turbine efficiency

[nitro-nige]

Just thinking out loud.
Those gas turbines that people make out of old turbochargers (by plumbing the compressor output to the exhaust input), could you use one to drive a generator?

[bmwboarder]

I think that you could do it. One of the problems with those though is the super hot exhaust. If you made a fairly small one, and then used a small stirling engine in the exhaust, you could have two generators running off of the same fuel and increasing efficiency. That would be quite complicated, and it would be hard to get a homemade version running efficiently enough to be worth putting in a real car. I absolutely love the idea though

[Air-Hybrid]

GR-5 Turboshaft Engine Project

Here's one such garage creation that has a 'homemade' power-turbine running a reduction gearbox, but it could easily be running an alternator.

I guess using a car turbo for spinning a generator is only ever going to get poorish efficiency, as the compressor ratio/through-put and turbine ratio/through-put have been chosen specifically for the type of restriction and heat source that a piston engine sticks in the middle (very different from a flame can). Finding the three (compressor, GG turbine, power-turbine) exact turbo components to match your (let's say very high speed) electric generator is going to be difficult in the extreme (esp. sourced as junk/spares)!