Erat

iTrader: (5)

Joe. Mercury made a 2 stroke DI outboard. Pretty sure they had multiple variants of it too. V6 Optimax is what they were called.

I think it's discontinued though.
​​​​

Erat

iTrader: (5)

The 2 stroke classes in outboard racing is extremely popular.

​​​​​​(SST boats)

Though I think these are regular carburated engines.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

So, I've now read up on that engine.

While it was using DI for fuel delivery, it seems to be an otherwise ordinary 2 stroke. I infer this from the fact that the literature boasts of how "Mercury engineers installed an ECM-controlled oil pump that oils connecting rods directly. With the ability to electronically control the pump, oil ratios vary from 400:1 at idle to 44:1 at wide-open throttle. As a result, OptiMax engines use up to 50 percent less oil and run virtually smoke-free."

So it's still burning its own lubricating oil.

As automakers struggle to keep internal combustion relevant, wouldn't it be great to develop an ICE which has double the power-to-weight ratio of any other on the market, and an eighth the moving parts, without sacrificing either fuel efficiency or emissions?

What am I missing that makes a supercharged, sealed-crankcase DI 2 stroke not an avenue worth exploring here?

Gee Emm

It might be, Joe. But the industry is looking for something other than fossil fuelled ICE, or fossil fuelled anything. The investment is swinging into electric (for better or worse) and investing in better ICE engines looks a bit like breeding 6-legged horses as Henry was firing up the T model production line.

The trucking/shipping use case might be a basis for its examination, but for more mainstream personal transportation electric has the momentum. That could change if some ICE-related innovation emerges, but if the tipping point hasn't yet been reached, it is not far away.

I see Tesla has pulled its web pages for the cybertruck, while Ford seems to be saying that it is going battery for the F series - are Tesla reacting to Ford, do they have another ace up their sleeve?

DNMakinson

iTrader: (3)

@Joe Perez , Did you watch the video I posted in 31471? Ferrari used crankcase oil, a positive displacement supercharger, and an exhaust valve. Almost exactly what you are asking about, except for the 120* (I am picturing a radial engine) arrangement.

DNM

Gee Emm. Electric vehicles is a recipe for shortages until nuclear power is brought in to produce the electricity the vehicles need. They will only speed the USA into its transition into a third world nation.

EDIT: Erat... I think the motor you show on the green boat has the letters "FI" on it, which I take to mean "Fuel Injected".

Erat

iTrader: (5)

I think it says F1 for NGK formula one series.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I did.

And while that was definitely moving in the direction I was thinking of, it stopped short.

GDI wasn't really a thing in the 90s, so I get that. The engine also appears to have a camshaft driving exhaust valves, which sorta makes sense if you're aiming to score that last little bit of power for a racing engine, but takes away some of the advantages of the overall design concept for a street engine.

Here's what's really bugging me:

1: New gasoline / ethanol engines are still being designed by mainstream automakers. Toyota is working on a compression-ignition design, Nissan and GM are doing variable compression, etc. But they're all variations on the 4 cycle OHC theme.

2: Crackpot inventors are also coming up with all sorts of wild engine designs in an attempt to score investor funding. Opposed-piston, weird rotary things, things with swish-plates, etc. But they're all obviously going for maximum absurdity in order to create something truly novel and patentable.

What happened to the middle-ground?

DNMakinson

iTrader: (3)

You are likely correct. Thanks for replying.

EDIT: Understood, Joe.

DNMakinson

iTrader: (3)

I have not watched this yet. But it is a look at continuing research into improved ICE's.

triple88a

iTrader: (2)

Holly hell this guy is starting to look gray. havent seen any of his new videos in a while.

One thing that will improve gasoline engines is a hydrogen/gasoline hybrid. Hyrogen has a very high flame front which will help dramatically with combustion. Mythbusters did a **** experiment on it long ago but they fucked it up because they didn't retard the timing at all and got tons of knock. This is how HHO water/hydrogen models work.. the goal here is to mix in hydrogen to get a benefit of the flame front which improves combustion of the gasoline mixture.

Here's the mythbusters episode highlights in a random video. first they screwed up royally on the HHO generator so that was a fail but in the end, they powered a vehicle with strictly hydrogen which again worked but didn't work properly because they were running at 20 degrees advanced timing.. 2:45 for the hydrogen experiment.
Straight off of the website here..
The flame speeds are not the actual engine flame speeds, A 12:1 compression ratio gasoline engine at 1500 rpm would have a flame speed of about 16.5 m/s, and a similar hydrogen engine yields 48.3 m/s, but such engine flame speeds are also very dependent on stoichiometry. (http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasol...section-1.html)

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Hydrogen, by itself, is a useful fuel.

