Thermal modeling of a novel rotary engine

Studies on rotary engines and their high operation efficiency, in comparison with reciprocating-piston engines, has encouraged further research on different types of these engines. This paper focuses on thermal analysis of a novel rotary engine with 24 combustion processes per rotation. This engine has only two moving parts, the vanes and the rotor. Two cams operate as stationary parts. The modeling, based on maximum power and full load operation, evaluates approximately the thermal behavior of the engine running with diesel fuel and a compression ratio (20: 1). Initially, by presenting a thermodynamic model, pressure, temperature and convective heat transfer coefficient of combustion gases inside one cylinder of the engine are calculated; results obtained from the model are used as boundary conditions for adjacent control volumes and thereafter steady-state temperature distribution in the engine components are obtained using the commercial software Ansys. With regard to material limitation, the resulting temperature distribution shows that the cam needs an auxiliary cooling system, while the rotor and the vanes cool down using the lubrication oil of the engine. Finally, it is suggested that cooling such as air or water is needed for the cooling of the cam, as an auxiliary cooling system.