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Thread: Happy 50th Birthday ............. Wankel !!

  1. #1
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    Happy 50th Birthday ............. Wankel !!

    yep, 50 years ago today, Felix Wankel's engine completed it's first bench run at DKM.

    Thanks for somethign different
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'

  2. #2
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    Good thing you didnt make a typo on the L

    Something different indeed. How many other alternatives are there out there to the reciprocating piston engine? The Wankel Rotary must be by far the most successful.
    I am the Stig

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by fpv_gtho
    Something different indeed. How many other alternatives are there out there to the reciprocating piston engine? The Wankel Rotary must be by far the most successful.
    oh God no, you had to say that didn't you.

    Predict the thread to be hijacked by hightower99 any minute now
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'

  4. #4
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    Haha, well of course im talking simplistically

    Ask any 16 year old kid on the street if they know about something like the Revetec. I'd gurantee theyve never heard of it, but the rotary (probably wouldnt know it as the Wankel Rotary) would be familiar to them thanks to Mazda.
    I am the Stig

  5. #5
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    The DKM was the version with the reciprocating block, or the reciprocating rotor? I never could remember which one was the KKM and which one the DKM.
    Minimising losses can maximise net gains

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    Fanboy

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    Happy BDay to the chook cooker
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    No Mr. Craig, I expect you to die! On the inside. Of heartbreak. You emo bitch

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by lightweight
    The DKM was the version with the reciprocating block, or the reciprocating rotor? I never could remember which one was the KKM and which one the DKM.
    DKM was the first


    KKM was a year later


    In the DKM the rotor AND the rotor housing spin
    Thankfully they simplified that out !!!!!
    But lost the natural balance of the pure rotation in the DKM, replaced by limits of hte planetary rotation and higher forces on tips. Wankels original engine had lower tip forces - and hence wear/leakage - AND even in 57 could rev to 17,000 !!!! But too expensive/complex to manufacture.
    Last edited by Matra et Alpine; 02-01-2007 at 07:00 AM.
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'

  9. #9
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    3 years ago I did an essay about the Wankel rotary engine.

    Happy birthday then, I guess...
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine
    AND even in 57 could rev to 17,000
    Yeah, imagine how it would rev with today's materials.

    Was this engine heavier than the Wankel we know today?

    Complexity-wise I think that the main advantage (and disadvantage) of the DKM, was the positioning of the spark plugs. They were placed on the rotor, hence it was impossible to change them without dis-assembling the engine. But the placement of the spark plugs enabled more efficient combustion of the mixture.
    Minimising losses can maximise net gains

  11. #11
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    Happy Birthday!!

    I've heard Wankel engines are used in industrial applications, don't exactly know where. Some more famous Wankels: of course, Mazda RX cars; Mercedes licensed it for their experimental Cx11 series; and the original NSUs. Where else are they used?

    EDIT: right after posting, it occured to me:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine

    there are more apps than I expected...
    Last edited by PerfAdv; 02-01-2007 at 09:43 AM.
    "Racing improves the breed" ~Sochiro Honda

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by lightweight
    Yeah, imagine how it would rev with today's materials.

    Was this engine heavier than the Wankel we know today?

    Complexity-wise I think that the main advantage (and disadvantage) of the DKM, was the positioning of the spark plugs. They were placed on the rotor, hence it was impossible to change them without dis-assembling the engine. But the placement of the spark plugs enabled more efficient combustion of the mixture.
    Yeah the plugs But it didnt' have the problem of the seals having to sweep over the plug holes !!!
    I'm not sure but I can imagine the inlet/exhaust porting must have been complex to seal too with two rotating parts.
    The development stopped, so hard to say if it would be lighter/heavier
    Since getting the RX, I've been doing some research.
    A brilliant quote attributed to Wankel when the KKM work was undertaken ...... "They have turned a race horse into a cart horse"
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'

  13. #13
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    Happy birthday to a great alternative, i wonder where the Rotary would be if every car company was developing it
    "Religious belief is the “path of least resistance”, says Boyer, while disbelief requires effort."

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine
    "They have turned a race horse into a cart horse"
    I have always wondered why the DKM was never developed for racing applications. Even with 50's technology it can do what modern F1 engines couldn't do in the mid 90's. Of course it's a different type of engine and it might sound fanboy-ish, but if someone came up with an engine that -today- could rev up to 30,000 then it would be worth the investigation from a racing team...
    Minimising losses can maximise net gains

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by lightweight
    I have always wondered why the DKM was never developed for racing applications. Even with 50's technology it can do what modern F1 engines couldn't do in the mid 90's. Of course it's a different type of engine and it might sound fanboy-ish, but if someone came up with an engine that -today- could rev up to 30,000 then it would be worth the investigation from a racing team...
    Can it possibly rev to 30,000 RPM and still be able to do such a simple thing as idle?

    Just kidding, but that thing has got to be very close to self destructing at that point. On an engineering standpoint that has got to be a nightmare.

    On another point, how high do F1 cars today rev up to?

    Oh yeah, just about forgot, happy birthday Rotary!

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