This looks promising. It is basically a continuous combustion wave turbine. While not super powerful in this early design and not intended to replace a V-8 it can be brought to market for a hybrid vehicle application soon, according to the researcher. See the video below. While they’ve got a focus on CO2 for the usual reasons, I’ll take increased efficiency any day.
Schematic model of a wave disk engine, showing combustion and shockwaves within the channels. Source: Michigan State University.
Researchers from Michigan State University have been awarded $2.5 million from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program to complete its prototype development of a new gasoline-fueled wave disc engine and electricity generator that promises to be five times more efficient than traditional auto engines in electricity production, 20% lighter, and 30% cheaper to manufacture.
The wave disc engine, a new implementation of wave rotor technology, was earlier developed by the Michigan State group in collaboration with researchers from the Warsaw Institute of Technology. About the size of a large cooking pot, the novel, hyper-efficient engine could replace current engine/generator technologies for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
The award will allow a team of MSU engineers and scientists, led by Norbert Müller, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, to begin working toward producing a vehicle-size wave disc engine/generator during the next two years, building on existing modeling, analysis and lab experimentation they have already completed.
Our goal is to enable hyper-efficient hybrid vehicles to meet consumer needs for a 500-mile driving range, lower vehicle prices, full-size utility, improved highway performance and very low operating costs. The WDG also can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 95 percent in comparison to modern internal combustion vehicle engines.
From ARPA-E
The Wave Disk Generator revolutionizes auto efficiency at lower vehicle costs. Currently, 15% of automobile fuel is used for propulsion; the other 85% is wasted. A Wave Disk Generator hybrid uses 60% of fuel for vehicle propulsion.
MSU’s shock wave combustion generator is the size of a cooking pot and generates electricity very efficiently. This revolutionary generator replaces today’s 1,000 pounds of engine, transmission, cooling system, emissions, and fluids resulting in a lighter, more fuel-efficient electric vehicle. This technology provides 500-mile-plus driving range, is 30% lighter, and 30% less expensive than current, new plug-in hybrid vehicles. It overcomes the cost, weight, and driving range challenges of battery-powered electric vehicles.
This development exceeds national CO2 emission reduction goals for transportation. A 90% reduction is calculated in CO2 emissions versus gasoline engine vehicles. Wave Disk Generator application scales as small as motor scooters and as large as delivery trucks, due to its small size, low weight, and low cost. This technology enables us to radically improve the atmosphere and human health of major global cities.
Last week, the prototype was presented to the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), this video was released:
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To half the commenters: This concept has nothing to do with the Wankel engine. Zero. Zip. Nada. It is in no way analogous, except for (1) going around, and (2) probably never gaining a foothold in the market.
The video sound was indistinct. I suspect Herr Mueller gargled the KoolAid before he drank it.
Mark Petersen says: “…I suspect problems, when this engine is run at non optimal speeds, because exact timing of the process within the wave rotor is of immense importance.”
Yes. Immense is the right word. Power may relate to rpm’s by as much as the square thereof. I suspect turning a corner or going up a hill under the right conditions might cause the engine to hiccup. For this and other reasons, they could blow $50 million bench testing this contraption and find that it doesn’t work worth a poop in an actual car. Good luck to them, though. Sounds nice on paper. These ideas always do.
>>Ralph says: April 11, 2011 at 2:22 am
>>There are no American engines in late model American vehicles
>>that were designed in 1935.
Try this one for starters, originally designed in 1938.
Most obsolete rubbish still in production.
http://www.lycoming.com/engines/certified/index.html
.
Invitation: Invest in the completely emission free engine.
I propose the rebirth of the steam turbine engine, this time driving an electrical generator. It can be burn almost anything with the obvious exception of fossil fuels. Wood, waists form your garden, newspapers and magazines, cardboard, you name it… Politically it’s of course best to use wheat or corn. Then we can get the big farming companies on our side with their very efficient lobby in Washington. A good argument is that the current conversion to alcohol to use in cars is very inefficient use of the energy compared to burning the corn directly in a steam turbine engine. “A much more efficient way of using our food!” is proposed as the company slogan!
This alternative offers zero CO2 pollution!
