Do Cars Still Use the Rotary Engine?
The rotary engine was once hailed as the future of automotive propulsion. It was compact, lightweight, and powerful, and it didn’t require a complex valve train like traditional piston engines. However, the rotary engine also had some drawbacks, including poor fuel economy and high emissions. As a result, it was never widely adopted by automakers, and it is now only used in a few niche applications.
How Does a Rotary Engine Work?
A rotary engine is a type of internal combustion engine that uses a triangular rotor to convert the pressure of expanding gases into rotational motion. The rotor is mounted on an eccentric shaft inside a combustion chamber. As the rotor spins, it creates three separate combustion chambers, which are sealed by the rotor’s sides and the chamber walls. Fuel and air are mixed and introduced into the combustion chambers, and the spark plugs ignite the mixture. The expanding gases push against the rotor, causing it to spin and generate power.
Rotary engines have several advantages over traditional piston engines. They are more compact and lightweight, and they have a smoother power delivery. They also produce fewer vibrations, which makes them quieter and more comfortable to drive.
What Are the Drawbacks of Rotary Engines?
The main drawback of rotary engines is their poor fuel economy. Rotary engines use more fuel than piston engines because they have a lower thermal efficiency. This means that they convert less of the energy in the fuel into power, and more of it is wasted as heat.
Another drawback of rotary engines is their high emissions. Rotary engines produce more emissions than piston engines because they burn oil in the combustion chambers. This oil can clog the catalytic converter, which reduces the engine’s ability to control emissions.
Do Cars Still Use the Rotary Engine?
Mazda is the only automaker that still produces cars with rotary engines. The Mazda RX-8 was the last production car to use a rotary engine, and it was discontinued in 2012. However, Mazda has recently announced that it is developing a new rotary engine, which it plans to introduce in a future sports car.
Other than Mazda, there are a few other companies that produce rotary engines for niche applications. These companies include:
- Norton Motorcycles: Norton uses rotary engines in its motorcycles.
- Renesis: Renesis produces rotary engines for use in generators and other industrial applications.
- Wankel Rotary Engines: Wankel Rotary Engines produces rotary engines for use in aircraft and other applications.
Conclusion
The rotary engine is a fascinating piece of engineering, but it has never been widely adopted by automakers because of its poor fuel economy and high emissions. However, Mazda is still developing rotary engines, and it is possible that we will see more cars with rotary engines in the future.
