Innovations in car transport include:

→ Fuel injection, turbo engines, power to weight ratio, tyre variants, engine management systems, ABS breaks, regenerative braking and reduction in drive train losses.

Environmental Impacts

→ Improved power to weight ratios have led to greater fuel efficiency (less consumption).

→ This has resulted from innovations in the strength of aluminium alloys and the use of carbon fibre composite components both of which make the car lighter.

→ Cars with more aerodynamic shapes are also being routinely produced, which reduces drag.

→ Therefore, modern cars that are more aerodynamically designed and built with lighter materials, have considerably less drag, and thus  emissions are reduced.
  

Innovations in rail transport include:

→ Turbo driven diesel engines, magnetic levitation braking, disc brakes, electric trains with AC versus DC motors and efficient track alignment.

Environmental Impacts

→ The use of AC motors in the drive train, rather than DC, has been the most positive modern innovation in rail transport.

→ VVVF (variable voltage variable frequency) drives, control the voltage and torque on modern AC machines, creating greater efficiencies, as DC machines lose electricity as heat.

→ Regenerative braking can be employed by AC machines as a train descends or slows down.

→ These improved efficiencies result in less diesel fuel on country trains and less electricity on city trains, leading to a reduction in  emissions.

  
Innovations in air transport include:

→ The use of composites to create more aerodynamic shapes and reduced weight, improved efficiency in turbofans, reduced drag and the removal of rivet-induced turbulence through the use of adhesives.

Environmental Impacts

→ Fuel efficiency is greatly improved through the use of modern turbofan engines that optimise the entrainment of by bypass air, which produces 90% of the total thrust of the engine.

→ The use of flow control devices and winglets on wings, minimise wing tip vortices, improving lift and reducing drag.

→ Efficiency is therefore improved leading to reduced fuel consumption and a consequent reductions in  emissions.

Answers should discuss one of the following:

Electric powered cars

→ Electric powered cars do not need heavy engine components to propel them as their energy comes from an electric source. There are also fewer moving parts resulting in a net decrease in weight.

→ Lighter engineering materials further contribute to the decreased weight, which improves fuel efficiency and lowers emissions.

→ Furthermore, combustion engines themselves produce large volumes of , hence their removal greatly decreases emissions.
 

Electric powered bikes

→ Place lower energy demands on a rider, which decreases the emissions from the cyclist.

→ Battery technology increases the bike’s range and decreases its emissions, enabling long distance travel without negative environmental impacts.

Successful answers should discuss one of the following:

→ Lighter/more streamlined cars are generally more fuel efficient. This has been achieved through improved manufacturing methods and improved materials (ie replacing steel bumpers with lighter polymers).

→ Improved materials technology used to produce aluminium engine blocks instead of cast iron to decrease weight.

→ Mathematical modelling to increase aerodynamics of a car.

→ Hybrid cars and regenerative braking.

→ Shift towards fuel injection and higher compression ratio.

→ Cruise control maintains better average fuel economy.

→ Improved efficient gearboxes and differentials with low friction and torque.

→ Improvements to lubrication technology to reduce internal friction.