Anyone who is interested is welcome to invest! Just transfer $ 5000,- to my bank account and I will send you a share in the new company. Of course, the next step will be to apply for enormous government grants…
Isn’t there are theoretical limit on all heat engines. They can never be more efficient than the ratio of the hot and cold sides of the engine in degrees K? So, unless they can make the hot side hotter and/or the cold side colder than today’s engines, they cannot be much more efficient. Which is the problem facing the IC engine. As you try and make the hot side hotter, you need exotic materials (ceramics) which don’t yet have the longevity.
The Wankel Engine is an old concept
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine
So, this isn’t just more efficient, or highly efficient, it’s hyper-efficient! I think the key syllable here is “hype”.
This engine has similarities to the wankel rotary engine. Both of them have their combustion chamber walls dependent on a good seal to the outside casing. The three combustion chamber seals in wankels had to be replaced every so often at huge expense. This engine looks even worse with its many vanes. It will probably stay in the research lab with sterling engines. Nice concept, not practical.
I am old enough to remember Andy Granatelli’s two turbine cars racing in the Indy 500 in 1967 and 1968. They worked so well and scared the racing community so badly that they regulated the turbine powered car out of the race the next couple years with rules changes. Think the 1967 car led 171 laps and broke a gearbox / transmission on 197th lap. Finished the 200 laps 6th. Cheers –
I see now I wasn’t the first to notice 😀
Not a new idea.
Not 4x efficient.
Not impressed. Sorry.
I’d seen this earlier and then watched the video. I thought it odd that he was just waving about the disk with the plexiglass cover, which I’m sure is not a working prototype. But from teh comments here I realize he didn’t even have a working prototype at that time.
But as to his efficiency numbers, I read between the line (or is it heard between the lines) that his is basing it all on final efficiency and playing silly buggers with the numbers.
i.e. he compares the weight of his engine (the bit with him waving it about and saying “see I’m holding it in my hand”). to correlate to savings in weight, which he is using for efficiency, then saying using a hybrid system like a Prius, he’s using the comparison of that weight of that system. Problem being based on the size of this thing and it’s relatively low output he needs to squeeze and save every erg of power and store it. That means the battery size of the Prius isn’t going to work for him, he needs very many more battery packs, thus much higher weight and he has to depend on A. generating and saving lots of juice while at a standstill (sitting at a light), sotring enough juice to get up to speed on the highway, and then using that small amount of juice to sustain that speed.
But then as soon as you put decelerate and accelerate into the factor (say traffic) then his numbers start to fall apart. So he has to build in more redundancy. More batteries, maybe a second motor, etc.
When he’s done he as a car that weighs just as much as a standard hybrid with similar mpg.
Of course I knew he was full of so much BS that it was leaking out of his ears when I read the comment “only suitable for hybrids” that means it’s just marketspeak. Any can work in any type of vehicle, just may be stupid to do so. i.e the jet engine in the go kart.
Cool but this one already has a prototype built with measured displacement etc.
http://www.angellabsllc.com/
The MYT Engine (Massive displacement Yet Tiny) has it beat already. Cool design though. I like the subject of alt engine designs.
Its the Wave Motion Engine! Just in time for that road trip to Iscandar I’ve been planning.
This product is another example of publishing bull and hoping the audience is ignorant. Total hype and understates the efficiency of the latest diesel engines that approaches 50% not 15%. Use turbo-compounding, the hyper bar process, or the adiabatic turbo compound engine and that can be 60%. Given a more reasonable approach to the current NOx and particulate trade off formula and we could push these figures even further, as the current US on highway diesel engines are now classed as zero emission engines, a far cry from 20 years ago. This is an extraordinary achievement and a change of emphasis is now needed of reducing fuel burn to the exclusion of all else. This will stimulate innovation again.
Regulation is the holdup at present as it forcing all manufactures down the same path leaving no room for innovation. It is slowly creating monopolies reducing choice for commercial operators and consumers alike. Let this lot bring a product to market and pit the actual hardware to competitive analysis and then we can judge its merits. Sorry Anthony but nothing exciting here yet. Maybe a pitch for funding.
A 50% higher efficiency than a power station … sounds like a scam to me … or am I too much a sceptic ?
