So over lunch I was reading about Mercedes F1 hybrid engine that has been dominating the series since 2014.

With the new hybrid era they were required to reduce fuel consumption extensively but still be able to create a system to output a high amount of hp and so was born the pre-combustion combustion engine.

In an essence, it is a small chamber that is filled with a rich fuel and air mixture, then it is ignited. The small combustion then is channeled into the main combustion chamber through jet nozzles that can more evenly distribute a small flame to ignite the air and fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber, creating a very uniform and quicker burn.

Can some one the veterans that know more than I chime in on the benefits or drawbacks of the current combustion style with a rotary and if this would be something worth while for a rotary?

https://drivetribe.com/p/f1-burning-...SC6dPACmxwPMmw

 

Not saying it can't be done, there's always a way to engineer something, but a couple of thoughts:

​​​​​On a daily driven long-term use car, small jets of burning fuel sound liable to carbon buildup, especially if not run at race loads. See also: your spark plugs.

I can see this replacing the dual spark plug setup we currently have, with potentially many more ignition points, but the next problem is timing. You can time individual spark plugs independently as needed, but you can't time fuel jets. You don't want your flame fronts to fight each other and not push the rotor.

The combustion chamber in a rotary moves, compared to remaining in place in a piston engine, which means that whatever mechanism you want to adapt now needs to work while moving at different engine speeds.


Thinking a bit more, what you could try is tap some of one rotor's combustion to set off the other rotor. Then in theory combustion never stops and you don't need spark plugs except to start. I have no idea if it would be more efficient. That might actually be a better way to do EGR as well. You just need to figure out the right timing angles on the exhaust end and the intake end of each rotor. And if you don't like the angles just add more rotors until you've divided the angles enough. Hmm. Calling all Brettuses!

 

it's been done to a dorito already
https://patents.google.com/patent/US6125813A/en

 

I was merely thinking a carbed 13b with the distributor set advanced a little bit and using the main plug to be the triggered spark plug for the pre-combustion and run it like that to get the ball rolling? Wouldn't be hard to mill a spark plug adapter that had a nozzle to force the flame into the chamber?

 

you’ve been on this forum how many years now and you still don’t know how to start a new thread in the proper forum area?

this is a discussion thread (putting it kindly), not a major HP upgrade thread
.

 

I apologize, if a mod would like to move it then please do. Was merely thinking it was in a similar ball park to a few of the "Theory" discussions in this section. And I've been a member for a long time but am only on in bursts of a few days every few months, not necessarily a regular.