What made you happy today?

[hyteck9]

1 minute ago, Barrykearley said:

Fingers crossed for you. If there's any promise in it - I'm sure a car manufacturer will buy it up and shelve it....... we had a family friend years ago who did some clever stuff with cyclinder heads achieving 100mpg - that was bought up by BP and hidden from the world

wow..  yes please tell me more about that.!!  Very exciting.

 

[johnpwalsh]

27 minutes ago, hyteck9 said:

There is an "Images" button on the patent site.. and you can use the yellow arrows on the left to scroll thru them...  Let me see if I can just extract a few and post them here to save time..

Sorry but cant get the immages to open. Can you post them as sounds very interesting. Well done.

[hyteck9]

I have had many discussions about this design since it was published... and many are wanting it to be a "traditional 4 stroke" engine.  It is not.  Never intended to be.  It has other potentials which are not immediately clear as the patent is desired to be as broad-brush-stroke and generic as possible.

The model I have in hand has a length and width smaller than a laptop..  has a 330cc "combustion chamber"  and intake ports so large you can just about drop a golf ball thru it.  The integrated timing set and transmission box can be adjusted for various output ratios or extended for more forward or reverse gears like any other manual trans.

 

 

[Clive59]

Don't you need compression to get efficiency from the air/fuel mixture ignition?

[hyteck9]

Just now, Clive59 said:

Don't you need compression to get efficiency from the air/fuel mixture ignition?

yup...  and this is where the conversation gets interesting.  haha.  :-)

keep thinking.. and I will chime in with more soon.

[Clive59]

Argh! I am trying to write code as you present this. An interesting diversion nontheless.

Are you planning on some forced induction from both sides?

[Fueltheburn]

An electric or rotary driven compressor would be an interesting way of adding compression and controlling intake that could be adjusted to change fuel mix ratio instead of a butterfly.

Seems a sensible way of starting the rotors as well using compressed air instead of a starter motor.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Fueltheburn

[Clive59]

2 minutes ago, Fueltheburn said:

Seems a sensible way of starting the rotors as well using compressed air instead of a starter motor.

More like a jet startup.

I was thinking along similar lines. But don't think there would be enough pressure differential to actually rotate enough before stopping midway.

[hyteck9]

Whaaat?  An "engine" with no seals, no compression, no cooling channels, no oil channels..  what a waste?!

unless...  as you clever peeps have stated..  you super-charged it. and I mean A LOT of boost.  not 15 psi or 18 psi..  keep going.  waaay up.  there is no mechanical compression limitations to stop you so keep going..

The theory is you will hit a "sweet spot" in which the boost pressure, coming in from oposing sides, will pressurize the entire box..  in effect sealing the tolerance gaps, cooling the rotors, and providing compression for your air fuel mix because boost..  is..  compression..

I dont have the kind of expensive simulation software needed to know what that sweet spot is..  but I think it will work..  (and  i'm open to collaboration.)

I'm thrilled to have made it this far on my own.

 

Edited November 22, 2016 by hyteck9

[Fueltheburn]

Sooooo ... question is what is the efficiency likely to be?

Is the idea behind this as a generator i.e small power unit for a hybrid vehicle/house to charge cells or as a direct drive to gearbox?

What kind of bhp or torque for the model size and can the size be upped continuously without diminishing losses i.e will the power follow the percentage the size has been scaled up?

[hyteck9]

Just now, Fueltheburn said:

Sooooo ... question is what is the efficiency likely to be?

Is the idea behind this as a generator i.e small power unit for a hybrid vehicle/house to charge cells or as a direct drive to gearbox?

What kind of bhp or torque for the model size and can the size be upped continuously without diminishing losses i.e will the power follow the percentage the size has been scaled up?

The design should scale very easily within any kind of reasonable application.

