Roxane SAINT-HILAIRE, et al.
Quasiturbine
Quasiturbine Agence (Promotional Agent)
Casier 2804, 3535 Ave Papineau,
Montréal Québec H2K 4J9 CANADA
(514) 527-8484
Fax (514) 527-9530
email: info@qtqc.com
Quasiturbine Agency (Promotional Agent)
Suite 173 - 1316 NE Carlaby Way
Hillsboro, OR 97124 USA
514-527-8484
The Quasiturbine Combustion Cycle:
Intake (aqua), Compression (fuchsia), Ignition (red),
Exhaust (black). Spark Plug (green)
Description
The Quasiturbine engine is a type of Rotary engine, invented by the Saint-Hilaire family, with patents awarded in 1996 and 2003. The engine uses a four-sided articulated rotor that turns within a stator, creating regions of increasing and decreasing volumes as the rotor turns. The Quasiturbine design can also be used as an air motor, steam engine, gas compressor, hot air engine, or pump. It is capable of burning fuel using photo-detonation, an optimal combustion type.
The Quasiturbine (Qurbine) or Kyotoengine is a pressure driven continuous torque deformable spinning wheel; a no-crankshaft rotary engine having a 4-faced articulated rotor with a free and accessible centre, rotating without vibration or dead time, and producing a strong torque at low RPM under a variety of modes and fuels. The Quasiturbine can be used as air motor, steam engine, Stirling engine, compressor and pump. The Quasiturbine is also an optimization theory for extremely compact and efficient engine concepts.
How It Works
In the Quasiturbine engine, the four strokes of a typical cycle de Beau de Rochas - Otto cycle are arranged sequentially around a near oval, unlike the reciprocating motion of a piston engine. In the basic single rotor Quasiturbine engine, an oval housing surrounds a four-sided articulated rotor which turns and moves within the housing. The sides of the rotor seal against the sides of the housing, and the corners of the rotor seal against the inner periphery, dividing it into four chambers. In contrast to the Wankel engine where the crankshaft moves the rotary piston face inward and outward, the Quasiturbine rotor face rocks back and forth with reference to the engine radius, but stays at a constant distance from the engine center at all time, producing only pure tangential rotational forces. Because the Quasiturbine has no crankshaft, the internal volume variations do not follow the usual sinusoidal engine movement, which provides very different characteristics from the piston or the Wankel engine.
As the rotor turns, its motion and the shape of the housing cause each side of the housing to get closer and farther from the rotor, compressing and expanding the chambers similarly to the "strokes" in a reciprocating engine. However, whereas a four stroke cycle engine produces one combustion stroke per cylinder for every two revolutions, i.e. one half power stroke per revolution per cylinder, the four chambers of the Quasiturbine rotor generate four combustion "strokes" per rotor revolution; this is eight times more than a four-stroke piston engine.
Quasiturbine Steam Engine
Advantages
Quasiturbine engines are simpler, and contain no gears and far fewer moving parts. For instance, because intake and exhaust are openings cut into the walls of the rotor housing, there are no valve or valve trains. This simplicity and small size allows for a savings in construction costs. Because its center of mass is immobile during rotation, the Quasiturbine tends to have very little or no vibration. Due to the absence of dead time between strokes, the Quasiturbine can be driven by compressed air or steam without synchronized valve, and also with liquid as hydraulic motor or pump. Other claimed advantages include high torque at low rpm, combustion of hydrogen and compatibility with photo-detonation mode in Quasiturbine with carriages, where high surface-to-volume ratio is an attenuating factor of the violence of the detonation.
History
The Quasiturbine was conceived by a group of 4 researchers lead by Dr. Gilles Saint-Hilaire, a thermonuclear physicist. The original objective was to make a turbo-shaft turbine engine where the compressor portion and the power portion would be in the same plane. In order to achieve this, they had to disconnect the blades from the main shaft, and chain them around in such a way that a single rotor acts as a compressor for a quarter turn, and as an engine the following quarter of a turn.
The general concept of the Quasiturbine was first patented in 1996. Small pneumatic and steam units are available for research, academic training and industrial demonstration. Similar combustion prototypes are also intended for demonstration. In November 2004, a Quasiturbine engine was demonstrated on a go-kart. Precommercial pneumatic and steam units are available for sale in 600 cc and 5 liters displacement sizes.
Potential Applications
The Quasiturbine's high power-to-weight ratio makes it exceptionally suitable for aircraft engine and its no-vibration attributes make it suitable for use in, for example: chainsaws, powered parachutes, snowmobiles, jet skis and other watercraft, aircraft,etc. Variations on the basic Quasiturbine design also have applications as air compressors and as turbochargers. Rotary expander applications include gas pipeline pressure recovery, low thermal heat recovery, heat pumps, pneumatic air energy storage and recovery... It is well suitable to recover the pressure energy of hydrogen storage while recovering the low heat energy generated by fuel cells.
Wankel Comparison
The Quasiturbine is superficially similar to the Wankel engine, but is quite distinct from it. The Wankel engine has a single rigid triangular rotor synchronized by gears with the housing, and driven by a crankshaft rotating at three times the rotor speed, which moves the rotor faces radially inward and outward. The Wankel attempt to realize the four strokes with a three-sided rotor, limits overlapping port optimization, and because of the crankshaft, the Wankel has near sinusoidal volume pulse characteristics like the piston. The Quasiturbine has a four-sided articulated rotor, rotating on a circular supporting track with a shaft rotating at the same speed as the rotor. It has no synchronization gears and no crankshaft, which allows carriage types to shape "almost at will" the pressure pulse characteristics for specific needs, including achieving photo-detonation.
The Wankel engine divides the perimeter into three sections while the Quasiturbine divides it into four, for a 30% less elongated combustion chamber. The Wankel geometry further imposes a top dead center residual volume which limits its compression ratio and prevents compliance with the Pressure-Volume diagram. The Wankel has three 30 degree dead times per rotor rotation, while the Quasiturbine has none which allows continuous combustion by flame transfer, and allows it to be driven by compressed air or steam without synchronized valves (also by liquid as a hydraulic motor or pump). During rotation, the Wankel apex seals intercept the housing contour at variable angles up to from -60 to +60 degrees, while the Quasiturbine contour seals are almost perpendicular to the housing at all time. While the Wankel engine requires dual (or more) out-of-phase rotors for vibration compensation, the Quasiturbine is suitable as a single rotor engine, because its center of mass is immobile during rotation. While the Wankel shaft rotates continuously, the rotor does not, as it stops its rotation (even reverses) near top dead center, an important rotor angular velocity modulation generating strong internal stresses not present in the Quasiturbine.
The Quasiturbine circumvent 3 major Wankel deficiencies: (1) The excessive exhaust-intake overlap, Wankel trying to make 4-stroke with a 3 side rotor, while the Quasiturbine is making 4 stroke with a 4 side rotor with no overlap. (2) The Wankel chamber geometry does not close properly at TDC (unable to gather the gas in one location, leaving it spreaded around the chamber). This is a similar (or worse) situation as that of a flat surface piston with a flat cylinder head (where the gas is not gathered in one location - Such a piston geometry is showing a similar problem as the Wankel). The Quasiturbine chamber closes at TDC in gathering most of the gas in one location, like the modern piston does. (3) The Wankel chamber minimum volume is not constant as it is reduced during rotation, which prevents the applicability of the P-V efficiency diagram.
Photo-Detonation
Detonation is a phenomenon that occurs when an air/fuel mixture is compressed well past the point of thermal-self-ignition. This is commonly called knocking in piston engines and is generally not desired in conventional sinusoidal pressure pulse type engines. Detonation is a very efficient combustion mode, a mode that has this far not been successfully exploited in piston or Wankel engine designs. Diesel combustion (without detonation) is driven by thermal ignition of a fuel pulverized into very hot air; gasoline piston engine combustion is driven by a relatively slow, controlled, thermal combustion wave through an homogeneous mixture; "knocking" detonation also happens in an homogeneous mixture, driven by a supersonic shock wave, or ultimately by radiation as photo-detonation.
Supersonic shock wave detonation is accidentally seen in gasoline engines, because the vaportzation of micro-droplets is only partially completed at the time of maximum compression. To actually achieve photo-detonation, a fast and narrow pressure pulse like that achieved in the Quasiturbine is necessary to rapidly skip straight through the sequence of events (thermo-ignition and shock waves), and rapidly access that mode. Little information or research is available regarding this phenomenon because engineers first need to control the less demanding shock wave detonation. Photo-detonation (designation specific to fuel mixture) is today mainly a curiosity among scientists, but the special pulse characteristics of the Quasiturbine will help bring this phenomenon into actual application.
Because the Quasiturbine has no crankshaft and can have carriages, the pressure pulse can be shaped like the minuscule cursive letter " i ", with a high pressure tip 15 to 30 times shorter than the piston or Wankel volume pulse, and with rapid linear rising and falling ramps. This kind of pressure pulse is self-synchronizing and reduces the immense stresses by shortening the high pressure duration.
Efficiency at Low Power
The modern high-power piston engine in automobiles is generally used with only a 15% average load factor. The efficiency of a 200 kW gas piston engine falls dramatically when used at 20 kW because of high vacuum depressurization needed in the intake manifold, which vacuum becomes less as the power produced by the engine increases. Photo-detonation engines do not need an intake vacuum as they take in all the air available, and mainly for this reason, efficiency stays high even at low engine power.
