Circular Rotor Engine Sealing With Linked Semi-Rotors
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Solution Overview
Problem
The contact between the triangular rotor and the inner wall of the cylinder body in existing rotor engines is linear, leading to rapid wear and difficulty in sealing the engine working chamber, resulting in emissions exceeding standards and limiting the compression ratio.
Innovation Solution
A rotor engine design featuring a circular rotor with semi-rotors and link mechanisms, where rotor vanes on opposing plates form a constant surface contact with the cylinder body, sealed by a sealing strip and arc-shaped vanes, and link mechanisms ensure synchronized rotation of semi-rotors, maintaining a consistent angle between vanes to enhance sealing and reduce wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If linear contact between triangular rotor and cylinder body is used, then device complexity is reduced, but sealing performance deteriorates and wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor is divided into multiple rotor vanes that can rotate relative to the rotor body, allowing each vane to independently maintain surface contact with the cylinder wall. This segmentation transforms the single linear contact point into multiple surface contacts, improving sealing without significantly increasing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The rotor vanes are designed with arc-shaped surfaces that match the curvature of the cylinder inner wall. This curved geometry enables surface contact rather than linear contact, significantly improving sealing performance and reducing wear while maintaining a relatively simple rotor structure
2Ease of manufacture
If linear contact between triangular rotor and cylinder body is used, then manufacturing is simplified, but wear resistance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor is segmented into multiple rotor vanes that can be manufactured separately and assembled, simplifying the fabrication process while creating multiple surface contact zones that significantly improve wear resistance compared to single linear contact
Solution Approach 2:
The arc-shaped rotor vanes are designed to match the cylinder curvature, enabling surface contact that distributes wear across a larger area. This curved geometry improves wear resistance while remaining manufacturable using standard machining processes
3Reliability
If constant angle between rotor vanes is maintained, then sealing performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple rotor vanes are connected through a link mechanism that combines them into a unified structure, allowing constant angle maintenance between vanes while sharing the complexity across multiple components rather than requiring a single complex mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The link mechanism is pre-configured with fixed geometric relationships that automatically maintain constant angles between rotor vanes during rotation. This preliminary setup of geometric constraints ensures proper sealing without requiring active control systems
Data Source
AI summary
A rotor engine, comprising: a cylinder body, a rotor, and two link mechanisms, wherein a rotor working space runs through the inside of the cylinder body, and the rotor is arranged in the rotor working space; the rotor comprises a rotating shaft and two semi-rotors, wherein the rotating shaft extends along an axis of the rotor working space, and each semi-rotor comprises a rotor plate and a plurality of rotor vanes thereon, the two rotor plates being spaced apart, outer peripheral walls of the two rotor plates abutting against the cylinder body, the rotor vanes on the two rotor plates extending in opposite directions to seal against each other, and inner and outer side walls of the rotor vanes respectively sealing against an outer peripheral wall of the rotating shaft and an inner peripheral wall of the rotor working space.