Comment by CastIron888
5 days ago
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.