Anyone remember Rand-Cams?

[darienphoenix]

http://www.regtech.com/directcharge.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rand_cam_engine

According to their published information, the prototype will deliver 42 bhp from a unit only 6 inches wide by 6 inches long and can run on Ethanol, Natural Gas, Diesel, Propane and Hydrogen."

Also:

"...the engine [generates] 1hp/0.75 lb, as compared to a conventional internal-combustion engine's 1 hp/6 to 7 lb."

I want one. Wonder how much of a ***** the sealing is.

[darienphoenix]

http://www.regtech.com/directcharge.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rand_cam_engine

According to their published information, the prototype will deliver 42 bhp from a unit only 6 inches wide by 6 inches long and can run on Ethanol, Natural Gas, Diesel, Propane and Hydrogen."

Also:

"...the engine [generates] 1hp/0.75 lb, as compared to a conventional internal-combustion engine's 1 hp/6 to 7 lb."

I want one. Wonder how much of a ***** the sealing is.

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

how come I have never heard of these engines, must be one of those sounds good on paper ideas...sealing does look pretty harry!

[golfer17]

ive seen it before, but i never thought about its possible use for fsae at the time. im slightly curious though now. i'd like to see what more informed minds think about this.

[BeaverGuy]

Remindse me a lot of the 0X2 engine which is setup in much the same way but still relying on pistons.OX2 Engine (http://www.ox2engine.com/)

[Bill Kunst]

OX2-
roughly 8 hp, but 90+ lbft of torque? This is all at 440rpm with 1 liter or displacement. Pretty impressive. It looks as though rebuilds would be pretty easy as well.

Rand cam-
The vane-y thing-ies scare me. They probably hold up as well as rotor seals on a wankel.

Just some thoughts,
Bill

[Chris Allbee]

golfer-guy, rotaries aren't allowed in FSAE. Would be nice if they were, would add a little more variety to the field.

[darienphoenix]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The vane-y thing-ies scare me. They probably hold up as well as rotor seals on a wankel. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I thought the apex seals on Wankels weren't such a problem these days?

The Renesis did win engine of the year, after all.

[Dan G]

Since this is the "goofy engine thread", check this one out...

http://www.rotoblock.com/concept_validated.shtml

[darienphoenix]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BeaverGuy:
Remindse me a lot of the 0X2 engine which is setup in much the same way but still relying on pistons.OX2 Engine (http://www.ox2engine.com/) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That thing looks awesome. A fair bit of rotating mass there though...

It's like combining the disadvantages of rotaries and pistons. Still prefer the rand cam myself, if those seals work correctly.

[Wright D]

This one is a variation of the reciprocating engine; it just replaces the crank with a wobble plate.

engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swashplate_engine)

[fsae_alum]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by darienphoenix:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The vane-y thing-ies scare me. They probably hold up as well as rotor seals on a wankel. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I thought the apex seals on Wankels weren't such a problem these days?

The Renesis did win engine of the year, after all. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's not that the seals wear out....it's that as soon as there is even the least bit of detonation, they crack and you effectively lose compression. The other thing is that most rotary engines have the intake and exhaust ports on the periphary (sp?) of the rotor. This means that under operation, the seals are constantly being pushed into and out of the ports as the rotor spins around. This does contribute to the wear of the seals to a certain degree. The Renesis engine is the first production automobile rotary engine to use side ports to correct this. By going to side ports, they also reduced the emmissions output of the engine since you effectively don't have the intake and exhaust ports open at the same time like you do on the non-renesis rotary engines.

The thing is, rotary engines generate ungodly amounts of heat because there is so much surface area in contact with the air-fuel mixture during the combustion process. This heat only increases the odds of detonation which = cracked apex seal. The rotary engines are great in theory but in reality they are a little more problematic than expected.

I know this mang.....I have a 93 RX-7.

[VFR750R]

Wow, that's a neat concept but we could all go on for hours on how many design challenges there are with sealing everywhere and the heat transfer, sealing, bending forces, ect. on the sliding pins.

[golfer17]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris Allbee:
golfer-guy, rotaries aren't allowed in FSAE. Would be nice if they were, would add a little more variety to the field. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

i kinda figured so. i havent had a chance to read up on all the rules, so i was thinking they must be illegal as i had never heard of a rotary in competition. btw, i'll be back from my automotive research internship quite soon, and i need to get ahold of you, email me back!

[darienphoenix]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by golfer17:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris Allbee:
golfer-guy, rotaries aren't allowed in FSAE. Would be nice if they were, would add a little more variety to the field. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

i kinda figured so. i havent had a chance to read up on all the rules, so i was thinking they must be illegal as i had never heard of a rotary in competition. btw, i'll be back from my automotive research internship quite soon, and i need to get ahold of you, email me back! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Probably because a 600cc rotary would have similar power to a 1.8L piston engine, unless I'm using the wrong conversion.

Besides, you'd fail fuel economy and have bugger all low-end torque. Would be nice for some variety though.