Comment by calmbonsai
5 days ago
Heh, that's not a monocoque, but it's definitely directly bolting the engine to one suspension component. WJW. We've come so far.
5 days ago
Heh, that's not a monocoque, but it's definitely directly bolting the engine to one suspension component. WJW. We've come so far.
You can see in the picture the boiler is taking the load of the machine. There is no additional chassis.
That's less frame than a Ducati has between the front and rear wheels.
Without speaking to the wisdom of stressing batteries mechanically, the idea of using drivetrain components as structural members of a vehicle is as old as self-propelled vehicles.
Hell, even a chariot sees the horse taking a part of the vehicle load.
Merely "using drivetrain components as structural members" is not a monocoque, but it's a start.
You're correct on the chariot.
A monocoque incorporates ALL components as stressed members so even a classic Lotus Esprit would fail that strict definition given that both hood and trunk are free-floating cantilevers, but point taken.
Oh, I see.
I was responding to the more general statement:
>You do not want the stressed members of any structure being a salient contributor to its power-train. Not related, see mammalian, reptile, fish, and insect physiologies.
A steam traction engine is certainly at a different level to an F1 car, in both performance and engineering.
On the other hand, I think adding dynamic load to a steam boiler is riskier than doing so to an internal combustion engine.