ALTERNATIVE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH ORGANISATION Adelaide Branch

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Welcome to the first newsletter for 1997. This year starts of on a bit of a sour note with the news that the "Herbal Fuel" story from India featured in December's newsletter was a hoax. A report in the Times of India, October 2nd, states that the claimed inventor used a hollow wooden paddle, which contained kerosine inside it to stir the mixture. A wax button sealed the liquid inside the paddle until the heat from the process melted the wax and released the kerosine. Another story surrounded by controversy is the report of a Finish anti-gravity machine by Dr. Eugene Podkletnov which has also been debunked by other scientists. Anyway, enough of the bad news, lets get on with this year and lets get some more local content in this newsletter - at least we can then see for ourselves if the claims are crap or not!!!

DECEMBER MEETING.

The meeting began late as usual (from our survey response it seems this needs to be addressed in the the new year) at 8.10 PM with 43 people present. Ashley began the proceedings by welcoming everyone, while Peter got things under way more formally with the Treasurers report. I then gave the Secretaries report which included the ASTRO Vic meeting information. This groups December meeting consisted of a display of members projects and a discussion ensued about the possibility of doing that at one of our meetings. (see separate article in this newsletter) Next came Ashley's give-aways and a letter from Exposure magazine requesting technical articles from anyone willing to submit their ideas.

This led into the general part of the meeting which I began by updating this month's changes to my fuel saving system, followed by Andrew and his latest efforts. Michael then gave a working demonstration of his Tesla coil and produced some very healthy looking sparks and lit up a fluro tube by holding it near the device. Finally Meredy asked if there was any way the noise from the security system on the railway line near her house could be blocked out, the general concensus being that moving house would be a good option!

Our guest speaker Ian gave an excellent talk on Feng Shui principles and the work he is personally doing in this field. Ian has been having good success in balancing houses and businesses in both suburban and country areas of SA over the past few years. The talk included a look at some of the hardware Ian uses including mandalas, mirrors and coils. Lots of people were taking notes and he certainly had the attention of the rest of the group, so I think we can say it was another successful and entertaining ASTRO night!

BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!

Did you notice at the two recent meetings when Tony did not attend, the chocolate biscuits at supper still disappeared rapidly??? Could this be the answer Tony has one of these devices, made himself invisible and came to the meetings without anyone knowing!! This article came from the Sunday Mirror newspaper in England and probably has as much truth in it as a lot of the free Energy devices we have seen over the years - believe it or not!!!

FEBRUARY MEETING.

Just getting in ahead of time here. The committee is looking for your input for the February meeting. We plan to have a demonstration night where YOU can bring along your projects and show them to us all - here is your chance for fame and glory!!!! For the committee to decide whether this is a worthwhile exercise, we need to know if anyone is going to show up with anything, otherwise it is going to be a real boring night. If you would like to share your experiments with us please let Ashley or myself (Bruce) know at the January meeting.  

ETHANOL BOUNTY SCHEME AXED.

Mr Howard and his followers have axed the $25million Ethanol Bounty Scheme which was put in place to get an ethanol industry operational in Australia. This move has now placed the future of ethanol production in doubt with several half built plants in NSW probably going to stay that way. As our guest speaker from a few months ago stated, 10% ethanol blended with 90% petrol or diesel reduces the exhaust emissions greatly. This industry would also create jobs and the money generated from selling this fuel would stay in Australia. It all makes sense to me so I encourage you to write to your local politician and complain about this cut.

HOW MANY KM'S FROM A TANK?????

This is a response to Cedric's question from the last meeting as to whether Andrew or I have checked how many extra kilometres we get out of a tankful of petrol as a double check of economy improvements. I cannot answer for Andrew, but I have listed below the records of the various stages of development of my system and the number of km's obtained per tank. Calculations were made on the basis that I average 400 km's per week, the fuel tank holds 36 litres and the price is 72c/L. The last test has not yet been completed as the fuel tank is taking a long time to empty and this newsletter has to be printed!

PHRENETIC PHRASES.

Easy one this month!! (Except for the Librans)

HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY.

