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Re: Defining the Modern Steam Car - 19 years ago
Hello, This is a rough copy of a post I did in the steam car Phorum. Feel free to disagree but maybe it's a good place to launch a discussion. Design considerations for a steam car auto body are a little different than for a standard IC engined car. A few things I have looked at and mulled over: A modern steam car to be put in production would have to make a great impression on the puby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Defining the Modern Steam Car - 19 years ago
Hello Frank, I'm sure we all have many ideas as to what a few definitions of a modern steam car might be. I myself have had visions of putting something in production and also going for a world speed record just to push a little on that public awarness. But as with many of us finances become an obsticle to getting started. Many of the design ideas I have come up with for a modern steamby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Fun with Recompression - 19 years ago
Hello Jeremy, I did a look at your website and the injector you have developed looks remarkable. I somewhat disagree with you, however, that flash steam or water is the best medium that could be used. The main reason for this is that high pressure water tends to flash into saturated steam, which has a low "k" of 1.13, condenses easily onto cold surfaces and doesn't produce much poweby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: local exnorts - 19 years ago
Hello Howard, I am not sure what you are asking about. Are these nozzles for the exhaust on the Williams engine? How is the Hydroplane project comming along? if anybody can make that happen you can. Wishing you every success ---------- Bill Gatlinby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Fun with Recompression - 19 years ago
Hello Andy, I believe I have come up with a reliable and economic way to effect continuously variable clearance in a Unaflow engine. Do you know what kind of an increase in running efficiency for an automobile to expect over that of fixed clearance? Looking at a continuously variable cutoff engine expanding from roughly around 800 lbs and 1000 deg F., to about 20 lbs and 250 deg F. at full thby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: 2.3 billion gallons of wasted fuel annually by I.C. cars - 19 years ago
Hello everyone, A question, does anyone know an approximate ratio of the amount of new burner intake air to air exiting the condenser? And if using exhaust gas recirculation to help preheat incoming burner air works and what percentage? It would seem to me that by recycling the heat of burner exhaust by recirculation and also by heat exchanger that there would be little heat wasted there andby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Fun with Recompression - 19 years ago
Wow, Rolly that engine is a true thing of beauty. Kinda gives people an idea of how much work can be involved in building an engine. Thanks for posting it--------------Bill G.by Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: cyclone engine - 19 years ago
Good going Harry, I know that conventions and trade shows can be wearing. As far as the idiot, I don't know of any technology that killed off anything engine related twenty years ago. Maybe he was into politics. Looking forward to hearing more when you can. The best to you, your crew and your endeavours------------ Bill G.by Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: cyclone engine - 19 years ago
Harry, The Cyclone engine looks really snazzy. It will be great when you are in a position to release more data about it as I am sure we are all anxious. As George mentioned, good luck with the SAE convention, I can't imagine a nifty new type of engine not invocking a good deal of intrest. The powerhead you sent me (4 cylinder aluminum, 90 ci shortblock) arrived today and I wanted to thby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: BBC Article on Steam Car - 19 years ago
Hello, What are some of the speed records anyway? How fast for a steam powered car, or motorcycle. And how fast for IC driven ones, How much horsepower did each have? I'm not giving up on building that steam powered motorcycle by the way, but it's going to take a lot of development work, not a slam dunk. I am kicking around the idea of using four separate boilers in the motorcycle. Smby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Bourke engine - 19 years ago
Hello Hans, I looked at the website. It sounds as if the scotch yoke was working pretty good. I am surprised that the conrod cracked, I would think that there would be less strain in a conrod with the scotch yoke configuration. Do you know how well the drawings on the website represent the real engine? What problems, if any were they having with the scotch yoke its self, such as strengthby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: The most clean, Unclean - 19 years ago
That's an interesting website Andy. I wonder if the great amount of methane produced in the reservours upstream from hydro-electric power plants from the decaying vegetable matter wouldn't be produced elsewhere or further downstream without the reservour. I would think that water bourne vegetable matter would be slated for decay sooner or later under most circumstances. The qwestion then wby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Crosshead & Packing ? - 19 years ago
Hello Rolly and Everyone, Wow, syncronicity. I was just ruminating on how to work such a design into a multiple cylinder crankshaft. I believe it can be done for a linear crank like for a vee configuration or whatever one would want but have found no way yet to use it in a rotary without offsetting each cylinder a bit from the others. It is called a 'Cardan'gear and can be found on this sitby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Modelworks Locomobile prototype pictures - 19 years ago