The development of a photo-detonation engine may provide a means to avoid that low-power-efficiency penalty; may be more environmentally friendly as it will require low octane additive-free gasoline or diesel fuel; may be multi-fuel compatible, including direct hydrogen combustion; and may offer reduction in the overall propulsion system weight, size, maintenance and cost. For these reasons it could be better than or competitive with hybrid car technology.
Hybrid Alternative
It is the purpose of the hybrid car concept to avoid the low efficiency of the Otto cycle engine at reduced power. There is a 50% fuel saving potential, of which about half could be harvested the hybrid way. But getting extra efficiency this way requires additional power components and energy storage, with associated counter-productive increases in weight, space, maintenance, cost and environmental recycling process. The development of a photo-detonation engine like the Quasiturbine would provide more direct means to achieve the same or better.
Links
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/quasiturbine.htm
--- "How Quasiturbine Engines Work"
http://www.iaea.or.at/programmes/inis/ws/d2/r1785.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasiturbine
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/06/the_quasiturbin.php
--- Treehugger (June 22, 2006)
http://www.americanantigravity.com/documents/Quasiturbine-Interview.pdf
--- American Antigravity
http://www.gizmag.com/go/3501/
--- Gizmag (Nov. 27, 2004)
http://www.futureenergies.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=32
--- Future Energies (Oct.20, 2000)
http://groups.google.com/group/quasiturbine
- English
http://groups.google.com/group/qurbine
- Français
US Patent # 6,164,263
Quasiturbine Zero Vibration-Continuous Combustion Rotary Engine Compressor or Pump
( December 26, 2000 )
Roxan Saint-Hilaire , et al.
Abstract
While most rotary engines use the principle of volume variation between a curve and a moving cord of fixed length, this new engine concept uses a four degrees of freedom X, Y, .theta., .PHI. rotor, confined inside an internal housing contour, and does not require a central shaft or support. The invention is an assembly of four carriages supporting the pivots of four pivoting blades forming a variable-shape rotor. This rotor rolls just like a roller bearing on the surface of an housing internal contour wall shaped like a skating rink. During the rotation, the rotor pivoting blades align alternatively in a lozenge and a square configuration. All ports are radial in the housing and/or axial on the lateral side covers. Since the compression and expansion strokes start and end simultaneously, an ignition flame transfer slot is used to maintain a continuous combustion while four strokes are completed in every rotation. A central shaft is not needed for the engine to operate, but can be added and driven by the blades, through a mechanical arms coupling. The device incorporates few parts, does not need a crankshaft or a flywheel, and can be made strong enough to meet the criteria of photo-detonation and direct hydrogen combustion.
Inventors: Saint-Hilaire; Roxan (Montreal, QC, CA), Saint-Hilaire; Ylian (Montreal, QC, CA), Saint-Hilaire; Gilles (Montreal, QC, CA), Saint-Hilaire; Francoise (Montreal, QC, CA)
Current U.S. Class: 123/241 ; 418/270
Current International Class: F02B 53/02 (20060101); F02B
53/00 (20060101); F01C 1/44 (20060101); F01C 1/00 (20060101);
F02B 75/02 (20060101); F02B 053/00 ()
Field of Search: 123/241 418/270
References Cited: U.S. Patent Documents
3228183 - January 1966 - Feller
3442257 - May 1969 - Walker
3614277 - October 1971- Kobayashi
3933131 - January 1976 - Smith
3996899 - December 1976 - Partner
4068985 - January 1978 - Baer
4144866- March 1979 - Hakner
4308002 - December 1981 - Di Stefano
4434757 - March 1984 - Walker
4548171 - October 1985 - Larson
4741154 - May 1988 - Eidelman
5036809 - August 1991 - Goodman
5305721 - April 1994 - Burtis
5399078 - March 1995 - Kuramasu
5404850 - April 1995 - La Bell
Foreign Patent Documents
DE 2448828 Apr., 1976
DE 3027208 Oct., 1981
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to internal combustion engines and relates specifically to a rotary internal combustion engine having a four degrees of freedom rotor, confined into a calculated housing internal contour wall. As a perfectly balance device without crankshaft, this invention is a true rotary engine, by opposition to rotary piston engine. This device also relates to compressors, and pressure or vacuum pumps.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Many rotary engine concepts have been proposed including a pressure energy converter, rotary engine or compressor as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,068,985, 3,996,899; a rotary disk engine as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,850; a rotary planetary motion engine as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,078; a rotary detonation engine as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,154; a rotary combustion engine as in DE Pat. No. 2,448,828, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,933,131, 4,548,171, 5,036,809; the Wankel type engine as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,228,183, 4,308,002, 5,305,721, and a continuous combustion engine as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,899. Most rotary engines, and particularly the Wankel and those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,442,257, 3,614,277, 4,144,866, 4,434,757, DE Pat. No. 3,027,208 are based on the principle of volume variation between a curve and a moving cord of fixed length as a sliding single piston-object. This invention does not use this principle, since the housing contour wall has four zones of maximum curvature, and the maximum volume as well as the compressed volume, are both located in a minimum curvature area.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of this invention is to provide a new engine concept making use of a four degrees of freedom rotor, confined inside an internal housing contour wall, constituting an hybrid piston-turbine engine where the rotor acts alternatively and similarly as a compressor turbine and a power turbine, unifying in one, both of the turbines in a conventional gas turbine engine.
An other object of this invention is to provide a low noise, perfectly balanced, zero vibration, low rpm engine, making use of a more efficient and less NO.sub.x productive asymmetric pressure cycle, giving less time to compression and exhaust stroke, and allowing more time and volume to the intake and combustion stroke.
A further object of this invention is to provide a fast accelerating, zero dead time engine, and to provide an engine almost universal in relation to energy sources, which can run efficiently on pneumatic, steam, hydraulic, liquid and gas fuel internal combustion, and due to its short pressure peak and cold intake area characteristics, is as well suitable for photo-detonation mode and pure hydrogen fuel combustion.
An other further object of this invention is to provide a high weight and volume density engine, compressor or pump, without need of any valve, check valve or obstruction, and with neither a crankshaft or a flywheel.
In order to achieve those objects, the present invention uses a four degrees of freedom rotor X, Y, .theta., .PHI., confined into a calculated housing internal contour wall, which does not require any central shaft or support for most applications. This concept has an optimum efficiency like the piston, because the maximum expansion volume at the end of each stroke is exactly equal to the volume generated by the movement of the tangential surface of push over a rotation.
The rotor is composed of four inter-linked pivoting blades, the pivoted ends of which are supported by a set of four carriages, free to rock on those same pivots. The assembly of the four blades and four carriages forms the rotor which is confined within the housing internal contour wall. Two plane side covers close the engine end. Intake, sparkplug and exhaust ports are made either radial in the housing, or axial in the side covers, or both.
Sealing with the side covers is effected by a system of linear and pellet type seals in contact with the plane side covers, and a spring loaded housing contour seal (apex) sitting on each carriage located in-between its set of wheels, and always perpendicular to the housing contour wall. The chamber is defined by two successive contour seals, and extend between the housing contour wall, and the related pivoting blade.
Rotation of the rotor bring successively the pivoting blades farther and closer of the housing contour wall, thus producing the compression needed by the engine, with possibility of very high compression ratio. Since there are four pivoting blades simultaneously involved in the four strokes cycle, this engine fires four times every revolution, with no dead time. The central engine area is empty, but can have a central shaft, linked to the four pivoting blades, or hold other devices such as an electric generator, a jet blades, a blower or a pump.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete appreciation of the invention will be readily apparent when considered in reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a rotary internal combustion engine according to the present invention (seals not shown);
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal blow up sectional view for two different rotor angle positions, showing a square blades rotation arrangement on the left, and a lozenge arrangement on the right.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary rotary internal combustion engine according to the present invention is shown and is designated generally by reference numeral 10. The rotary engine 10 includes a housing 11 with a particular internal contour wall 12 and two lateral plane covers, containing a rotor composed of four pivoting blades 13 and four rocking carriages 17 and wheel 18. Each pivoting blade 13 has a filler tip 14 and a traction slot 15, and their two ends pivots 16 sit on their respective rocking carriages 17.
The basic geometry of the rotor is shown on the FIG. 2 blow up, for two different rotor angle positions. The rotor is composed of four (one more blade 13 is shown due to blow up) pivoting blades 13 playing a similar role as the pistons or turbine blades, one end of each pivoting blade having a hook pivot 16 and the other end a cylinder pivot 16. Each pivot 16 sits into one of the four rocking carriages 17 (one more carriage 17 is shown due to blow up). Each carriage 17 is free to rotate around the same pivot 16 in such a way as to be continuously and precisely in contact with the housing contour 12. Each rocking carriage 17 carries a housing contour seal of one of different design 24, 25, 26 midway between the wheel axes 19. The chamber is defined by two successive contour seals 24 or 25 or 26, and extends between the housing contour wall 12, and the related pivoting blade 13. There are four variable volume chambers forming two quasi-independent consecutive circuits, each producing a compression and an expansion stroke, which start and end simultaneously. In the four stroke engine operation, the first circuit is used to compress and to expand after combustion, the next circuit is used to expel the exhaust and to intake the air.
