Posted by jerry on August 26th, 2009 — Posted in Journal, Steam
They’ve done it! British Steam Car Challenge driven by Charles Burnett III has broken the land speed record for a steam car averaging 225.055kph (139.843mph) on two runs over a measured mile.
The car weighs around three tonnes and measures 7.6 metres (25 feet). It is powered by a steam turbine driven from 12 boilers containing around 3.2km (2 miles) of tubing. The car runs on clean-burning propane producing superheated steam at 400C. The steam enters the turbine at more than twice the speed of sound. The aerodynamic body is made from carbon fibre composite and aluminium on a steel space-frame chassis.
While this car won’t translate into the next green steam sports car, the innovation that has gone into the design will spin off into many areas, from autoclaves to pressure systems. That said, it is tempting to wonder how well just one of those boilers might be adapted to drive an updated Stanley or Doble to make a lively quick starting road car.
Charles Burnett III summed up the the run while congratulating the crew, engineers and the whole team that made this possible by saying:
“It was absolutely fantastic I enjoyed every moment of it. We reached nearly 140mph on the first run before I applied the parachute. All systems worked perfectly, it was a really good run. The second run went even better and we clocked a speed in excess of 150 mph. The car really did handle beautifully. The team has worked extremely hard over the last 10 years and overcome numerous problems. It is a privilege to be involved with such a talented crew, what we have achieved today is a true testament to British engineering, good teamwork and perseverance”
The official record has stood since 1906, and while there have been individual runs, such as the 1985 ‘Steamin’ Demon’ the international measuring authority requires two runs in opposite directions within 60 minutes. Previous attempts have only managed one-way runs. Even so, the British team from Lymington achieved 150mph on one of the record-breaking runs.
The team will try to better the record tomorrow. For more information, see the UK Steam Car Club. Once the record attempts are over the car will be placed on permanent display at the UK National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.
With the timing equipment being set up on the 7mile lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base and battling extreme daytime temperatures well over the old century, the British Steam Car Challenge is showing every sign of being capable of breaking the official land speed record for a steam powered car. The record, set in 1906 at 127.69 mph has already been passed in tests with the car reaching 148mph yesterday and averaging 131mph for the two way run within 60 minutes as required by the international timing federation (FIA).
The team recognises that the fastest steam car to date – and the one to beat – is the ‘Steamin’ Demon’ of the “Barber-Nichols Team”. On 18th August 1985 The Barber-Nichols Team carried out three successful passes and achieved an American National Record at 145.607mph. But at that stage there was no attempt to establish an FIA record. That car used a conventional piston engine powered by a boiler designed by a student of Abner Doble for use in a steam powered bus. When the us trials fell through, the Barber-Nichols team acquired the power plant and installed it in a car.
With the formal record attempts to commence at 2.00pm GMT, 53 year old principal driver Charles Burnett III is no stranger to world speed records – mostly on water. He holds world records using catamarans and monohulls powered by diesel, petrol and LPG. He was included in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1999 for an offshore water speed record of 137mph.
Posted by jerry on August 8th, 2009 — Posted in Journal, Steam
The British attempt on the world steam speed record has been unofficially broken by the team on Edwards Air Force Base in the USA. After several setbacks, the test driver Don Wales has reported that the car is now running well and the team is preparing for an official record attempt on 17 Aug when the FIA official timers will be in place.
The car – dubbed the world’s fastest kettle – is capable of boiling water at the rate of 23 cups of tea per second – the steam drives a turbine which is geared to dirctly drive the rear wheels. The latest run of 131 mph is the fastest so far, and is faster than the current official record which stands at 127.69 mph.
As one of the individual sponsors of this car I wish the team well!
Posted by jerry on July 11th, 2009 — Posted in Journal, Steam
The British Steam Car Challenge crew arrived at Edwards Airforce Base on 29 June to prepare for their land steam record attempt with the steam turbine powered car ‘Inspiration’.
The car has arrived safely and the crew are working now to install the safety equipment required by the Southern Timing Association – the recognised body for Land Speed Records, and unpack everything needed to support the car – the tools, the turning jack, and everything needed to sustain the crew – even the toilets have to be brought to the site.
But it’s not easy – with temperatures soaring to 100F during the day, the crew have to work early before the place heats up. And the afternoon winds are too strong for the car, so this will affect the time for the speed attempt. The British Steam Car Challenge team are aiming to break the official land steam record of 127mph set in 1906 by Fred Marriott in a modified Stanley steam car. The official record has stood unbroken since that time, making it the longest standing speed record.
On 11 July the team’s test driver, Don Wales will arrive and dynamic test runs are expected to start on Monday 13th July
I wish the team well
Cheers
Jerry
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Motorbike mechanic Rusnan Erces has hand built a steampunk replica of Sylvester Roper’s steam motorcycle in Indonesia. This is his third version of the bike and it is now running well.
It takes about 15 minutes to raise steam using charcoal fuel, bringing it up to an ideal operating pressure of 50-100psi. Rusnan estimates the bike may be capable of up to 50-75mph (80-120kph). The safety valve is set to release at 100psi to keep things safe, although the boiler has been tested to 150psi. The bike can carry 10litres of water and the burner 3kg of briquettes, giving it an endurance of 3 hours continuous running in a static display. The engine appears to be a single cylinder single acting piston-valve type, and the boiler is likely a simple water tube type with a burner grate below, which can use charcoal, coal, coke or wood – it could also potentially use compressed waste paper making it a very cheap vehicle to run.
The bike is an inspiration in terms of what can be built from scrap sheet metal, some motor parts, piping and an old bicycle! This is the ultimate in appropriate technology, particularly for a developing country like Indonesia. Rusnan hopes that this will be the start of a whole movement aimed at building and running steam motorbikes – he has certainly made a good start!
