Poul Woelfle has his two rotor AIXRO running at 11,000 RPM
 and 130 HP. Probably weighs next to nothing. My guess is
 is less than 75 pounds not including the PSRU.
 The major breakthrough is Silicon Nitride rollers in
 the rotor bearings. Twice the operating temperature
 of steel rollers. Widely used in NC machine tool spindles and
 turbo chargers.

 The go cart world will never be the same.

 Poul has the squarest combustion chamber of any rotary on the
 market. That allows a super large p-port for better
 breathing at high RPM.

 http://www.karting1.co.uk/wankel-kart-test.htm

 The AIXRO supercharged engine holds the worlds altitude
 record for rotary engines at 27,000 feet.

 Austro Engines new AE75R scaled up Norton/Midwest based engine
 is very close to certification. It is 50% more displacement
 than the Norton. HP is 75 HP at 7000 RPM in one rotor form. Over 500 one
 rotor 50 HP engines have been sold for for Schhicher Motor Gliders.
 Engine core weight is 61.7 pounds. Fire wall forward with cooling
 system and coolant is 78.5 pounds.

 This would be great in two rotor form at 150 HP.

 Paul Lamar @ Aero

 Paul,

 I have been biting my tongue on this one and have been waiting for
someone
 to bite. No one did.

 Doesn't anyone see this for the breakthrough it potentially is?

 By using the Ceramic Bearings my guess is they picked up a great deal of
 RPM's. I do not mean to put words in anyones mouth, but will this let
 AIXRO
 approach an "Oil Free" Rotary (a-k-a, Dr. Bryzik's (diesels in the 80's)
?

 Does anyone grasp the significance of that?

 In the Gas Turbine Arena significant time, money, and treasure have been
 spent on trying to develop Integral Starter Generator(s) and Oil-Free
 "Foil"
 bearings to in essence to eliminate 2 systems or integrate them enough to
 potential reduce nacelle diameter. Some of what has been done in the gas
 turbine arena falls into the do not ask what I do for a living type of
 stuff, but that is ok. But the point is, in terms of Rotaries is this,
 (could this) adaptation of Ceramic Bearings be the (or a) key feature to
 getting a "Charge Cooled" engine (Like Eric Barger's Rotamax) to truly
 leapfrog other engines and work by reducing thermal loads on other heat
 sources other combustion?

 On a tangent question, has anyone ever thought of utilizing these
coatings
 for further reduction in friction and again eliminate the load or reduce
a
 system entirely?

 http://remsuperfinish.com/rem/isf_vs_friction.html

 http://www.microblueracing.com/

 Am I thinking way to out of the box here, but is an "Oil Free" Rotary a
 possibility?

 My best,
 Anthony J. Liberatore

 Why bother? What does it buy one?

 What this really is.... is a cost breakthrough.
 You can get 11,000 RPM with pressure fed plain bearings
 but that adds to the cost and will take some time
 to achieve in 100 HP rotaries for the LSA market.

 This is here and now and can be implemented by a
 number of small rotary engine makers on existing
 charge cooled rotor designs.

 Too bad Rotomax did not try it. They might still be here.
 I suggested it to them.

 Paul Lamar

 snips
 -----------
 I am still not convinced...Both Rotamax and Aixro divert the intake
charge
 to a p-port
 configuration ( some to most depending on throttle position) to achieve
 better hp numbers.
  Karts run under full power only part of the time, which allows for good
 cooling at part
 throttle.  Under full takeoff power (at least 5 min) will there be enough
 rotor cooling?
 Dan F

 Poul tells me the ceramic rollers work well at high power.
 There are some people in England working on an all ceramic
 rotary with no cooling at all.

 Time will tell.

 Paul Lamar


Paul,

You said:

"There are some people in England working on an all ceramic rotary with no
cooling at all."

And you said to me why bother with the coatings?

What if the all ceramic doesn't work, why work towards an "un-cooled"
rotary
using other methods (i.e. the coating links if they worked) ?

We have Carbon-Carbon pistons (Hirth 2 strokes) why not a Carbon-Carbon
Rotor?

Anthony

The problem is getting the ceramic to stick to iron.
When the coating comes off you can kiss your $800
rotor housings goodbye.

Second; a thin coating of ceramic on a rotor is of no value.
Yes it works on turbine blades but rotors do not see
the same severe conditions.

If an all ceramic rotor fails the engine is junk anyway.
Those on the cutting edge are doomed to be impaled on it.


Paul Lamar



-
Paul,

The coatings I was referencing are anti-friction in nature.

Would they help on the eccentric/rotor gears, on the tricaloid (spelled
correct?) apex seals, and shaft contact points with bearings?

My best,
Anthony

What kind of coatings? DLC?

Paul Lamar