Rand cam engine
The RadMax engine, also known as Ram-cam or Rand-cam engine is a pistonless rotary engine being developed by Reg/Regi Technologies Inc.
Design
The engine has a cylindrical housing, and the interior surface of either end of the housing forms a sinusoidal cam, such that the displacement along the engine's axis of any point on the interior surface varies sinusoidally as \(sin(2\theta{})\), each cam having two 'peaks' and two 'valleys'. The two cams at either end are offset by \(\pi{}/2\) with respect to each other, such that the peaks of one end line up with the troughs of the other end and the interior of the engine between the two cams has constant length along the axis of the engine at all points.
Between these two sinusoidal surfaces, a cylindrical rotor occupies almost all the cylindrical space between the two cams, and holds a series of vanes, 12 in current designs, dividing the interior space into 12 segments. The vanes make contact with both cams at either end of the housing, and move freely up and down these sinusoidal tracks through slots in the rotor.
The spaces between the rotor and each cam, and between the vanes, form combustion chambers whose volume varies in an approximately sinusoidal manner as they are swept around the engine, and into the cams at either end are inlaid induction, exhaust and fuel injection ports at appropriate points around the cycle, so each of the 24 rotating combustion chambers goes through a complete 4-stroke combustion cycle as it rotates.
This engine was invented by the Canadian inventor James McCann.
Advantages
The claimed advantages of the rand-cam engine are its compactness and its power output. Whereas a 4-cycle piston engine's piston is only powered only once every second turn of the crankshaft, and a Wankel engine is powered once each turn of the e-shaft, a Rand-cam engine is powered 24 times per revolution of its main shaft. It can also achieve high compression ratios for diesel operation.
Current status
The engine is currently under development by the United States based company Regi U.S., Inc and has reportedly reached the prototype stage. According to their published information, the prototype will deliver 42 bhp (31 kW; 43 PS) from a unit only 6 inches (150 mm) wide by 6 inches (150 mm) long with a weight of 40 pounds (18 kg).[1] That is a weight/power ratio of about 1:1. It can run on ethanol, natural gas, diesel, LPG (propane) or hydrogen. There are immediate plans to demonstrate the engine. The first intended users are military contractors.
Rand cam pump
Similar technology has been proposed for pumps and hydraulic motors.[2] The Krupp corporation developed this concept for a hydrostatic piston actuating mechanism for big diesel engines.[3]
References
- ↑ 6"x6" engine 42hp
- ↑ Patent WP 76 892 from 12/4/1967, by Wolfhart Willimczik
- ↑ Kinematik of a hydrostatic power train, Charlotte Kluge, MTZ 1972
External links