Galileo Research in America has been performing R & D on an innovative powerplant (HISEN-FPEG) to be used in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, that will reduce costs for on-board power sources while providing a small, lightweight, low polluting, low maintenance generator set that will utilise a variety of available fuels and be very fuel efficient.

It is claimed that this engine/generator completely outstrips all other existing and developing powerplant technologies such as the Fuel Cell, Gas Turbine, Rotary engine, Stirling engine, etc and will offer markets for these devices a lower priced substitute with improved fuel economy, and a cleaner burning energy source that will meet environmental regulations well into the future, with greater reliability and durability.

The HISEN-FPEG generator set is constructed of two directly opposed engine pistons and heads with a linear generator between them. The piston-rod assembly shuttles back and forth in a straight line from compression-ignition in its opposing cylinders. Attached to the piston/rod assembly are magnets which move within coils that generate electric power. A great deal of friction is reduced within the engine, due to a lack of side forces and the resultant design of only one moving part (the piston-rod-magnet assembly). Energy from combustion and expansion of a fuel mixture is concentrated in a straight line in the HISEN-FPEG because the pistons are not experiencing angular loading in the cylinders from traditional crankshaft and connecting rod mechanical arrangement. The lack of a crankshaft also enables the HISENFPEG to achieve various compression ratios, and hence it has the ability to utilise a variety of fuels, from pump grade petrol to neutral gas and hydrogen to diesel fuel. Computer control of the HISEN-FPEG's ignition timing and fuel injection system also enable ultra low emissions to be achieved.

A technical paper entitled "A High Specific Energy Output Free-Piston Engine-Generator (HISEN-FPEG) for Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Electric Utility Power Generation" (what a mouthful) can be purchased from Galileo Research Inc. P.O. Box 25, Torrington, CT 06790. Their work can also be accessed on the Intemet at http:/www.gallleoresearch.com/hisen.htm.

IMPROVING FUEL ECONOMY. (Part 2)

Continuing on from last month’s description of the basic fuel cut-off unit, this article looks at the more complex (and expensive) control unit and the extra benefits that can be gained by using it.

This control unit varies from the one described last month in that it has a MAP sensor from a Commodore used in the circuitry to detect the vacuum at the inlet manifold, thus this can be used to switch other devices on or off at any engine operating point. The extra “mechanicals” consist of 4 metres of 6mm copper tube wrapped around the exhaust manifold with an air bleed solenoid  and an air bleed jet feeding into it. The drawing below shows the mechanical layout of the system and while the water injection unit is shown, I am not using it as I have not found any real benefit from it at this stage.

The stage at which each part of the system works is shown in the table below. From this table it should be obvious that the lighter the acceleration, the more effect the control circuit has on the amount of hot air injected into the engine. Because this hot air is being fed into the manifold directly below the carburettor, it has a vaporising effect on the fuel and so although there is more air going into the engine, in reality the fuel mixture actually becomes richer. The control unit has the same functions as the simpler unit described last month (overide under 1200 RPM or if the brakes are applied) however because it is sensing the engine vacuum, it has the advantage that any on/off function can be taken from it’s output under any engine condition.  

Recapping from last month, I have experienced gains in fuel economy from a base 28 MPG up to 38 MPG using the basic unit. Adding the more complicated unit and the air bleeds as described above, I am currently getting 44 MPG each week, which equates to another 150Kms per tankful of petrol - a real saving! This does vary slightly according to the ambient temperature however, with the system performing better on hot days. Once the temperature gets below 8 -10 degrees, extra hot air gains are reduced to 1 or 2 MPG, however this could probably be improved by a better heat collector and better insulation around it.

If anyone would like to experiment with this technology while we are waiting for the “big breakthrough”, I have two control boxes left for sale, one new one for $150 and one secondhand one for $110.(used for one week only)

POWER FROM THE SEA.

