|
RotaryICEman (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Lubrication is not the only issue, but mitigating friction & wear is certainly the biggest issue that's holding back most rotary engine designs. I did experiment with some of the techniques that are used in air bearings as you mentioned, but they require great precision, cleanliness & mechanical stability. A big design challenge & a difference between air engines & ICEs is the large temperature changes & material issues (such as expansion) that arise from this.
RotaryICEman (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Many are developing air motors & most are much further along than I could ever be; I'm just a guy in a garage. I feel that a more efficient ICE is more urgently needed. It's a more difficult task than developing air motors. Keep in mind that compressed air is not really a source of energy but rather a means of storing energy like a battery. In all likelyhood, the air will be compressed (not very efficiently) with energy that ultimately comes from burning some sort of fuel.
JakesArnoose (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
One more question. If model 15 ran well like you say, and the only issue was lubrication, would it still need lubrication if it were just an air engine? Could the air serve as a form of lubricant - like a tiny pocket of air slipping through the seals? Thanks
JakesArnoose (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Thank you for your feedback. Very helpful. I really enjoy watching your videos. In light of the current energy/fuel crisis and global warming have you considered focusing your knowledge and skills towards a non combustion engine? All your designs would work so well with compressed air!!!
RotaryICEman (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
(continued) I did allot of testing using compressed air & it would be a very good design for pumps & air engines. There are springs between the 2 vanes pushing them outwards. Note that this region becomes a varying volume as it rotates & that it could be made much larger, opening up the possibility for a number of other interesting uses. Good luck with your design.
RotaryICEman (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Model 15 is based on the old, classical, rotary vane architecture which is used in so many pumps. I later switched from internal to external vanes so that I could modulate vane engagement & so that I could replace the vanes & seals without a complete engine teardown. It was built out of steel, brass, bronze, and aluminum (before I adopted graphite) so it required 2-stroke fuel. It was a simple, quiet, smooth running design, but lubrication was a problem. (continued)
JakesArnoose (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Hi RotaryICEman. Could you please tell me a bit more about model 15? Success? Failure? I am currently building a compressed air version of this principle.
RotaryICEman (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
I've abandoned Plexiglas & Lexan because plate glass is more stable & rigid. I've tested plastic, glass & metal covers with both graphite & metal rotors. The seals are spring-loaded graphite inserts. Only they contact the glass cover. They seal well (without a drop of oil!), but they don't wear very well, especially the corners. Any dust, or grit in the air can cause severe seal damage! Most people mix oil with the fuel which helps allot, but it's a dead-end solution.
justinbimmerman (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Stupid question but how are you makeing a seal between the rotor and the lexan? Is it just tight tolerance?
RotaryICEman (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
I agree that things would progress much faster with a coordinated effort, but I've tried in the past, without success. It's very difficult to reach consensus among a group of people with different agendas, skill levels, etc. I think that the best that we can do is to share our ideas & test results, etc. in forums such as these. You should mention your design in my 'Model 32' video which gets the most viewership & also on the 'Open_RotaryEngine' group. |