Has a practical car steam engine been developed in last 65 years ?

Answer 1

Yes both General Motors and Ford have experimented with steam engines.

Mercedes and BMW are also experimenting with new designs

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/67788/200mph_steam_car_delayed.html

http://www.steamboats.org/weblogs/archives/15-Steam-Engines-for-BMWs-Cars.html

Answer 2

Too much of the fuel that is used to heat the water would be wasted in just moving the mass of water.

It takes time to get the water up to steam-temp in the boiler.
(although I suppose it's possible that you could develop a steam engine that runs in a closed re-cycling circuit with condensing tubes such that you don't need much water in the boiler or in reserve).

They use boilers that run the risk of exploding if the pressure-release valve fails.

I'm no expert but perhaps steam engines still score well when very high-torque is required of an engine, but this isn't the case for a car. With more modern diesel & petrol engines, why would anyone want to develop a steam engine?

Answer 3

Obviously no one knows about steam power. In 1930 a Doble steam car could roll in 30 seconds, it used a water tube boiler that cannot explode and operated on a few quarts of water. The car weighed almost 4000 pounds and could go as far as any IC engine car and could easily cruise at 85 mph. IC engine/auto makers lied about steam power. All the makes of steam cars were luxury models and the Depression killed them.

Steam engines used as direct drive need no transmission or clutch and deliver great torque very quietly. Steam has 3 drawbacks as direct power, a short delay to build up pressure, you can't "gun it" and the water can freeze. They also have the advantage of being able to use any liquid or gaseous fuel and the complete combustion in the forced air burner produces very little pollution when compared to an IC engine. And that small amount of pollution is easier to control.

By using the steam engine to run an alternator to keep the batteries charged and using the power from the batteries to drive reversible electric motors at each wheel, the problem of delayed starting is solved. Turn the key and go. You can "gun it", accelerate the electric motors suddenly. By using insulation and electric heat strips there is no danger of freezing. And if parked near an electric outlet, plug it in during freezing weather and save fuel. The engine is a closed, sealed system using a condenser so distilled water need not be added very often.

Modern alloys also allow tested and proven engine designs to be made much lighter. Remember that a steam-electric hybrid needs no transmission or CV joints saving weight and complexity. Even the engine is less complex than an IC engine.

To increase efficiency use regenerative braking. Also make use of the exhaust heat and heat from the used steam with thermoelectric generation of electricity. A computer would automatically start and stop the engine as needed to keep the batteries charged. The same computer would control the speed of each wheel when turning or on slippery roads, etc.

As to which design of engine would be lightest and most efficient, that remains to be tested, but the existing designs can easily be updated. It will take someone with vision to actually build one. I feel the greatest advantage beyond simplicity and low pollution is the capability to use multiple fuels which IC engines have difficulty with. The burner could use kerosene, furnace oil, vegetable oil, ethanol, methane, propane, liquid natural gas, syngas, liquified coal or even hydrogen just by changing the fuel jet nozzle and in some cases the fuel tank.

Anyone have ideas to contribute? Want to build one?

Answer 4

Yes. In the late 1970s, someone developed a vapor turbine engine that was light enough and powerful enough to power a car.
The vapor turbine is a steam turbine type design that employs a liquid with a lower boiling point than water, to drive the turbine in a closed system. The turbine exhaust is then condensed in a large radiator and pumped back into the boiler.
Unfortunately, the liquids that were needed to get the necessary performance from the engine are all extremey toxic, the probability of a leak in the system due to a crsh was too high to justify further development.

Answer 5

Although it is a nice idea, steam is just not practical because it takes a bunch of heat to keep the steam pressures high enough. It takes energy to heat water. A heat source can be powered by many things, but it is still usually a fossil fuel source.

Now if they could only get Fusion reactors working, then we would have a surplus of hydrogen. Then you could run hydrogen in a normal combustion engine, and the byproduct (exhaust) would be water vapor!

Answer 6

No. Why too heavy

Answer 7

not sure there is such a thing..