Quasiturbine tech promises engine paradigm shift

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November 27, 2004 A white paper on a revolutionary new approach to engine design has been released at the Global Powertrain Conference (GPC) in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. Quasiturbine technology uses photo-detonation for low-power-efficiency and requires low octane, additive-free gasoline or diesel fuel. It is also multi-fuel compatible (including direct hydrogen combustion) and offers a drastic reduction in existing propulsion system weight, size, maintenance and costs. Utilised within the internal combustion engine, the photo-detonation process could save half the gasoline now consumed by vehicles and provide substantial environmental benefits.

The Quasiturbine looks at first like a rotary engine with a deformable rotor made of four identical blades, but because it has no crankshaft and does not follow sinusoidal motion, it has properties far different from the piston and the Wankel rotary piston engine. The Quasiturbine engine has been developed to simultaneously optimise the 14 most important engine parameters, including compatibility with the revolutionary photo-detonation mode (knocking), which the piston engine cannot effectively tolerate. When taken together, these improvements increase fuel efficiency while simultaneously reducing exhaust emissions.

Inspired by the turbine, it perfects the piston, and improves on the Wankel.

The Quasiturbine is a continuous flow engine at intake and exhaust. An engine's piston completes 4 strokes in two rotations, the Quasiturbine completes 32. Because it was conceived for thermal and photonic ignition, the Quasiturbine cannot be considered as a "rotary piston engine", nor be correctly characterised by the piston paradigms. Note however, that the Quasiturbine can be operated at a lower compression ratio in standard Otto and Diesel cycle modes, with substantial benefits as well. The combustion Quasiturbine is therefore a combination of the best elements of other internal combustion engines, as defined by the following:

- Quasiturbine photo-detonation of the homogenous fuel/air charge eliminates the electronic ignition requirement for most fuel.

- Electronic ignition in the piston gasoline engine is required because of intake vacuum and incompatible long duration compression "pulse structure" limitations in the cylinder.

- Photo-detonation completely combusts the fuel in the fuel/air charge because of the short, but powerful, pressure pulse and because of the fast nearly linear variation of the Quasiturbine's maximum pressure zone, which rapidly closes and re-opens the combustion chamber. The diesel engine can only incompletely combust the inhomogeneous fuel injected into the heated, compressed air in the cylinder. The Quasiturbine (unlike the diesel) is therefore a "clean homogeneous combustion" engine. It has virtually no emissions other than the standard products of combustion, e.g., CO2 and H2O. "Clean combustion" also implies that the Quasiturbine engine is more fuel-efficient than the diesel.

- Photo-detonation in the Quasiturbine occurs rapidly at top dead centre. In the diesel engine, ignition of the injected fuel occurs somewhat after top dead centre, usually about 12 degrees or so, is progressive with time and which contributes mechanically to protect the piston. The Quasiturbine's power stroke is somewhat longer "with early and late mechanical energy conversion" and the exhaust somewhat cooler, which also implies a more efficient engine.

- Because the temperature of stator/rotor is not significant in the photo-detonation process (light ignition) and because the shorter Quasiturbine pressure pulse is self-timing, premature ignition is not a concern. The combustion Quasiturbine can have a very simple cooling mechanism, such as air-cooling, mainly when operating on a high volatility, low specific energy fuel like natural gas.

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