New engine sends shock waves through auto industry

[Throckmorton]

New Engine sends shock waves through auto industry

Quote:
However, researchers at Michigan State University have built a prototype gasoline engine that requires no transmission, crankshaft, pistons, valves, fuel compression, cooling systems or fluids. Their so-called Wave Disk Generator could greatly improve the efficiency of gas-electric hybrid automobiles and potentially decrease auto emissions up to 90 percent when compared with conventional combustion engines.

The engine has a rotor that's equipped with wave-like channels that trap and mix oxygen and fuel as the rotor spins. These central inlets are blocked off, building pressure within the chamber, causing a shock wave that ignites the compressed air and fuel to transmit energy.

The Wave Disk Generator uses 60 percent of its fuel for propulsion; standard car engines use just 15 percent. As a result, the generator is 3.5 times more fuel efficient than typical combustion engines.

Researchers estimate the new model could shave almost 1,000 pounds off a car's weight currently taken up by conventional engine systems.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42460541/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/

 

[JHZR2]

how does this differ from multiple combustor cans on a gas turbine? cycle may be a bit different, but sounds like that kind of a process.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
how does this differ from multiple combustor cans on a gas turbine? cycle may be a bit different, but sounds like that kind of a process.
I really don't know much about it.

 

[Shannow]

It looks like they've (ingeniously) combined a centrifugal fan, centrifugal reaction turbine, comprex wave supercharger...and something else that I'm not sure of...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/wave-disc-engine-generator-series-hybrids-10812.html

http://nextbigfuture.com/2009/10/wave-disc-engines.html

 

[oilboy123]

I hope one of these wonder engines works out. I do know we can't make it being squeezed on gas like what's happening now.

I really hope all these engines with lofty promises start making it to the market........

 

[mechanicx]

Wouldn't it be something if they could produce an affordable and reliable full scale engine like this. We wouldn't be held over the barrel with high oil prices with that kind of efficiency.

Quote:
I hope one of these wonder engines works out. I do know we can't make it being squeezed on gas like what's happening now.

I really hope all these engines with lofty promises start making it to the market........


I know, I would really be tickled to read a news story that oil prices have plummeted based on news that this high efficiency engine is being produced

. I'm not too optimistic of that happening though.

 

[Throckmorton]

Here is a better link:

Shock wave puts hybrid engines in a spin

Quote:
At its heart is a rotor containing a number of radial channels (see diagram).

As the rotor spins, the channels allow an air-fuel mixture to enter via central inlet ports. The mixture would escape through the outlet ports in the walls of the surrounding chamber, but by now the rotor has turned to a position where the channels are not pointing at the outlets.

The resulting sudden build-up of pressure in the chamber generates a shock wave that travels inwards, compressing the air-fuel mixture as it does so. Just before the wave reaches the central inlet ports, these too are shut off by the turning of the rotor.

The compressed mixture is then ignited. By this time the rotor's channels are pointing towards the outlet ports again, releasing the hot exhaust. As the gas escapes at high speed, it pushes against the blade-like ridges inside the rotor, keeping it spinning and generating electricity.

The design does away with many of the components of a conventional engine, including pistons, camshaft and valves. This makes it much smaller and lighter than a conventional engine. A car fitted with the new engine could be up to 20 per cent lighter overall, Müller claims. By eliminating losses associated with mechanical components, it will also make cars more fuel-efficient, he says.

Müller says the engine can be adapted to run on a variety of fuels, including hydrogen. Having built a small prototype, he hopes to have a 25-kilowatt version ready by the end of this year.

Rui Chen, who studies combustion systems at Loughborough University in the UK, says the design could significantly reduce the weight of a car's power train. "In terms of fuel, the design is much more flexible than a conventional piston engine," he adds.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928035.100-shock-wave-puts-hybrid-engines-in-a-spin.html

 

[dwendt44]

Looks like seal wear could be a problem (similar to a Wankle). IF, and it's a big IF, it ever gets in production, I'm sure they'll find cheaper methods for parts production.
A 'road worthy' unit would be heavier and less powerful and efficient than hoped for due to redundancies. I'm sure they'll add
a spark ignition for easier starting (cold weather), and other power sapping add ons.

Still, I'm cross my fingers.

 

[mechtech2]

It may need substantial development for a bunch of reasons.
I wonder about the powerband - power peak.

 

[Shannow]

I don't think seal wear will be that much of an issue...I seriously doubt that it needs seals...GTs don't have them.

Similar to "powerband", GTs don't have them.

I would envisage that this is pretty much a constant speed thing best suited for stationary/charging applications.

I really like it, and wish I'd thought of it when I was 12, and "designing" rotary engines with vanes and seals, flap valves, stacked disks.

 

[ChuckBerry]

I doubt that this engine is designed to output under widely varying load conditions. It's probably solely intended to replace internal combustion engines as power generators in hybrid vehicles.

If this proves practical, it could do a handy end run around the battery problem for hybrids, which has so far limited their usefulness to perhaps 50 or so miles before needing to be recharged.

 

[SteveSRT8]

The perfect engine for the Volt!

J/k, there's a LOT of development before this one hits the street in anything other than a prototype!

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
It may need substantial development for a bunch of reasons.
I wonder about the powerband - power peak.


They specifically talk about use in hybrids and whatnot - this might be why. They may work best at a single speed. Great for use with a generator.

 

[Vikas]

If this thing just falls of the radar in about couple of years, what would that say about this invention? If it is real, I am sure Ratan Tata will start manufacturing it in India

- Vikas

 

[dwendt44]

The most important 'secret' is: 'it can be done'.

The Wankle was proven to work in Germany, but the Japanese perfected it, if that's the proper word to use.

Might be the same way here. We reject it for a variety of reasons, and the Chinese or India picks the idea up and runs with it leaving us in the dust.

 

[mechtech2]

Even the forward pass in football is now considered OK.

 

[morris]

the wave deal reminds me of the pogue carburetor.

 

[Warlord]

Would make an interesting boat engine.

 

[meep]

I really like this. imagine that it's minimal idle rpm would be 2k rpm but closer 3k and twice that for any torque. Could have a beautiful turbine whine to it. need gearing, and not a likely candidate for direct drive, unless it was via a lot of gear reduction and a variable trans. This is a low torque engine.

Yes, it could have serious marine apps through the right gearing.

Depending on its final size, could be an awesome APU for a hybrid vehicle. Imagine it as a bolt-on for the leaf. Frankly, at efficiency #'s like those, if real, you could go close to the volt concept, but with batteries mainly for accel/decel with primary power source being the genset.

I can't wait for the start button to sound like a huey. My wife will have to literally tear me away from the car lot.

I want one just to play with. maybe for the lawnmower!!!!!

M