4x4ord wrote:
K Charles wrote:
The Otto cycle has been around for almost 150 years and many things have been done to it since the invention. It will never be 100% efficient because the piston stops twice every time the heat is turned into energy.
Gasoline engines will never be 100% efficient but that 60% efficiency number of the dual fuel engine is pretty close to that of electric cars.
I have heard that in the late sixties state of the art was about 20% so this engine would only need about 1/3 as much fuel to do the same job. That is quite remarkable. That also means that only 1/6 as much energy is released as waste heat. Nothing man made is every going to be 100% efficient but this would be a huge step that direction, if it even makes it to production.
By the way, the piston stopping has almost nothing to do with the efficiency loss. The pistons are stopped smoothly with the energy in them being returned to the crankshaft. If you want to know where the energy is going just check out the lost heat and why it is being dumped. Start with the cooling system, then hot exhaust gases, losses from the oil pan and block, etc.
