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Next Big Future reports:
Liquid Piston gets more DARPA funding for 30KW engine 30 times smaller than todays engines
DARPA has awarded LiquidPiston an additional $2.5 million to continue development of its 30kW X4 rotary diesel engine prototype, bringing DARPA's total funding of the engine technology to $6 million.
When development of the fully packaged engine is complete, the 30kW X4 engine is expected to weigh just 30lbs and fit into a 10" box, while achieving 45% brake thermal efficiency – approximately an order of magnitude smaller and lighter than traditional piston diesel engines, and also 30% more efficient. The efficient, lightweight, and powerful rotary Diesel/JP-8 X4 engine offers a disruptive power solution for direct as well as hybrid electric propulsion and power generation.
Seems we get a story about a wonderous alt-energy breakthrough every week that never pans out, can the humble Diesel engine be reinvented to become the "next big thing?"
(Score: 5, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday July 05 2018, @06:17PM (5 children)
I'd be willing to bet that the military is one of the last groups to give up their fossil fuels. Sure, they'll have alternatives, but if the hydrocarbons make for more effective logistics and battlefield effectiveness, they won't be giving it up just because crude sells for $1000/bbl.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday July 06 2018, @12:49AM (4 children)
Diesel electric? For the same reason as trains, tanks surely are better to run on diesel electric (maybe they already do?). And presumably trucks etc will just follow commercial.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday July 06 2018, @01:30AM
They started subs with Diesel electric in WWII, I'm sure if it was "better" they'd be using it by now.
Me, personally, I'd rather not be locked inside an armored tin can with a giant lithium ion battery while people shoot hot stuff at the can.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday July 06 2018, @04:13AM (2 children)
Whoa! 30 fucking kilowatts?! Man, that's a lot of power. Hey, wait a minute...
Wah-wah-waaaaaahhhhhh!
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday July 06 2018, @08:50AM
Not sure whether you meant to reply to my comment, but I found a better reason for tanks to use direct transmission (rather than electric generator) - that is that tanks have a clutch. I know nothing, so some cuttypastey from wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_locomotive [wikipedia.org]
> As opposed to steam and electric engines, internal combustion engines work efficiently only within
> a limited range of turning frequencies. In light vehicles, this could be overcome by a clutch. In heavy
> railway vehicles, mechanical transmission never worked well or wore out too soon.
and
> In a diesel–electric locomotive, the diesel engine drives either an electrical DC generator (generally,
> less than 3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW) net for traction)
Compared with
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_2 [wikipedia.org]
> 1200 bhp (895 kW)
> Gearbox: David Brown Santasalo TN54E epicyclical transmission (6 fwd, 2 rev.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 06 2018, @04:41PM
Without knowing what engines are 30 times the size (or what is included in the 10" box: cooling system? fuel tank? starting system?), it's hard to say.
I'd assume they're talking about car engines, so since few of those are anywhere close to 40hp * 30 = 1200 hp, that still seems pretty impressive, no?
Or, depending which parts need to "fit into a 10" box", comparable-sized engines today would mostly be 10hp lawn-mower engines.