Read between the lines

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I have always been infatuated with making things more efficient. I’m a computer systems engineer, so it’s wired into my brain. Unfortunately, I haven’t been using my Jr. High shop skills for years and would probably blow myself up without supervision.

Lately I’ve been interested in reclaiming lost energy in internal combustion engine exhaust.
Turbochargers tend to be more useful for power, but that requires more fuel, and creates even more heat. Technically more efficient, but it will only help someone go faster, not further.

With today’s electric/hybrid cars being mass laden due to ancient battery technology (and Americans irrational fear of diesel) I’ve been wondering how much energy could you harness off of the BTU of exhaust gases alone?

I’ve come up with non-mathematically supported designs where the exhaust gases go through a water-tube high-pressure closed-loop boiler to create steam to drive a reaction/Tesla/impulse turbine. I’m talking about how small can you make a boiler, using converging-diverging nozzle to optimize turbine output (supersonic steam for a Tesla? Lets say 12″ turbine, perhaps multiple units arranged along the same central shaft for either kind of turbine configuration/blade choice) using laymen trial and error as well as determining how it could scale for personal transport and/or off-grid power production.

The exiting steam would have to be condensed, and then pumped back into the boiler… Using a sterling engine with the heat collector inside of the boiler. It’s not a perpetual motion machine, but I’m trying to use every Joule of atom vibration available with machinist level tools and skills.

The turbine could be directly attached to the I.C.E. to offset the loss of power in a 4-cycle system when it is not in the power stroke (probably preferred.) It could also be connected to a generator to charge super/ultra caps, which power the vehicle accessories and/or an electric motor to drive the vehicle or device.
Add a turbo to collect the energy in the velocity of the exhaust gas and you have a double action system.

I think testing this kind of system would bust or confirm many of those alternative energy web pages out there while using technology over a hundred years old. With all these overly complicated systems flexing the muscle of computers, it seems it’s really all for show, and no real effort to make things go. It could also be inspiration for future internal combustion designs or at least be an awesome practical Rude Goldberg machine.

Let me know what you think.