A central shaft 32 is not needed for the engine to operate. However a central shaft 32 can be driven through a set of coupling arms 33 as shown in FIG. 2, attached to the blades 13 by means of the traction slots 15 and through a set of arm braces 34, the ends of which are linked to the central shaft. Those link braces 34 are also useful to remove the RPM harmonic modulation on the shaft. Notice from FIGS. 1 and 2 that the central shaft assembly 32, 33, 34 is a sliding plug-in unit, easily removed through the back cover central hole 23 without dismantling the engine. In some applications, a central bearing attachment not shown is used to diminish the load pressure on the carriages 17 and against the opposite housing contour wall 12. When a central bearing is used, carriage wheels 18 can be replaced by rubbing pads since their role is then only to maintain the carriages 17 properly aligned for adequate contour seal 24, 25, 26 angle. No tensioning device has been proven necessary to keep all carriages 17 in good contact with the housing contour wall 12.
The assembly of carriage 17 and wheels 18 must be voluminous but not necessarily heavy, in order to fill a substantial volume in the chamber. Pivoting blades 13 are shaped with a filler tip 14 to allow the control of the residual volume in the upper and lower chambers at maximum pressure square configuration, as seen on FIGS. 1. and 2. left. The top of the filler tip 14 must be shorten such to permit an adequate compression ratio, and to insure that only a fraction of the gas is in the tiny interstices at the time of fire. Because the pressure pulse at top dead center is much shorter than in piston engine, the shape of the combustion chamber is much less critical. Carriage wheels 18 should be wide to reduce contact pressure with the contour wall 12. To distribute wear, the front and back wheels 18 of the same carriage 17 are positioned off line with overlapping paths. For smoother operation, roller bearing are inserted in the blade's 13 hooks pivot 16, to link friction free the cylindrical end of each pivoting blade 13 to the carriage 17 pivot surface.
A lateral seal for the low pressure applications is used on each side cover 21,22, and is made of a compression ring along the pivot 16 path 20. This quasi-elliptical seal is made of a slight deformation of a flexible metal sheet jacket (not shown). For high-pressure application, standard gate like linear seals 28 in the rotor blades 13 are provided. At pivots 16, the lateral sealing is assumed by a set of arc blade pellets 29, circular blade pellets 30, and carriage grooved pellets 31, all pressing against the side covers 21, 22. The large blade pellet 30 gains to have a hole (not shown) in the center to prevent pressure push back.
Spring loaded housing contour seals 24, 25, 26 of different possible designs are incorporated in a groove in the carriages 17 between the axes 19 of the two wheels 18 to insulate the chambers. Each housing contour seal 24, 25 26 sits on a rocking carriage 17 in such a manner as to be always perpendicular to the engine housing contour wall 12. For intermediary pressure applications, a sliding gate type seal 24 is used. A butterfly type seal 25 suitable for low to moderate pressure applications is made of a stack of flat springs, which has the advantage of a minimal course during the rotation, but may be subject to excessive friction at high pressure. An advanced split contour seal 26 design suitable for very demanding applications uses a sloped groove in the carriage 17, and the internal chamber pressure to help maintaining itself in place at all time. This split contour seal design 26 uses the flat springs 27 anchored in the carriage 17 wheel area 18 also to oppose the tangential force. The split contour seal 26 contact point with the housing contour wall 12 is off the carriage 17 groove sloped plane for a positive pressure contribution.
For counter-clockwise rotation as a four strokes combustion engine, the four chambers are used in a sole circuit and the cycle is: intake, compression, expansion, exhaust. One of the left upper ports 37, 38 is fitted with a spark plug. The top right port 39 is closed with a removable plug 40. Ports 41, 42 are intakes from a conventional carburetor or must be fitted with a gas or diesel injector. Exhaust is expelled at ports 43, 44. In order to pass along the flame and make a continuous combustion engine, a small channel 36, located along the internal housing contour wall 12 next to the spark plug 35 at port 37, allows a voluntary flow back of hot gas into the next ready-to-fire combustion chamber when each of the contour seals 24, 25, 26 passes over 36. The amount of flow can be controlled by screwing or unscrewing the spark plug 35. This channel 36 is called the ignition transfer cavity or slot, and permits continuous combustion like in a turbine engine and in the same time generates a dynamically enhanced compression ratio in the almost ready-to-fire combustion chamber, allowing for a more complete and faster combustion. Furthermore, the four housing contour seals 24, 25, 26 are at variable distances during rotation, such as to permit an additional geometric volume pressure enhancement. The additional compression may lead to desirable or not photo detonation (kicking) and diesel pressure level when a diesel injector is located at spark plug 35 positions 37 and/or 38. In the ports 38 of the side cover 21, 22, the spark plug cavity is made large enough to withhold a small quantity of hot gas until the next ready to fire mixture comes up, which does allow for continuous combustion but without the dynamically enhanced compression ratio. Lateral ports 38, 42, 44 of the side cover 21, 22 offer better air-tight conditions while crossing in front of the ports due to the large carriage 17 lateral surface. An ignition timing advance can be built-in by slightly shifting the effective position of the spark plug 35 and/or the channel location 36. By blowing high pressurized air into the spark plug holes 37, 38 or into the ignition transfer cavity 36, the rotor accelerates until the self-starting point is reached. No synchronization of the sparks is required, and continuous high-frequency sparks or glow plug do. The exhaust in the side covers 21, 22 is progressive through a long arc port 44 which could allow, by flowing early exhaust through a standard Venturi, to produce a depression helping the late exhaust cleanup. This rotary engine 10 can also run as two parallel two strokes engine circuits, compression-expansion and compression-expansion, by blowing the exhaust with an intake mixture available from an external blower as in the conventional multi pistons two strokes engines.
As an additional feature, this rotary engine 10 requires few parts compared to a piston engine. Due to the continuous combustion and to its self-synchronized capability, this engine 10 is suitable for applications where high reliability is required. Average angular rotation speed of each pivot 16 (back and forth) of the pivoting blade 13 is about one third of the central shaft 32 RPM, while carriage wheels 18 rotate at 6 times the central shaft 32 RPM. This engine 10 central shaft 32 rotates at only a fraction of the maximum RPM of a piston engine except in detonation mode, with an idle under 200 RPM. Having a much better torque continuity than the piston engine, this engine 10 does require less flywheel effect and less gear box ratio for most applications.
To help cooling and reduce lubrication, at least one of the lateral side covers 21, 22 has a large central hole 23 exposing the pivoting blades 13 central area of the rotor such that all parts of the engine 10 are external, except for the carriage 17 and wheels 18 which are always in good thermal contact with the housing contour 12. A simple way to lubricate is to use a mixture of fuel and oil even in the four strokes engine mode, but more sophisticated applications could incorporate pressurized oil distribution systems. Since the seals are the only friction surfaces, the need of lubrication is minimized by an optimal choice of anti-friction materials.
Movement of the wheels 18 on the inner housing wall 12 allows for heat transfer and distribution to the whole housing 11. The pivoting blades 13 are cooled by lateral contact, and by ventilating wings (not shown) located toward the central engine area. Since this engine 10 does not have any oil pan or inactive room, it is suitable for operation in all orientations, and in submerged or hostile environments. Furthermore, due to the continuous combustion, this engine 10 can be used under water as a self contained pump or jet propulsion unit, or in electrically conductive environments.
In addition to the internal combustion engine, this engine 10 can be used as a compressed fluid pneumatic, steam, or hydraulic energy converter motor. The engine 10 then uses the two quasi independent symmetrical chamber circuits in parallel, with all port plugs 40 removed. For counter-clockwise rotation, intakes are housing ports 37, 41 and exits are ports 39, 43. Torque is generated symmetrically in the two opposed expansion chambers and adds up, and the rotor is almost self-starting. Except when ports are in the sides covers 21, 22, the direction of rotation can be reversed by reversing the direction of the flow. When used as a flow meter, the device 10 also works in both directions. Mechanically driven, this fluid energy converter motor 10 becomes a compressor, or a pressure or vacuum pump, with the same two quasi independent circuits working their own cycle. In compressor mode, this device 10 builds up pressure by adding four chamber volumes per revolution and per chamber circuit, without making use of a limiting check valve, providing that some temporary back flow is acceptable. Total pumped volume can reach up to 70% of the contour 12 volume per rotation. The housing 11, the pivoting blades 13, and the carriages 17 can be made of metal, glass, ceramic or plastic, the later mostly for compressor, pump or water hydraulic engine applications.
Calculation of the SAINT-HILAIRE's (from the name of the physicist who made the calculation) housing contour family of curves 12 is quite complex. To achieve the desired characteristics and to distribute stress and constraints on the housing 11, a proper selection of distances between wheel axes 19 (Distw), wheel diameter 18 (Dw) and carriage 17 height (H) must be made. At first it is not obvious that such a contour exists, particularly a monotone one without lobes, but it does in practice within an interesting range of the deformation parameters (P) defined as the ratio of the minimum lozenge diagonal (LDmin) to the maximum (LDmax). As the rotor rotates, pivoting blades 13 align in a square configuration as in FIG. 1 and in the left arrangement of FIG. 2, with the upper and lower chamber at top dead center. At that moment, the two upper and lower carriages 17 tend to align themselves almost horizontally. The carriages 17 angle (Gsq) with the horizon in the square configuration, determines whether or not the rotor will need a central bearing support to stabilize lateral motion. To avoid the central support, we have selected for the housing contour 12 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a deformation parameter (P) of 0.800, which leads to an angle Gsq of 28.00 degrees. For the current case (P=0.800), lozenge corner angle varies from 90.000+/-12.680 degrees.
