I very much enjoyed your article. I played around with an R-100 engine
back in the 70's and have maintained an interest in the rotaries.
What would you think of the possibility of using one rotor of a 2-rotor
engine as a power recovery system by closing the intake ports and spark
plug holes and providing an alternate port  to accept the exhaust of the
other rotor?  It also occurs to me that by re-porting there could be two
induction and two exhaust ports on the power recovery rotor, doubling
the capacity.
Do you think such an arrangement could be practical or am I so
monumentally ignorant of the realities that you could post this on the
Rube Goldberg site and get an honorable mention?

Respectfully,
Victor Roberts

That is not a bad Idea. In fact it is a pretty good idea.
It reminds me of the compound steam piston engine trick that
was responsible for a doubling of the range of steam
ships back in the 1850's. That is not a put down.

As I said that is a good idea. I think the optimum
configuration may be a larger second stage just like
a steam piston engine.

Kind of reverse of the RR rotary diesel. Could be really good
for stationary applications of the Wankel

Paul Lamar



My idea sprang from my consideration of the mazda as a steam engine back
in the seventies.
I have not looked at a Mazda in years. Since each face of the rotor is
at a displacement minimun two times per rev, if two sets of ports were
machined into the housing (one set for each displacement minimum) it
would effectively double the displacement of the rotor. Do you think it
might be feasible to machine a Mazda in this way?

Respectfully,
Victor Roberts

The Rolls configuration works as is and it is one to one gearing.
The amount of supercharge effect can be controlled by the lower
left port area and timing of the intake port. In other words the amount
of HP allocated to the output shaft or allocated to supercharging
the upper section can be varied.

Yes it could be configured with external plumbing to feed
both expansion chambers. Perhaps variable ratio gearing might
help. Compound engines are characterized by many possible
configuration. I lean towards the simplest.

Paul Lamar