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Try Onshape, the world's most capable in-browser CAD software for free for 6 months: LC3DP 3D Printing Starts from $0.3, CNC starts at $8, Up to $60 New User Coupons: Question 1. How come the vanes don’t scrape against the ports. This was a very common question and honestly, I’m surprised that it was so common. The little 3d model in the previous video is obviously a cross-section of the engine. While it may seem like the vanes might catch onto the port in the fully frontal cross-sectioned display of the model it is also very easy to imagine how the vanes do not catch onto the ports because the vanes are larger than the ports, this is the intake port of our little prototype and this is the exhaust port. As you can see the vane does not fit inside any of the ports as it passes by so obviously if it doesn’t fit inside it can’t catch onto it. The difference in port size vs vane size is also shown in the previous video but seeing that requires watching the video before commenting which of course is asking too much. Ok, Question 2. In the previous video I have said how the rotary vane engine is a vibration-free engine. Many people commented how I was wrong because the vanes move up and down and this creates vibration. I’d like to draw your attention to the fact that each vane is opposed by another vane. When one when is extending so it is the opposing vane. When one when is retracting so to is the opposing vane. The same thing happens in our prototype. The vanes are of equal mass, they are perfectly opposed and they create forces of equal magnitude and opposite directions which means that the forces creates by the vanes cancel each other out. It doesn’t matter how many vanes we have, four like in the animation or 6 like in our prototype. As long as the number of vanes is even we will have an engine with zero vibrations. Question 3. The springs will fail. I honestly have no idea idea why this comment was so common? We have valve springs in piston engine right? Are they a frequent point of failure? No. They aren’t even a service item. They last the life of the engine. There is no reason why the springs in a vane engine would be an issue as nowadays we can manufacture extremely durable springs at affordable prices. I really have nothing special to add here. Question 4. Clearance between housing and vane tips In the last video I have also mentioned how centrifugal force drives the springs into the housing which increases wear and have suggested piezoelectric actuation as a form to prevent the vant tip from contacting the housing. There have been several comments that responded to this by saying how it’s impossible for piezoelectric actuation to manage the large movement of the vane since piezoelectric actuation can usually only handle ranges of a few micrometers. And yes, this is correct. But I never said that piezoelectric actuation would handle the entire movement range, because 1. It can’t and 2 it doesn’t need to. If you observe our model in slow motion you can see that as soon as we initiate rotation of the engine, centrifugal force flings the blade outwards. There is no need to control their entire range at all. Piezoelectric actuation would only handle the last few fractions of a milimeter in order to maintain a no-contact gas seal. Such piezoelectric actuators could either be embedded in the housing or in the blades themselves. Alternatively piezoelectric actuation can be used together with mechanical blade control systems to ensure a no contact gas seal because there are realistically numerous mechanical ways to control the blade movement. For example in 1967 Popular Mechanics published an article about a 400 horsepower vane engine that used a cam in the center of the engine to control blade movement. Another example is this system conceived by an inventor from Poland, which incorporates a predetermined track through which vanes and vane guides roll during engine operation. This is a simple system that leads to reduced friction and wear. One of my subscribers sent me this email after I published the last video where he suggests incorporating gears to control vane movement which is another viable solution which was in fact already patented in the past. So as you can see there many different ways to control blade movement, of course which one of these ways is best suited for what kind of application and budget must be discovered through methodical research and development efforts. A special thank you to my patrons: Daniel Peter Della Flora Dave Westwood Toma Marini Zwoa Meda Beda valqk Cole Philips Marwan Hassan11 RePeteAndMe Sam Lutfi #d4a #rotary #rotaryvane 00:00 How it's made 04:53 Q1: Vanes catching on ports 06:05 Q2: Engine balance 07:24 Q3: Springs 08:45 Q4 Piezoelectric actuation 11:42 Q5 Vanes will fail 14:05 Q6 Uneven heating 16:40 Start attempt
