24 Rotor Wankel Rotary Engine
This sounds like a completely crazy idea, but yes I will build a running engine and put it in a vehicle, ideally a motorbike.
So first I will say to read the following page as it explains a bit more about the rotary engine and how I designed it. The one in the link is an engine I first chose to 3D print and run on compressed air.
4 Rotor Air Powered Wankel Rotary Engine
Without a doubt the Mazda 13B rotary engine is the most successful Wankel engine ever put into production. While the consumer could only ever buy a two rotor enthusiasts modified the engine to 3, 4 and even 6 rotor inline configurations. These engines can be rather expensive to build so I decided to take my own approach. I designed my own rotary engine from scratch in which I proved the design through 3D printing an air powered engine. I also intend to run a single rotor 3D printed engine on RC nitro fuel, well briefly I imagine.
My current workshop has been put into storage and I am currently between work, life has a habit of going wrong all at once. In the next month I take posession of a unit and will setup my own machine shop, just me. The idea is that it will pay the bills but more importantly fund my projects, especially this one. Although if reading this and you wish to help me then I will greatly appreciate donations, all will go to these projects.
I have designed an engine that will easily be stacked together allowing multiple inline configurations, the limiting factor is the strength of my drive-shaft and how hard I push the engines. The swept volume will be 110cc compared to the 650cc of the 13B engine. I have designed it much smaller so that it will be cheaper and easier to build. The housing will be made from aluminium which I will have Nikasil plated, the rotor either steel or iron. The fuel of choice will change throughout the project, but ranging from Nitro, gasoline and ethanol. It will be water-cooled and likely circulate water in separate banks between the housings. To make an engine with 7 rotors would be the record for an inline engine, however my plan is to initially get a single rotor working properly. Then I will make a 12 rotor and then increase that to a 24 rotor, that will be a 2.6L engine, comparable to a 4 rotor 26B.
I still have quite a bit do do in regards to the design but will keep updating the below image to show where I am at. I will keep the progress updated towards the bottom of the page.
The Plan
So how long will it take to see this engine? Well that depends on my earnings and potential funding.
For one I have several ideas I'm working on, those being testing all types of 3D printed gears to destruction. Also my 3D printed air powered Wankel engine which I hope to increase to 24 rotors. Those are all on Youtube, or will be, that I hope will grab attention, maybe a following, and hopefully funding of some type for this engine.
There is of course my workshop, without funding I will have it back in a month.
The engine will still be fairly expensive to build with hundreds of parts. Business and funding will determine the build time. I have chosen as many common stock parts as possible, bearings being something I cannot make myself.
So with the best possible amount of funding I could have it done by the end of December, that would be about 10k USD at a minimum. With no funding it could take me another 9 months, but that is if business is bad. If business is good and I'm making money then I believe by the end of the year is possible, maybe sooner.
I would also be curious to see what people want me to do with the engine, it will likely make 800 BHP +. It will also be about 1.08m or 3.5ft in length. I would like to build a drag bike, but of course with money I could put it in anything. It all depends what fuel I settle with in the end, gasoline being convenient, nitro being expensive.
So .... give me your money !!
On a serious note though, if you would like to help me out I would greatly appreciate it. You can find my email on the contact page, if you're super serious you can even meet me, I live in Calgary, Canada. Not the UK anymore.
The last question, can I really build this engine? Well take a look through my projects and decide for yourself.
The Actual Plan
The first engine will be a single rotor to make sure my cooling system works and the oil lubrication system. It will be run on 25% Nitro RC fuel with a high oil content. To first go with glow plugs and this type of fuel will give the best chance of getting it started, it will also be the most powerful fuel to run. Glow plugs means I don't have to worry about an igntion system.
I need to make sure the lubrication system does not leak as it supplies oil to the inside of the rotor, it doesn't run at much pressure. I need to know how likely the oil seals are to leak and in which direction.
The cooling system is quite simple and runs through a series of dowels, 11 of them in total. Each dowel is to stop the engine from twisting under power. The dowels each have an O-ring to seal the coolant, I have no worry about them leaking.
The most important thing is my Nikasil plating because this is to prevent wear. I'm curious to know how well it will plate in the sharp corners and to bacon.
Once the first engine has proven successful I will increase it to a 2-rotor. It will again run on Nitro RC fuel, this engine I will keep long-term as one of my first working wankel engines.
The third engine will be a 2-rotor coupled to a turbo, I will run it on high octance gasoline. The reason for gasoline is that I can premix it with 2-stroke oil, something which is quite difficult to achieve with ethanol. I suspect I will spend quite some time of this engine becuase it will require an igntion system, a CDI like found on motorcycles. I will do some testing in regards to whether I go with a carburettor or a fuel injection system. Injection will work out to be simpler and a cheaper solution but will require a lot of tuning.
After this it all depends on money, the majority being in the Nikasil plating. The engine is modular so it's not too difficult to increase the length so I will likely increase it two rotors at a time.
Current Progress
I have settled on the rotor radius, eccentric offset and therefore the engine displacement, 110cc.
The stock bearings have been chosen, 6005 and HK5020.
Parts List
24 Housings
24 Rotors
48 Bearings, 6005 (25x47x12mm Ball bearing)-qty 24, HK5020 (50x58x20 Needle Roller)-qty24
48 Glow Plugs, probably spark plugs
76 Apex Seals
24 Carburettors
24 Exhaust Pipes
5 End plates - Structural and Coolant Reasons.
1 long 4340 Splined / Keyed Drive Shaft (25mm x 1.2m)
48 Hardened Gears
Sponsors / Donations
I will list everyone who has donated, of course people can remain anonymous. This will include all sources.
No one yet
Hello, if you have enjoyed reading this project, have taken an interest in another or want me to progress one further then please consider donating or even sponsoring a small amount every month, for more information on why you may like to help me out then follow the sponsor link to the left. Otherwise you can donate any amount with the link below, thank you!