http://aardvark.co.nz/pjet/chrysler.shtml
http://www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/classic_concept_cars/chrysler_turbine_car.html
GM made a few EV-1 electrics with turbine chargers.
The cool thing about the old turbine engines is that they would burn about anything, gas, jp4, paraffin. I'm not sure about carbide. Makes getting fuel easier on those backwater cave trips. (no longer off topic.. )
Turbines are getting very small. Hand held prototypes are being tested. Microturbines are available from Honeywell, and GE (although in this case Micro the size of a small shed with generator and support gear)
Exotic materials that can withstand high temperatures and high tolerances are factors in high cost.
They may make a comeback yet!
Cheers
Rob, in upstate NY
At 04:57 PM 12/7/2007, Don Cooper wrote:
Through the years I've crossed my fingers and held high hopes that the same thing would occur with the logical replacement for the internal combustion engine (IMO) : the small gas turbine.--------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
If large gas turbines can operate at 80% efficiency and piston combustion engines are limited to a maximum of 23% by the physics of the otto cycle - then what's achievable is better than what we got! And with composites, ceramics and the brains for real-time digital automation control becoming cheaper than a cup of coffee - I still am wondering why are such engines not available (well, except for $200,000 replacement turbine powerplants for when the six cylinder horizontally opposed, air-cooled 520 cu inch engine in your Cessna 185 wears out).
Also there is a new alternate powerplant available for small aircraft which uses jet fuel, but is a two-stroke piston engine - it's more efficient than a Continental aircraft engine - it costs $75,000.
Progress, sure. A little. Digital control of the gasoline engine does a WHOLE lot to improve efficiency of the old standard truck or car motor. But powerplant technology seems really pushed to the cutting edge in building humongous airliner-moving jet engines - not small affordable mass-produced engines.
I like to imagine a nice little car that is an absolutely true hybrid and runs on a small generator powered by a tiny fuel efficient gasoline/diesel/alcohol/LNG turbine. It would cost millions to build one, but if millions were built - I'd bet they'd be affordable.
-WaV.
Boycotting the limited selection, and keeping alive the obsolete dinosaurs I already have.
On Dec 7, 2007 1:33 PM, Mixon Bill < bmixon...@austin.rr.com> wrote:
- I could bore everybody to tears with oldtime computer stories. When I
- started out as a programmer, memory cost a dollar (a 1960 dollar) a
- byte. Of course back then there was no such thing as a megabyte of
- memory. IBM mainframes had a quarter of a megabyte.
