31–40 of 56 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nit: it's not a turboprop if it's no longer using a turbine.
It's also not a turboprop if it's using a ducted fan. Chuck keeps using that word, I do not think it means what he thinks it means.
I wish they had video of the two-stroke design in operation. There's a bunch of their 4-stroke engines being demonstrated by this youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDFAjCOM3iQ This one is interesting as it shows difference between their 4-stroke design and a standard wankel rotary in operation, wondering if the two-stoke variation looks like a combination between the two?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The first major innovation to the internal combustion engine in over 100 years" claimed there suggests they're not familiar with the Wankel rotary engine upon which their design is based; the modern eccentric shaft version first ran in 1958.
It's not just another wankel engine tho, it's significant modification to the idea and comes with few interesting improvements (and some other drawbacks). Basically , the intake and exhaust is delivered thru the rotor, not ports on the sides, and the seals (the achilles heel of the wankel engines are on the outside of it which in theory would make it possible to both replace them without taking apart whole engine, an…
I wish they had video of the two-stroke design in operation. There's a bunch of their 4-stroke engines being demonstrated by this youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDFAjCOM3iQ This one is interesting as it shows difference between their 4-stroke design and a standard wankel rotary in operation, wondering if the two-stoke variation looks like a combination between the two?
It's rotary. There are no strokes in it.
Surprising that there's still that much efficiency to be squeezed out of internal combustion engines!
Haven't rotary (Wankel?) engines proven to be unreliable? I love the RX-7 (my dream is to own a FD one day), but IIRC even the more refined Renesis engine on the RX-8 seems to have been proven to be ornery. I think Mazda has a rotary acting as a range extender in their MX-30 EV. I wonder how that will fare.
This is a pretty cool engine. 25hp is about 18.75 kW so a really good fit for a 15kW generator (sometimes marketed as "whole house" generators) its high RPM (typical of rotary engines) makes it a good match foundation for a turboprop engine. A pair of these driving ducted fan turboprop engines would give you an excellent long duration drone platform with good payload capacity. My guess is the Army might be considerin…
Nit: it's not a turboprop if it's no longer using a turbine.
[Efficient Rotary Engine Lands Million-Dollar Darpa Contract](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9431379) 76 points, 44 comments, 8 years ago
[LiquidPiston: Efficient rotary engine](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11995735) 87 points, 20 comments, 7 years ago
[LiquidPiston's “inside-out” rotary X-Engine wins Army research contract](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25450477) 278 points, 130 comments, 2 years ago
[“Inside-out Wankel” rotary engine delivers 5X the power of a diesel](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35455286) 255 points, 196 comments, 24 days ago
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nit: it's not a turboprop if it's no longer using a turbine.
It's also not a turboprop if it's using a ducted fan. Chuck keeps using that word, I do not think it means what he thinks it means.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The first major innovation to the internal combustion engine in over 100 years" claimed there suggests they're not familiar with the Wankel rotary engine upon which their design is based; the modern eccentric shaft version first ran in 1958.
It's not just another wankel engine tho, it's significant modification to the idea and comes with few interesting improvements (and some other drawbacks). Basically , the intake and exhaust is delivered thru the rotor, not ports on the sides, and the seals (the achilles heel of the wankel engines are on the outside of it which in theory would make it possible to both replace them without taking apart whole engine, an…