[HN Gopher] Inside-out design solves most of the rotary engine's...
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       Inside-out design solves most of the rotary engine's problems
        
       Author : bookofjoe
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2023-11-15 19:53 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
        
       | newprint wrote:
       | LiquidPiston been featured many times and it always feels like a
       | magical bullet. For some reason my BS meter overshoots. If it is
       | that good, we would already seen it's mass adoption.
        
         | briffle wrote:
         | Right, the company started right around the same time as
         | Achates Power, and their opposed piston design is already being
         | tested in prototypes in a partnership with Cummins, one of the
         | largest engine manufacturers. So either a large amount of BS,
         | or some very, very rigid licensing and partnership...
        
           | briffle wrote:
           | Looks like liquid piston have some partnerships with the US
           | Government, but targeting small, lightweight generators on
           | drones to recharge batteries, not motive power for vehicles:
           | 
           | https://www.aviationtoday.com/2022/09/13/u-s-army-
           | awards-1-7...
        
         | AlexandrB wrote:
         | Based on how the air intake/outtake works, it seems like it
         | will be limited to a single "cylinder" for now so it's not a
         | silver bullet that can replace a rotary engine in something
         | like the RX8.
         | 
         | Edit: There are other features of this design that seem like
         | they would limit how far it can scale. For example, the
         | "crankshaft" is hollow to carry air for combustion. This surely
         | limits how much torque it can handle vs a traditional solid
         | shaft.
         | 
         | Still, this is very cool and I hope they can overcome these
         | challenges.
        
         | imoverclocked wrote:
         | Mass adoption doesn't happen overnight though. Things need to
         | be proven to some degree to make big bets on them... especially
         | in aerospace. Making generators and UAVs is a great way to do
         | this; If a generator fails and it's 75% lighter than what it
         | replaced, then just have two of them around... and now you have
         | learned something for relatively cheap.
        
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       (page generated 2023-11-15 23:02 UTC)