acclaim for his voice work as the title character in the animation film The Iron Giant. He followed it up with a major role in the business drama Boiler Room (2000) and then got his breakthrough role as the anti-hero Riddick in the science-fiction film Pitch Black (2000). He attained action hero super stardom with the box office hits, the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious (2001), starring opposite Paul Walker, and the action thriller xXx (2002).

In 2004, he reprised his role as Pitch Black's Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick which was a box office failure considering the large budget. In 2005 he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, which became a box office success. In 2006 he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he received critical acclaim for his performance, the film did poorly at the box office. Later that year he made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and The Furious. Diesel was originally offered the lead in 2 Fast 2 Furious but turned it down. He was also offered the chance to reprise his role from xXx in xXx: State of the Union but turned it down as well.

In 2007, he was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008 he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D..

He returned to the The Fast and The Furious series, alongside all the actors from the original 2001 film, in Fast & Furious, which released in April 2009. In 2011, he once again returned, for the fifth film in the series, titled Fast Five. He is is currently filming the third installment in the Riddick series titled The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking which is in post-production as of April 2012 and set for release in 2013.

Personal life[link]

Diesel is noted for his recognizable deep voice; he has said that his voice broke at around age 15, giving him a mature sounding voice on the telephone.^[10]

Around 2001, Diesel dated his The Fast and the Furious co-star, Michelle Rodriguez.^[11]

Diesel has expressed his love for the Dominican Republic, and how he relates to its multicultural facets.^[12] He is also acquainted with President Leonel Fernandez, and has since appeared in one of his earlier campaign ads. Los Bandoleros, a short film directed by Diesel, was also filmed in the Dominican Republic.^[13]

Diesel claims that he prefers dating in Europe, where he is less likely to be recognized and where celebrities are not romantically linked to each other. He prefers to maintain his privacy regarding his personal life:^[14]

Diesel has played Dungeons & Dragons for over twenty years^[15] and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. In the 30th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons issue of Dragon Magazine, they examine the fact that Diesel played Dungeons & Dragons, and reveal that he had a fake tattoo of his character's name, "Melkor," on his stomach while filming xXx.

Diesel has a daughter, Hania Riley, born April 2, 2008, with his girlfriend, model Paloma Jimenez.^[16][17] Speaking to An tEolas, an Irish newspaper, Diesel stated he has been seen as a hard man, but is in touch with his soft side as a father.^[18]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Producer[link]

Director and writer[link]

Games[link]

1. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004)
2. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (2009)
3. Wheelman (2009)

Video game roles[link]

• Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Black Edition) - Rog

References[link]

External links[link]

• Vin Diesel at the Internet Movie Database
• Vin Diesel at the Open Directory Project