Q&A · 3:00:19-3:00:45

Could Walter-reaction heat power a Stirling engine?

Using hydrogen-peroxide reaction heat to drive a Stirling engine is considered unlikely to improve submarine propulsion reliability, but the engineering explanation remains undeveloped.

Question

Could heat from the hydrogen-peroxide reaction in a Walter turbine power a Stirling engine and make submarine propulsion more reliable?

Short answer

Probably not; the combination is judged unlikely to improve reliability, but a detailed explanation would require diagrams.

Notes

The proposed submarine drive would use heat from the hydrogen-peroxide reaction associated with a Walter turbine as the heat source for a Stirling engine. The expected reliability improvement is doubtful. Explaining the objection properly would require diagrams. No detailed mechanism or thermodynamic calculation is supplied, so the answer remains a cautious rejection of the proposed combination.