A numerical spreadsheet application has been developed to calculate the contour family of curves. The method constrains the symmetry of the contour 12 only through the central housing axis and first calculates the profile (not a contour at this stage) of the centers of the carriage wheels 19. Calculations start with an approximate profile of the wheel 19 centers and calculate the profile 20 of the carriage pivots 16, which is imaged through the lozenge transformation into a quality control profile 20 of the pivots 16 about 90 degrees out of phase. Profile of the wheel centers 19 are then modified by Monte Carlo random perturbations method or convergent algorithm, until those two calculated profile 20 of the carriage pivots 16 and the profile 20 of quality control pivots 16 become identical and in coincidence. Close analytic mathematical match of the profile of the wheel centers 19 "cw" has been found to be of the following form, with three adjustable parameters (A, B, C):
Where Z is a generating angle, not the actual angle of the profile of the wheel centers 19 position. Error using this formula does not exceed 0.4%; a second order correction reduces this error by almost ten folds. Exact mathematical profiles do not exist except for some particular parameters selection. The length of the pivoting blade (Lz for lozenge side) is measured from the center of the cylindrical pivot 16 at one extremity to the center of the hook pivot 16 at the other. The following sets of parameter values, normalized to the pivoting blade 13 length (Lz), generate acceptable final profile of the wheel centers 19. Corresponding parameters values are given below for 3 values of the deformation P:
Lozenge deformation parameter P=(LDmin/LDmax):
______________________________________ 0.800 0.750 0.700 Lozenge side (Lz) pivot to pivot 1.000 1.000 1.000 Distance between carriage wheel (Distw) 0.607 0.578 0.551 Carriage wheel diameter (Dw) 0.303 0.289 0.276 Height of the carriage (H) 0.152 0.144 0.138 Square carriage angle (Gsq) 28.00 22.62 16.72 Lozenge corners angle: 90 degrees +/- 12.68 16.26 20.01 Larger final profile diameter 2.258 2.245 2.231 Smaller final profile diameter 1.901 1.809 1.720 Constant A 1.048 1.036 1.022 Constant B 1.029 1.021 1.015 Constant C 0.422 0.586 0.778 ______________________________________
For P<0.760, the profile 19 of the wheel centers and of the housing contour 12 start to show lobes. Those solutions are also mathematically acceptable, but do generate higher stress on the rotor. Housing contours 12 have also been calculated for two interesting limit cases:
a) instead of a carriage 17, only one wheel, centered at the pivots 16 of the pivoting blades 13 (distance between wheel axes Distw=0, and carriage height H=0); and
b) no wheel at all, meaning that the pivot 16 of the pivoting blade 13 are rubbing on the housing contour wall 12 (additional constraint of wheel diameter Dw=0).
These configurations require in practice a central bearing support.
Final housing contour 12 is the profile of the wheel centers 19 enlarged by a wheel radius (Dw/2) all around, plus the thickness of any replaceable sleeve if used. The selection of an optimum contour is done for a high radius angular variation rate near top dead center, and such as the final expansion volume is near the volume generated by the movement of the variable tangential surface of push. Those wheel center 19 profiles and housing contours 12 generally look like a rounded corner parallelepiped with four zones of maximum curvature, or two lobes with six zones of maximum curvature at higher eccentricity, and contrary to vane devices these contours 12 allow for high-pressure ratio without any intake volume reduction.
Quasiturbine (Qurbine) Rotor with Central Annular Support and Ventilation
( May 31, 2005 )
Roxan Saint-Hilaire , et al.
Abstract
The Quasiturbine (Qurbine in short) uses a rotor arrangement peripherally supported by four rolling carriages, the carriages taking the pivoting blade pressure-load of the blades forming the rotor, and transferring the load to the opposite internal contoured housing wall. The present invention discloses a central, annular, rotor support for the rotor geometry defined by the pivoting blades and associated wheel-bearings, while still maintaining the important center-free engine characteristic. The pressure-load on each pivoting blade is taken by its own set of wheel-bearings rolling on annular tracks attached to the central area of the lateral side covers forming part of the stator casing. This central, annular, rotor support could generally apply to all the family of Quasiturbine rotor arrangements and particularly to the limit case here considered, where the previous carriage design is replaced by a cylindrical pivoting blade joint as presented in the present patent, and for which an efficient solution of the five bodies rotary engine sealing problem is given.
Current U.S. Class: 123/241 ; 418/270; 475/226; 475/227
Current International Class: F02B 55/14 (20060101); F02B
55/00 (20060101); F02B 55/02 (20060101); F02B 53/00 (20060101);
F02B 053/00 (); F01C 001/44 ()
Field of Search: 123/241 418/270 475/227,226,333
References Cited:
U.S. Patent Documents
716970 December 1902 Werner
1164769 December 1915 Walter
3196854 July 1965 Novak
3369529 February 1968 Jordan
3387596 June 1968 Niemand
4890511 January 1990 Pedersen
4916978 April 1990 Razelli et al.
6164263 December 2000 Saint-Hilaire et al.
2002/0189578 December 2002 Szorenyi
2003/0062020 April 2003 Okulov
Foreign Patent Documents
2 493 397 May., 1982 FR
WO 8600370 Jan., 1986 WO
WO 0190536 Nov., 2001 WO
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a perfectly balanced, zero vibration, rotary device, and specifically to rotary engines, compressors, and pressure or vacuum pumps.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
The patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263 discloses a general rotary device called the Quasiturbine (Qurbine in short), which uses four pivoting blades and four rolling carriages to make a rotor of variable diamond-shaped geometry, the rotor mounted within a internal contoured housing wall formed along a Saint-Hilaire confinement profile shaped somewhat like a skating rink, the sides of the internal contoured housing wall closed by lateral side covers. That Quasiturbine device uses four peripheral rolling carriages to hold the rotor in place within the internal contoured housing wall and to transfer the pivoting blade radial load-pressure to the opposite part of the internal contoured housing wall, in such a manner as to remove all load pressure from the center, making the Quasiturbine a center-free engine. U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263 also discloses an effective but simple rotor-to-shaft differential linking mechanism and further provides a general method for the precise calculation of the Saint-Hilaire confinement profile family of curves for the internal contoured housing wall. In most rotary engines, the sealing at the pivot connection or apex between two adjacent blades must be done simultaneously with the internal contoured housing wall and also with the two lateral side covers which is a critical and difficult five-bodies sealing problem. This sealing problem was satisfactorily solved in patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263 through a male-female pivot design overlapped by the carriage. Results of theoretical simulation and some experimental data revealed exceptional engine characteristics for the Quasiturbine device, and in particular the possibility of a shorter pressure pulse with a linear ramp compression-pressure raising-falling slope near top dead center.
In the present context, this invention is not an improvement of the Quasiturbine device in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263, but instead discloses a "central, annular, rotor support" applicable to all the family of Quasiturbine rotor arrangements for similar or other applications, where pivoting blades, wheel-bearings, and annular tracks are located within the rotor, while maintaining a center-free engine characteristic for direct power takeoff. To illustrate the central, annular, rotor support, an embodiment of the Quasiturbine has been used which employs a rotor made up of four blades incorporating simple cylindrical pivoting joints between adjacent blades without rolling carriages. The pivoting joint includes an underneath holding finger at the male end, and efficiently solves the five bodies sealing problem. The device of the present invention includes wheel-bearings and lateral side covers carrying the annular tracks to take the pressure-load applied by the blades. The invention also provides a precise parametric calculation method and criteria for unique selection of the appropriate Saint-Hilaire confinement profile so as to satisfy the optimum engine efficiency of the PV (Pressure-Volume) diagram; and this geometry permits the Quasiturbine to be scaled-up to provide power in excess of 100 MW and more. This new rotor arrangement further allows the insertion of annular power sleeves each linking each pair of two opposite blades with or without clutch centrifuge weights, on the external surface of the sleeves. A Modulated Inner Rotor Volume (MIRV) allows pumping-ventilating action and is particularly useful to cool the 90 interior of the rotor in an internal combustion engine mode. The MIRV is also generally applicable to the Quasiturbine design disclosed in patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263. Finally, on the interior wall of the annular power sleeve, differential washers make a tangential linking with the power disk and shaft. Due to a shorter confinement time and a faster linear ramp compression-pressure raising-falling slope, a new combined Otto and Diesel QTIC-cycle mode is made possible, and is photo-detonation compatible.
The following rotary engine prior arts, either ignored the need or fail to provide the necessary strong mechanism needed to withstand the radial high pressure load on the rotor, fail to include a differential compensation device to smooth out the power shaft RPM from the strong rotational harmonics generated by the rotor components variable angular speeds, and none consider the most important engine efficiency criteria for rejection or selection of the internal contoured housing wall among multiple geometric possibilities, which render most of those concepts impracticable as such. Finally, none achieved the most useful empty center engine characteristics: Okulov (Pub Number US 2003/0062020 A1) discloses a balanced rotary internal combustion engine or cycling volume machine. Szorenyi (Pub Number U.S. 2002/0189578 A1) discloses a hinged rotor internal combustion engine. Niemand (U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,596) discloses a combustion engine with revolution pistons. Jordan (U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,529) discloses a rotary internal combustion engine. Novak (U.S. Pat. No. 3,196,854) discloses a rotary engine. Werner et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 1,164,769) disclose a differential gearing for motor vehicles. Razelli et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,978) disclose a differential device of the limited slip type. Pedersen (U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,511) discloses a friction reduction in a differential assembly. Contiero (Patent Number WO 86/00370 A1) discloses a cyclic volume machine.