Since the unit free spins (save a very little bit of resistance from the gear set) The efficiency should be quite high, minus the work done by the supercharger on the input side.  Many car companies have incorporated electric superchargers now , because they are so very very efficient.  The "work" transferred to the rotors is based on the rotor "cut-out" shape you choose.  the one pictured here is a 2.5x differential between the long and short sides... but it was chosen because it made the most visual sense on the patent...  not necessarily because it is the most efficient.  The rotors are all spinning in the same direction and at the same speed.  so even if they do "interfere" at some point the effects should be minimal.  The "power stroke" can be adjusted by shrinking the rotor cut-out to less than 90 desgrees of the rotor diameter, as well as moving the exhaust ports further from the center of the case side.

If you really really want to get your mind wrapped up in a mess...  think about all this and then add Direct Liquid Compression Injection to increase all effects.

[calvan]

Very impressive. Now for the task of getting it out in the world; best of luck with that.

After all the clever engine design, I'm a bit reluctant to throw in some trivial fun with numbers but this just occurred to me this evening so I'll go with it.

I was half-listening to the TV news and heard someone prattle on about measuring employment in person years when it occurred to me that Lotus ownership could just as well be measured in Lotus-years. So I decided to do a quick and dirty calculation, i.e. with a bit of rounding, of where I am in total Lotus-years compared to my age. It's quite close.

I've had my Europa since July 1977 so that rounds to 39.5 Lotus-years. The Esprit since October 2003, giving 13 Lotus-years and the Elise since March 2010 for 6.5 Lotus-years. That gives me a total of 59 Lotus-years. I will turn 63 in February so my current age of 62.75 is only 3.75 more than my Lotus-years. With three cars I'm accumulating Lotus-years at a 3:1 ratio to real time.so I should catch up to my age in about 18 months. Something to look forward to and it will give me another flimsy excuse to crack open a good beer in mid-summer, as if I need one. 

 

[hyteck9]

reminds of the childrens math riddle.  

if you are 1 and your brother is 10... he is 10 times older than you.  In five years he will be 15 and you will be 5.  now he is only 3 time older than you.  In another 5 years, he will be 20 and you will be 10.  He is only twice as old as you.  At what age will you catch up completely?

[johnpwalsh]

Well after countless CV's posted off, probably well over 100 positions viewed I have been told I am short listed for a job and have to attend an interview. Fingers crossed that it will come through. Seven months of no income have certainly hammered the savings. No NHS payments or DWP for me as I am not an immigrant, don't have 20 kids at my ankles. Ooop's, they forget I have been paying high tax's for too many year's to count and that I still have a mortgage, council tax, electricity, central heating fuel etc to pay as does most people. Oh yes and we have too eat.

Finger's crossed this one comes  through.

[Bibs]

Good luck mate! 

I heard a very good friend is in remission from cancer, I shed tears, wonderful news

[johnpwalsh]

1 hour ago, Bibs said:

I heard a very good friend is in remission from cancer, I shed tears, wonderful news

Cheers for that Bib's.

As in your quote above.

Just heard the exact opposite. A long time Lotus fanatic who I will not name out of respect for his privacy. He also informed me that he has passed what the doctors had told his was his expected demise date by two month's. Gutted,as he is a real character who you will know, or certainly know of.  Our Lotus groups will certainly miss the guy.

[Loose Cannon]

MOT passed today.Little things please little minds.

 

[910Esprit]

On 22/11/2016 at 17:20, hyteck9 said:

On 22/11/2016 at 13:29, hyteck9 said:

Have a look...   ask questions...  

 

Hi Brian

Interested in your project, which strikes me as the missing link between a steam engine and an internal combusion engine (in so far as you are proposing creating your high pressure gas external to the engine)

Is lubrication going to be sacrificial? (or are you suggesting no lubrication whatsoever to the rotors) 

How would you intend to cool it?   How will this affect the close tolerances you would need to seal the rotors  - what material for rotor & case?    

I'm curious how you intend to supply sufficient volume of high compressed air to run it?  100psi to start then as much as you then want to run at the mega boosts  (300psi+) ?    (not via a traditional vane compressor or turbo).   It will need to be machine in its own right and will require significant power to generate it.  Could that be problematical for starting?    

