Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
1–10 of 13 posts
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#2In my gearhead days I had a dead-tree copy of Yunick's Power Secrets, and read about his adiabatic modified car engine.
My understanding at the time was that the main barrier to market was emissions related. Oxides of nitrogen in particular were far too high from the high temperatures. If you look at an emissions test summary NOx is one of the few things they actually measure.
> NOx gases are usually produced from the reaction between nitrogen and oxygen during combustion of fuels, such as hydrocarbons, in air; especially at high temperatures, such as in car engines. [0]
So I'm pretty sure the opening line "meets all emission standards without electronic equipment" from TFA is incorrect. Or maybe was only briefly correct in 1983...
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#3This is all very fascinating, but also very over my head!
I found a post detailing some reasons why this technology never made it to production; apparently such an engine is always running rather close to its limits and could more or less self destruct if there was a small problem with air/fuel ratio and timing.
https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/smokey-yunicks-hot-vapo...
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#4He's a very interesting character: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Yunick
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#5RIP Smokey
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#6He's a very interesting character: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Yunick
Was. And the linked Wikipedia article doesn’t capture nearly enough. I recommend picking up a copy of his “best damned garage in town” autobiography.
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#7In my gearhead days I had a dead-tree copy of Yunick's Power Secrets, and read about his adiabatic modified car engine. My understanding at the time was that the main barrier to market was emissions related. Oxides of nitrogen in particular were far too high from the high temperatures. If you look at an emissions test summary NOx is one of the few things they actually measure. > NOx gases are usually produced from th…
I read the PopSci article on this way back when and always wondered what became if it, thanks!
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#8In my gearhead days I had a dead-tree copy of Yunick's Power Secrets, and read about his adiabatic modified car engine. My understanding at the time was that the main barrier to market was emissions related. Oxides of nitrogen in particular were far too high from the high temperatures. If you look at an emissions test summary NOx is one of the few things they actually measure. > NOx gases are usually produced from th…
NOx can be reduced using non-electronic equipment. Well, you could do it in 1983, anyway.
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#9In my gearhead days I had a dead-tree copy of Yunick's Power Secrets, and read about his adiabatic modified car engine. My understanding at the time was that the main barrier to market was emissions related. Oxides of nitrogen in particular were far too high from the high temperatures. If you look at an emissions test summary NOx is one of the few things they actually measure. > NOx gases are usually produced from th…
NOx can be reduced using non-electronic equipment. Well, you could do it in 1983, anyway.
Honda had a famously complicated mechanical contraption IIRC.
Re: Smokey’s new hot vapourizing engine creates heat in Detroit (1983)
#10So is this basically HCCI?
And there's this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transonic_Combustion
There are a bewildering array of 'revolutionary' ICE engines, that have yet to revolute.
What happened to these? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_disk_engine - https://studymafia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/MECH-Ball-... - https://www.dukeengines.com/technology/overview/ - https://cyclonepower.com/ - https://www.starrotor.com/technology/engines/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EcoMotors - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stelzer_engine - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuderi_engine
And I'm sure many others.