Tuesday, November 9, 2010

How do rotaries work?

In comparison to the large amount of 4 stroke engines in the dutch racing scene it can be said that Wankelengines or rotaries are pretty rare. the work completely different and can not be compared to each other. A lot of people hate rotaries because it consumes a lot of oil and fuel. In addition they say they they need to be rebuilt more often. But how do they work exactly?
The principle is pretty easy, instead of pistons it works with a triangular rotor which is turning around in a drim. While this happens there will be fuel injected and ignited. This keeps the rotary moving. See picture below to get a clearer image:


The advantages of a rotary is its compact design. The engine can be installed pretty low and back in the enginebay. This will create a lower center of gravity, which is better for time attacks. Another advantage is that they will accelerate faster than a regular 4 stroke engine. As the rotor turns around instead of moving up and down it can turn the energy created by the ignition directly into a rotating movement. The disadvantages are the high oil consumption and a comparatively high fuel consumption.

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