Doing another round of testing, this one to determine what the most efficient diesel-electric setup is if you're running a medium engine.
I was systematic this time: I set up a powertrain with one of each ratio of gearbox, then turned each on in binary sequence. I then discarded any rows for which the motor spun at or above 50 RPS, or at or below 2.4 RPS. Testbed and Data.
Summary of results: there is a single best setup for a medium engine, and that is to hook it up to a medium generator through a single 5:2 gearbox. This setup generates 99.2 power at a RPS of 8.26, for only 423 liters of fuel per day. Technically it is possible to get a 1.17% efficiency improvement by running it through five transmissions (1 of each ratio except 3:1) into a small generator, but that setup takes significantly more space, and only generates 71.6 power anyway.
I haven't yet establised how to relate the generator's reported power to electric engine consumption, but as a rule it seems safe to just keep adding generators until there's enough power in all. 423 liters per day is extremely easy to keep running for a long time.
I'm very excited about the prototype that Raptor aircraft is building at the moment. What they claim is so promissing that it can't let anyone not intrigued. But talking about the specs, I have to confess that I'm a bit scared on the engine part. They want to mount an Audi TDI V6 3.0L diesel. It looks cheap, powerful and very gentle on the fuel.... BUT what was the luck of people adapting automotive engine on an airplane? I heard not very good... Are those engine able to fly high? At max power for the next 2000 h? What about the cooling? What about the water in the diesel ?( i know that some drops of water in the diesel can break those engines in a snap. So water can be found easily due to the condensation or the quality of the fuel) Many questions as it looks to be the critical part of the project to me... But i'm still in the line to receive my kit !
Just wondering if other people out there are wanting an alternative to the high cost and low efficiency of AvGas.
Diesel lover here. I just prefer driving diesels and I'm sad to see them going. I love that torque hehe.
Can someone correct me if I'm wrong here. Isn't it true that fuel is used more efficiently in a diesel engine? As far as I understand it any fuel the engine cannot process is recycled and reused in the engine later?
For example if I'm in too high a gear, put the foot down and the engine cannot turn quick enough to process the fuel I'm injecting into it at that time, there would be surplus fuel which is then recycled into the engine later. Thus MPG isn't necessarily just affected by throttle amount. This is contrasted by petrol engines as when you accelerate more than the engine's rpm, etc can handle, fuel is wasted.
I find this stuff quite interesting, any mechanics want to correct me lol
EDIT: Thanks everyone here! I've learned a lot more specific info on this. It looks like I was vaguely thinking of EGR and it also looks like I wasn't too close with my information. I've got some homework to do 😆
I know the pressures in most modern diesel engines for fuel rail pressure seem insane to a normal person, I know the one in my VW is something like 18,500 psi. That strikes me as higher than most of the pressures achieved in the cylinder. So that seems like it should be an issue but it isn't seeming to be.
I live in the southeast and a lot of the gas stations are out of gas in my area. I was driving home from work tonight and saw a gas station that wasn’t completely shut down. I pull in and it turns out they do have some gas, diesel only though.
Now I’m 18 but have only been driving for about a year and a half and in that time I guess I never learned the diesel fuel is bad for your engine I do not know how I never learned this, I guess I have been living under a rock or some shit. I put about 3 gallons in my car and then got ready to drive home. My car almost stalled out and it was then I began to think I may have fucked up. Luckily I managed to make it home. Once I got home and did some research I realized how much damage I had actually done. I’ve read it could be anywhere from $400-$17,000 to fix my car so yeah.
TLDR- I put 3 gallons diesel In my car because I didn’t know it was bad.
Diesels generally have higher gas mileage even though the energy density of diesel is lower than petrol?
I fumbled a Ford 7.3 oil filter today and not sure if I should just toss the shirt or if there’s a product that can actually wash that shit out.
