Sylvain VAN DER WALDE wrote:
"Chris Bacon" wrote...
Sylvain VAN DER WALDE wrote:
"Chris Bacon" wrote...
Sylvain VAN DER WALDE wrote:
I'm an "old boy", now. I worked in the motor trade between 1956 and
1988, approx. I don't think that the "interesting idea" in question is a
new one.
I can't think of many very new ideas in engine development -
improvements made with materials, maybe.
Petrol injection? It's not that old.
Um. Petrol injection is a refinement of Mr. Diesel's invention of the
1890s, isn't it? The concept is over 100 years old!
Diesel engines have had fuel injection from the beginning.
Petrol engines had carburetters first.
There is a difference.
I wonder when petrol injection came in, then.... would it have been in
the 1920s? I was just saying that the concept is old - improvements in
manufacturing and materials make old ideas viable. There aren't very
many new ones!
Just a thought. Is the Wankel rotary engine still being used by anyone?
I believe that Mazda used one in some of their cars not so long ago.
These engines are why I mentioned head gasket thickness somewhere...
You've put "your foot in it", Chris. Find out more about these engines,
and you'll know why.
I absolutely do not know why. IIRC someone said that "the thickness of
the head gasket influences compression ratio" or words to that effect,
& I said that might be true for *some* engine designs...
The Wankel rotary engine has no removable cylinder heads.
That's why I said that might be true for *some* engine designs.
Actually, it hasn't got a cylinder head as such. It does have a combustion
chamber, of course. If memory recalls, it has a rotor with lobes.
You need to read up on it, to understand its very unusual design concept.
This engine bears no resemblance whatsoever to the usual piston engine. It
doesn't have any pistons.
If you'd like to see an animation, there's one at:
http://www.keveney.com/Wankel.html
You wouldn't be testing my knowledge, would you? 
No, not at all.... would you regard the Wankel as a one-stroke, 1 1/2
stroke, 3-stroke, or four stroke, though? ( here - 
FWIW ).
I need some time to think about this. I may not be able to answer you. I
_did_ know, but my memory has probably let me down.
It's sort of a joke question, really... the answer is there, though!