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Originally Posted by Marmot The thermal efficiency of large slow-speed marine diesels now exceeds 50 percent. |
Yes, of course, but I had in mind engines in the 200 - 2000 hp range, where SFC is in the .36 to .38 lb/hp-hr range, up to the maximum that one would consider for this concept.
Mr. Try, in one of his earlier posts had mentioned that the air was heated prior to expansion, that's why I was assuming that there was still heating involved. If there isn't any heating going on in the latest versions, the efficiency of a compressed gas system is really going to be poor. The reason is that if you don't immediately use the compressed gas it cools and you lose a tremendous amount of energy. This is why compressed gas is really poor energy storage medium, even for relatively short periods of time. Underground storage would only work if you had geothermal heating available to heat the air it might make sense, but if you didn't forget it.
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Even with external heating of the stored compressed air, the efficiency of this air car can not approach the thermal efficiency of a modern automotive diesel engine.
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Absolutey true, at best it is going to be half that of an automotive diesel...
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What amazes me most about this company is that it still exists and they still get unqestioning press coverage.
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Agreed. It is unfortunate that the press doesn't do a bit of research and find out if the system has an merit before giving publicity to programs like this.