Malcolm/list
thank you for your replies ,even the zero merit encouragements ( love a
challange ) though I need to clarify some points and add further info so it
may be worthy of at least almost zero merit , firstly I dont intend to use
pure O2 as Rick stated far to savage but a mixture of gasses ie oxygen +
nitrogen or oxygen + argon or some other buffer gas, I have noted your advice
that large volumes of air will be required very true and this zero merit
idea has been tried before and was impractical also true but it was tried with
very large capacity motors, my calculations are based on twin zx10 kawasaki
motors of 998cc (60.9 ci ) each with a total capacity of 121.8ci with a red
line of 10500 rpm which gives a cfm of 354 at redline at atmospheric pressure
of 14.7 psi if I want forced induction ( the main reason Im following this
idea ) say 30 psi above atmospheric I will need 1062cfm, I have also added
the time factor to the equation I expect an acceleration of at least 0.3 G
with a top speed of 300mph it will take me 46 seconds to reach 300 mph @ 0.3g
acceleration and a further 50.59 sec to streak through the 3rd mile timer so
I will need 1600cf aprox for my little jaunt this will be provided by 6x
cylinders each containing 357cf =2142cf the extra should help to overcome the
pressure drop each cylinder is charged to 2700psi with dimentions of 60 inches
long with a diameter of 10 inches ,still impractical but possible so Ive
modified my approch to include normal aspiration and N2O using the several
fans used for radiator cooling this air could be ducted to a plenium for use
by the motor untill a certian speed was attained and also for warm up , at the
preset speed a servo activated damper would redirect the fan air via another
duct to outside the vehicle and a set of solinoids would then operate the
compressed air at elevated pressure instant turbo without heat for a nice
cool dense charge and a drink of alcohol which will allow me to use 5
cylinders of air plenty and one of N2O while on normal aspiration .
you could try this site www.bgsoflex.com/auto.html
Gary in cloud cuckoo land
----- Original Message -----
From: Malcolm Pittwood
Sent: Monday, 4 February 2002 4:04 AM
To: LSR List
Subject: Under Pressure
The use of compressed air as a substitute for atmospheric air (thats all
around us) has been tried on the 1/4 mile, as others have indicated. The
top fuel dragster in the Garlits Museum was owned by Art Malone - it is
interesting in that the motor is a 'sidewinder' with the axle running
through the engine 'V'. The tank was the full length of the chassis in
front of the cockpit. Called the "Air Car" I guess it was set to last say
8 seconds (I do recall it was charged to a pressure of 600psi). Car was
not a success on the tracks - but it could have been the sidewinder concept
not the air.
So a Bonneville racer may have to be fitted either a large tank or one that
is under much higher storage pressure. If at higher pressure the single
tank wall thickness could be very thick - up to 1/2 inch is my guess. (I
used to be able to do the maths, but it would take some more thinking
about).
Hot Rod magazine (December 1971) ran an article on Mickey Thompsons trials
with a compressed air system on his Funny Car dragster. The engine is said
to have dynoed at 2800hp on alcohol. Diving SCUBA tanks at 2000psi were
used. Start up and burnouts would have been made as 'normally aspirated'
before activating the "Thermocharger" system for a sub six second run. No
news on how far this experiment went forward on to the race tracks.
With the modern control techniques and EFI etc... this could be a good idea
for a small capacity engine at Bonneville where it would overcome altitude
and reduce charge air temperatures (the expanding air will bring down the
temperature). I guess though that the rule makers will call it a
'supercharger' or blower. And would the lectronics be allowed on the
'blower' system?
We need someone like Mayf to run the numbers, before it can be said that
this idea is of zero merit.
Malcolm.Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download :
http://explorer.msn.com
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