Beaudoin (Patent Number WO 01/90536 A1) discloses a poly-induction energy turbine without back draught. Ambert (Patent Number FR 2 493 397 A) discloses a rotary vane internal combustion engine having prismatic chamber of specified shape containing rotary shaft with articulated vanes.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of this invention is to provide a Quasiturbine central, annular, rotor support using pivoting blades, wheel-bearings, and lateral side covers carrying annular tracks (or alternatively the canceling out of the pressure-load in the fluid energy converter mode through the annular power sleeves) generally applicable to all the family of Quasiturbine rotor arrangements and other rotary engines, compressors or pumps, and particularly to an embodiment of the Quasiturbine which employs four blades incorporating simple cylindrical pivoting joints between adjacent blades without carriages, all this while maintaining a large empty area in the center of the engine for direct power takeoff and preserving most previously claimed Quasiturbine characteristics.
Another object of this invention is to provide a "Saint-Hilaire confinement profile calculation method" of the internal contoured housing wall appropriate to the chosen Quasiturbine design arrangement, minimizing the surface to volume ratio in the compression chambers and reducing the flow turbulence. This calculation method includes criteria for engine optimum confinement profile selection from the family of curves to generate the internal contoured housing wall.
A further object of this invention is to provide a low friction, pivoting blade, joint design which is particularly suitable for non-metallic material like plastic, ceramic or glass, the joint allowing for maximum air-tightness; space for gate-type, near zero in-groove movement with single or multiple contour seals; higher maximum RPM; and suitable for very high-pressure applications with the seals designed accordingly. A compression ratio tuner can replace the sparkplug in high compression ratio photo-detonation combustion engine mode.
Another further object of this invention is to provide a Modulated Inner Rotor Volume (MIRV) producing annular pumping-ventilating action between the inner surfaces of the moving pivoting blades and the outer surfaces of the annular power sleeves, with or without clutch centrifuge weights. The Modulated Inner Rotor Volume (MIRV) is particularly useful to cool the interior of the rotor in an internal combustion engine mode, while allowing for the insertion of the differential washers on the inner surface of the annular power sleeves, making a tangential linking with the power disk and shaft.
Yet another further object of this invention is to provide a new combined Otto and Diesel Quasiturbine operation in an Internal Combustion QTIC-cycle mode, this due to the possible shorter confinement time and the faster linear ramp compression-pressure raising-falling slope, which is photo detonation compatible.
In order to achieve these objects, the Quasiturbine rotor arrangement makes use of an appropriate internal contoured housing wall calculated to receive the present, pivoting blades, rotor geometry, with a set of contour and lateral seals (linear gate type and pellets) engineered for the selected rotor arrangement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete appreciation of the invention will be readily apparent when considered in reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of the Quasiturbine device with an internal contoured housing wall and the four interconnected pivoting blades shown in a square configuration. Ports positioning are for fluid flow mode.
FIG. 2 is a top view with the lateral side covers removed, the four interconnected pivoting blades shown in a diamond configuration. Ports positioning are for internal combustion mode. Alternate lateral side cover port positions for fluid flow mode are also shown.
FIG. 3 is a detail perspective exploded view of the Quasiturbine showing interior details, where the internal contoured housing wall and two of the pivoting blades have been removed for better viewing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263 patent disclosed a Quasiturbine rotor arrangement using four rolling carriages to take the pivoting blade pressure-load and transfer it to the opposite internal contoured housing wall. The present invention discloses a Quasiturbine rotor arrangement without carriages, where the pressure-load on each pivoting blade is taken by its own set of wheel-bearings located in a power transfer slot in the inner side of blade, the wheel-bearings rolling on annular tracks, one track attached to the central area of each lateral side cover. This rotor supporting configuration can apply to all the Quasiturbine family of designs, and is here illustrated on a specific Quasiturbine embodiment without rolling carriages. This Quasiturbine rotor arrangement reduces the number of components, reduces the friction surface, reduces the total wall surface in the compression chambers, and is particularly suitable for non-metallic pivoting blades, the blades being made instead from material such as plastic, ceramic or glass. Furthermore, this rotor arrangement allows for single or multiple contour seals with a near zero in-groove movement, and eliminates the need of a cooling system for carriages. This invention applies generally to rotary engines, compressors, or pressured or vacuum pumps.
The present Quasiturbine invention is generally referred on FIG. 1 as number 10, and comprises a stator casing 12 made of a internal contoured housing wall 14 and two lateral side covers 16, one on each side of the internal contoured housing wall 14, and a rotor 18 of four or more pivoting blades 20 confined within this casing. Each pivoting blade 20 carries a power transfer slot 22 on its inner surface 24 in which wheel-bearings 26 are located. The lateral side covers 16 each have an annular track 28, not necessarily circular, on their inner surface 30 to support the wheel-bearings 26 carried by the pivoting blades 20, the wheel-bearings rolling on the tracks. Multiple notches 32 are provided on the external perimeter of the covers 16 where cooling fins 34 can be inserted. Liquid cooling is also easily feasible. Radial intake 36 and exhaust 38 ports are located in the internal contoured housing wall 14, or axial ports 126, 128, 130, 132 in the lateral side covers 16. In combustion mode, the alternate lateral sparkplug or compression ratio tuner is screw in port 128, which position can be moved angularly to permit proper timing. Intake and exhaust ports may have different angular locations for different applications as seen by comparing positioning of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. A check-valve port 40 can be located through each pivoting blade 20 to benefit from the centrifuge intake pressure. A compression ratio tuner 42 can replace the sparkplug 44 at high compression ratio photo-detonation mode.
One end of each pivoting blade 20 carries a male connector 46 and the other end carries a complementary female connector 48, the male and female connectors of adjacent blades connected to provide a low friction pivot joint 50 as shown in FIG. 2. The cylindrical male connector 46 carries a contour seal groove 52 and has a rounded outer portion that acts as a guiding-rubbing pad 54 with the internal contoured housing wall 14, with provision for a hard metal or ceramic insert in that guiding-rubbing area. The pivoting blades 20 also have a lateral pellet hole 56 in the male connector 46 at the joints 50, and lateral seal grooves 58 along their sides extending between the connectors 4648. The set of seals used in the pivoting blades is made up of contour seals 60; linear or slightly curved gate-type lateral seal 62 (which can be made continuous when located in a groove within the lateral side covers 16), and small pellet seals 64 in the male connector 46 at the pivoting blade joint 50. All the seals have a back spring, and in addition the contour seal 60 sits on a contour seal damper made of a rubber band lying in the bottom of its groove to help extend the seal life from hammering against the internal contoured housing wall.
Two annular power sleeves 66, 68 are provided, as shown in FIG. 3, each linked to the axels 70 of the wheel-bearings 26 in two opposed pivoting blade power transfer slots 22 by opposed rings 72 on each sleeve. The sleeves 66, 68 leave a large circular hole in the engine center for the shaft power disk, a direct power takeoff or other uses. The annular power sleeves 66, 68 can carry their own set of lateral side cover seals (not shown) to insulate their inward central area from their outward area. Furthermore, the inner surface 74 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68 carries several grooves 76 from which any mechanism enclosed by the sleeves can be driven. Clutch centrifuge weights 78 are located between the inner surface 24 of the pivoting blades 20 and the outer surface 80 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68, a clutch centrifuge weight 78 located adjacent each side of each of the power transfer slots 22. A tangential linking on the inner surface 74 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68 is made of several (from two to twelve or more) differential washers 82 linking the annular power sleeves 66, 68 to the central power disk 84 and the shaft 86. A calculation method for the stator casing Saint-Hilaire confinement profile of the internal contoured housing wall 14 is disclosed for the chosen Quasiturbine rotor arrangement, with a set of optimum engine internal contoured housing wall 14 selection criteria
FIG. 1 shows the four interconnected pivoting blades 20 in a square configuration within the internal contoured housing wall 14, guided by the solid guiding-rubbing pads 54 provided by the male connectors 46 at the joints 50 between adjacent blades. The wheel-bearings 26 of the blades 20 roll on the annular tracks 28 carried by the lateral side covers 16. The port locations 36, 38 shown are the ones used when the Quasiturbine is operated as a fluid energy converter or compressor. The spark plug 44 is positioned as for the internal combustion mode. For clarity, the clutch centrifuge weights 78 are not shown on FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 shows the four interconnected pivoting blades 20 in a diamond configuration. FIG. 2 also shows details of the interconnecting pivot joint 50 including details of the male 46 and female 48 connectors; the contour 60 and lateral arched seals 62 and pellet seal 64; the wheel-bearings 26 and annular track 28 positioning; and the guiding-rubbing action of the pad 54 in the cylindrical male joints 50. The compression ratio tuner 42, the flame transfer slot-cavity 88 and one of the pivoting blade check valve ports 40 with the central area are shown. The port locations 36, 38 shown in FIG. 2 are the ones used when the Quasiturbine is operated in an internal combustion engine mode with counterclockwise direction of rotation. FIG. 2 also shows the Modulated Inner Rotor Volumes (MIRV) 90. Annular pumping action is provided by the varying size of the volumes 90, each located in between the inner surface 24 of the pivoting blades 20 and the outer surface 80 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68. It will be seen that the clutch centrifuge weights 78 are located within the volumes 90 and move along the outer surface 80 of the power sleeves 66, 68.
