The guys at Nye Thermodynamics seem to have been pursuing
turbomachinery as a hobby/business for years (at least as of 1997-8
when I discovered their site), and in the last several years seem to
be interested in getting usable electrical or hydraulic power from
their gas generators. Specifically, they have a design for gear
reduction of an auto turbocharger turbine to be used with an electric
generator:

http://www.gas-turbines.com/nt-pu37/index.html

http://www.gas-turbines.com/t18a40/index.html

Now my question is this: what, if any, design flaws (weight aside)
prevent this very simple means of gear reduction from being used for
turbocompounding?

The potentially obvious to me would be driven gear rigidity and shaft
alignment, and of course engine overall diameter limitations in
practical applications. Do gears experience unusual stresses at high
speeds that make this a complete bust? Are there efficiency or
durability concerns that make this design impractical for some reason
I can't see?

-Chris Wood

None that I know about. Interesting work.

Paul Lamar


Come to think of it, you could probably run the exhaust through a thermopile
after the turbo compound to extract more power. That could then be run through
inverters or used a DC for lighting.

Dale Davies