Pulling out the pistons for 100 miles to the gallon

[Mosby]

Americans love their cars, and own more of them per capita than anywhere else on earth -- some 765 for every 1,000 people. But turbulent financial times threaten both the automotive industry and the ability to put gas in the tanks of our favored mode of transportation.

Electric cars offer promise, but switching over still has limits: infrastructure is lacking, new cars need to be built, and the electric car just doesn't have the same "muscle" as the petrol-fueled machines that Americans love.

An entirely new solution may come by way of an Israeli company - Agam Energy Systems -- which has developed a piston-less turbine engine, featuring a new kind of compressor that the company hopes will revolutionize the automotive industry.

American automakers are already taking notice, the company reports.

http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El2427&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Technology&

[Mosby]

1. .

snip

Consumes 1/5 of the fuel, releases 1/10 of the emissions

And while Agam's engine has passed feasibility studies, it's still in R&D. It could be ready by 2012 if a significant investment is made: "All the western world probably wishes it were ready right now," Spottheim tells ISRAEL21c.

Now in touch with one of the world's biggest manufacturing companies, Agam is hoping for the stars to align so that it can get the strategic partner it needs to shift into high gear.

"We have a prototype ready of the crucial part of the engine," says Spottheim. "The breakthrough is the compressor, which is now working according to expectations."

Agam's turbine engine could be fitted into a regular car with some gear modifications, such as a Toyota Camry, and offer 100 miles to the gallon, the company boasts. This compares to about 21 miles to the gallon of today's average car. Road efficiency in cars is about 10 percent, says Spottheim, while Agam's engines promise 55% efficiency.

And of course Agam's engine is good news for the environment too: It consumes about the fifth of the petrol of a piston-based engine, and emits one-tenth of the CO2 fumes that contribute to global warning.

[Fearless]

2. Could be interesting if it stands up to testing.

[SidneyCarton]

3. This is fascinating.

I will be very interested in how well this works...

[MajorChode]

4. There are lots of technical challenges for an auto turbine engine...

other than just the mechanical efficiency problems.

Turbine engines need a significant amount of airflow to develop power. So for city driving they would be next to useless. It might be interesting to see such an engine paired with an electric powerplant like a hybrid. The electric engine would power the vehicle in the city where they are most efficient and the turbine would charge the batteries and power the vehicle on the highway where it is most efficient.

[madrchsod]

5. yes.. a small turbine to charge batteries and for highway cruising.

turbines can burn just about any combustible liquid

[backscatter712]

6. Electric car motors have plenty of torque. It's batteries that are the hard part.

While a gasoline engine fills the engine compartment of your typical car, an equivalent electric motor is much smaller - maybe as big as a jumbo-sized alternator.

Electric engines have the capacity for tremendous amounts of torque - take the Tesla Roadster as an example.

The hard part is supplying them with power - hence all the research into new battery types, the problems with range for electric cars, the requirement to fill the engine compartment and other parts of the car with batteries, weight issues...

[spin]

7. I seen one of the Chrysler turbine cars in Ohio in the '60's...

at a restaurant near interstate 90. The family that was driving said it was a very impressive vehicle.

Chrysler spent a lot of time and effort developing the engine and had loaned out some of the early prototypes to families for testing.

On March 7, 1962, George J. Huebner, Jr., Executive Engineer of Research for Chrysler Corporation, received an award from the Power Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers "for his leadership in the development of the first automotive gas turbine suitable for mass -produced passenger automobiles." It was the first such award ever given to an automotive engineer.

Chrysler Corporation then built 50 turbine-powered cars and placed them in the hands of typical drivers for evaluation in everyday use.
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/turbine.html

[Javaman]

8. you mean it doesn't run on water?????

:rofl: