An efficient Rotary?

"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
08/19/2014 at 12:07 • Filed to: Rotary, Diesel

I was recently wondering about efficient rotaries... or the most efficient way to run a rotary.

A while ago, I recalled reading that rotaries like to run on a constant-rpm fashion... and that changing rpm states exacts a greater fuel consumption penalty compared to piston engines.

So I decided to do some search on this and I came across this new rotary design by a company called Liquid Pistons:

http://www.gizmag.com/liquidpistol-r…

I always thought that a rotary might be a good choice for power generation... which means hybrids.

And this is a rotary that's capable of running on diesel... with efficiency as good or better than diesel.

I wonder if anything will come of this.

DISCUSSION (5)

HammerheadFistpunch > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
08/19/2014 at 12:11

I can't recall who it was, but some car company was experimenting with a rotary range extender for an electric car, it was designed to be small and power dense so you could add it, like the i3, as an option or omit it. I can't recall what came of it.

MultiplaOrgasms > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
08/19/2014 at 12:12

Rotaries like to run on a constant-rpm fashion

So a rotary paired with a CVT would be more efficient? Your move, Mazda rotary owners....

JasonStern911 > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
08/19/2014 at 12:46

Efficiency wasn't what ultimately killed the rotary engine. The horrible reliability and warranty costs incurred by Mazda did. And what failed? The apex seals. And so somehow the solution to making the rotary engine efficient is to run diesel level compression ratios, despite the inherent inability of the motor to sustain predetonation? And despite all of the engineering talent at Mazda, it took a no-name small shop to solve the problems of the rotary engine. I remain very, very skeptical.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > HammerheadFistpunch
08/19/2014 at 13:57

Well I do know that Mazda experimented with an electric version of the Demio/3 that had a small rotary for range-extending duties.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > JasonStern911
08/19/2014 at 14:12

I'm skeptical as well.

But if they did invent a rotary that solves the apex seal issue and can handle diesel-level compression ratios and is as efficient or more efficient than a conventional diesel piston engine, it could be revolutionary.

But even if it's the greatest thing since the invention of the Lithium-Ion battery, it will still take at least a decade or two before this reaches any sort of critical mass.

On the subject of being a small, no-name shop... consider that 15 years ago, NOBODY would have thought that a new automotive startup (Tesla) would be the leader in BEVs... making something as good or better than anything even the biggest auto companies have made to date... let alone that new startup being an American auto company based in California.

If the technology is solid and they can get the necessary backing, they could end up becoming a big, well known shop. They could be the next Cummins.