Interesting concept. At a brief glance, the engine looks similar to Ralph Sarich’s Orbital Engine. So much so, it could run into a little trouble from Orbital Corp’s (Australia) patents … (http://www.orgeng.com.au).
Ever heard of Venture Capitalism?
If this really was an efficient replacement for the IC engine, venture capitalists would be all over this design like a rash. Unfortunately, the owners have instead raided the taxpayer, which almost certainly means it will be a failure.
Again, we should make forward diary notes for these claims, and hold them up to ridicule when the first car is NOT running in 3 years with 95% emmisions saving yadayadayada.
“Researchers from Michigan State University have been awarded $2.5 million from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program to complete its prototype development of a new gasoline-fueled wave disc engine and electricity generator that promises to be five times more efficient than traditional auto engines in electricity production, 20% lighter, and 30% cheaper to manufacture.”
One has to realize that the DOE funding has not produced anything useful in all the years of it’s existence.
Since Dr Chu and most of his employees have little or no knowledge of practical energy solutions, there are numerous institutions scamming us with outrageous claims.
No responsible engineer would announce such outrageous claims absent anything but a paper design, except to fool Dr Chu into awarding $$$.
Of course I hope I am wring but over 50 years in the energy business including numerous research projects causes one to temper such wild claims from even well intentioned scientists.
I witnessed the DOE wasting $$ on useless studies back in the 80’s, Has anything changed?
I’d like to see the emisions. NO2, CO, etc. Reducing those might require to much back pressure and emision controls.
But, if it had a single, air cooled (thanks Dermot O’Logical), easily replaceable, cheap rotor, it might be great for electric production in remote areas.
Last fall I started my 64 327, after being notstarted for 15 years. No problem.
Pistons still rule.
I am sure GM is very interested in this new engine design as you could use it as a steering wheel.
GM has a lot of problems lately with steering wheels.
Ralph says:
April 11, 2011 at 12:24 pm
>>Ralph says: April 11, 2011 at 2:22 am
>>There are no American engines in late model American vehicles
>>that were designed in 1935.
Try this one for starters, originally designed in 1938.
Most obsolete rubbish still in production.
http://www.lycoming.com/engines/certified/index.
————————————
Sorry, I am unaware of this engine being a power plant in any late model American automobiles. Actually I’m unamware of this engine ever being used in any automobile from a major MFRYour links seems to suggest that is used in some aircraft applications.
The leftist Feds don’t want a fast solution to their contrived emergency of global warming. They want to tax it, sell permits, grab power, and change the world’s economic structure to that of socialism. Conservatives can fight this by defunding the EPA’s power in this area and push innovation for energy independence instead of Obama’s idea along with his czars of pushing fossil fuel cost sky high to deter it’s use. Punishingly high energy cost on us is sadistic and is without natural affection. It will also result in lost jobs, recessions, depressions, rolling blackouts, lower standard of living, energy poverty, and loss of life in extreme weather. This is a politcal battle, not ecological. This is like having an enemy on American soil in which slow motion elections battle once every two years while they have 729 other days to destroy this greatest nation ever built in which they APOLOGIZE for while in other countries.
Ralph, The OHV V8 engine, which was the mainstay of US engine design for a long time, came into into use in 1949, And no modern engine is based on the design of the original OHV “Rocket 88″, for example. All late model American engines are of fairly recent design. I’m unaware of any significant technological divide between American gasoline engine technology and EU technology.
Justa Joe says:
” Most obsolete rubbish still in production.”
in reference to the lycoming engine.
The lycoming engine offers good aerodynamics for aircraft though the fuel efficiency might not be the best. Its horizontal piston layout provides good sight past the nose cone for the pilot as apposed to say the radial engine or a V engine.
There are too many engineers on this site giving this guy a hard time. If we live in an age of Post Normal Science, why can’t we live in an age of Post Norman Engineering?
If the consensus says that this engine will work, then this engine will work!
sophocles, Re OEC Patents. … nothing like the Sarich Orbital Engine.
I worked on modelling the airflow through the disc valve of the Sarich orbital engine in the summer of 78/79. (Vacation work … undergraduate Mechanical Engineering.)