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Radmax

prkaye said:
Thoughts, anyone?
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It falls into the "I'll believe it when I see it" category, which is where most of the new breakthrough discovery engines seem to reside.

Cheers,
Rusty (feeling skeptical today)
 
Looks good - I've got a lot of questions about the vanes, like wear patterns and lifetimes. One thing that jumps out at me right away is cooling issues - the rotor on this design always has the power stroke (and thus the highest heat exposure) on the same location - meaning basically only one part of the rotor needs cooling. On the other hand, that one part of the rotor needs ALL the cooling - I'd like to see a thermodynamic assessment of this engine. I just can't see removing all the heat load through the sidewalls of the chamber, you're going to have to cool the rotor with oil, and that means coking at the temperatures you'll be seeing.
 
novel and at least possible

Interesting design. There are several problem areas, but at least this has better chance for success than many pie in the sky ideas. The fact that they have built a working prototype is a BIG plus. The claim that they are on a second generation prototype even more important. A couple of concerns: First the thermal pattern mentioned previously. This is difficult but not insurmountable. The original wankel had trouble in this area as well. later models have this under control.
I would worry about the longevity and function of the vanes. They have reciprocating motion, even if they don't want you to think about it. The side to side motion is a stop-start motion. This may be a real wear area. Sealing the high compression is also something to consider. The ability to produce a high compression ratio is a plus, this is an area that causes the original wankel trouble. A maximum of 9-10 to 1 is all that is available without destroying the combustion chamber shape. Though this engine will have a poor combustion chamber shape as well.
All in all I'm impressed that they have been able to package the otto-cycle in a potentially workable package. As Rusty mentioned one has to have a wait-and-see attitude with these things. I will say this; it's the first new design I've seen lately that doesn't have me rolling on the floor laughing. This has the potential to actually work. The HP-to-wieght claims remain pure moonglow until they show you on running on a test stand/dyno producing honest work and not just running unloaded. I wish them good luck.
Bill Jepson
 
Whiskey Charlie said:
What's the latest on the Mistral Rotary RV project? :)
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Chuck,
Mistral is making good progress. They are seriously testing the spark-ignition heavy-fuel engine. They are also bringing the 3 rotor along. (they showed a beautiful looking prototype at OSH.) The last time I checked they were doing a lot of the characterization of the 2 rotor and had flown it as high as 17k feet to get numbers for their engine management system. I don't know if they have an engine in durability testing yet. They have been chalking up hours on the Piper "test mule."
I hope they wern't in the area that was hit at Embry-Riddle by the tornadoes! That would be unfortunate. I'm considering their PSRU, in fact if I was in better shape financially I'd have put in the order already.

Bill Jepson
 
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