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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday July 05 2018, @04:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the we're-from-the-future dept.

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?"


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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 05 2018, @07:07PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 05 2018, @07:07PM (#703163)

    Crosley had a lightweight engine, made of sheet metal, in the 1940s. It produced 20 kW and weighed 133 pounds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosley#Crosley_CoBra_(1946%E2%80%931949) [wikipedia.org]

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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 05 2018, @08:03PM (2 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 05 2018, @08:03PM (#703195) Journal

    But then "Longevity was measured in hours and was strictly controlled by equipment maintenance schedules for the wartime duties..."

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 06 2018, @02:00AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 06 2018, @02:00AM (#703346)

      Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 06 2018, @03:22AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 06 2018, @03:22AM (#703361)

        No, it's not the same meme.