Seems like a good application for a CVT.
GMANN: Some years ago, I was involved in the design and build of a Allison 250
turbine engine sprint car [dirt track]. The engine used for that car came
from the residual engines from the Indy car. It came as a pallet of parts
and tech manuals.
The car was configured as a 4 wheel drive sprint car, turbine engine
powered. Double radical design.
It ran successfully in competition with way more power than it needed,
however because it was built around a direct drive connection [at the
owners insistence despite my strong advice otherwise] the car was simply
not manageable in the short dirt track.
To make the corners at full power and speed off the straights it required
massive brakes to slow down against the engine at peak power..
After only a couple laps, the massive 4 wheel double caliper brakes were
glowing red hot... a couple more laps and the tires caught on fire from
brake heat.. serious energy management problem, to say the least.
Several fixes were tried, all within the owners [check writers] fixation
with direct drive coupling.. None worked... other than spend more of the
owners money.
I came forward with a modification of the compressor surge valve which
would dump compressor air, connected to a foot throttle.. so the driver
controlled not the fuel but the air available for combustion. This would
allow a needed reduction of power going into the turns with an almost
instant return to full power upon closing the modified surge valve.
Since this device played on the combustion can pressure wave front, if not
handled carefully, it could cause the engine to flame out, or to "Surge",
which is a condition where the flame front travels from the burner can
forward in the flow path and out through the compressor section ..
potentially with violence enough to destroy the compressor blades, so
driver has to know what to do to manage the engine.
The race season finished while the modification was being worked out, the
owner/check writer decided he had lost enough money pursuing his "pet car"
and the sponsors weren't impressed with it's poor showing on the circuit,
thus it got rolled into the back of the warehouse to be sold off for race
parts and who knows where it is now..
Power to weight ratio was really fantastic. The engine put out a constant
1,200 HP in a car that weighed 1,400 lbs, so the potential was there.. just
couldn't manage the power in the environment effectively.
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
