| From : |
Bruno Ogorelec |
| Date : |
2003-06-24 16:04:35 |
| Subject : |
Propane steam machine pulsejet |
Tom,
It faintly reminds me of an engine I designed some 20 years ago. It had two parallel pulsejets looking like Schuberts. In between the intake stacks was a miniature double-acting steam engine. Only, instead of steam, it used the pressure of propane to drive it.
Being double-acting, the piston shuttled to and fro. After pushing the piston to one end of the cylinder, propane would exhaust into one engine. Thereupon, propane from the opposite end would push the piston back to the opposite end of the cylinder and exhaust into the other engine. So, the two engines worked out of phase.
Instead of pushing a conrod and a crank, the piston pushed a flat steel blade valve to and fro, alternatively opening and closing the intake ports, either letting fresh air in or preventing hot gas from getting out.
On the drawing, it looked somewhat like a double Weber carb hooked to a twin motorcycle muffler.
I still think it's a neat concept. There you have that considerable propane pressure -- why not use it. After all, it's 3-4 times higher than the pressure of air used in those pneumatic hammers used to break concrete. Surely it can push and pull a stainless steel (or Inconel) blade across two intake throats, even with pressure from the inside pushing the blade against the guides. The guides would probably have to be teflon-coated, though.
At the same time, it's a neat timing and metering unit. Three birds with one stone. Four, if you consider that out-of-phase work allows you to cut down some of the noise.
Bruno |
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Propane steam machine pulsejet
( 2003-06-24 16:04:35)