Just to be clear, I don't think there's any mileage whatsoever in Rankine cycle heat recovery; it's just possible something the size of an artic' lorry could make a go of it, I suppose.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4
Just adding a turbo charger will add 30 to over 80 pounds depending on the application. ... My turbocharger and added piping weighs about 60 pounds and generates about 40 horsepower worth of compressed air the way I use it, but I only use about 1/3 its max rated output.
The turbocharged diesel has no problem producing 2 to 3 times the horsepower and 10%-20% better fuel economy over an N/A diesel.
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Right, so assuming these figures are a good guideline, then no diesel lighter than large truck is going to see improvements using a turbo-generator [
except in odd cases where a smaller vehicle was almost only used for motorways, and then only in a parallel-hybrid configuration].
There may be better arguments for fitting one to hybrids where a petrol (or other spark ignition) engines are preferred - The Hybrid Miller-cycle, for example, would seem a good fit.
These devices could be of real practical use for more conventional lorries and coaches, where a fairly constant stream of hot gas is produced at highway speeds; it could mean a downsizing of the diesel motor, then running the thing hotter and harder for more of its cycle.