Imagine how many vehicles exist in the world. Almost 99% of the entire fleet of the world have a mover - a piston engine. This engine is reliable and has been in use in various types of cars for quite some time. But back to the story. After the industrial coup, which was caused by the advent of the steam engine, the world rushed to the wheels. The lack of a lively driving force, with which quite a bit of trouble, was already very attractive. But if you greatly simplify, the principle of operation of the rotary engine was used even in mills operating from the wind. Just then no one thought why.
So, the birth of a piston engine more familiar to us gave a powerful qualitative leap. Recall the principle of operation. In the same enclosed space, the medium and the working volume change. By injecting fuel and air, piston operation is created. He, in turn, is kinematically connected with the shaft through a complex system of crank mechanism. The translational motion (of the piston that changes the volume) turns into rotational motion of the shaft. If you look at the rotary engine, the principle of operation will be somewhat different.
The rotary engine is so called because the main working part is the rotor, not the piston. The rotor in such an engine is presented in the form of a massive triangular-shaped element, inside of which there is a hole with teeth. The stator is represented by an outer shell, side rings and an inner shaft with reciprocal teeth of much smaller diameter. This is one of the types - rotary engine. The principle of operation of this device is somewhat unusual and lies in the fact that the rotor rotates asymmetrically relative to the center of the engine. At the same time, as many as three duty cycles in full (relative to the piston) occur in one revolution. That is, in short.
If in detail, then the principle of operation is as follows: air intake, compression, fuel injection, exhaust (expansion). Such a cycle is also implemented in a piston ICE, but only the work performed is comparable to a 6-cylinder piston type ICE. But why, then, the principle of a rotary engine did not make a revolution? The answer is simple - not everything is as smooth as it looks. Almost all world brands, including domestic ones, were engaged in this type of ICE. Everyone was engaged, but it turned out to be implemented in practice with units. Rumor has it that Felix Wankel began work on this engine as early as 19 years old. But this is unlikely, since at that time technical development was weak, and specialist education was a luxury and a rarity.
Nevertheless, it is known from history that he got to work in a printed technical publication. This work was the start for Wankel in the world of technology. It is reliably known that he began to actively develop this idea, due to which the name of this type of engine came to be - the Wankel engine. Let's get back to the question - why did rotary piston engines not become mass? The answer can be found in the advantages and disadvantages of this ICE scheme.
The advantages of the work that a rotary engine has (the principle of operation is described above) are as follows:
- high power output;
- ease of construction (in comparison with piston);
- lack of limit (dead) points;
- no additional elements (crank mechanism) are needed.
The disadvantages of this type are:
- huge loads on bearings and teeth;
- fast overheating;
- the difficulty of sealing individual chambers.
It would seem that the rotary engine has a more successful operating principle than that of a piston engine. Even the advantages are greater than the disadvantages, and they (advantages) are of great importance. But the developers could not adequately bring the stable operation of the cycles to a working instance. However, there were exceptions. At one time, the car Ro-80 received the title of "Auto of the Year 1987." But this is still an indicator.
Nowadays, the problems that engineers then encountered are completely solvable. Parts can be made of composite and extremely strong alloys. But car manufacturers are in no hurry to innovate. Perhaps due to the fact that this type of engine only works with high power, while having a huge expense. Compare this with the price of fuel and reserves of natural resources, and you will get an excellent perspective, which, probably, is not destined to translate into mass.