The Rotary (Wankel) Engine

Ben Larson Peter Shreffler Scott Steinmetz

History

Ideas have existed since the 16th century German scientist Felix Wankel was the first to put the idea into a working design

Funded by the German Aviation Ministry during WWII Germany believed that the rotary engine would propel their industry into eventual greatness

Wankel perfected his design and sold the rights for the design to several car companies Mazda produced its first rotary power car in 1961 and created their Rotary Engine Division in 1963

History

Popularity for the rotary powered vehicles increased rapidly until the gas crisis in the mid 70s

Rotary engines were not very fuel efficient compared to piston engines Strict emissions standards could not be met with current rotary technology

These two factors severely hurt the sale and development of rotary engines Mazda was the only car company that continued to produce cars with rotary engines through the 90s

History

This graph demonstrates the rise and decline of the rotary engines popularity through the mid to late 90s

Automotive Success with Rotaries

In 1991, the Mazda 787B won the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race

Rotary engines were then banned from the C2 circuit

The RX-8 is able to produce 238 hp from its 1.3L engine and with good gas mileage and favorable emissions

Intake

Begins when apex passes intake port Increase in chamber volume Creates low pressure zone Pulls in Fuel/Air mixture Completes when next apex passes intake port

Compression

Begins after intake Volume of chamber decreases Fuel/Air mixture compressed Chamber compresses to its minimum size

Combustion

Spark plugs ignite mixture Two spark plugs to maximize amount of fuel ignited Causes rapid chamber expansion Turns rotor which produces work output on shaft Power stroke continues until apex passes exhaust port.

Exhaust

Chamber decreases in size Forces combustion biproducts out the exhaust port Continues until next apex passes exhaust port. Entire cycle repeats

The Cycle

Rotor mounted eccentrically on shaft One rotation of rotor provides three rotations of shaft Spark plugs fire 3 times per rotor revolution One rotation of shaft for each firing of spark plugs

Port Timing

Intake ports shape and size can be altered to change engine timing Limited by oil and coolant track Overlap is when intake port opens before exhaust port closes Support at least 50% of apex seal Street ports

Moved up to delay intake closing Moved out to open intake earlier Limited overlap and with reasonable limits of oil tracks
Very close to oil tracks Reduced engine life Sometimes large overlap Increased power at high RPM Decreased power at low RPM

Racing ports

Advantages

Vibration

No unbalanced reciprocating masses

For similar displacements, rotaries are generally 30% lighter and produce twice as much power Contain half as many moving parts Have no connecting rods, crankshaft, or valve trains

Power/Weight

Simplicity

Disadvantages

Fuel Efficiency and Emission

The shape of the combustion chamber, which is long instead of small and concentrated, makes the combustion travel longer than a piston engine Due to the longer combustion chamber, the amount of unburned fuel is higher which is released into the environment
The lack of infrastructure and development for the rotary engine has caused their production and maintenance costs generally to be more

Cost

Future Trends: Hydrogen

Highly Flammable Production Energy from

Crude Oil, Coal, Natural Gas, and Nuclear

Combustion Results in Water and NOx Energy Density

High Per Unit Mass Low Per Unit Volume

Challenges of Hydrogen

Storage

Requires Large Tank

High Temperatures

Combustion

Pre-ignition causes backfiring, excessive wear NOx formation

Injection Components

Low temp rubber seals

Rotary Hydrogen Solutions

Low Operating Temperature

No Backfiring Very Low Levels of NOx

Rubber Injector Seals Exposed Only to Intake

Separate Intake & Combustion Chambers

Hydrogen Rotary Timeline

1991
HR-X

1993
HR-X2

1997
Demio FC-EV

2001
Premacy FC-EV

2004
RX-8 RE

2006
Mazda5 RE

RENESIS Hydrogen Rotary

Dual Fuel

Switches from Hydrogen to Gasoline

Electronically Controlled Extended Seal Life Increased Injection Volume Control Valve

Direct Injection

Twin Injectors

Adjusts pressure of injected hydrogen

Hydrogen Conclusion

Cleaner Burning

Water, Minimum NOx

Low Temperature Separate Induction and Combustion Chambers Practical For Gas-Hydrogen Transition

Rotary Engine Solves Combustion Issues

Dual Fuel Mazda5 RE