R. Saidur on Saving Energy by Reducing Vehicle Weight
Fast Breaking Papers Commentary, August 2011
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Article: Nanotechnology in vehicle's weight reduction and associated energy savings
Authors: Saidur, R;Lai, YK |
R. Saidur talks with ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about this month's Fast Breaking Paper paper in the field of Social Sciences, general.
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
Citation of a manuscript is dependent on the topic, contents, journal policy, publishers of the journals, and many other factors. In this case, I feel topic and contents are important for citation. Nanotechnology is an emerging technology and many people are working in this area. Being an emerging technology, many people also cite works which fall under this category.
In my opinion, content of the article is also important. In this case, the role of nanotechnology in reducing a vehicle's weight was presented. Energy is one of the top 10 crises for the next 50 years. The transportation sector also consumes a major share of fossil fuel energy. Therefore, content is very much related with one of the top global crises.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
"In future, I want to focus more on the actual driving cycle, safety, and stability of vehicles with the application of nanotechnology."
In my view, this work involves a synthesis of knowledge since we have carried out an analysis of energy savings with the application of light-weight nano-composite.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper
in layman's terms?
Energy is one of the top 10 global crises for the next 50 years. It is felt that a heavier vehicle will consume more energy than a lighter vehicle. Therefore, weight reduction is associated with energy savings.
How did you become involved in this research, and
how would you describe the particular challenges, setbacks, and
successes that you've encountered along the way?
I was working in the field of residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation sector energy analysis. Then I found that that nanotechnology can be applied in reducing energy consumption of heat exchangers and other devices. Since the transportation sector of a country consumes sizeable amounts of energy, I felt that light-weight nano-composite would be a useful idea to apply in vehicle weight reduction.
Initially I had difficulties in publishing in high-quality journals due to lack of good knowledge in this area. However, many potential reviewers made very constructive comments and those provided guidelines for improving my knowledge in this area.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
In future, I want to focus more on the actual driving cycle, safety, and stability of vehicles with the application of nanotechnology.
Do you foresee any social or political
implications for your research?
It is expected that there is social implications by saving energy, which is
also related to environmental pollution.
Associate Professor Dr. R. Saidur
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Malaya
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
KEYWORDS: NANOTECHNOLOGY, VEHICLE WEIGHT REDUCTION, ENERGY SAVINGS, RENEWABLE ENERGY, EDUCATION, STUDENTS, TRANSPORTATION, ARCHITECTURE, BIOFUELS, DESIGN, SCHOOL.