Hello Simon, I would like to add a big "Me Too!" to everything Peter Heid and Peter Brow said. Your car looks very well done and cute as the dickens. Any changes from an exact replica such as brakes and other safety items are an added plus. Even an original can quickly lose it's charm if the brakes quit or someone gets hurt. It's a head turner, keep up the good work. I'd be pby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Harry, Thank You. The block can be used to run some preliminary tests, as on piston/cross slide design and determining how much leakage into the crankcase such a system will have, and under what pressures of exhaust release. Also cylinder lubrication needs study. The next test would be on exhaust port and recompression timing along with inlet valving. After that a possible second stage wby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Thanks Harry, I had often wondered how difficult it is to balance the master rod thing in a radial. Most radials were developed for aircraft and don't spin all that fast. It also seems to me that using the master rod system would throw the clearance between the piston crown and cylinder head into more variation than a standard rod setup. It seems that the master rod would get a lot of bendiby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Thanks Peter, The redesigned piston/cross slide ends up with a total height of around 5 1/2 inches tall for a 4" bore and 4" stroke. Using a 6" rod brings the total height from the top of the steam chest/cylinder head (allowed 3" to the crank center to about 18" or about 23" from top of engine to bottom of crank case. This is a considerable height savings from tby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Hello Everyone, Well it looks as if I'm going to have to design one whing-ding of an engine to get both the power and a reasonable efficiency. With a maximum of 30# and a minimum of 6# the parameters are going to be pretty tight. It would be way too easy to end up way underpowered. The starting point of course is still to keep the end use of the engine in mind, in this case a record breakby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Yup, In one of Andy's previous posts the amount of degredation of thermal performance in relation to clearance without recompression was gone through. The amount for even a small percentage of clearance was amazing. So even for a racing engine low clearance and recompression to inlet is an absolute must. The trade-offs for a given horsepower are engine size and weight in relation to boileby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Hello Peter, I guess I didn't explane as well as I thought. The Idea is to have a virtual clearance of zero and that of course means recompressing back to inlet pressure. In starting at an arbitrary point and recompressing back to a given pressure, the amount of work is directly related to the clearance volume. The smaller this volume the less steam to compress and the less work in doingby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Hi Guys, The work of recompression is also related to the actual clearance of the cylinder. For instance an engine running 1% clearance would have 20% of the volume, and therefore the work of recompression, as an engine running 5% clearance. So by keeping clearance low we can lower the work of recompression. Of course with aluminum I believe thermal expansions get trickier to compensate for aby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Hello Everyone, The outboard idea sounds good as it seems there would be less work of conversion, and if more cubic inches were needed the engines are light enough to add another, perhaps two V-6's. Never thought of one for each wheel but at speed the extra traction might be necessary. The idea again is to convert the engine into a Williams cycle, but a high cube screamer. The preliminaby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Thanks Jim, I'm going to check it out. If you get a line on one let me know. I would think the engine would need to get much better than 15# water rate but with a Williams setup on it that's probably doable. Do you think that a small air pressure in the crankcase would be enough to keep water out? My Best to You and everyone else----------Bill G.by Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Shortblock - 19 years ago
Thanks Jim and Jeremy, I realize this engine is kind of a sidetrack to designing an economical and road worthy one for an automobile. Basically I am thinking of a big monster record breaker. An advantage though of this type of layout would be that different cylinder/head combinations could be bolted on and tryed out without having to rebuild from scratch. What got me thinking about it isby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Shortblock - 19 years ago
Hello Everyone, I'm kicking around an idea of using a shortblock like a chevy V8 to make an engine. The existing cylinder bores would contain the bottom end of a combination piston /cross slide. The piston /cross slide looks like a long piston with a narrow center section. Instead of the heads bolting to the block there would be the base plate for the cylinders. Immediatly below the base pby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: Bourke engine - 19 years ago
Peter R. Do you have a link to the BMW site that would show a picture of the cycloidal system and watts link? I am working on a design and don't want to reinvent the thing. Thank You---------------Bill G.by Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: sliderengine.com - 19 years ago
Hello Mark, The scotch yokes piston path is a sinewave on a crankshaft/piston position graph. This makes it easier to balance because the con rod introduces a shaking force sideways to the piston axis that is hard to compensate for. This would be great for a very low vibration engine but not all that big a deal compared to a long con rod engine. The best way to balance either engine is withby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff
Re: sliderengine.com - 19 years ago
Hello Andy, The best deinition of a scotch yoke I can deduce is a mechanism that uses the crankpin of the crankshaft only to produce the motion. This eliminates other eccentrics or cams from the definition. All horizontal motion of the crank pin is canceled out by a rolling or sliding motion across the yoke and all vertical motion is transfered to the yoke to move the piston. Because ofby Bill Gatlin - SteamStuff