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SAE TECHNICAL
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982687

The Two-Stroke Rotary Engine

Vladimir Shapovalov
Sandia National Laboratories

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982687

The Two-Stroke Rotary Engine

Vladimir Shapovalov
Sandia National Laboratories
Copyright 0 1998 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.

subsequently patented in Ukraine and Germany (19921996) [4, 5). Two pilot models of the engine were built
and tested. The model tests and design examination
demonstrated significant advantages of the VS-machine
over the conventional Wankel rotary and Otto piston
engines.

ABSTRACT
An innovative rotary enlgine uses a rotor that
executes pendulum-like oscillatory rotation. This is
converted into uniform rotation of the drive shaft by a
simple mechanism. The engine also employs parameter
resonance. The new design is compact and lightweight.
Economy of fuel and lubricants, reduced air pollution,
simpler and cheaper fabrication, lower levels of noise,
easier maintenance are among its advantages over the
Wankel rotary engine and the Otto piston engine.

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION, DESIGN AND

CHARACTERISTICS OF V&ENGINE
METHOD OF OPERATION - In the new method
the main components that accommodate the energy of
the expanding gas, i.e. the pistons, perform oscillatory
pendulum-like rotation about the rotor shaft axis. The
oscillatory motion is converted with a great degree of
precision into uniform rotation of the main shaft. The
method is essentially as follows. A piston or pistons
having any desired longitudinal section shape, such as a
circle, rectangle, triangle etc., are secured to the shaft of
a rotor and mounted in a hollow casing shaped in the
form of a body of revolution of the piston about the rotor
axis. The main shaft is connected to the rotor with a
gearing and a crank mechanism, so that the rotor
pistons in their rotation execute pendulum-like oscillatory
rotation within the casing, thus performing a two-stroke
or a four-stroke running cycle. It is evident that the
present method ensures that the conversion of the
motion pattern is entirely reversible, since oscillatory
rotation of the piston(s) causes uniform rotation of the
main shaft and vice versa.
The present method of engine operation may be
employed for development of innovative rotary engines.
Such VS-machines
may be used as four-stroke
carburetor, two-stroke carburetor or diesel engines or as
external combustion engines, like Stirling engines and
steam engines, etc. Also, the rnethod may be employed
for operation of pumps. Besides, it is possible to vary not
only the type of thermal cycle or function of the machine
but also modify the machine design by varying the shape
and number of pistons and liners, gas flow controls,
means for the conversion of the oscillatory rotation of the
rotor into the uniform rotation of the main shaft, cooling
and lubricating systems, sealings etc.

INTRODUCTION
In most internal combustion engines, whether
four-stroke or two-stroke, rectilinear reciprocal motion of
a piston subjected to pressure from the expanding gas is
converted into a uniform rotational movement of a shaft.
This method of operation is employed in the Otto
engines that are used in almost all automobiles.
An important disadvantage of the Otto engine is
that it does not permit a substantial reduction in size and
weight at a given capacity. At present, the ways for any
significant improvement of its principal characteristics
have been virtually exhausted, for in the period between
its invention in 1876 and the present day no major
changes were introduced into its concept. For more than
a century it was being perfected only by adopting design
modifications and new materials [l, 21.
In another method of operation of an internal
combustion engine, non-uniform rotary unidirectional
motion of a rotor is converted into uniform rotary motion
of a shaft. This method of operation is employed in the
Wankel engine (3). The Wankel engine is more compact
than the Otto engine but has a number of disadvantages
like sophisticated design, the use of expensive materials,
and rather involved processes of machining, particularly
in regard to the casing and sealings. For these reasons,
it took a long while for the Wankel engine to become
commercialized, and even now it is used for a relatively
small number of cars, mainly those manufactured by
Mazda of Japan.
With this in mind, a new rotary engine referred to
below as VS-engine was designed in Ukraine and

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Figure 1. VS-engine. Sectional elevation

