Specific power Totally Explained

Everything about Specific Power totally explained

In engineering, the terms specific power or power density can refer to power either per unit of mass, volume or area. The following sections give several examples of where these terms are used.

Power per unit of volume

Heat engines can be characterized by their specific power, which is typically given in kilowatts per litre of engine displacement (in the U.S. also horsepower per cubic inch). The result offers an approximation of the peak-power output of an engine. This isn't to be confused with fuel efficiency, since high-efficiency often requires a lean fuel-air ratio, and thus lower power density. A modern high-performance car engine makes in excess of 75 kW/L (1.65 hp/in³).

Power per unit of mass

With batteries, specific power usually refers to the power-to-weight ratio, measured in kilowatts per kilogram (generally, W/kg). Fuels are usually measured in terms of energy density, since the available power is usually not a limitation. A high-octane fuel actually burns more slowly, and due to engine dynamics this can actually allow an engine to produce more power. In high performance vehicles, the specific power determines the vehicle's acceleration.

The specific power on a mass basis is also used to characterize solar panels for use in aerospace applications where this parameter is critical for an efficient launch.

Power per unit of area

The intensity of electromagnetic waves can be expressed in W/m². An example of such a quantity is the solar constant.

Wind turbines are often compared using a specific power measuring watts per square meter of turbine disk area, which is pi times the length of a blade squared. This measure is also commonly used for solar panels, at least for typical applications.Further Information

Get more info on 'Specific Power'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://specific_power.totallyexplained.com">Specific power Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.