Hydrogen powered steam car?

[ThePrudentNinja]

So a thread on this forum reminded me of an article I read awhile back about a Japanese company that created a car that used hydrogen and water to propel the car. I can't seem to find that article again so I will loosely describe how the car supposedly worked (there was a video showing the car and there was steam coming out the tailpipe as well).

Basically it seemed like the engine was a hydrogen fueled internal combustion engine that leveraged the power of steam to reduce the use of the hydrogen. They would use the hydrogen to create enough heat then inject water that would then flash to steam and help propel the cylinder.

This of course reminded me of another thing I've heard talked about from time to time, injecting water into a gasoline power engine to help increase fuel economy (I'm guessing using the steam produced to help propel the cylinder).

So my question is, is it even possible for a gasoline fueled internal combustion engine to be used to produce steam in any way that would actually be efficient?

I presume most modern gasoline powered engines wouldn't last too long injecting water into them even with modifications (rust and corrosion). Has anyone experimented with anything similar to this?

[UFO]

See the BMW water injection thread. There is apparently an efficiency increase when combined with high compression ratios.

[IamIan]

Originally Posted by ThePrudentNinja

So my question is, is it even possible for a gasoline fueled internal combustion engine to be used to produce steam in any way that would actually be efficient?

Waste heat recovery ... about ~2/3 of most the gasoline fuel's chemical energy is thrown away via radiator and exhaust heat ... Although a steam version will most likely be less net efficient than other waste heat recovery options/methods ... it would satisfy what you asked for.

[freebeard]

So my question is, is it even possible for a gasoline fueled internal combustion engine to be used to produce steam in any way that would actually be efficient?

I had an old Studebaker that turned gas into steam enthusiastically, if not efficiently.

Insofar as recovering waste heat with steam, there is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbosteamer. Others listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhaus...ecovery_system

Turbocharged Corvairs used water injection to protect the engine (or was it the Olds F-85?).

[RustyLugNut]

The Crower Six Stroke engine comes to mind. The ability to use the left over heat in the exhaust by the injection of water and the subsequent pressure caused by the water flashing to steam supposedly accounted for a 40% claimed increase in efficiency.

[ThePrudentNinja]

Originally Posted by RustyLugNut

The Crower Six Stroke engine comes to mind. The ability to use the left over heat in the exhaust by the injection of water and the subsequent pressure caused by the water flashing to steam supposedly accounted for a 40% claimed increase in efficiency.

Interesting. Never heard of the Crower Six Stroke. Will have to research it a bit when I have more time. The whole six stroke engine thing is something I've never heard of either.

[IamIan]

Originally Posted by ThePrudentNinja

Interesting. Never heard of the Crower Six Stroke. Will have to research it a bit when I have more time. The whole six stroke engine thing is something I've never heard of either.

As far as I know they have not yet solved the issue of long term effects of the temperature change cycles .. caused by rapid heating and than cooling during each cycle.

Maybe one day with some cleaver material science and such , we can get those 6 stroke benefits without the down sides.

[RustyLugNut]

Originally Posted by IamIan

As far as I know they have not yet solved the issue of long term effects of the temperature change cycles .. caused by rapid heating and than cooling during each cycle.

Maybe one day with some cleaver material science and such , we can get those 6 stroke benefits without the down sides.

The problem seems to be the ungainly need for a large water reservoir or a condenser to trap and recycle the water. Thus the patents were abandoned.