Abstract
Barrel engines are characterized by unconventional construction feature: cylinder axes are parallel to drive shaft axis. The rotation of the central power shaft is created from the reciprocating motion of the pistons with the use of different types of mechanisms, including wobble plate, swash plate or cam disc. Due to complex internal motion their kinematics and dynamics is completely different than that of crankshaft engine. Barrel engines are expected to have a potential to compete with currently used power units, especially in aircraft applications. The paper reviews and compares all classified types of barrel engines with conventional crankshaft engine in terms of kinematics: mechanical losses and mechanicals efficiency. Advanced computations were made for each mechanism to derive formulas describing three-dimensional movements of barrel engines' parts. Comparison of mechanisms parameters was made with the use of MatLab software. Computations methodology for mathematical description of all mechanisms' kinematics is presented as well as the results of mechanical losses and efficiency comparison. Wobble plate mechanism blocked by gear has been identified as the most promising for further analysis and research.
