Not exactly your path, but Hot Rod did a small feature on a '68 Chevy pick-up with a turbine not too long ago.
Not exactly your path, but Hot Rod did a small feature on a '68 Chevy pick-up with a turbine not too long ago.
Barnstormers.com
Everything under the sun and more.
In reply to Appleseed:
AH, man, great site, some type 331-8 turbines in there, no price listed though
If you're going to mess with this, you need to find a copy of: The Gas Turbine Engine by Jan P. Norbye, Copyright 1975, Chilton Book Company. It's the book I referenced.
Here's a couple ya'll never heard of: The 1949 Rover (yeah, the English) JET 1, followed by others including the 4 wheel drive Rovere T.3 prototype, the 1957 front wheel drive T.4 (140 HP), the 1965 Rover BRM (cool looking car), GM's TurboCruiser I bus, Firebird I, Firebird II, Turbo-Titan I (truck, about like a 2 ton by the looks of it). The 1967 STP Turbocar (Le Mans racer) with a Pratt & Whitney ST6 B-62 (550 HP) at 6230 output shaft RPM, peak torque of 890 FtLbs, 4 wheel drive, 1750 lbs, 45/55 F/R and 60/40 L/R weight distribution, also known as the 1968 Lotus 56. The Howmet cars. Even Nissan and Toyota were in on it with a bus for Nissan and Toyota copied the Chrysler engine.
Keith wrote: I knew that if I came into this thread, I'd see a picture of a ship.
sorry, I'm a naval engineer so that's what I think of.
besides, 25,000 horsepower .....
wlkelley3 wrote: I even talked with some engineers (electrical) I work with. A couple of them sat down, did some quick math and stated a generator big enough to power a car would be to big to fit in a car.
They need to get out more. The Chevy Volt is an electric car with it's own generator. The turbine powered gens we are testing could probably fit in a full sized car, and would be serious overkill
Tetzuoe wrote: dont regenerative brakes have a bunch of lag?
Regenerative braking is instant. The only problem is braking ability is directly proportional to speed, that's why you still need some other braking system, either friction or you use some of that regained energy to reverse current through the motor. I suppose you could get fancy with a controller and a CVT to keep the RPMs up on the motor/generator to maintain a constant braking ability, but that is getting a bit beyond the OP.
icic, I knew that shorting a motor stops it quite well (read: Porsche headlights). Funny thing is.. Im a control stystems EE.. this is exactly what I studied in school... 
Wally wrote:wlkelley3 wrote: I even talked with some engineers (electrical) I work with. A couple of them sat down, did some quick math and stated a generator big enough to power a car would be to big to fit in a car.They need to get out more. The Chevy Volt is an electric car with it's own generator. The turbine powered gens we are testing could probably fit in a full sized car, and would be serious overkill
Exactly, the turbine gen would only need to output slightly more power than required to maintain a constant speed to recharge the battery pack while cruising. Using Bowling & Grippo's default values for their HP Calculator (i.e. a BIG WAG) that is 30 HP to maintain 70 MPH.
GM did this with a prototype EV1 Series Hybrid using a 40kW turbine APU [wikipedia]
40kW ~= 53 HP
Exactly, the turbine gen would only need to output slightly more power than required to maintain a constant speed to recharge the battery pack while cruising. Using Bowling & Grippo's default values for their HP Calculator (i.e. a BIG WAG) that is 30 HP to maintain 70 MPH. GM did this with a prototype EV1 Series Hybrid using a 40kW turbine APU [wikipedia] 40kW ~= 53 HP
Well see with figures like that it's definitely doable. Here's a 50 HP turboshaft engine that weighs 30 lbs. (Don't think I could get one on a GRM budget though; they're pretty new.)
I'd want at least 200 HP on tap for bursts though. Probably doable with enough batteries, but that would weigh the thing down. If I could get say, a 90 lb, 150 HP turbine that'd be even better.
you could chop up a few junk yard turbos to get something going on the cheap
Im certain finding a turbine is the least of the issues. As jay mentioned, the batteries required for a decent top end will bog it down. I think the real balancing act will be finding the right formula of Turbine size (power:weight), battery size (weight:output) and weight distribution. I really think this is a cool idea though. Im leery of the wiring gremlin that will haunt whoever really assembles this thing
Look for an APU.