The problem with hydrogen is that it doesn't exist. At least not in its pure form, in nature. Hydrogen *really* loves to spontaneously combine with other stuff, like oxygen and carbon. Or, if you're having a particularly bad day, both of them at the same time, plus a dash of nitrogen.

Obtaining pure hydrogen, therefore, is a real ball-buster.

The vast majority of hydrogen produced at industrial-scale is from steam-reformation of hydrocarbons. Meaning that you take fossil fuel, put a bunch of energy into it, and get some hydrogen (plus a bunch of carbon monoxide) out of it. The resulting hydrogen contains *way* less energy than the original fossil-fuel did, and you still used up that fossil fuel and released all of the carbon from it.

Of course, hydrogen can also be obtained by running electricity through water. This is massively inefficient and costly, which is why it's not done at large scale. Also, most of the electricity in both the US and the world comes from (drumroll, please...) fossil fuel.

So why not just build tons of solar / wind generation, and use those to electrolytically liberate hydrogen? Well, yeah. You can totally do that. Except that it's still massively inefficient, and you wind up with way less useful energy in the end than you would have by just using that electricity to charge batteries.

Unless something really amazing happens in the foreseeable future, hydrogen is a dead-end technology as a vehicle fuel.




Speaking of batteries...

CHEAP TOOL ALERT!

Do you own at least one Ryobi One+ battery already? Then go to Home Depot and buy this Ryobi inflator for $19.97 while supplies last: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ON...737D/307627867

codrus

Sure it does -- just not on Earth. LOTS of the stuff on Jupiter.

(but I agree, hydrogen makes no sense as internal combustion engine fuel for cars)

--Ian

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

rleete

iTrader: (21)

I has a sad. With the first snowfall of the season, the Miata is off the road until spring.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Today I learned:

The Samurai were officially abolished as a caste in Japanese society during the Meiji Restoration in 1867.

The first ever fax machine, the "printing telegraph," was invented in 1843.

And, of course, Abraham Lincoln was famously assassinated in 1865.

Which means that there was a 22 year window during which, in theory, a Samurai could have sent a fax to Abraham Lincoln.

Godless Commie

iTrader: (2)

I am currently serving day 7 of a two week house arrest.
2 weeks is the standard sentence for testing positive for Covid.
Delta variant, to be precise.

The only symptom I can report is loss of smell. I am pretty much normal other than that.

I feel sorry for the virus for messing with me.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Hakan, I say this with all of the love and respect in the world:

You were never normal.

Zaphod

Well, what else could we say (as you have no other symptoms) - get smell soon...

z31maniac

Oxford University was founded hundreds of years before the Aztec empire.

Another weird/random thing I didn't know.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

This is one of the odder nuclear incident reports which I've read:



ACCESSION #: 9603120071
LICENSEE EVENT REPORT (LER)

FACILITY NAME: SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING PAGE: 1 OF 3
STATION, UNITS 1, 2 AND 3

DOCKET NUMBER: 05000206

TITLE: DISCOVERY OF FOUR SLIGHTLY CONTAMINATED KITTENS AT SAN
ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION

EVENT DATE: 02/01/96 LER #: 96-001-00 REPORT DATE: 03/05/96

OTHER FACILITIES INVOLVED: SONGS UNIT 2 DOCKET NO: 05000361
SONGS UNIT 3 05000362

OPERATING MODE: 0 POWER LEVEL: 000

THIS REPORT IS SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR SECTION:
Other: VOLUNTARY REPORT

LICENSEE CONTACT FOR THIS LER:
NAME: R. W. Krieger, Vice President, TELEPHONE: (714) 368-6255
Nuclear Generation

COMPONENT FAILURE DESCRIPTION:
CAUSE: SYSTEM: COMPONENT: MANUFACTURER:
REPORTABLE NPRDS:

SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT EXPECTED: NO

ABSTRACT:

On 2/1/96, four kittens were discovered in a small space between office
buildings inside the Unit 1 Protected Area/Restricted Area but outside
the radiologically controlled area. As they were being taken out of the
Protected Area/Restricted Area, contamination was detected on them by the
exit portal monitors. The kittens were surveyed and each measured about
6000 counts per minute. Health Physics workers gave each kitten a warm
bath and shampoo, which lowered the levels to about 1000 counts per
minute. After the baths, Health Physics analyzed each kitten and found
about one microcurie of activity, (primarily cesium 137, and small
amounts of cesium 134 and cobalt 60). While the quantity of radioactive
material found on and in the kittens is far below Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) reporting requirements, Edison is voluntarily providing
this report.

After the kittens were found, the remains of an adult cat on Interstate 5
were sighted and recovered by a plant worker. Subsequent analysis of the
cat found similar levels of activity as in the kittens. Based on the
similarity of color between this adult cat and the kittens, the rarity of
cats on-site, and the similar contamination in each case, Edison believes
it likely the adult cat was the mother of the kittens.