In February 1994, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and US-based Sea Solar Power Inc. of York, Pennsylvania, for an initial 100 MW OTEC power plant. Following construction and fitting out in the US, the US$250,000 power plant will be towed to a location some 46 km off the coast of Kulasekarapattmarn in the Gulf of Mannar in southern India. Electrical power from the plant, sufficient to meet the needs of some 200,000 people, will be purchased by TNEB at around 7 Indian cents per kWh and fed to the grid network by submarine cable.

In the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) operating cycle for the new plant, warm sea water is pumped down from the surface through boilers which deliver heat to vaporise refrigerant fluid. The high pressure vapour from the boiling fluid flows up through turbines coupled to generators. The low pressure exhaust from the turbines passes through condensers which are cooled by cold water pumped from the deep ocean. The condensed fluid flows back to the boilers in a completely closed system and is circulated to provide a continuous source of power. The working fluid selected for the plant is propylene, a low cost hydrocarbon, which unlike other common refrigerant fluids including R- 11, R- 12 or R-22, is not an ozone depleting pollutant. The thermodynamic properties of propylene also enable the physical size and weight of the turbines, boilers, condensers, plant and pipework associated with the closed fluid system to be significantly reduced.

For the operational plant, surface water at a temperature around 27 degrees C flows at low velocity through an inlet screen completely surrounding the platform. The sea water is de-oxygenated to reduce marine fouling and corrosion, and is pumped at a rate of 248 cubic metres per second by a total of 8 vertical axis propeller type pumps driven by propylene turbines to 48 multi-stage, high efficiency boilers. The vacuum de-oxygenation system also produces fresh water as a by-product in specific design quantities from 12 tonnes up to 6,200 tonnes a day, depending on demand. The shell and tube design of the boilers includes a total transfer surface area of 109,000 square metres, with a very high transfer coefficient of approximately 2,000 Btu/hr. The surface water is finally ejected back into the ocean through controlled, steerable thrust louvres beneath the hull to provide water jet propulsion and dynamic positioning of the platform. High pressure propylene vapour generated in the 48 boilers, flows up through a total of 12 axial flow turbines which incorporate adjustable nozzles for power control. Operating at 1500 RPM, the turbines are each directly coupled to 8.5 MW, 13.8 KV, 50 Hz generators with the output fed at 69 KV by submarine cable to a shore based substation.

Low pressure exhaust from the turbines flows upwards through condensers and returns as a liquid to the boiler feed pumps in a completely closed cycle. The condensers are cooled by cold sea water pumped up from the deep ocean by 4 propylene turbine powered, vertical axis propeller pumps located above the water-line near the upper deck. The cold water is lifted at a rate of 2.4 metres per second through a massive flexible pipe 8.5 metres in diameter and 1,000 metres long, suspended from a flexible support structure in a well at the centre of the platform. Cooling water from the condensers is discharged into the sea through steerable louvres beneath the hull to provide propulsion and dynamic positioning, assisting the flow from the warm water circuit. The combined flow rate of water from the boilers and condensers will be 384 cubic metres per second, roughly equivalent to a hydroelectric power plant with a head of 28 metres.

The OTEC platform is equipped with compressors driven by two independent 6 MW gas turbines to provide start-up power for the warm surface water and coolant sea-water pumps. The compressors vaporise the propylene, operating the pump turbines and circulating warm water through the boilers. The 12 main turbo-generators are started sequentially to deliver power to the system and the process becomes self-sustaining, allowing the gas turbines to be shut down.

NEXT MEETING.

The next meeting will be held on the second Friday of the month once again, this time being FRIDAY JANUARY IOth, with the doors being open from 7.30pm and the meeting commencing at 8pm.

"THE SACRED LANDSCAPE GEOMETRY OF RENNES"

SIMON MILES will be our guest speaker and will talk on unlocking the keys of sacred sites in France, England and Egypt.

This month we will also show a video about an engine which is being developed in Melbourne by it's designer, Barry Hilton. In this video Barry shows the engine running and also explains it's principle of operation. What makes this engine different is that it only has a few moving parts, is of rotary design and has an exhaust which runs cool!

I hope to see you all at what should be another interesting meeting meeting, so don't forget to bring along some supper to share and $3 to keep the group running.

PHRENETIC PHRASES ANSWER: Split decision!