BMW pursues steam power solution
BMW is looking back to the future with its Turbosteamer.No it doesn't slice, dice nor cut cooking time in half... In fact BMW's Turbosteamer has nothing to do with double-boilers or healthy green veg! And before you check, it is January 1, not April 1...
Believe it of not, the Bavarian marque, maker of current hotshoes such as the 507hp M6 super coupe and reigning world touring car champ, is looking to steam power to make production cars more efficient.
BMW Group Research and Engineering claims it has has succeeded in harnessing the biggest and as yet untapped source of energy in the car: heat.
Combining a compact modern spin on a steam engine with a conventional 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, BMW has measured reduced consumption by up to 15 per cent and generated 10kW more power. At the same time, up to 20Nm more torque was measured.
Turbosteamer is the name BMW has given to the technology but the principal is the same as conventional steam engines: Fluid is heated to form steam in two circuits and this is used to power the engine.
In this case the primary energy supplier is the high-temperature circuit which uses exhaust heat from the petrol engine as an energy source via heat exchangers. The steam is then conducted directly into an expansion unit linked to the crankshaft of the car's conventional engine. Most of the remaining residual heat is absorbed by the cooling circuit of the engine, which acts as the second energy supply for the Turbosteamer.
"The Turbosteamer reinforces our confidence that the internal combustion engine is undoubtedly a technology fit for the future," comments Professor Burkhard Göschel, Member of the Board of Management responsible for development and purchasing at BMW AG.
The components for the drive have been designed so that they are capable of being installed in existing model series, BMW claims. Tests have been carried out on a number of sample packages to ensure that a car such as the BMW 3 Series provides adequate space.
BMW says its goal is to have a system capable of volume production within ten years.
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