this idea is not really about alternative fuel, but i thought it would go well here as it applies to IC engines... it's not a new idea, i've read about it being used in old warplanes and racing trucks. the engine, while being powered by its usual fuel, is also used as an IC steam engine which converts heat from the burning fuel into piston pressure by boiling and expanding a mist of fine water droplets in the combustion chamber. one advantage of this over traditional IC engines is that the heat used to boil the water would normally be lost to the environment through the radiator and exhaust. By converting this waste heat into piston pressure the engine makes much more efficient use of any fuel. it has an advantage over traditional external combustion steam engines using slow burning fuel because the pistons are pushed by the explosion of the fuel/air mix AND by the expanding steam.
here's a nice example... all in japanese but you get the idea...it's using hydrogen fuel too.
it should be a fairly straightforward mod for most petrol engines, maybe in combination with a hydrogen booster on the air intake... makes you wonder if those mythical 100mpg carburetors might really exist...
here's another version of that vid in english... the title's a bit misleading, but the car's pretty cool...
http://www.youtube.com/user/d3adp001 has a few videos of his setup injecting steam instead of cold mist... he points out that the steam will condense back into water under compression in the piston, so it's a similar idea... i can't help thinking cold mist would work better though... he's done a fair bit with HHO cells aswell so is worth a look.
this idea is not really about alternative fuel, but i thought it would go well here as it applies to IC engines... it's not a new idea, i've read about it being used in old warplanes and racing trucks. the engine, while being powered by its usual fuel, is also used as an IC steam engine which converts heat from the burning fuel into piston pressure by boiling and expanding a mist of fine water droplets in the combustion chamber. one advantage of this over traditional IC engines is that the heat used to boil the water would normally be lost to the environment through the radiator and exhaust. By converting this waste heat into piston pressure the engine makes much more efficient use of any fuel. it has an advantage over traditional external combustion steam engines using slow burning fuel because the pistons are pushed by the explosion of the fuel/air mix AND by the expanding steam.
here's a nice example... all in japanese but you get the idea...it's using hydrogen fuel too.
it should be a fairly straightforward mod for most petrol engines, maybe in combination with a hydrogen booster on the air intake... makes you wonder if those mythical 100mpg carburetors might really exist...
there was a water injection device that got EPA approval, it boosted mileage and they verified it. It costs a minimum of $27,000 (US) to even test it, so you had better have a great product if you seek EPA approval.
As for the "mythic 100 MPG carb" it never did exist... however, I do believe some got that and more but the "carb" was more like a mini-refinery that re-refined the gasoline into it's constituent products that burn more completely. Nice post sceptic33...
internal combustion steam engine
Posted - 27/05/2008 : 7:13:22 PM
