potential new engine design...
 

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Came across this article today.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/toma...uel-emissions/

This engine doesn't exist yet but they want to build it and believe it to be very efficient, powerful and easy on fuel consumption. It's an ICE with combustion chambers and "pistons" and would classify as a turbine or rotary design. Their current emphasis is on aerospace but this could one day power /supplement street machines.

In a nut shell:

There are two central rings on a shaft that would drive a propeller or other propulsion system (6 speed manual tranny!). These rings have 3 combustion chambers each and house the spark plugs, 4 per combustion chamber. Situated around each of the central rings are 3 satellite rings, each containing 3 "pistons" and 3 secondary combustion chambers. As the satellites rotate counter clockwise, the central ring is forced to move clockwise. The pistons interact with the combustion chambers to create compression of the chamber. The "valves" in this system aren't anything other than fixed ports situated to interact with the combustion chambers as they rotate over them...same with exhaust. Each satellite ring has a centrifugal supercharger at its center that provides 4-5 psi of air charge, as this air charge is passed to the central ring it gets further compressed to around 30 psi. When the piston reaches as far into the chamber it can (TDC) the 4 spark plugs fire...that's 6 chambers firing simultaneously or nearly so...there is some speak of timing between the two central rings of 3 chambers each. Each combustion event provides torque to the central ring.

Now for the afterburner...as the piston is forced out and away from the central ring creating torque on the central ring, the expanding gasses pass into a secondary port that rotates into the chamber. This port leads to the secondary combustion chamber and if the driver is so inclined he can activate the afterburner which will...after the satellite ring rotates far enough, inject fuel into the exhaust mixture trapped in this after burner chamber (secondary chamber) and at the appropriate time, spark plugs ignite this mixture to provide more torque.

Quote from the article:

There is a 60-degree offset between the front and rear rings' timing, alternating combustion events between the front and back every 60 degrees. So that's 18 combustion events per revolution, happening with the firing cadence of a four-stroke, six-cylinder piston engine.

Their models predict 7500HP and 3150 lb-ft at 12,500 rpm from the engine which measures 29 inches height by 29 inches width by 19.5 inches length. It's estimated to weigh 217 lbs.

There would be no crank case oil or oil filter. Unfortunately, spark plug maintenance would require removal and disassembly of the engine :)

-Kevin

Re: potential new engine design...
 

It sounds pretty complicated, but it also sounds like that it's based on so many rotating components that maybe it wouldn't be that complicated to rebuild whenever the spark plugs come due. Already, in conventional LS engines you can run spark plugs for 100,000 miles. If it was constructed with an eye toward rebuilding, you could rebuild it and tune it up at the same time every 100,000 miles. Maybe not that much harder than rebuilding an automatic transmission? Maybe that's wishful thinking. 30 PSI will need some stout components. Wonder what it'd sound like. A cross between 3 V6s and a small jet engine? :lol:

Re: potential new engine design...
 

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At 12k rpm under load with 18 “bangs” every revolution it would likely sound unlike anything else!

-Kevin

Re: potential new engine design...
 

Give that design to Koenigsegg's engineers and it would be a reality in no time. They've had some cool inventions over the years with freevalve, dark matter motor, light speed transmission, and the direct drive system.