The kittens remain under the care of plant workers. A local veterinarian
has described the kittens as very healthy. There have been over 500
requests from local residents, the general public, and plant workers who
wish to adopt the kittens. Because of the very low quantities of
activity involved, this occurrence did not affect the health or safety of
plant workers or the public.

END OF ABSTRACT

TEXT PAGE 2 OF 3

DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENTS:

Plant: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2,
and 3
Reactor Vendor: Combustion Engineering
Discovery Date: February 1, 1996
Mode: Unit 1, Safestor
Units 2 and 3, About 99% Power

On February 1, 1996, four small black kittens were discovered in a small
space between two Unit 1 administration buildings inside the Protected
Area/Restricted Area but outside the radiologically controlled area. As
the kittens were being taken out of the Protected Area/Restricted Area,
contamination was detected on them by the exit portal monitors in our
security building. Health Physics immediately responded and surveyed the
kittens and the workers who handled them with a standard frisker. The
results showed that none of the workers were contaminated, but each
kitten measured about 6000 counts per minute. To reduce this activity,
Health Physics workers gave each kitten a warm bath and shampoo, which
lowered the levels to about 1000 counts per minute.

After the baths, Health Physics analyzed each kitten and found about one
microcurie of activity, primarily cesium 137, and small amounts of cesium
134 and cobalt 60. Since the initial evaluation, measured activity has
steadily decreased. A local veterinarian, who has made several visits to
the plant and provided the first recommended vaccinations, describes the
kittens as very healthy. Presently, their living quarters, which
includes a pen, bed, and toys, is in a room within the Unit 2/3
radiologically controlled area near the main entry station. They remain
in the care of plant workers.

The quantity of radioactive material found on and in the kittens is far
below Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reporting requirements.
Nevertheless, SCE has provided prompt and frequent updates to NRC
resident and regional personnel and is voluntarily providing this
Licensee Event Report.

During an effort to find the kittens' mother, we learned that an animal
control officer had caught an adult cat on Edison property just outside
the Protected Area/Restricted Area near Unit 1, one day before the
kittens were found. Because the cat was wet from a rainstorm and
listless, the animal control officer took the cat home where it slept
overnight in a cage in the officer's garage. The next morning, the cat
appeared healthy and alert. Thus, consistent with our practice, the cat
was released in a suitable area away from the plant.

After the kittens were found, workers at the plant tried, without
success, to find the adult cat in the area where it had been released.
Health Physics then contacted the animal control officer who handled the
cat and surveyed him, his vehicle, and his home. While no contamination
was found in or on him or in his vehicle or home, trace levels of
activity (a few nanocuries) were found on a rag he used to dry the cat,
and in feces deposited in the cage.

As the search continued, the remains of an adult cat on Interstate 5 were
sighted and recovered by a plant worker. Health Physics analyzed the cat
and found similar levels of activity as in the kittens. Based on the
similarity of color between this adult cat and the kittens, the rarity of
cats on-site, and the similar contamination in each case, Edison believes
it likely the adult cat was the mother of the kittens.

In an effort to find out how the kittens became contaminated, Health
Physics performed a comprehensive survey both inside and outside the
radiologically controlled area. While no contamination was found in
either the area where the kittens were discovered or outside the
radiologically controlled area, a few areas were identified inside Unit
1's radiologically controlled area where a small animal (like a cat)
could gain access and become contaminated. These areas meet all the
regulatory requirements for access control and precautionary procedures
to restrict

TEXT PAGE 3 OF 3

worker access. Nevertheless, to reduce the chance of a small animal
entering these areas again, additional physical barriers will be
installed, where practical.

The kittens remain under the care of plant workers. There have been over
500 requests from local residents, the general public, and plant workers
who wish to adopt the kittens. Because of the very low quantities of
activity involved, this occurrence did not affect the health or safety of
plant workers or the public.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

A search of the LER files yielded no similar event in the last three
years.

ATTACHMENT TO 9603120071 PAGE 1 OF 1

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA R. W. Krieger
EDISON Vice President
Nuclear Generation
An EDISON INTERNATIONAL Company

March 5, 1996

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Attention: Document Control Desk
Washington, D. C. 20555

Subject: Docket Nos. 50-206, 50-361 and 50-362
Voluntary Report
Licensee Event Report No. 96-001
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2 and 3

This submittal provides a voluntary report describing the discovery of
four slightly contaminated kittens at San Onofre. Neither the health nor
the safety of plant personnel or the public was affected by this
occurrence.

Sincerely,

Enclosure: LER No. 96-001


*** END OF DOCUMENT ***




Source: https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webS...ber=9603120071