Rotary Engine Cars

Rotary engines are a type of internal combustion engine that uses a rotating triangular rotor instead of the traditional piston and cylinder arrangement. This design has several advantages over piston engines, including lower weight, smoother operation, and higher power output.

History of Rotary Engines

The first rotary engine was developed by Felix Wankel in the early 1950s. Wankel’s engine was a two-rotor design that used a figure-8 shaped rotor. This design was later modified by Mazda to create a single-rotor engine that was used in the Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S, the first production car to use a rotary engine.

Advantages of Rotary Engines

Rotary engines have several advantages over piston engines, including:

Lower weight: Rotary engines are much lighter than piston engines of comparable power output. This is because rotary engines have fewer moving parts than piston engines.
Smoother operation: Rotary engines operate more smoothly than piston engines. This is because the rotor in a rotary engine rotates continuously, rather than reciprocating up and down like the pistons in a piston engine.
Higher power output: Rotary engines can produce more power than piston engines of comparable displacement. This is because rotary engines can operate at higher speeds than piston engines.

Disadvantages of Rotary Engines

Rotary engines also have some disadvantages, including:

Lower fuel economy: Rotary engines are generally less fuel-efficient than piston engines. This is because rotary engines have a higher surface-to-volume ratio than piston engines, which means that they lose more heat to the combustion chamber.
Shorter lifespan: Rotary engines typically have a shorter lifespan than piston engines. This is because the seals in a rotary engine are subject to more wear and tear than the parts in a piston engine.
More complex design: Rotary engines are more complex to design and manufacture than piston engines. This is because rotary engines have a more complex shape than piston engines.

Applications of Rotary Engines

Rotary engines have been used in a variety of applications, including:

Automobiles: Rotary engines have been used in a number of production cars, including the Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S, the Mazda RX-7, and the Mazda RX-8.
Aircraft: Rotary engines have been used in a number of experimental aircraft, including the Bell X-5 and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
Power generators: Rotary engines have been used in a number of small-scale power generators, including the Mazda Wankel Rotary Power Generator.

Future of Rotary Engines

The future of rotary engines is uncertain. Rotary engines have several advantages over piston engines, but they also have some disadvantages. It is unclear whether rotary engines will be able to overcome their disadvantages and become more widely used in the future.