Russell Kent wrote:

Paul wrote:

Try and find this book used on the Internet guys.
Rotary Engine Kenichi Yamamoto 1981 version.

Yamamoto's research on rotary engine combustion uses the housing as the point of
reference.  While it is useful to do this, to claim that the flame propagation
speed is higher in one direction is incorrect in my opinion.  Using the same
twisted logic, I could claim that the flame propagation speed is faster towards
the trailing side (with respect to the turning rotor face).

What is really happening is that the medium (the fuel /air mixture) is moving with
repect to the interior surface of the rotor housing.  The movement of the medium
causes the flame front to appear to move faster in the direction of rotation than
against the direction of rotation (with respect to the interior surface of the
rotor housing).  This causes more of the heat of combustion to be
wasted/dissipated into the leading portion of the rotor housing.

Yamamoto's "squish flow" is yet another case where the medium is moving with
respect to the interior surface of the rotor housing.

It's all about frame-of-reference.  A lit match in the Concorde has a flame speed
greater than the speed of sound, with respect to the ground.  :-)

Russell Kent

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