At school I have helped build and compete alternative fuels vehicles.
We take stock cars that the Big 3 give us and convert them in various
ways so that they don't run off gasoline anymore. The second such car
was a hybrid-electric Chevy Lumina. The stock drive train was replaced
with a GE 100hp electric motor that drove the drive shaft. (no real
tranny, electric motors have flat power curves and constant output,
variable gear reduction is not necessary) This car also had a Suzukki
1.0L 3cyl engine onboard that ran off propane that drove a huge
alternator to recharge the batteries when the car drained them.
Ok here comes the point.. Since the car doesn't always have a running
combustion engine there is no way to rig up a traditional mechanically
driven HVAC system. So what we came up with was a scaled down electric
heat pump cycle. It was more interesting in theory than practice. Heat
pumps though efficient in energy consumption do not cool or heat that
well, especially in this raw proto-type form. It was enough to pass the
comfort tests of the Future Car Challenge (96-97) but if I was in Texas
right now I doubt it would hardly phase the heat.
Just thought someone might find this interesting
Ryan Smith
Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech
Emerald Green, 72 Spitfire
>I have found a way of Air Conditioning a car with-out using a
mechanical
>compressor. Don't know how viable it is but.
>
>You know the old gas powered fridges you get for camping. They use the
>amonia cycle to convert heat power into cooling for the fridge. If I
>use the waste heat from the exhaust in the Spitfire to evaporate the
>amonia, then have the condencer put on the bit in front of the heater
>box. Maybe a modified heater box, and you would have free(uses no
extra
>petrol) cold air.
>
>Cool
>--
>James Carpenter
>Yellow '79 spit wired by a trained marmot
>
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