I found this through a google search, it was in an auto blog. Harry
British company Clean Power Technologies is working on a novel new type of hybrid powertrain. They are taking advantage of the fact in an internal combustion engine upwards of thirty-five percent of the energy in the fuel goes out the exhaust pipe in the form of heat in the exhaust gases and a similar amount is dissipated by the cooling system. Clean Power wants to recapture that lost heat energy and store it in the form of steam. So far that seems like a good idea, the problem is that in the confined space of a car utilizing steam can be problematic. The hot exhaust and cooling system are used to produce the steam which is stored in an accumulator. Power plants use steam to drive turbines and generators. A car would be unlikely to generate enough steam flow to keep a turbine running. Instead Clean Power is using a pair of Mazda RX-8s to develop their system. They have modified the Wankel rotary so that one rotor runs normally on gasoline while the other is driven by steam. Over the next year they will be modifying the RX-8s and testing them. It will be interesting to see if the steam system can add enough power to the drivetrain to overcome the extra weight or whether it will be better than just a smaller displacement engine of similar efficiency. We'll be keeping an eye on this unique new approach. On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 6:43 PM, Rich Thomas < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Jay Leno has one of those. There was a show about it, he about singed > his face lighting the thing off -- it uses gasoline and you have to > stick a long match in it to start the fire. But it did warm up very > fast and move off quickly, seemed to have plenty of torque/power for > acceleration and speed. I recall him saying they had to build a new > boiler for it as the original was completely shot. It was not too big, > maybe like half a garbage can size. > > --R > > archer wrote: > > Here's an interesting article about the early Doble steam car: > > Excerpt: > > In early 1924- over ten years after the unofficial demise of steam > > technology- the Doble brothers shipped a Model E to New York City to be > > road-tested by the Automobile Club of America. After sitting overnight > in > > freezing temperatures, the car was pushed out into the road and left to > sit > > for over an hour in the frosty morning air. Doble's flash boiler (click > > image for larger view)At the turn of the key, the boiler lit with a > throaty > > burst reminiscent of a gas furnace, and the gauges began to twitch. The > > boiler reached its operating pressure inside of forty seconds, and the > > driver experimentally turned the throttle knob on the steering wheel. > With a > > low hum, the car's steam engine briskly pushed the vehicle forward with > > 1,000 foot-pounds of torque, smoothly accelerating the car and its four > > passengers to forty miles per hour in just just 12.5 seconds. As they > drove > > the test vehicle further, they found that its evenly-distributed weight > lent > > it surprisingly good handling in spite of its great mass. The onlookers > were > > understandably quite impressed. The only notable shortcoming was its > > mediocre braking performance, but this flaw was eclipsed by its massive, > > silent power and graceful handling. It seemed that the the Doble > brothers > > were finally following through on their promise of a great steam car. > > As the new Doble steamer was further developed and tested in the > Emeryville > > factory, a lighter version of the Model E zipped from zero to > seventy-five > > miles per hour in a jaw-dropping ten seconds. Even at such high speeds, > the > > engine and drive train were free of noticeable vibration, and the steam > > piston engine was turning at a leisurely 900 RPM. The model E's maximum > > speed was pushed to over 100 miles per hour, and it achieved about > fifteen > > miles per gallon of kerosene with negligible emissions. The engine and > > drivetrain were solid and reliable, and due to Abner's perfectionist > nature > > the parts in the steamer's drive system were machined to fit perfectly, > > negating the need for problematic gaskets......snip > > > > http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=669 > > ------------------------------------------------------ > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Christopher McCann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >> I think there were fairly advanced condensing steam cars in the > >> 50's...something was mixed with the water or used in place of the > >> water...alcohol, maybe? > >> Chris > >> > >> > >> MG <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Actually there were quite a few > >> condensing steam train engines starting > >> from way back in the 1700 all the way to the end of the steam era. Many > >> of them were used in service but none were really successful, not > >> because of the condenser size but because of the amount of dirt stirred > >> up by the train as it moved. This caused too much clogging of the > >> condensers and the use was mostly discontinued unless there was an > >> overriding problem with getting water as in some of the desert regions > >> in Africa where there were some of these in use from the 50s till some > >> time in the 60s. There were even some here in the states but they were > >> more a demonstration then a real useful thing and I think they were > >> scrapped after less then a year and the steel used for the war effort. > >> > >> Manfred > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:18:14 -0500 > >> From: Peter Frederick > >> > >> > >> The heat exchanger to recover the exhaust is going to be half the > >> size of the car, at least. That's why no one ever made one, even for > >> locomotives. Ships get to use the ocean, which works a whole lot > >> better, and the condensers are still pretty large. > >> > >> Peter > >> > >> _______________________________________ > >> http://www.okiebenz.com > >> For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > >> For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> > >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > >> http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> --------------------------------- > >> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try > it > >> now. > >> _______________________________________ > >> http://www.okiebenz.com > >> For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > >> For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> > >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > >> http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> No virus found in this incoming message. > >> Checked by AVG. > >> Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.5/1398 - Release Date: > 4/25/2008 > >> 2:31 PM > >> > >> > >> > > > > > > _______________________________________ > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
