n7axw wrote:William Underhill wrote:Re: aircraft gas turbine engines, and ignition thereof, a couple of questions occur to me:
1) would an induction sparker violate the Proscriptions? Probably, I'm thinking, though it wouldn't be much of an electrical system - just a coil moving through a magnet, going to electrodes in the burner can(s). I'm wondering if magnets (or lodestones) are known on Safehold?
2) alternatively to an induction sparker, is it possible to have a fairly robust (i.e., high-temperature tolerant) flint-type striker mounted in the burner can(s)? Or some sort of mechanical arrangement to move one into the can for ignition, then out again afterwards?
3) as an alternative to a sparker, is it possible to build a high enough compression in a turbine for self-ignition? Maybe with the addition of plates that block gas flow out of the burner cans until ignition occurs? Basically, I'm wondering if an analogue to the diesel engine is possible in a turbine.
This all presumes, of course, that the basic notion of an internal combustion engine, whether reciprocating or rotating, gets introduced. Personally I'm inclined in favour of turbine engines; they're mechanically simpler than reciprocating and can run on a wider range of combustible fuels. I don't recall RFC dropping any hints as to whether petroleum deposits exist, but the existence of coal implies (to me, anyway) that they do.
Yes. There are references to petroleum deposits. I don't have references at my fingertips and am too lazy to hunt them down right now. But they are there.
I don't see any valid reason why a turbine engine couldn't be diesel. But then again, I'm not an engineer!
Don
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FYI a deisel turbine is called a jet engine...
As has been discussed before the biggest issue with gas turbines/jets is metalurgy when you can't refine critical additives such as Tungsten et-al. Without very precise machining abilities and advanced alloys traditional Deisels and petrol engines are much easier to build. Finally igniting a jet turbine without electricity will be VERY difficult and will require explosive charges like blank shotgun shells.
Flint igniters would wear out way to fast and I am sure that induction/static electricity ignition would violate the proscriptions.
Compression ignition deisels are very doable, in fact it is pretty much the definition of a Deisel. Glow plugs are only necesary in modern high performance engines.