A turbosteamer is a term used by BMW to describe a combined cycle engine. It uses a steam engine to convert waste heat energy from an internal combustion engine into supplemental power for the vehicle. The turbosteamer device is affixed to the exhaust system. It salvages the heat wasted in the exhaust (as much as 80% of heat energy) and uses a steam piston to relay that power to the crankshaft. The steam circuit produces 14 horsepower (10 kW) and 15 foot-pounds force (20 N·m) of torque at peak (for a 1.8 Straight-4 engine), yielding an estimated 15% gain in fuel efficiency. Unlike gas-electric hybrids, these gains increase at higher, steadier speeds.[1]
BMW has been the pioneer of this concept, and while they are designing this system to fit to most current BMW models, the technology is not expected to reach production for another decade.
See also
- Crower six stroke
- Supercharger
- Turbocharger
- Twincharger
- Intercooler
- Split-Cycle Hybrid
- COGAS
- Turbo-compound engine
- Cogeneration
- Combined cycle
External links
- Gizmag article discussing BMW's turbosteamer
- Article on BMW's alternative Combined Cycle Hybrid technology
References
.JPG){kind=small} |
This article about an automotive technology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
