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  • From: Don Bowen <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Solar-Powered Buoyancy-Driven Heat Engine
  • Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:02:07 -0500

On 6/16/2012 12:28 PM, WILLIAM JONES wrote:
One mistake that the layman will often make is to confuse speed and torque.

Or rather the layman does not understand the relationship between torque and horsepower. Torque is a primary measurement consisting of distance and weight i.e. Foot pounds. Horsepower is a measurement of distance, weight, and time and is derived from torque over time i.e. 550 foot-pounds per second or 745.7 Watts.

Some engines such as a piston steam engine develop maximum torque at zero RPM and thus zero horsepower. On those engines maximum horse power is often developed at maximum speed and minimum torque.
I'm thinking about 30 seconds total cycling time for a bottle. The engine
would be used to turn an Archimedean screw, which can turn quite slowly and
still pump water. I'll let you know after I do some more math.

Those low speed devices are best for such things as pumping water. If you try to gear them up for higher output speed you run into significant gear losses due to the significantly increased load between drive elements.

The screw (basically an inclined plane wrapped around a shaft) will move water but you have to take into account losses between the pipe and the edges of the screw. The screw is used to pump water in India by human power. A treadle is hooked to the upper end and turned by the feet of the pumpers. Cheap and easy to use so losses become less important.

--
Don Bowen KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html





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