VS-ENGINE DESIGN - As seen from Figs. 1
through 4, the engine has a casing 1, four plugs 2, a
rotor shaft 3, a main shaft 4, a flywheel 5, an ignition
distributor 6, inner walls 7 and 8, a crankcase 9 and a
fuel-air mixture manifold 10. Two rectangular pistons 11
are secured to the rotor shaft 3. A gear wheel 12
secured to the shaft 4 is in engagement with two pinions
13. Each of the pinions 13 is fixedly seated on the
journal of its respective crankshaft 14. Each of the
crankshafts 14 is journaled with one end in the end
cover 15 and with the other end, in the inner wail 7.
Each crankshaft 14 is connected by a connecting rod 16
to the coupling 17 fixedly attached to the hub of the rotor
shaft 3. The inner walls 7 and 8, the casing 1 and the
crankcase 9 are joined together, for instance with studs
18. Two types of sealings, namely annular sealings 19
and flat sealings 20, are provided to prevent leakage in
the compression and expansion of the gas.
VS-ENGINE OPERATION - Figure 5 shows how
the engine operates. After the ignition is switched on, a
starter initiates rotation of the flywheel 5 seated on the
main shaft 4. As the shaft 4 is rotated, its displacement
is transferred through the gear wheel 12, the pinions 13
and the crankshafts 14, so that oscillatory motion of the
rotor 3 is initiated and the supercharger 21 starts to
work. The compressed fuel-air mixture made from air

passed through the air filter 22 and fuel injected through

the nozzle 23 is let through the intake ports 24 in the
inner wall 8 into combustion chambers, either a, p or y,
6. The exhaust gas is let out through exhaust ports 25 in
the casing 1.
Figure 5a shows the start of a power stroke in the
combustion chambers a, p and a scavenging stroke in
the chambers 6, y. Fig. 5b shows the end of scavenging
in 6, y and a continuation of the power stroke in a, p.
Fig. 5c shows the start of a compression stroke in 6, y
and a continuation of the power stroke in a, /3. Fig. 5d
shows the end of the power stroke (start of exhaust
stroke) in a, p and a continuation of the compression
stroke in 6, y. Fig. 5e shows the start of the scavenging
in a, p a?d a continuation of the compression stroke in y,
6. Fig. 5f shows the end of the compression stroke (start
of a power stroke) in y, 6 and a continuation of the
scavenging in a, p. Fig. 5g shows the beginning of a
compression stroke in a, [j and a continuation of the
power stroke in y, 6. Fig. 5h shows the end of the power
stroke (start of the exhaust) in y, 6 and a continuation of
the compression stroke in a, p. Fig. 5i shows the initial
condition for the next cycle of engine operation (same as
Fig. 5a).

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Figure 2. VS-engine. Sectional view along line AA of

Fig. 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF PILOT VS-ENGINES _

Two VS-engines have been built in Ukraine. Each has a
180 mm O.D., 250 mm long casing and weighs about
27 kg. Most of the engine components depicted in Figs.1
through 4 are drawn approximately to scale, SO only a
few principal dimensions are given here. The sleeve is
130 mm in inner diameter and 50 mm in length. The
amplitude of rotor oscillation is 50 degrees. The total
swept volume is 340 cm3.
Power - Four running cycles are performed per
each revolution of the main shaft in a V&engine
depicted and tested. In each running cycle, 170 cm3 fuelair mixture is consumed. At a shaft rotational speed of
4500 rpm, 3.06 m3 mixture is consumed per 1 min. A
comparatively recent model of the Otto engine, known
as Ford Zeta (see Automotive Engineering, 1992,
January, p. 55) has a total swept volume of 1800 cm3 =
4 x 450 cm3 and consumes 4.06 m3/min at a shaft
rotational speed of 4500 rpm. Its power is 88 kW. The
mechanical and thermal efficiencies given, the power of
the VS-engine at hand should thus be about 60 kW at a
rotational speed of 4500 rpm.
Volume Power - The volume power equals the
ratio between the power and the swept volume and is
one of the most important characteristics of any engine.
DOHS Toyota, a two-stroke Otto engine, has a volume
power of about 60 kW/L. A two-stroke VS-engine has an
even higher value of volume power approaching
170 kW/L.

