I know there have been gas turbine powered cars in the 50´s to 70´s, but they all suffered from the extreme lag of the gas turbine. Why not use the turbine to turn an electric generator (baked in aircraft APU´s and probably many other power generators), then use the power to either charge a battery or directly drive the motor. Advantages of this setup would be:

-fast, instantly available acceleration from battery power
-a smaller battery, because it would need only enough capacity for a few seconds of peak power, until the turbine has reached is operating speed.
-- RaoulDuke, Oct 09 2003

(?) Turbine Electric http://www.grc.nasa...1996/6000/6920v.htm
This is what they have done so far [SystemAdmin, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

(?) Another discussion http://www.shouldex...003/2/28/1702/30357
[half, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Volvo http://www.ntnu.no/...ni/1993-dec/8b.html
high-speed generator [TIB, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

(?) Volvo http://www.truck.volvo.se/env/ect.asp
[TIB, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Rosen Motors gas-turbine / flywheel hybrid mercedes http://www.inc.com/...e/19980601/939.html
not the link I was hoping to find, but a start for anyone wishing to google it out further [X2Entendre, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

My Turbine Hybrid Build http://www.facebook...=4fb9f&id=658132013
Photos from the build. [rihilleman, Nov 30 2007]

Turbpopneumatic hybrid turbopneumatic_20hybrid
A variation using compressed air instead of batteries [atomico, Jan 04 2010]

like instead of a diesel electric a turbine electric
-- SystemAdmin, Oct 09 2003


Exactly, only the turbine should be much lighter and smoother running than a diesel engine. I searched the net a lot for this, but it seems nobody implemented it so far, although all the parts are available off the shelf (aircraft APUs, electric/hybrid cars...)
-- RaoulDuke, Oct 09 2003


Large turbines are very efficient for flight and for generating electricity compared to their piston counterparts, but small turbines have never been very efficient when compared to similar output diesel or gas piston or rotary engines.

A turbocharged rotary engine hybrid vehicle of equal power output would be more efficient and produce fewer emissions than what you are proposing.
-- thejini, Oct 09 2003


See link.

I read the story when it first came out years ago, and have been wondering what happened since.

With today's technology, you'd think something like this wouldn't be too difficult to manufacture for a reasonable price.

It could run on a wide variety of fuels as well (including biodiesel).
-- TIB, Oct 09 2003


I read about a private company that was playing with this a few years back... their idea differed from yours in that they were attempting to channel energy that is normally dissipated during braking, etc. to rev up a flywheel that was contained in a vacuum. Power for rapid acceleration was to be drawn from the flywheel.

I guess they ran into concerns with crash testing, etc. and abandoned the project.

It was a very interesting article though... I'll try to find a link.
-- X2Entendre, Oct 09 2003


This idea deserves bread even though it is essentially baked if only in concept.

The only real problem with this concept is auto makers willingness to commit. All major technical problems have been overcome, the only technical problems remaining are implementation.
-- Spaceman Spiff, Apr 08 2009


I like it.

I don't think it would be widely adopted though because gas turbine engines are made of very expensive materials and have to be in service for a long time before they become economical.

Passenger cars seem to be designed to last about 7-8 years or 150-200k miles....not long enough for a gas turbine engine to be worthwhile.

Maybe this could be a go for trucks or buses.
-- Sweaty_Elvis, Apr 08 2009


I was just looking at this the other day... turbines still haven't gotten to the efficiency level of internal-combustion engines (getting there though)... still an interesting idea for an emergency APU for electric vehicles, though.
-- FlyingToaster, Apr 08 2009


I really like this idea for a few of reasons.

First, it proposes the use of the electric motors to make up for the lag that vehicles with a direct turbine drive would have. Less batteries mean good green.

Second, I've heard that turbines can be built to run on a variety of fuels, which would be nice.

Third, the car would be lighter and more fuel-efficient (or the same weight and a whole lot safer), if my assumption that the turbine would be lighter than an ICE is correct.
-- nomocrow, Jun 22 2009



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