/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>2576129
>>2577195
>No, pretty much any fuel can run in a diesel engine except solid fuels.
I should add that solid fuels should technically be possible with Otto or Diesel engines, but you'd need either a large bore or stroke to compensate for the large "cylinder clearance" volume.

>>2521249
>At sizes this small a reciprocating engine will be more efficient than a turbine.
An atmospheric steam engine is 10-15% efficient whereas a gas turbines get around 20%-30% (1-2 bars gauge pressure). I'd guess the two are about equivalent in terms safety. Large steam turbines in power plants get 55% efficiency, but they are using pressures of 100 bars.

>>2521273
Turbine engines run off the Brayton cycle (see picrel >>2520658) which basically compresses the air and fuel in a static combustion chamber which could be loaded with solid fuels without a problem. Solids in a typical Otto (gas) or Diesel engine would bend the connecting rods among other issues. However, pistons could still replace the compressor and turbine in a gas turbine engine to achieve higher pressures, and thus run more efficiently. Another possibility is to have an Otto or Diesel engine where the cylinder is connected via the cylinder head to a separate combustion chamber for the coal, but the chamber's volume would negatively affect the compression ratio. Thus an engine running coal would be significantly larger than an engine running off liquid fuels for the same efficiency (but also more powerful).

>>2521296
But they're less efficient or they risk melting the exterior walls. At the end of the day, turbine is simpler.