My sisters ex-husband had one (pretty small, toaster oven sized) and started it up for me once. I don't know if it was ever used for anything, but the sound it made spooling up then firing was VERY cool. Even that small of a turbine really sucked the fuel down though!
Thanks for the links guys. I've always considerd building a turbine / electric drive for a small boat. Now to find an APU...
Idk if its viable but look around on ebay for some of the biggest baddest super capacitors you can get your budget around.
Where are the Cheaparal guys?
don't think the Chryslers had a problem with exhaust heat. You could add an afterburner, though, for tailgaters.
SAY WHAAAAAT!?
Exactly, the turbine gen would only need to output slightly more power than required to maintain a constant speed to recharge the battery pack while cruising.
Did I miss something? Why is a battery pack required with an engine driven generator system? Or regenerative braking system which again would work great for a battery pack but not necessary with standard hydraulic type brakes. If a battery pack is used why not go with a pass-thru twin drive motor (like used on current washers) that powers a wheel on one side and a generator on the other to charge the battery pack. Then a regenerative brake system would also help recharge the batteries. Yeah it would have to be recharged like current electric cars but should go farther between charges. I thought the idea was to get away from battery packs.
Nothing we've seen has gotten rid of the batteries, they seem to be needed for acceleration and to collect energy from braking, but the new Lithiulm Ion packs they've been coming with are quite a bit smaller than theold packs so weight and size aren't as much of an issue.
Isn't one of the issues with Li-Ion batteries that you need to keep them cool, otherwise bad things will happen. I might be wrong about this but a post a while back on the Tesla founders blog suggested that the Tesla Roadster (which uses Li-Ion batteries) actually has some sort of cooling circuit for the batteries involving pumps, coolant and other fun stuff.
Why not just build a small one from a truck diesel? I know most plans are for the thrust driven type but I'm sure you could adapt it to shaft output with some thinking and trial and error. If you are really only wanting it for a generator that may be the most economical/compact way to go. Personally I've always wondered how much of a electric motor you would need to turn 4-6 automotive alternators at 1500-2000 rpm, say 4-6 of the big 200 amp size? constant battery pack charging and an available shot of juice to push the motors for a sudden acceleration kick? Just a thought, and I admit I have very little knowledge on the subject other than what has been passed along to me from a friend.
thats why im saying supercapacitors (or ultracapacitors or whatever), you can get the generator or brakes to charge them quick and they can provide that punch youd need. look for "boost cap" they are like 350 farads for 25 bucks!
I would assume youll need lots of them though, but its a good option, may be worth crunching some numbers.
BoxheadTim wrote: Isn't one of the issues with Li-Ion batteries that you need to keep them cool, otherwise bad things will happen. I might be wrong about this but a post a while back on the Tesla founders blog suggested that the Tesla Roadster (which uses Li-Ion batteries) actually has some sort of cooling circuit for the batteries involving pumps, coolant and other fun stuff.
I don't know what we have for cooling, but they are mounted up on the roof so the get plenty of airflow around them.
griffin729 wrote: I've heard rumors that the drive mechanism for the M1A1 Abrams replacement is likely to be along similar lines.
and the next gen of navy ships. right now the props are shaft-driven, which limits placement of the engine room. once they go to electric drive, packaging will be a lot more efficient b/c the turbines can be placed anywhere.
TJ wrote: I think M1A1's can use jet fuel, gasoline, or diesel.
you can run a gas turbine on just about any fuel.
irish44j wrote: LM2500.... They have four of them, I'm sure they wouldn't miss one...
ahh, memories.
As mentioned above... only once, is that turbines get really sucky gas mileage. The reason they're used as APUs is because jet fuel is already present on the plane, and because they have minimum vibration. The 50hp figure needed to top of the batteries is far better served by a small turbo diesil. (Yes I know this moves away from the love of turbines in a car, but once you get into wanting serious mileage, the two are very much at odds with each other.)
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