How rotary engine exactly works?

Question

How rotary engine exactly works?

Answer 1

Here's another really fun site: and it's cool for all sorts of engines: http://www.keveney.com/gnome.html

It's great fun for the mechanically minded. Just about every engine type is listed and illustrated in motion...

Answer 2

Many World War 1 aircraft used "Rotary" engines. These were not Wankel type engines as used in Mazda RX8. They were piston engines laid out in  radial configuration, with the cylinders arranged like the spokes of a wheel.   Commonly used rotaries include the Gnome and the LeRhone.

http://oldrhinebeck.org/collection/engin...

     In a normal radial engine, the crankcase with the cylinders attached is bolted to the airframe and remain stationary. The crankshaft rotates inside the engine, and has the propeller attached to one end.  

   In rotary engines this is reversed: the crankshaft is bolted to the airframe, and the propeller is attached to the crankcase.  The crankshaft remains stationary, and the rest of the engine spins around it.  

   This was done to ensure adequate cooling of the cylinders.

These engines were aircooled, and it was not possible at that time to manufacture a cylinder with the elaborate cooling fins found on radial engines. It made sure each cylinder had a constant flow of air for cooling they spun the entire engine.

     This arrangement had real drawbacks: because the entire  fuel intake system was spinning with the engine, there was no way to have a throttle linkage. That meant the engine ran only at full throttle. To reduce power for landing the pilot had a button that "blipped" the igniton on and off - they were actually turning the engine on and off is short bursts to control power.

     Having the weight of the engine spinning produced strong gyroscopic effects, effecting the handling of the plane. Planes with these engines turned much better to the right than the left, some thing an enemy pilot also knew, giving a disadvantage in a dog fight.

     On the human side, these engines used castor oil for lubrication, and spinng the engine resulted in plane and pilot being covered by a mist of this oil.  Castor oil is also used as a laxitive,and it often had that effect on the pilots flying behind a rotary.

Answer 3

Since this is a forum on aircraft engines, I will describe an aircraft rotary engine. The cylinders are arranged in a circle like a radial. The main difference is in the rotary, the crankshaft flange is bolted solid to the airframe and does not turn. The propeller is bolted to the front of the engine and the cylinders rotate around the crankshaft. The disadvantage of this is no oil recovery system was devised, and all the oil that lubed the valves was slung off by centrifugal force. It necessitated frequent stops to replenish the oil supply, and for the pilot because they used castor oil in the sumps.

Answer 4

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/rotary-eng...

Answer 5

Here are two great demonstrations on how they work:

The first one is from HowStuffWorks.com. It explains in text and animation how they work:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/rotary-eng...

The second is a video from youtube, showing a 3D animation of how the engine works:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6BCgl2uumlI

Edit: Ah yes, I now realize that this is under Aircraft. In that case, I will give you two good links showing how radial engines work:

First one is an opened up view of the engine:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4hWZ40120BQ

Second one is a detailed animation, showing the inner workings of the engine:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yVHNlVI8rBE

Answer 6

Are you sure you didnt mean radial engine?