Chemical Car essays

Chemical Car essays The Evolution of the Chem-E-Car Design The first E-Car design attempt is based on an exothermic reaction of an acid (HCl) and Baking Soda (NaHCO3). NaHCO3 will be placed in a vessel that has a valve at the bottom. When the valve is open, the reaction will be initiated and CO2 will be liberated. NaHCO3 + HCl NaCl + 2H2O + CO2 The CO2 liberated will create a pressure gradient. This pressure built-up will push the gear on the back-wheels and move the car. The second design also had a reactor vessel, but now with a turbine on top of the outlet stream. In this case we are planning on using an acid-metal reaction that will liberate hydrogen gas. The chemical reaction is: The highly pressurized gas will escape through a specially designed turbine mechanism mounted to the vessel. An axle is connected to a gear wheel on the outside of the vessel to the turbine wheel. The gear wheel will then work with another gear wheel on the main axle. As the gas turns the turbine wheel, the gear will turn the car forward. The reason that we made changes to the first design is due to the slow reaction to produce carbon dioxide, and also the pressure losses in the tubes will be very huge since the gas line is relatively long. By moving the position of the turbine, we will minimize the pressure drop. ...