Alfonso wrote:
> Sorry for my ignorance, but, what is a charge-cooled engine?

When talking about engines, the "charge" is the fuel & air mixture.  A
"charge cooled" engine draws the fuel & air mixture through the innards
of the engine, allowing the fuel evaporation cooling effect to cool the
engine. One (of the many) downsides of this is that the charge density
is reduced.  More charge density means more potential power (this is
what turbochargers accomplish), so a reduction in charge density means a
reduction in the potential power output by the engine.

Regards,
Russell Kent

The key reason for "charge cooling" is simplification. Russel is correct of
course, that by cooling the rotor the charge gets warmer and less dense
reducing somewhat the mep (mean effective pressure) and therewith power
output. Charge mixing gets a bit better. For small engines, and only there
it is being used, an oil pump, oil pan oil storage and oil changes are being
avoided and only the housings are air cooled. Since the Rotary is smaller to
begin with, a little less power and lower efficiency seems tolerable for
less parts, simplification and expectedly more reliability.

Regards
Rolf Pfeiffer


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