Posted on 09/11/2005 11:47:11 AM PDT by ForGod'sSake
I know it sounds Stupid!, but it is easy to explain.
Old style "steam engines" used an external combustion heat source to produce steam for engines which were not much different in function than locomotive engines.
Modern automobiles use internal combustion engines to capture the mechanical energy of expanding gases, while throwing away the heat energy, (think of all the heat that is discarded by the radiator!)
What I propose is a means of combining these techniques to gain the mechanical energy as well as the heat energy of the engine. If combined with other efficiencies, such as regenerative braking systems, one could envision a very efficient automobile indeed.
Sure, it sounds stupid, but why not?
Many modern cars have a multiple valve system, electronic spark ignition, and electronic fuel injection.
What about tinkering with a car that had a second fuel injection system, which would inject very small quantities of water for each combustion stroke, perhaps at the projected end of the combustion, so that the resultant steam vapor would provide additional expansion of vapor?
One might need a somewhat longer stroke, so the engine would run more slowly, but it should also run cooler, with less waste heat.
It would undoubtedly be a good idea to run the engine warmly enough to complete the evaporation of the water, rather than accept its corrosive presence, but I see no basic reason this would not be ultimately more efficient.
well, both steam and internal combustion engines lose a lot of energy as heat, vibration, and noise.
IIRC, the best ICE efficiency is about 10% throughput or conversion of chemical energy into torque.
steam engines have a crippling weight-to-horsepower ratio.
the problems with both systems are great,
solveng them in combination will be tricky, if even possible.
one notion: capture heat and vibration through thermo-electric and piezo-electric means and convert it to electricity for use in running electric wheel-hub motors?
Now we're communicating! Regenerative braking systems almost cry out for electric wheel hub motors, (and generators!)
I would add electrical energy capture from the shock absorbtion system.
The typical engine would capture explosion energy by pushing a magnetic field through a coil. This would come from a "cylinder" which was ideally designed for the dual purpose of developing expansion from combustion and steam vaporization.
Such a "car" might tend to look like a rolling lab bench, but I think the possible efficiencies would be demonstrable.
"This proves the original point: the single most dangerous factor in any human society is stupidity. "
Must destroy all inferior biological infestations......that is the Prime Directive!
""Had the same problem raising chickens ..."
You didn't boil the eggs first, did you?"
......R O T F L M A O
Trip?
Oh, I meant no way you had a serious conversation. I have a friend who has a masters in water.
Well, you were quoting V'ger, from the Star Trek movie.
He (it) was returning to Earth after a trip through the galaxy. (That's the Milky way Galaxy, for those of you in Rio Linda.)
I can make water explode without ignition.
when did StarFleet ally with the Daleks?
PH2o ?
Ah yes.....maybe I should go turn myself in at the stupid thread : )
can you do it without:
1. chemical reaction in the water 2. direct heat transfer through a heating element 3. microwave or other radiant energy input
?
I would think that a lot of the vibration loss could be harnessed by use of what are essentially inverted speakers
overall: the real problem with all of this (none of this is strictly speaking a "new" idea) has always been WEIGHT. Can energy be captured without adding so much mass that more energy is required to delta-v the mass of the equipment than can be captured by that equipment?
I was thinking of electromagnetic suspension with energy capture. Every bump in the road would contribute to your smooth sailing!
Another aspect of this, of course, is a road tracking vision system to automatically adjust the suspension for bumps that are arriving in real time. One could adjust for efficiency or comfort.
I'd also have a capture and filtration system for rainwater, to replenish that lost to the "combustion" process.
Somewhere in the engineering, I'd want to do something about vehicles sitting in the hot sun on unattended parking lots. A lot of energy going to waste there. -- Who needs oil?
electromagnetic suspension would be heavy and require electricity.
think in terms of replacing "wasteful" mechanical suspension (which converts some of the reciprocal kinetics into radiant heat = loss) with exploitative mechanical suspension technologies of the same mass and volume.
"WEIGHT"
All of these technologies have enjoyed a revolution in weight saving components. I think it's time to revisit the concepts, with synergy being the hope.
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