Jet Engine Tech For Electric Cars

Our transport is heavily oil-based. What are the alternatives?

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Aurora

Jet Engine Tech For Electric Cars

Post by Aurora »

PistonHeads - 26/01/10

Image

A consortium of three companies including Jaguar Land Rover has won a £15m award from the government's Technology Strategy Board to help it develop a gas-turbine 'range extender' for electric cars.

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Vortex
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Post by Vortex »

These generators are best used in weapons systems - so I bet we don't see many in cars, but loads will be used in drones and providing power in the front line.
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RenewableCandy
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Post by RenewableCandy »

Oooh I dunno, lots of people like driving their car as if it were a weapon.
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Re: Jet Engine Tech For Electric Cars

Post by kenneal - lagger »

Aurora wrote: Image
You can see it was designed for a car. It's got the hand brake attached.
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adam2
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Post by adam2 »

Small gas turbine engines have improved appreciably in efficiency in recent years, but AFAIK are not yet competitive with diesel or petrol engines.
In order to run efficiently, they have to run very hot which results in a limited life. No problem for expendable weapons, nor for equipment used only briefly or intermitantly, but for a car ?
A gas turbine is normally much smaller and lighter than a petrol or diesel engine of the same HP. This of course would save fuel used in transporting the weight of the engine.

A hybrid battery/gas turbine car would probably only need about 10/20 HP from the engine, and AFAIK that is too small for gas turbines.
Small relatively efficient petrol and diesel engines are readily available in the 10/20 HP range.
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PS_RalphW
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Post by PS_RalphW »

However, if it is used as a range extender, it would not need to run
continuously, or very often. Many cars are used for short commutes most days, and the odd long trip. Many days the range extender would not be needed, as the entire journey could be done on batteries.

If it had an output of, say, 20KW that would recharge a 20KWh battery in an hour. That would keep the car going for a few more hours on a long trip until it was needed again.

I think it would be a better (but still a high tech) solution than a conventional engine as a range extender.
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