A Novel Rotational Internal Combustion Engine with a Single-Lobe Peritrochoid Rotor (Design Fundamentals and Motoring Test of a Prototype Engine)

抄録

A novel rotational internal combustion engine is invented and investigated as an auxiliary power unit (APU) of aircraft and range extension power unit for electric automobiles. For the intended applications, IC engines are required to have vibration-free characteristics. There are no reciprocating components in the present engine, resulting in vibration-free operation. This engine mainly consists of a rotor casing, a rotor and a crankshaft. The rotor is shaped in a single-lobe peritrochoid (S.L.P.) curve. The rotor is turned using a crankshaft eccentricity e and self-rotation in the counter-direction is achieved using phasing gears. The rotor casing shape has two cavities that define the envelope curve of the rotating single-lobe peritrochoid rotor. The space between the rotor and casing is where the processes for the working gas are performed: intake, compression, ignition, expansion and exhaust. The intake of premixed air/fuel gas and exhaust of burnt gas are controlled by rotary valves installed on the combustion recesses of the rotor-casing. The combustion recesses are equipped with spark-electrodes for ignition. One of the advantages of this engine compared to Wankel rotary engines and a previous engine invented by authors is easy and reliable sealing of the working gas. In this engine configuration, a sealing component is only installed on the waist section of the rotor-casing, instead of complex sealing system used for the rotor in the case of Wankel engines, resulting in higher efficiency by reducing the leakage of working gas.

In this paper, first the configuration and geometries of this engine are described. Next a prototype engine is introduced and the cyclic behavior of the working process of the engine is explained. The performance of the prototype engine driven by an electric motor is also shown.