Comments

Government intervention never lowers prices. Three generations ago government intervened to protect Americans from the cost of catastrophic health care. At that time, most middle-income Americans could pay for most care out of pocket. Now try it. Government is about the santioned use of force, and force doesn't work well in the marketplace, unless of course your goal is to foster monopoly and mediocrity. Getting back to bees, CCD isn't about viruses - it's about stress. The Varroa mite is everywhere - and it got there despite all the agricultural import restrictions in the world - but where beekeepers practice less intense beekeeping, the bees are healthy despite the ubiquity of the viruses and their vector. The high-pressure beekeeping practices of developed nations have created an opportunity for Third World beekeepers to export honey and other bee products. I just hope the Americans and Europeans don't come to their senses too soon... http://www.archivale.com

It is disappointing to see this re- re- re-invention of an integral steam bottoming cycle getting an award, but then maybe we shouldn't expect more diligence of PopSci than of the Patent Office. So much for a careful search of prior art! On the technical side, this scheme does have merit. Since the same cylinder is used for both internal combustion and steam generation/power extraction, the water that is injected can be the primary cylinder coolant; in other words, you can eliminate the cooling jacket or fins, which simplifies the engine castings immensely. Turning off the water injection system during cold starts in cold weather should speed warmup. Because there's a phase change involved, water/steam mass flow will be less than the coolant flow of an equivalent engine. The condenser can probably be made smaller than a radiator for the same engine would be. On the debit side is the fact that most of the engine's waste heat goes out the exhaust, and this scheme recovers only what would have gone to the coolant. Still, you could look at this as an ultra-simple evaporative cooling system with some energy recovery as a bonus. Other problems that will have to be addressed are contamination of the lubricating oil with water, and contamination of the water/steam with combustion products. It's fairly easy to incorporate a water separator in the oil circuit, but it might be harder to ensure that steam reaching the condenser is clean - and that has to be done or the condenser will get foul very quickly and won't work any more. Also - and here I'm on slightly shaky ground because I haven't run numbers - I think the cylinder geometry - the effective expansion ratio - will waste a lot of the power in the newly-generated steam. On the good side, that should prevent any condensation in the cylinder, which might cause hydraulic lock. I like to think of this system as an "entry level" integral steam system. The next step up - the Peterbilt version, if you like - would route the exhaust steam from the cylinder to an exhaust heat exchanger, which would act as a superheater. From there, it would drive a steam turbine that would drive accessory loads independent of the engine - air conditioner, alternator, hydraulic pump or whatever was needed - leaving the core engine free to provide all its shaft power to the wheels. This would recover much more energy and make better use of it (turbines can have a high expansion ratio). On the downside, the required condenser size would be larger. This might be a very good high-efficiency plant for locomotives and long-distance road haulers, where ample space is available. Best to all, Marc de Piolenc Iligan City, Philippines