[Vision2020] "Acceleration" Defined

[Ted Moffett]

Tom et. al.

You seemed to miss the joke in my suggestion that the CBD could become a
Trinitarian Village like "Chinatown" in some large US cities, but this is no
joke:

You want horsepower?  Forget the dragster!  How about engines in one
"machine" with the output of 13 Hoover Dams?

Try this:

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/propul/SSMEamaz.html

Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main Engine operates at greater temperature
extremes than any mechanical system in common use today. The liquid hydrogen
fuel is -423 degrees Fahrenheit, the second coldest liquid on Earth. When
the hydrogen is burned with liquid oxygen, the temperature in the engine's
combustion chamber reaches +6000 degrees Fahrenheit - that's higher than the
boiling point of Iron.


   - The maximum equivalent horsepower developed by the three SSMEs is
   just over 37 million horsepower.
   - The energy released by three of Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main
   engines is equivalent to the output of 13 Hoover Dams.
   - Although not much larger than an automobile engine, the SSME
   high-pressure fuel turbopump generates 100 horsepower for each pound of its
   weight, while an automobile engine generates about one-half horsepower for
   each pound of its weight.
   - Even though Rocketdyne's SSME weighs one-seventh as much as a
   locomotive engine, its high-pressure fuel pump alone delivers as much
   horsepower as 28 locomotives, while its high-pressure oxidizer pump delivers
   the equivalent horsepower for 11 more.
   - If water, instead of fuel, were pumped by the three Space Shuttle
   Main Engines, an average family-sized swimming pool could be drained in 25
   seconds.
   - The SSME high-pressure fuel turbopump main shaft rotates at 37,000
   rpm compared to about 3,000 rpm for an automobile operating at 60 mph.
   - The discharge pressure of an SSME high-pressure fuel turbopump could
   send a column of liquid hydrogen 36 miles in the air

------------------

Ted Moffett


On 1/10/06, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:
>
>  "Acceleration" as defined by Keith Black (http://www.keithblack.com)
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> One top fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower
>
> than the first 4 rows of stock cars at the Daytona 500.
>
>
>
> Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2 gallons of nitro
>
> methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same
>
> rate with 25% less energy being produced.
>
>
>
> A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the
>
> dragster's supercharger. With 3,000 CFM of air being rammed in by the
>
> supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a
>
> near-solid form before ignition.
>
>
>
> Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.
>
> At 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture of nitro methane, the flame front
>
> temperature measures 7,050 deg F.
>
>
>
> Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the
>
> stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric
>
> water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
>
>
>
> Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of
>
> an arc welder in each cylinder. Spark plug electrodes are totally
>
> consumed during a pass. After halfway, the engine is dieseling from
>
> compression, plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1,400 deg F. The engine
>
> can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.
>
>
>
> If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up
>
> In the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow
>
> cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.
>
>
>
> In order to exceed 3 00 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an
>
> average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph (well before
>
> half-track), the launch acceleration approaches 8G's.
>
>
>
> Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have completed
>
> reading this sentence. Top fuel engines turn approximately 540
>
> revolutions from light to light! Including the burnout, the engine must
>
> only survive 900 revolutions under load.
>
>
>
> The redline is actually quite high at 9,500 rpm.
>
> Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and
>
> for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimate $1,000.00 per
>
> second.
>
>
>
> The current top fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.441 seconds for
>
> the quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher). The top speed record is
>
> 333.00 mph (533 km/h) as measured over the last 66' of the run
>
> (09/28/03 Doug Kalitta).
>
>
>
> Putting all of this into perspective, picture this scenario:
>
> You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter "twin-turbo" powered
>
> Corvette Z06. Over a mile up the road, a top fuel dragster is staged
>
> and ready to launch down a quarter mile strip as you pass. You have the
>
> advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard up through the
>
> gears and blast across the starting line and pass the dragster at an
>
> honest 200 mph. The "tree" goes green for both of you at that moment.
>
>
>
> The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot down
>
> hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums
>
> and within 3 seconds, the dragster catches and passes you. He beats you
>
> to the finish line, a quarter mile away from where you just passed him.
>
>
>
> Think about it, from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200
>
> mph and not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he
>
> passed you within a mere 1,320 foot long race course.
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> And that, my friend, is ACCELERATION!
>
>
>
> Take care, Moscow.
>
>
>
> Tom Hansen
>
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
>
> "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
> safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
> sideways, chocolate in one hand, a drink in the other, body thoroughly used
> up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO. What a ride!'"
>
>
>
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