FIG. 3 shows details of the Quasiturbine with the internal contoured housing wall 14 and two of the pivoting blades 20 removed. It also shows details of the clutch centrifuge weights 78, which weights could possibly pivot around the closest wheel-bearings, the annular power sleeves 66, 68 and the differential washers 82 making a tangential linking with the power disk 84 and shaft 86.
The four pivoting blades 20 are attached to one another as a chain in forming the rotor 18 and show a variable diamond-shaped geometry while moving in a Saint-Hilaire-like confinement profile of the internal contoured housing wall 14 calculated to confine the rotor 18 at all angles of rotation. Contour seals 60 between the pivoting blades 20 and the internal contoured housing wall 14 are located at each pivot joint 50. The expansion or combustion chamber 92 is defined by the volume in-between the outer surface 94 of a pivoting blade 20 and the inner surface 96 of the internal contoured housing wall 14 and extends from one pivot joint contour seal 60 to the next. Referring to FIG. 2, as the rotor 18 turns, it does make minimum combustion chamber 92 volumes at the top and bottom (TDC), and maximum volumes at left and right (BTC). During one rotation, each pivoting blade 20 goes through four complete engine strokes, so that a total of sixteen strokes are completed in every rotation. Furthermore, as an expansion stroke starts from a horizontal pivoting blade 20 and ends when it gets vertical, the next following pivoting blade 20 is immediately starting a new expansion cycle without any dead time, which means that the Quasiturbine is a quasi-continuous flow engine at intake and exhaust, both of which can be located either radially in the internal contoured housing wall 14 or axially in the lateral side covers 16. Several removable intake and exhaust plugs 98 may be used to convert the two parallel compression and expansion circuits into a sole serial circuit. The two quasi-independent circuits are used in parallel with all plugs removed, for operation as a two stroke internal combustion engine, fluid energy converter, compressor, vacuum pump and flow meter. The two quasi-independent circuits are used in serial by plugging intermediate ports, to make a four stroke internal combustion engine as shown in the port arrangement of FIG. 2. Notice that the intake and exhaust ports have different locations for different applications and their position can be time advanced or delayed for exhaust and intake as shown in FIG. 2. The load-pressure force exercised by the compressed fluids on each pivoting blade 20 is taken by the wheel-bearings 26 rolling on the annular tracks 28 attached to their respective lateral side covers 16. With this geometrical arrangement, even with heavy pressure-loads on the pivoting blades 20, the diamond-shaped deformation of the rotor 18 requires only very little energy, and the rubbing pads 54 located in the vicinity of the pivot joints 50 and contour seals 60 guide the rotor 18 during its diamond-shaped deformation. During rotation, the wheel-bearings axels 70 are not moving at a constant angular velocity and for this reason, a differential linkage must be built within the annular power sleeves 66, 68 to drive the power disk 84 and shaft 86 at constant angular velocity.
The stator casing 12 and the lateral side covers 16 are centered on the engine rotor axis. The lateral side covers 16 have annular tracks 28 receiving the wheel-bearings 26 carried by the blades 20, which tracks are not necessarily circular. FIG. 1 shows a central hole 100 in the lateral side covers 16 that can be made large enough so that the power disk 84 and the differential washers 82 can be slide in-and-out without having to dismantle the engine. A cap bearing-holder can be inserted in the large side cover hole 100. Intake and exhaust ports 36, 38 are located either radially in the stator casing 12 or axially (not shown) in the lateral side covers 16. For the Modulated Inner Rotor Volume (MIRV) 90, the lateral, side covers 16 carry a set of ventilation ports 102 for cooling the rotor 18. A sparkplug 44 can be located at a variable angle on the top of the stator casing 12, and also at bottom (not shown) in the two stroke engine mode, and replaced, when in a very high compression ratio photo-detonation mode by a small threaded piston called a "compression ratio tuner" 42, which can be feedback controlled to optimize combustion chamber conditions for different fuels or running operation. The surface of contact between the stator casing 12 and the lateral side covers 16 carry a fix gasket 104.
The annular tracks 28 are circular only if the wheel-bearings 26 are on the line joining the axis of two successive blade pivots. The central opening in the rotor 18 could be made smaller or larger by moving the wheel-bearings 26 towards or away of the outer surface 94 of the pivoting blades 20, out of alignment with pivot joints 50, but then the annular track 28 in the side covers 16 will no longer be a perfect circle, but be elliptical-like in shape. The wheel-bearings 26 are located on each side of the pivoting blade 20 and carry roller or needle bearings 106. The blade rubbing pads 54, located in the vicinity of the contour seals 60, can be formed by the pivoting blade male connector 46 itself, or it can be formed by a little insert (not shown) containing the contour seal 60 so as to prevent the hardening of the whole pivoting blade 20. In this arrangement, hard inserts can, alternatively, be used to make the complete pivoting blade joint 50. Pressure in the combustion chamber 92 does not generate a significant torque around the wheel-bearings axles 70 carried by the pivoting blades 20 and consequently the combustion chamber pressure has little effect on the rubbing pad 54 pressure against the internal contoured housing wall 14. The rubbing pad pressure is essentially due to the small rotor deformation, which is quite independent of the pressure-load. However, this same pressure-load gives a great tangential rotational force on the whole rotor. The combustion chamber 92 can be enlarged by cutting the pivoting blade 20 and the very high compression ratio photo-detonation mode makes use of a "compression ratio tuner" 42 instead of a sparkplug 44. The manufacturing method allows for the entire stator casing and rotor to be made out of a cylindrical disk, the internal contoured housing wall being formed in the interior of the disk and the pivoting blades being formed in the outer periphery. Alternatively, the internal contoured housing wall 14 can be shaped by precision forging and the pivoting blades 20 can be metal cast or metal powder pressed. Similar techniques and molds will also work for plastic or ceramic.
The pivoting blades 20 can be made all alike with a male connector 46 and a female connector 48 to form the pivot joints 50. Alternatively, half the blades 20 can have two female connectors and the other half two male connectors. A good "five-bodies" sealed joint design is quite important and must satisfy an extensive force vector analysis. The blade pivot joint 50 of the present invention must be strong enough to take some load-pressure and all the tangential push-and-pull forces of the torque, while allowing independent low-friction rotational movement of the two connected pivoting blades 20. Simultaneously, the joint must be leak proof within itself, the internal contoured housing wall 14 and with the two lateral side covers 16. This pivot joint 50 has space, if needed, to enclose a bearing to further reduce the required rotor energy deformation. Extensive research has led to a double chisel joint pivot concept detailed on FIG. 2, where the male connector 46 has two different contact surfaces 124, 108 of corresponding radii on its main body 110 and a finger 112 spaced from the main body 110 for use in holding the pivoting blades together. The female connector 48 has also two different surfaces 114, 116 of corresponding radii located on an extending arm 122, the radii surface 114, 116 cooperating with the radii surface 124, 108 on the male connector 46 when the arm 122 is mounted between the main body 10 and the finger 112, and preventing the connectors 46, 48 from opening up. As the rotor torque increases, the joints 50 get tighter and tighter, and still more leak proof.
The contour seals 60 are single or multi-pieces drawer type seals located in the axial direction along the pivoting blade male connector 46 and have a near zero in-groove displacement, making a contact angle almost perpendicular to the internal contoured housing wall 14 at all times, departing only slightly from -6,35 to +6,35 degrees for the selected arrangement. Consecutive multiple pieces contour seals (not shown) can be used to prevent two successive chambers to be in contact with one another at the time the joint 50 passes in front of the ports 36, 38. This multi-seals configuration would also insure that at least one of the seals is at all times moving inward in its groove, while the others may be moving outward. In addition, the contour seal sits on a contour seal damper made of a rubber band lying in the bottom of its groove 52 or between the springs to help extend the seal life from hammering against the internal contoured housing wall. The pivoting blades 20 seal with the lateral side covers 16, on each side, by a linear or slightly curved gate-type lateral seal 62 and a pellet type seal 64 at the end of the male connector 46. The seal grooves are at different depth levels, so that the pressure gas behind the seals cannot propagate. A non-mandatory linear intra-pivot seal can be incorporated in the female connector 48 from one lateral side cover to the other, if required. When the pivoting blades 20 are made of smooth or fragile material like plastic, ceramic or glass, there is room for a metal insert to be placed at each pivoting blade joint 50 for proper movement and friction control. When shaped as an arc, the pivoting blade lateral seal grooves 58 are easy to make on a lathe. This arched seal, positioned near the edge of the outer surface of the pivoting blade 20 traps a minimum volume in combustion mode, and being at the far reach of the rotor, it keeps the high-pressure in the outer area of the covers 16, which reduces the total pressure-force on them. A continuous elliptical-like seal, shaped like a slightly shrunken confinement internal contoured housing wall profile, and incorporated into the lateral side covers 16 is also a simple alternative to the multi-components lateral seal set described. All seals 60, 62, 64 have a back spring to maintain them at all time respectively in contact with the internal contoured housing wall 14 and the lateral side covers 16. The low-friction wheel-bearings 26, the pivot joint 50 design, and the described seal set, allow the Quasiturbine to withstand high-pressure-load, while maintaining an excellent leak proof condition.
