Cut out the watery middle man!!!!
http://www.steamcar.co.uk/
Very interesting.
It just shows how amazing the internal combustion engine is.
They've spent shed loads and so far have only gone 80mph. Very expensive way to produce 300Bhp!!
Not knocking them- looks like an amazing load of technology. Can't understand why they need a parachute to stop the car though, it's not
going that fast?!?! Perhaps they can't disengage power and the turbine takes a while to spool down?!?!?!
quote:
Originally posted by BenB
Perhaps they can't disengage power and the turbine takes a while to spool down?!?!?!
Yup! Can't see why else they'd be routinely using the chute when they're slowing down from 80mph. My knackered old tintop with shagged
break pads can do that relatively promptly!!! And the steam car's got brakes on it cos they're stated in the specs!!!
Perhaps they just like the parachute!! Makes it look fast!!!
quote:
burners produce three megawatts of heat. Steam is superheated to 400 degrees Celsius which is injected into the turbine at more than twice the speed of sound
Yup. Can't help but feel they'd make more power injecting the propane straight into the turbine and set it on fire
Cut out the watery middle man!!!!
3 meagawatts. 3000 kW, 4000 bhp.
170 mph in a car that aerodynamic should probably take about 250-300 bhp, so they have one incredibly inefficient system going on - 7.5%
For comparison, an IC engine is around 20% efficient and a steam turbine in a powerstation is somewhere in the 40-50% region.
I think this was the first test.
You probably wouldn't go to max speed on the first test.
You probably wouldn't wait to test the parachute mechanism until you really needed it. 
!0 years in the making, 25ft long, 4,000hp, weighs 3 tons and a top speed to date of 80mph with a target speed of 170mph
Obviously haven't heard of either Colin Chapman or Ron Champion.
[Edited on 16/4/09 by Confused but excited.]