Why wont the motor want to destroy itself at high boost, like any other engine?   e.g. at your mega boost, the combustion pressures will be equally mega.  What type of bearings/lubricationn are you proposing for the relatively small rotor axles?    

How are you planning to seal the flat sides and outer edge  of the rotors?  Are these going to touch the case, use Wankel type seals, or theoretically to be entirely suspended by the rotor bearings to the point there they cannot laterally or axially touch the outer case, yet be in close enough tolerance to avoid blow by?  

I assume the fuel charge must be via direct injection to avoid the inlet charge spontaneously combusting at you mega boost  (or from the hot tip of the rotor passing the inlet).   If my assumption is correct the configuration would make multiple cylinders tricky    

However, it seems to me that the major issue is efficiency, in the fact that you will lose most of your explosive charge the instant the exhaust post starts to open - also exacerbated by the fact that combustion is not immediate or complete in any internal combustion engine.  Even in the best case scenario, wont it only provide an impulse for a small proportion of a cycle and will dump most of the energy straight out of the exhaust?  

Sorry if I am coming across negatively, its an interesting project and I'm just analysing it - and you requested questions! 

 

[Bibs]

[swindon_alan]

No Lotus in that picture. How can you possibly be happy?!?!?!

[Barrykearley]

No scantily clad women either ? Looks rubbish to me

[hyteck9]

30 minutes ago, 910Esprit said:

Hi Brian

.......

Sorry if I am coming across negatively, its an interesting project and I'm just analysing it - and you requested questions! 

 

Hi.  Thank you for your interest in the project.  Those are many questions you have.  The basic "idea" , which could not be fine tuned in any way without advanced software, was to use an electric supercharger to generate hi boost on a small engine.  The prototype I hold in my hand is only about the size of a lunch box and it creates a single 330cc chamber with intakes the size of ping pong balls.  mega boost on a 5Litre engine is no easy task, but much easier on 330cc with large ports.  The hope was to use the pressurized air to cool the parts, seal the gaps, and provide compression.  the only lubricant would be internal to the rotors' bearings and in the gearbox of course.  Direct injection is preferred.  My main focus was to keep things spinning true, use air for multiple purposes..  (just like NASA uses fuel to cool the engines before it uses fuel to fire them) and eliminate seals.  I can not be sure the rotors will make efficient use of the flame wave as it moves from ignition point to exhaust point.  The design was fun to make!   I know I don't have any engineering background and can not answer all your questions.  "Not bad for a musician" though, right?  That seems to be the best answer I can get on it.  Haha.  Somthing about it "Makes good music".  It is balanced, harmonious... and shiny!   :-P

[Mark Blanchard]

Is that a tsunami I can see in the distance?

[swindon_alan]

Is that a tropical cocktail?

[C8RKH]

Been away from home working all the hours recently. Finally got home at 0030 last night knackered. Slumped in the bed and dropped off to sleep quickly. 4.5 hours later alarm is going off and need to get up for a call with India, the quick shower and a commute of around 60 miles, mostly motorway to Edinburgh. As the weather has been warmer in Scotland recently and had not been out for a while in it, I took the Evora.  Just a mundane, boring run in a run of the mill plain old Evora NA +0 from 2010.

Got to Edinburgh, a few stressful meetings sorting out issues etc, banged on with a load of work and at 1330 got the chance to head back home. 60 boring mundane miles on motorway in a run of the mill plain old Evora NA +0 from 2010.

So why the hell am I grinning like the Cheshire cat who did not just get the cream, but a whole fresh salmon too!  Damn. The Evora is one freakin' awesome super duper just fandabbydosey motor. Got loads of smiles, some flashes, some waves and a couple of thumbs up that have totally re-energised me and made me realise just what a truly lucky James Hunt I am. Damn, I love my Evora... Have a great weekend everyone.