Machines · machine
Wankel Rotary Engine
Heat engine · 1957 · Otto cycle
- Year
- 1957
- Kind
- Heat engine
- Materials
- Aluminium housings, cast-iron rotors, and apex seals that were the problem for fifty years.
- Efficiency
- Around 20 %: the long, thin combustion chamber loses heat and burns badly.
- Used In
- Mazda sports cars, drones, and range extenders.
- Power Density
- Very high — small, light and smooth for its power.
- Cycle
- Otto
How It Works
A triangular rotor orbits inside a peanut-shaped housing; the three chambers between them expand and contract as it turns, doing intake, compression, power and exhaust in sequence with no valves and no reciprocating parts.
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