Many Quasiturbines may benefit in having some type of centrifuge clutches. The Quasiturbine geometry permits it to have the clutch centrifuge weights 78 within the rotor 18, each weight located between the wheel-bearings 26 and a blade end, in-between the pivoting blades 20 and the outer surface 80 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68 within the volumes 90 well ventilated by the Modulated Inner Rotor Volume (MIRV) annular central pump effect. The clutch centrifuge weights 78 can pivot around the wheel-bearings axis 70. As with any centrifuge clutches, the weights 78 will contribute slightly to increase the rotor inertia. The clutch centrifuge weights 78 can be used to drive clutch friction pads (not shown) located either on the outer surface 80 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68; or within the power disk 84 where the angular rotational speed is uniform; or externally to the Quasiturbine. Notice that with such a centrifuge clutch in place, a conventional starter must be used to drive the Quasiturbine rotor and not the power shaft 86, unless some kind of clutch-locking is provided.
Because each pair of opposed wheel-bearings 26 does not rotate at constant angular velocity, two 400 distinct but identical central annular power sleeves 66, 68 are used side-by-side along the engine axis as shown on FIG. 3, each one linking two different opposite wheel-bearings axis 70 by opposed rings 72. Each annular power sleeve 66, 68 is in the form of an annular ring with the two outer opposed rings 72 on the outer surface 80 taking the torque from the opposite pivoting blades 20 via the wheel-bearings axis 70. As an alternative of the two outer opposed mounting rings 72 on the annular power sleeves 66, 68, conventional centrifuge clutch pads (not shown) linked to the centrifuge weights 78 could be inserted between the two consecutive wheel-bearings 26 and the outer surface 80 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68. Inside the annular sleeves 66, 68 are multiple grooves 76 in the inner surface 74 in which the differential washers 82 can be attached, via washer pins 118 thereon. The differential washers 82 are rotably attached to the surface of the power disk 84 via power disk pins 120 to link the power disk 84, via an oscillating movement of the washers 82 around the power disk pins 120, to the power sleeves 66, 68. In the design shown, the maximum relative angular variation of the annular power sleeves 66, 68 is 6.35 degrees ahead and behind their respective average angular position, for a maximum differential angle of 12.7 degrees, which produces a +/-15 degrees oscillation of the differential washers 82. In the case of the pressurized fluid energy converter mode, like pneumatic or steam, where both the upper and lower chambers are symmetrically pressurized, the annular power sleeves 66, 68 can take and cancel out the mutual pressure-load of the two opposite pivoting blades 20, possibly suppressing in this case the need to use the wheel-bearings 26 and the lateral side cover annular tracks 28.
To power the shaft 86 by the two side-by-side annular power sleeves 66, 68, the shaft power disk 84 or the large diameter shaft have multiple radial extending disk pins 120 on which sits the set of differential washers 82. Each differential washer 82 has two opposite radially extending washer pins 118, each one fitting into its own internal groove 76 on power sleeve 66, 68 respectively. The thicker, or wider, that the Quasiturbine design is, the greater can be the diameter of the differential washers 82, however, fewer differential washers can be setup on the circumference of the power disk 84, except if one accepts a partial overlapping, which is well possible. Practically, the numbers of differential washers 82, the number of power disk pins 120 and the corresponding grooves 76 in the power sleeves 66, 68 can vary from two to twelve or more. In the design shown, the differential washers 82 angular oscillation around the disk pin 120 is +/-15 degrees, which requires a little play between the power disk 84 and the internal surface 74 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68 to account for the differential washer being slightly off shaft axis during oscillation. Alternatively, if the power disk 84 external surface is shaped as part of a sphere of the same diameter, the differential washer 82 can sit perfectly on it if also shaped accordingly and furthermore, since the washer pins 118 on the differential washers 82 need to be cylindrical only on a 15 degree arc, the two pins shape can be elongated toward the washer center for better strength. Each radially extending disk pin 120 can be part of the differential washer itself, and can carry a bearing. This set of differential washers 82 makes a tangential linking between the two annular power sleeves 66, 68 and the unique power disk 84, and suppresses the rotational harmonic for a constant and uniform rotational speed of the output shaft. Another differential design is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263, and most other conventional differential designs can work, but the above described tangential linking design is more convenient because it works at a high radius, where the torque-force is minimal; it takes up little space; and it leaves a large central-free engine area for power take-off. Furthermore, it allows the large shaft diameter or the power disk-shaft 8486 assembly to slide in-and-out of the Quasiturbine engine without it being disassembled. Like for the Quasiturbine rotor, this differential design has a fixed center of gravity during rotation and maintains the zero vibration engine characteristics. The power disk can hold a conventional feed-through shaft, or can carry, or be part of, a very large diameter thin wall tube shaft. This tube shaft may enclose a propeller screw for a water jet or pumping, or an electrical generator or else. It can also carry an axial thrust bearing at least at one end, and an engine crank starting device at either ends.
Each Modulated Inner Rotor Volume (MIRV) 90 is generally triangular in shape, each volume formed by the inner surfaces 24 of adjacent pivoting blades 20 extending from their common pivot 50 to their respective transfer slots 22 and the outer surface 80 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68. The volumes 90 vary as the rotor 18 rotates. The volumes 90 are forty five degrees out of phase with the outer combustion chambers 92, and make an integrated efficient annular pump or ventilating device, displacing a total of 8 times its volume in every rotation. Ventilating ports 102 are located in the lateral side covers 16 near the external surface of the annular track 28 in the vicinity of the wheel-bearings 26 when the rotor is in its maximum diamond length configuration. The geometry permits pulsing ventilation if all the ventilating ports 102 in the lateral side covers 16 are open, or two different one-way ventilation circuits in the same or opposed axial direction, if proper ventilation ports 102 are selected on both sides of the engine. When the side covers 16 have only a crossed-symmetrical-through-center set of ventilation ports 102, as shown in FIG. 1, entrances occur only from one engine side and exits to the other, while consecutive ports on the same side covers would make the entrances and exits on the same engine side. Using a radial check valve 40 across and through the pivoting blade body could allow transfer to-and-from the chambers with the central area, which may be of interest for example in the Quasiturbine-Stirling-Steam engine, compressor, or enhanced mixture intake by the gas centrifuge force through the central engine area. The Modulated Inner Rotor Volumes (MIRV) 90 forms a well-integrated annular pump and can be used as such in many applications, or to ventilate and cool the rotor in engine mode. They can also form a second stage low flow high-pressure device when in compressor mode, or to provide the pressure fluctuation required by a standard carburetor diaphragm fuel pump. Furthermore, a very high-pressure can be obtained from the scissor-pivoting-blade effect at the joint 50 when the guiding male finger 112 moves in and out of position. Similarly, other piston-like devices can be incorporated in this scissor action to produce high-pressure pumping effect like a Diesel fuel pump to drive the fuel injectors. Ultimately, the Modulated Inner Rotor Volumes (MIRV) 90 can also be made to work as an Inward Rotor Engine Quasiturbine (IREQ), while the Quasiturbine outward rotor is used as a compressor, a pump, or for other applications.
A new Quasiturbine Internal Combustion QTIC-cycle mode is made possible, combining Otto, Diesel and eventually photo-detonation mode. Otto engine cycle intakes and compresses a sub-atmospheric manifold pressure air-mixture for uniform combustion, while the Diesel engine cycle always intakes and compresses atmospheric pressure air-only, which gives a non-uniform injected fuel combustion. Due to the possibility of a shorter confinement time and a faster linear ramp compression-pressure raising-falling slope, the new Quasiturbine Internal Combustion QTIC-cycle mode consists of intaking, at atmospheric pressure, a continuous air-fuel mixture for uniform combustion, thereby combining Otto and Diesel modes. This mode is not possible with a piston engine, because the sine-wave shape of the maximum compression ratio poorly defines the top dead center by making an unnecessary long confinement time, consequently requiring a reliable external trigger source such as a sparkplug or a fuel injector. The Quasiturbine Internal Combustion QTIC-cycle can work at a moderate compression ratio with a sparkplug 44, or without it at a very high compression ratio for almost any fuel, the photo-detonation being auto synchronized by its very short linear ramp pressure pulse tip. A regular piston cannot stand photo-detonation because it keeps the mixture confined too long, and because the relatively small piston mass required by the severe accelerations at both strokes ends prevent making a stronger piston. The upward piston momentum aggravates the effect of knocking, while the homo-kinetic rotation of the Quasiturbine allows for relatively more massive pivoting blades making the passage at top dead center almost without momentum change. This QTIC-cycle mode only requires a non-synchronized fuel pulverization and vaporization in the Quasiturbine atmospheric intake continuous airflow, suppressing the need of conventional vacuum carburetor or synchronized fuel injector and sparkplug timing in photo-detonation mode, and allows for a much higher RPM than the conventional mode due to continuous intake flow without valve obstruction and faster photo-detonation chemistry combustion. The photo-detonation being a fast radiative volumetric combustion, it leaves much less unburnt hydrocarbon that has plenty of extra time left for completing the combustion. Furthermore, due to the possibility of shorter confinement time, the combustion chemistry does not have enough time-pressure to produce the NO.sub.x before expansion begins, producing a cleaner exhaust, including with the hot hydrogen combustion in presence of nitrogen. Because of the zero dead time, the Quasiturbine can provide continuous combustion by using an ignition transfer slot-cavity 88 cut into the internal contoured housing wall 14 for flame transfer from one chamber to the following one. This ignition flame transfer slot-cavity 88 also allows the injection of high-pressure hot burning gas into the following, ready-to-fire, chamber, producing a dynamically enhanced compression ratio, since near top dead center, a little volume change in the combustion chamber makes a large change in the compression ratio. For better multi-fuel capability, a compression ratio tuner 42 made of a simple small threaded piston in a tube is used in place of the sparkplug 44, and allows compression ratio fine-tuning as needed, and can be dynamically feedback controlled.
