http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/POWER/unusualICeng/unusualICeng.htm I stumble upon this website every couple of months, I thought you guys might like it, or have a comment.
Pretty neat. But the machine work on the crank footballs would probably be cost prohibitive. What is the name of that particular engine you posted? *scrolling through the list now*
its easy to see why the engines we use now won out.... to many moving parts just more stuff to break. keep it simple and strong. about the only WEIRD motor ive ever seen in a vehicle that ran was one of those PUCH motorcycle motors. it had some sort of split piston thing going on. "Twingle" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-single
They were testing this engine in the late 80's and early 90's in an airplane. Was really neet to see they are still at it. Looked like a good sound idea then and it still appeals to me. Getting the public to buy into it is likely another story. Rod
While there are some interesting alternate engine designs, what we now have is the product of a many years of mechanical Darwinism. Where there might be some advantages to one alternative or another, reality sorts out what's best when all things are considered. That doesn't mean there can't be improvement on what we are doing now, but at this point that's going to be difficult. In the '60s Ford had a program that looked at alternate designs. The Scientific Lab built and tested a bunch of possibilities that were in one way or another potentially better. The project ended up being a confirmation that natural selection hadn't missed anything.
Anyone heard of this one? This is the Napier Deltic. Was designed ages ago for train powerplants, it was a 36-piston, 18-cylinder engine. Basically as if there were three V12s connected by the tops of their sleeves in a delta shape (hence the name). Was also used in nautical applications, if memory serves me right. They were abandoned due to their complexity (surprise, surprise!) and intensive maintenance needs (usually needed two engines, one to overhaul while another went in to do the job). Cool design, though, and quite powerful... A few locomotives are still in running condition in the UK and do occasional runs. Cheers, Eddie
I thought the BRM H16 was crazy, two flat 8s bolted together are nothing compared to some of the contraptions on that site. Near as I can tell the only remotely practical alternative too what we have now is the Wankel engine. Even it has disadvantages, notably the engine has to be completely dismantled frequently when some internal seals wear out.
There have been some amazing designs over the years, some destined to be a flop but still fascinating. I love studying these things, one of my greatest passions are engines and the engineering behind them. The aforementioned H16 is indeed a masterpiece of ridiculously complex engineering: I quite like the U-configuration too, with twin cranks, either contra-rotating or with the same rotation. Another strange one I learned about some time ago was the split-single two-stroke: A curious but strangely successful idea, this reduced the loss of fresh charge through the exhaust port and improved fuel economy. The idea was first thrown up in the 30's but reached its utmost peak in the post-war years, with Puch being the leading developer of this configuration. Sadly, the greater moving masses and associated vibrations ended up killing it... but the idea was well-meaning and worked. Cheers, Eddie
I saw a few years ago that there was a prototype of an opposing piston diesel engine for aviation use, apparently the twin pistons and twin cranks reduced the vibration compared to normal diesels.... but I read this a few hundred beers ago.....
The Jalopy Journal
