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Post by the light works on May 23, 2014 14:27:26 GMT
This is interesting. An added advantage is the reduction in size of power generators. In effect, if implemented properly, the generator is part of the engine design. There would be a lot of issues to hurdle, but shows promise. If perfected, I can imagine this being implemented by high performance cars that could use an electric system to speed up acceleration with electric drive. I wonder if there would be any weight savings due to integration of the electric generator with the combustion engine? I would think there would be a small advantage - much as two wheel drive cars have a weight advantage over all wheel drive cars. - the simple fact that there is less metal linkage involved.
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Post by paulsee on May 24, 2014 15:54:19 GMT
Hmmm.... So not much weight advantage. Then, the design advantages should be interesting. I wonder if the the design advantages would benefit combustion-electric drives that have space limitations. e.g. Air Independent Propulsion systems for submarines or the would probably have some interesting internal power plant layout changes.
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Post by the light works on May 24, 2014 16:13:16 GMT
Hmmm.... So not much weight advantage. Then, the design advantages should be interesting. I wonder if the the design advantages would benefit combustion-electric drives that have space limitations. e.g. Air Independent Propulsion systems for submarines or the would probably have some interesting internal power plant layout changes. Awell, not insignificant. I forget what difference it made on my dad's pickup, but it was enough to make him specifically buy two wheel drive, because he didn't want to give up that much payload capacity.
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Post by wvengineer on Aug 30, 2014 16:23:57 GMT
Thinking about this some.
On the idea of weight savings, they would come in a round about way. Between using a 2 cycle engine, and having the generator built into the cylinder, that is going to be a much more compact setup for the power generated than traditional engine/generator would be. This means you can have a smaller engine bay the the car, saving weight in reducing the amount of structural steel needed. Additionally, because you don't have a crankshaft that the engine is designed around, you can arrange the cylinders in any configuration you want. In theory, you could them in a T configuration if you wanted and set in between the driver and passenger seat; or maybe two separate banks of cylinders that are on either side of the battery, water, AC, and PS pumps wherever is convenient. It give you a lot more freedom to design a car and you could optimize the layout better for overall efficiency.
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Post by c64 on Aug 30, 2014 18:26:49 GMT
Thinking about this some. On the idea of weight savings, they would come in a round about way. Between using a 2 cycle engine, and having the generator built into the cylinder, that is going to be a much more compact setup for the power generated than traditional engine/generator would be. This means you can have a smaller engine bay the the car, saving weight in reducing the amount of structural steel needed. Additionally, because you don't have a crankshaft that the engine is designed around, you can arrange the cylinders in any configuration you want. In theory, you could them in a T configuration if you wanted and set in between the driver and passenger seat; or maybe two separate banks of cylinders that are on either side of the battery, water, AC, and PS pumps wherever is convenient. It give you a lot more freedom to design a car and you could optimize the layout better for overall efficiency. In theory, everything is fine. Much of your arguments are valid for the Wankel engine. I can lift an entire engine unit of an NSU Ro 80, which is a 115 HP cast-iron engine including a semi-automatic transmission and the brakes of the front wheels. It is very light for its power and it was actually used for a car everybody could buy. Now why do they still make those heavy, shaky piston engines? The answer is poor reliability, complex maintenance and last but not least environmental laws. I like the concept of the Ro 80, I love to drive one. But its a curiosity, not useful at all. And the car industry actually thought that the Wankel engine would be neat as the onboard generator, it was discussed in car industry magazines for almost a decade until this idea was dropped. So I wouldn't hold my breath for the free piston engine!
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