As I was saying...
just a few days ago, there are some people in this world who have a grasp of what will and won't work.
Some just have a grasp of the obvious, and can actually build something that works. Directly capitalizing on heat that has already been made. How novel. Why didn't anyone think of this before? Has anyone? Beuhler?
I've given about a good half-hour to the solution being presented here by Mr.Crower (His con-rods have an excellent reputation, BTW), and I'm wondering if it's possible to make a couple of variations, using diesel direct injectors on a gas version, and changing the timing of the event back to the power stroke of the traditional 4-stroke, and then continuing with an additional steam cycle. Any input from a qualified mechanical engineer on this hypothesis would be enlightening.
Water injection is certainly nothing new, though its use has been primarily in racing engines, for detonation control on high-boost turbocharged engines, which, surprise, is a design that captures some of the latent energy from the expanding exhaust gas in an effort to redirect that energy back into the engine.
The materials engineering aspect of the cylinder/combustion chamber and piston design is intriguing also, in the fact that water, especially injected at 65K psi, is a mild corrosive, and erosion of the cylinder wall is something of a concern, though anyone with a working knowledge of a traditional 4-stroke knows that burning hydrocarbons in the internal combustion engine has exactly that as a by-product, so I'm sure this isn't a terribly vexing obstacle.
I'm also interested in the evaporative/condensation cycle as well. I'd enjoy looking at what this system entails and how it works.
Wondering what the cam profiles look like too, since they'd be turning at 1/3rd crank speed instead of 1/2, and presumably would retain their current lift figures, but again, modern roller lifters probably do quite a bit to alleviate these radical ramp angles.
Hope to see some more of this in application, if only in a developmental type of guise, say, in a race engine.
Thanks be to Don Meaker at Pater's Place for pointing me to said geekery.
Some just have a grasp of the obvious, and can actually build something that works. Directly capitalizing on heat that has already been made. How novel. Why didn't anyone think of this before? Has anyone? Beuhler?
I've given about a good half-hour to the solution being presented here by Mr.Crower (His con-rods have an excellent reputation, BTW), and I'm wondering if it's possible to make a couple of variations, using diesel direct injectors on a gas version, and changing the timing of the event back to the power stroke of the traditional 4-stroke, and then continuing with an additional steam cycle. Any input from a qualified mechanical engineer on this hypothesis would be enlightening.
Water injection is certainly nothing new, though its use has been primarily in racing engines, for detonation control on high-boost turbocharged engines, which, surprise, is a design that captures some of the latent energy from the expanding exhaust gas in an effort to redirect that energy back into the engine.
The materials engineering aspect of the cylinder/combustion chamber and piston design is intriguing also, in the fact that water, especially injected at 65K psi, is a mild corrosive, and erosion of the cylinder wall is something of a concern, though anyone with a working knowledge of a traditional 4-stroke knows that burning hydrocarbons in the internal combustion engine has exactly that as a by-product, so I'm sure this isn't a terribly vexing obstacle.
I'm also interested in the evaporative/condensation cycle as well. I'd enjoy looking at what this system entails and how it works.
Wondering what the cam profiles look like too, since they'd be turning at 1/3rd crank speed instead of 1/2, and presumably would retain their current lift figures, but again, modern roller lifters probably do quite a bit to alleviate these radical ramp angles.
Hope to see some more of this in application, if only in a developmental type of guise, say, in a race engine.
Thanks be to Don Meaker at Pater's Place for pointing me to said geekery.
Labels: Automobiles, Geekery, Tech stuff
3 Comments:
That was a fascinating piece. A six-stroke steam engine, no less... certainly a little more out-of-the-box than the current direction of hybrids/alternative fuels...
Kevin,
I thought so too.
Tough, you would need to fill two tanks instead of just one, but I'm thinking it'd be worth hassle.
Yeah, I could live with that.
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