Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4
I don't think steam works so well in high speed piston setups like a gas engine.
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That's probably true, it would incur higher pumping losses as a proportion of total work due to the low pressure nature of steam.
Compact steam turbine would have the same issue to a lesser degree, and I have the feeling that small steam turbines would suffer pretty big efficiency penalties.
SMA band engines and thermoelectric generators have inherently lower efficiency but if the technology brings them up to around the same efficiency (as a percentage of ideal cycle efficiency) as mechanical engines, it's a no brainer since they are much simpler and lighter.