Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Dave
Plus 15% efficiency is pure ad-man's hype. Plus 1% would be more like it.
There are a lot of car companies on the ropes and MPG is a hot selling point. If they could really deliver a 15% improvement with Rankine cycle compounding, why don't they? Could it possibly be they know they cannot deliver?
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Actually plus 30% was a reality on large ship size motors and was employed sucessfully but caused contamination and subsiquent daily maintenance, but a ship also has all the room in the world for such engines, a small version would need to use dangerous low boiling point liquids to be effective, especially given that most of the motors heat goes into the radiator fluid at relatively low temps which is hard to recover usefully.
Given that 50-75% of your motors full energy is lost in the form of heat this is no small energy source, sadly heat is difficult to make locomotion out of.
There is a guy in Australia that has been converting full size cars and trucks to steam since the 70's. A well designed capillary steam engine weighs no more than a standard diesel. But then you have to take care on what type of water you use and again the irritating cleaning.
Well worth more reasearch, main issue developing a fully contained unit like AC to handle the dangerous low boiling point liquids available or a safe low boiling point liquid needs to be developed.
And on a side note, I have long wondered why engine heat wasn't used to make passive AC. It wouldn't require any extra power from the motor and would be Always on for better or worse.