Frank,
Nice post, and I am glad it is in the archive.
However, trying to convince anyone that there is energy to be had
from exploding ice is like knocking one's head against a wall. I
have pretty much given up on the effort and await some financial
windfall like winning the lottery so that I can buy (and
sacrifice) a perfectly good diesel engine just to find out if it
the idea is anything more than so much hot air...
... make that cold air.
Jones
BTW, the idea is to mount a carburetor on the diesel intake and
set it very lean and use low octane gasoline. Convert the fuel
injection system to use pressurized subfreezing water (it will be
thereafter ruined, most likely), and set the injection advance
forward - to prevent premature ignition of the fuel mix.
The idea is that the water turns to ice first, then some of it
(the outer layer of each ice crystal sublimates back to vapor
(thereby lowering the effective compression ratio as the cycle
progresses and preventing preignition) then on ignition at TDC the
remainder ice "may" explode violently.
This is all supposition, based on the flimsiest of evidence (there
is some). However, the payoff is large.
Jones