The Quasiturbine can be generally used as an engine, compressor or pump, and sometimes in a dual mode. To name a few applications, it is suitable for small or very large units in steam, pneumatic and hydraulic mode (including use in reversible waterfall hydroelectric stations), and in a combined engine-turbo-pump mode where one intake port and its corresponding exhaust port are used in a compressed fluid energy converter engine mode while the other intake and exhaust ports can be used as a positive or vacuum pump or compressor. The Quasiturbine can be used as an internal combustion engine in Otto or Diesel in two or four stroke mode. The Quasiturbine engines in photo-detonation mode with a high compression ratio (20 to 30:1) are particularly suitable for natural gas and other fuels that are hard to burn to environmental standards like jet fuel or low specific energy gases, in which case the fuel is simply mixed to the atmospheric pressure intake without any synchronization means. It can be further used in a continuous combustion mode with a flame transfer cavity 88 at the forward contour seal 60 near top dead center. It can be used in a Quasiturbine-Stirling-Steam rotary engine mode with pressurized gas or phase change liquid-steam, with the hot poles alternating with the cold poles, a device which is reversible and can be used as a heat pump. Most of the previous engine modes allow operation without a sparkplug (no electromagnetic field), with a plastic or ceramic engine bloc and with low noise level, all qualities most suitable for low signature stealth military operation. Furthermore, those previous modes permit very energy efficient operation and more complete internal combustion than conventional piston engines to meet the most severe environmental standards of the future. The Quasiturbine can also be used as an engine to drive a turbo-jet engine-compressor, allowing the suppression of the hot-power-turbine and its associated limitations in temperature, efficiency and speed. In the opened or closed Brayton mode, a cold Quasiturbine can act as compressor while a second hot Quasiturbine possibly on the same shaft can produce power in a pneumatic mode, in order to make a jet engine without jet (no gas kinetic energy intermediary transformation is involved, which makes it almost insensitive to dust particles). The second hot Quasiturbine can be suppressed and the system used as a high flow hot gas generator. It can be used in a vacuum engine mode, including with imploding Brown gas. Many applications do not require the Quasiturbine to have its own power disk 84 and/or shaft 86, since the shaft attachment differential washers 82 can be fixed directly on the accessory shaft (of a generator, a gearbox, a differential shaft, by way of example) and the Quasiturbine simply slides over the accessory shaft to mount it without any need for shaft alignment. The empty center of the Quasiturbine is particularly suitable to locate a propeller therein and makes a self-integrated marine jet propulsion system, or a liquid or gas turbine-like pump, where the complete engine can be submerged. This empty center is also suitable to locate electrical components for a lightweight compact electrical generator or electrical motor for a compressor or pump. The fast acceleration resulting from the absence of the flywheel and the high engine specific power density allows the use of the engine in strategic applications, as in heavy load soft landing parachuting. Improved engine intake characteristics allow the Quasiturbine to run better than piston engines in rarefied-air as in high altitude airplane operation. Its low sensitivity to photo-detonation and potentially oil-free operation make it most suitable for hydrogen fuel operation, including with lateral intake stratification and natural atmospheric aspiration. Since the Quasiturbine has no oil pan and does not require gravity oil collection, it can run in all possible orientations, and even out in space in micro-gravity. The Quasiturbine has a favorable geometry where lubricant is not needed for cooling, where no internal parallax forces exist, and where no seal is under internal stress and subject to hydrogen fragilisation. Several Quasiturbines in different modes can be stacked side-by-side on a single common power shaft through simple ratchet coupling for torque addition. The Quasiturbine can also be used as a general replacement engine, compressor or pump in most present and future applications, and with most principles or processes where modulated volume is required.
The internal contoured housing wall 14 is derivate from an empirical generating equation of the variable diamond geometry of the rotor for all rotation angles. The internal contoured housing wall 14 is not unique but part of a family of curves, and selection must be done according to an engine efficiency criteria. Before calculating the Saint-Hilaire confinement profile for the internal contoured housing wall 14, one must calculate the blade pivots joint 50 profile curve. Since this profile does require only symmetry across the central engine axis, any initial arbitrary pivot movement from 0 to 45 degrees (or 1/8 of a turn in a non-orthogonal axis situation) does determine the complete pivot point curve. This empirical 0 to 45 degree curve must meet three constraints: be parallel to the y-axis at 0 degree angle x-crossing; be matching at the diamond-square configuration corners; and furthermore, the slope at those corners must be continuous. Assuming Rx the pivot profile radius on the x-axis, and Ry the pivot profile radius on y-axis, and R45 the pivot profile radius at 45 degrees where the rotor is in square configuration, the modified M(.theta.) linear radius variation between 0 and 45 degree could be empirically of the form (pivot profile, not the actual internal contoured housing wall 14):
Where the modifying parametric function M(.theta.) has the form:
The pivot profile in the 45 (R45) to 90 (Ry) degrees interval is simply given by the Pythagoras diamond-lozenge formula. The two constants A and P provide a parametric adjustment of the radius variation where +/- A controls the amplitude and affects mostly the axis areas, and +/-P controls the angular maximum variation position and affects the wideness of the overlap zone near 45 degree from the x- axis. This empirical representation has been found adequate to explore most of the family of pivot profiles of interest, including the very high eccentricities leading to two lobes confinement profiles. The internal contoured housing wall 14 presented in FIGS. 1 and 2 is obtained from the pivot concave eccentricity limit profile curve, enlarge by the rubbing pad 54 radius all around. This enlargement must be perpendicular to the local pivot profile tangency at all angles. Furthermore, in order for the engine to be described by the most efficient Pressure-Volume PV diagram, the final expansion volume of the engine chamber must be equal to the volume generated by the variable surface of tangential push, which is proportional to the radius difference of two successive contour seal 60 positions during rotation. These criteria permit to select a subfamily for the optimum engine mode efficient internal contoured housing wall 14. A good way to fine-tune the value of the A and P parameters is to control the smoothness of the calculated confinement wall radius of curvature. This radius of curvature continuity can be easily achieved for the no-lobe limit case with both A and P positive and less than 0.09, but it is not progressive here as other profiles previously reported in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263. Great care must be taken not to be mislead by the appearance of this internal contoured housing wall 14 which is far more complex than an ellipse. For the example presented here, where the pivot to pivot length is L=3.5" and the pivot rubbing pad 47 diameter is D=0.5", the internal contoured housing wall 14 radius of curvature in one quadrant goes from 2.67" near the x-axis, down to 2.05" near 33 degrees, up to 4.50" near 65 degree, and finally down again to 2.60" near the y-axis, which indicates a relative flat zone between 33 and 65 degree. This flat zone internal contoured housing wall 14 structure is not as obvious in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263, but demands a high precision calculation method. An additional interesting exploratory profile parameter is the exponent of M(.theta.) in the 0.3 to 3 range, which is not detailed here. Notice that the profile complexity depends greatly on the selected pivoting blades diamond eccentricity (here Ry/Rx=0.8).
The Saint-Hilaire internal contoured housing wall 14 presented on the FIGURES uses nearly the same rotor pivot eccentricity (Ry/Rx=0.8) as the Quasiturbine in patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,263. One should notice that increasing the radius of the joint-rubbing pad centered on each pivot tends to attenuate the high curvature in the corners of the Saint-Hilaire "skating rink" confinement profile, but contributes to increase the maximum torque, with no net penalty on the specific power and weight density of the Quasiturbine, without however achieving as stiff a linear ramp pressure that the rolling carriages design permits. If the rotor can be made of strong material like steel, the pivot rubbing pad 54 radii can be made relatively small and lead to the selected internal contoured housing wall 14 shown, which is a near optimum Quasiturbine specific power and weight density. It is hard to notice by looking at the internal contoured housing wall 14 that the radius of curvature fluctuates along the profile. Inside the rotor 18, one notices a triangular shaped-like chamber making a Modulated Inner Rotor Volume (MIRV) 90 in-between the inner surface 24 of the pivoting blades 20 and the outer surface 80 of the annular power sleeves 66, 68 at every rotor pivot 50 location. Changing the shape of the rotor 18 for the purpose of producing internal central volume variation for an annular pumping application would need no rotor rotation, but only a steady on-site "oscillating rotor deformation", possibly driven by a rotating external confinement profile, or by a x- or y-axes movement. The rotor deformation could also be driven from an alternating pressurization of these Modulated Inner Rotor Volumes (MIRV) 90, such as to make an Internal Rotor. Engine Quasiturbine (IREQ). This calculation method does not require profile symmetry through x- and y-axes, but only through the central point, which means that the axes may not be orthogonal with this same calculation method, in which case the confinement profile could be, asymmetrical, producing an interesting Quasiturbine with different intake and exhaust volume characteristics, and with only minor rotor change.