Figure 3. VSengine crank mechanism. Sectional view

along line BB of Fig. 1, if viewed from the right

Figure 4. VSengine gear train. Sectional view along line

BB of Fig. 1, if viewed from the left
3

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Figure 5. VS-engine operation

WS-engine
4

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The above advantage of the V&engine over the

Otto engine indicates that the new method of engine
operation
radically changes the functional principle
involved in the conversion of energy. It should be noted
that so high a value of volume power is not a result of a
greater shaft rotational speed. An increase in the latter
would bring about a drastic increase in the component
wear and consequently impose more stringent
requirements on the materials used. Furthermore, there
is no idle displacement of any piston in the VS-engine at
any time, and every stroke of a piston is involved in an
actual running cycle. At a given rotational speed of the
shaft, the average linear velocity of a piston in the VSengine is somewhat lower than that in the Otto engine.
Weiqht-to-Power Ratio - The value of this highly
important characteristic of an engine is approximately
0.45 kg/kW for the VS-engine The respective values for
the Wankel and the Otto engine are 1.2 and 1.4 kg/kW.
Clearly, the VS-engine far outperforms the conventional
engines in the weight-to-power ratio. This is due to both
its greater power and smaller weight.
Volume-to-Power Ratio - The volume-to-power
ratio is a measure of the compactness of an engine and
equals the ratio of volume of the entire apparatus to its
power. The volume-to-power ratio is about 0.1 L/kW for
the VS-engine, those of the Wankel and the Otto engine
being about 1.5 and 2.5 L/kW respectively.
Since the VS-engine is extremely compact and
has a low weight-to-power ratio, it is believed to be wellsuited for a wide variety of not only automotive but also
aircraft applications. Due to its low weight and small
bulk, the VSengine is highly attractive as an external
combustion engine, e.g. of Stirling type.
Power-to-Cost Ratio - This characteristic is of vital
importance for automobile engines, because cost is a
decisive factor for mass-produced commodities. No
precise range of cost can be given for the VS-engine at
present. However, a comparison *against the Otto engine
can give a general idea of what a VS-engine might cost,
if produced on a mass scale. The majority of principal
components of the VS-engine are simple in shape and
do not require special materials. They can be
manufactured with the use of the existing automated
equipment without introducing amy major changes into it.
The VS-engine ought to be less costly in production than
the Otto engine. Being twice as powerful, the VS-engine
is assembled from components whose cost is lower than
that of the Otto engine. Therefore, the VS-engine is
believed to have a highly competitive power-to-cost ratio.
Mechanical Efficiency - This characteristic is
dependent mainly on the losses of energy resulting from
friction. The frictional forces in any engine are highest
along sealings. In the four-cylinder Otto engine with each
of the cylinders having a swept volume of 400 cm3, the
energy losses due to the friction at the sealings are 20 %
higher than in the VS-engine. Furthermore, significant
losses similar in the order of magnitude to those at the
sealings occur in valve gears of the Otto engine.
Thermal Efficiency - The clombustion takes place
within a very narrow cylindrical space featuring a low
ratio between the heat-emitting area and the volume,
about 0.7 cm-. The thermal flux across the piston

surfaces is low because they are subjected to high

temperatures (hence the requirement that the pistons be
manufactured from a high-temperature steel).
At the onset of its expansion, the hot gas should
therefore have a higher temperature than in the Otto
engine whose ratio of the heat-emitting area to the
volume at the onset of expansion is much higher at
1.5 cm-. The temperature of the exhaust gas given, the
VS-engine will therefore have a higher thermal efficiency
than the Otto engine.
Vibrations and Noise - During each revolution of
its shaft, four running cycles are effected in the VSengine. As regards stability of operation, it compares
well with an eight-cylinder Otto engine. This in itself is an
advantage. It is believed, however, that the vibrations
and noise level are even lower than those in the Otto
engine owing to the VS-engine shape being symmetrical.
Besides, the fuel-air mixture travels the same distance
from the carburetor to any chamber in the VS-engine, so
that all its chambers operate under identical conditions.
This cannot be achieved in the Otto engine.
Coolina and Lubricatinq - A combined cooling
system is recommended for the VS-engine. Water is to
be passed through the conduits along the perimeter of
the cylindrical casing, oil is the coolant for the main
shaft, the rotor with its pistons and the inner wall 7, and
the inner wall 8 is air-cooled, see Figs. 1 and 2. A
conventional device, namely a crankcase, is used for
lubricating the crank mechanisms. Some of the
crankcase oil is to be pumped to main bearings and
rotor pistons through respective conduits.
The sealings may be lubricated by oil added to
gasoline in proportion from 1:90 to 1:420, as is the
method with conventional two-stroke engines. Another
option is to supply oil through narrow conduits leading
from the crankcase to the pistons.
Controls - The VS-engine may use control means
similar to those of the Otto engine. The rates of flow of
air and fuel-air mixture may be controlled by bottling or
any other conventional means. The ignition angle can be
varied either manually or automatically.
Environmental Safetv - It will be noted that the
degree of gas turbulence in the combustion chambers of
the VS-engine is much greater than in the Otto engine.
The reason is that the rotation of pistons gives rise to
additional pressure gradients which are not found when
a piston follows a rectilinear trajectory. This facilitates a
more nearly full combustion.
The VS-engine also features a more uniform
distribution of fuel-air mixture throughout the combustion
chamber space, and a more symmetrical shape of the
flame. These two factors facilitate a more nearly full
combustion as well.
Fuel Consumption - Based on the above
estimates and design features, it is believed that the VSengine will consume 15 to 25 % less fuel than the Otto
engine and save even more fuel if compared with the
Wankel engine. Following are some of the factors
contributing to the fuel conservation:
l greater stability of operation over a very wide range
of shaft rotational speeds;
0 lower losses of energy in friction;

