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Old 10-06-2009, 06:30 PM   #12 (permalink)
RobertSmalls
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Quote:
Originally Posted by basslover911 View Post
A water to air intercooler;



Replace your muffler with one of these, run a water line in/out, and power a small pump to make electricity. (a la BMW, but much simpler).

Theory;
The drop on these intercoolers is VERY low, about .1 psi. The drop on a normal car muffler is of excess of 2 psi. So not only will you get a heat exchanger, but also a free-er flowing muffler.

Since they are made to effectively convert temps from water-air, it will effectively convert temps from air-water.

I think this is the best thing to use as a energy recovery system and easy to implement... what do you think?
It's pretty, but there are a few problems with it.

That's just a heat exchanger, not a heat engine. Its output is hot water, not electricity. So you need a heat engine in addition to it. Maybe you can recover enough energy from your exhaust to generate pressurized steam and run a turbine, which in turn runs an alternator?

However, setting up a turbine and condenser under your car and filling them with a working fluid that won't freeze could be a challenge.

The real killer here is those components will add weight, volume, and aerodynamic drag. Will you recover more energy than you spend? Depends on your implementation.

As to its muffling properties, I'm sure they're minimal.
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