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4 increasing vehicle useful weight and compartment

lower levels of vibrations;

greater degree of fuel-air mixture combustion;
l reduced heat losses;
l
smaller weight and volume;
l lower heat capacity and rapid heating to the service
temperature; and
l
perfect adaptability to various service conditions.
Enqine Start-Up - The VS-engine is started up by
a conventional method, i.e. the ignition is switched on,
and the flywheel and the s,haft are rotated by a starter.
Owing to the small heat losses and a low heat capacity,
the engine is heated to the required service temperature
within a very short time after the start-up. This makes it
convenient in use and also helps to save fuel, especially
in the winter time.
Adaptability - The VS-engine has low values of
weight, volume, frictional contact area and heat capacity
and can start up readily and operate smoothly even at
rather low temperatures. It can operate in an inclined
position, with the main shaft directed upright, or when
turned upside down. This results from the highly
symmetrical design of the engine and especially its
crankcase. If electronic fuel injection is used, the VSengine will be able to operate any length of time in any
position without loss of efficiency.
l

volumes owing to reductions in weight and

dimensions of the engine,
5) improving vehicle safety and maneuverability
owing to the smaller dimensions and lighter weight
of the engine, leaving more space for safety
systems, and
6) simplifying engine maintenance and repair and
thus shortening vehicle idle times.

REFERENCES
1. C.F. Taylor, The Internal-Combustion Engine in Theory
and Practice, Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., M.I.T. Press. Cambridge.
Mass., and London, England, p. 212-265, 1995.
2 . M.W. Stockel, M.T. Stockel, C. Johanson, A u t o
Fundamentals, The Goodheart-Willcox Comp. Inc., Tinely
Park, Ill., p. 27-73.
3. F. Wankel, US Pat. 3064880, 16 Sep. 1958.
4. V. Shapovalov, German Pat. 4201993, 25 Jan. 1992.
5. V. Shapovalov, Ukrainian Pat. 93005238, 5 July 1993.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Vladimir Shapovalov is a professor at the
State Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk,
Ukraine. His publications include over 100 papers, two
monographs and two university-level textbooks. He has
authored or coauthored more than 200 inventions and
holds patents of the US, Germany, Canada, Japan etc.
He is now with Sandia National Laboratories,
Albuquerque, NM where he works on a technology
transfer project dealing with one of his earlier inventions
- p o r o u s m a t e r i a l s n a m e d GASARs ( U S P a t e n t
5,181,549). He can be contacted at Sandia National
Laboratories, P-0. Box 5800-l 134, Albuquerque, NM,
87123; tel.: 505-845-3105, fax: 505-845-3430, e-mail:
mdbaldw@sandia.gov.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

With a view to radicallly improving performance of
combustion engines, an innovative rotary engine named
VS-engine was developed and built on a pilot scale.
Analysis and tests revealed that the engine of the
invention outperforms conventional engines in fuel
economy, environmental safety, power-to-cost ratio,
mechanical and thermal efficiency, volume power,
weight-to-power ratio, volume-to-power ratio, adaptability
and other characteristics.
It was concluded that the VS-engine may help
alleviate transit problems by:
1) saving fuel and lubricants,
2) reducing air pollution,
3) lowering noise outside and inside vehicles,