Wankel engine

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This article is about a particular pistonless rotary engine. For other pistonless rotary
engines, see pistonless rotary engine. For piston designs arranged in a rotary
configuration, see rotary engine.

A Wankel engine with its rotor and geared output shaft.

The Mazda RX-8 sports car is the last production car to date to be powered by a Wankel engine.

Norton Classic air-cooled twin-rotor motorcycle

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary

design to convert pressure into rotating motion.
Compared to the reciprocating piston engine, the Wankel engine has more uniform
torque; less vibration; and, for a given power, is more compact and weighs less.
 The rotor, which creates the turning motion, is similar in shape to a Reuleaux
triangle, except the sides have less curvature. Wankel engines deliver three power
pulses per revolution of the rotor using the Otto cycle. However, the output shaft
uses toothed gearing to turn three times faster giving one power pulse per revolution.
This can be seen in the animation below. In one revolution, the rotor experiences
power pulses and exhausts gas simultaneously, while the four stages of the Otto
cycle occur at separate times. For comparison, in a two-stroke piston engine there is
one power pulse for each crankshaft revolution (as with a Wankel engine output
shaft) and, in a four-stroke piston engine, one power pulse for every two revolutions.
The four-stage Otto cycle of intake, compression, ignition, and exhaust occurs each
revolution of the rotor at each of the three rotor faces moving inside the oval-
like epitrochoidal housing, enabling the three power pulses per rotor revolution.
The displacement given in engine specifications is typically for only one face of one
rotor (a single working chamber), or one face multiplied by the number of rotors;
however, all three faces of all rotors are working at the same time.
The engine is commonly referred to as a rotary engine, although this name is also
applied to other completely different designs, including both ones with
pistons and pistonless rotary engines.

Contents

 1Concept
 2Design
 3History
o 3.1Early developments
o 3.2Licenses issued
o 3.3Developments for motorcycles
o 3.4Developments for cars
 4Engineering
o 4.1Recent developments
o 4.2Materials
o 4.3Sealing
o 4.4Fuel economy and emissions
o 4.5Laser ignition
o 4.6Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI)
o 4.7Spark Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI)
o 4.8Compression-ignition rotary
o 4.9Hydrogen fuel
 5Advantages
 6Disadvantages
 7Applications
o 7.1Automobile racing
o 7.2Motorcycle engines
o 7.3Aircraft engines
o 7.4Vehicle range extender
o 7.5Other uses
o 7.6Non-internal combustion
 8See also
 9Notes
 10References
 11External links

Concept[edit]
The design was conceived by German engineer Felix Wankel. Wankel received his
first patent for the engine in 1929. He began development in the early 1950s at NSU,
completing a working prototype in 1957.[1] NSU subsequently licensed the design to
companies around the world, that have continually made improvements.

Design[edit]

The Wankel KKM motorcycle: The "A" marks one of the three apices of the rotor. The "B" marks the
eccentric shaft, and the white portion is the lobe of the eccentric shaft. The distance between "A" and "B"
remains constant. The shaft turns three times for each rotation of the rotor around the lobe and once for
each orbital revolution around the eccentric shaft.
 Schematic of the Wankel:

1. Intake
2. Exhaust
3. Stator housing
4. Chambers
5. Pinion
6. Rotor
7. Crown gear
8. Eccentric shaft
9. Spark plug.

The Wankel engine has the advantages of compact design and low weight over the
more common internal combustion engine, which uses reciprocating pistons. These
rotary engine applications give advantages in a variety of vehicles and devices,
including automobiles, motorcycles, racing cars, aircraft, go-karts, jet
skis, snowmobiles, chainsaws, and auxiliary power units. Certain Wankel engines
have a power-to-weight ratio over one horsepower per pound.[2] Most engines of the
design are of spark ignition, with compression ignition engines having been built only
in research projects.
In the Wankel engine, the four strokes of an Otto cycle occur in the space between
each face of a three-sided symmetric rotor and the inside of a housing. The oval-
like epitrochoid-shaped housing surrounds a triangular rotor with bow-shaped faces
similar in appearance to a Reuleaux triangle.[3] The theoretical shape of the rotor
between the fixed apexes is the result of minimizing the volume of the
geometric combustion chamber and maximizing the compression ratio, respectively.[4]
[5]
 The symmetric curve connecting two arbitrary apices of the rotor is maximized in
the direction of the inner housing shape with the constraint that it not touch the
housing at any angle of rotation (an arc is not a solution of this optimization
problem).
The central drive shaft, called the "eccentric shaft" or "E-shaft", passes through the
center of the rotor being supported by fixed bearings. [6] The rotors ride
on eccentrics (analogous to crankpins in piston engines) integral to the eccentric
shaft (analogous to a crankshaft). The rotors both rotate around the eccentrics and
make orbital revolutions around the eccentric shaft. Seals at the apices of the rotor
seal against the periphery of the housing, dividing it into three moving combustion
chambers.[4] The rotation of each rotor on its own axis is caused and controlled by a
pair of synchronizing gears[6] A fixed gear mounted on one side of the rotor housing
engages a ring gear attached to the rotor and ensures the rotor moves exactly one-
third turn for each turn of the eccentric shaft. The power output of the engine is not
transmitted through the synchronizing gears. [6] The rotor moves in its rotating motion
guided by the gears and the eccentric shaft, not being guided by the external
chamber; the rotor must not rub against the external engine housing. The force of
expanded gas pressure on the rotor exerts pressure to the center of the eccentric
part of the output shaft.
The easiest way to visualize the action of the engine in the animation is to look not at
the rotor itself, but the cavity created between it and the housing. The Wankel engine
is actually a variable-volume progressing-cavity system. Thus, the three cavities per
housing all repeat the same cycle. Points A and B on the rotor and E-shaft turn at
different speeds—point B circles three times as often as point A does, so that one
full orbit of the rotor equates to three turns of the E-shaft.
As the rotor rotates orbitally revolving, each side of the rotor is brought closer to and
then away from the wall of the housing, compressing and expanding the combustion
chamber like the strokes of a piston in a reciprocating piston engine. The power
vector of the combustion stage goes through the center of the offset lobe.
While a four-stroke piston engine completes one combustion stroke per cylinder for
every two rotations of the crankshaft (that is, one-half power stroke per crankshaft
rotation per cylinder), each combustion chamber in the Wankel generates one
combustion stroke per driveshaft rotation, i.e. one power stroke per rotor orbital
revolution and three power strokes per rotor rotation. Thus, the power output of a
Wankel engine is generally higher than that of a four-stroke piston engine of
similar engine displacement in a similar state of tune; and higher than that of a four-
stroke piston engine of similar physical dimensions and weight.
Wankel engines ideally can reach much higher engine revolutions than reciprocating
engines of similar power output. This is due partly to the smoothness inherent in its
circular motion, lack of a mechanical valvetrain employing reciprocating poppet
valves and the rotor spinning at one third of the speed of the output shaft. The
eccentric shafts do not have the stress-related contours of crankshafts. The
maximum revolutions of a rotary engine are limited by tooth load on the
synchronizing gears.[7] Hardened steel gears are used for extended operation above
7000 or 8000 rpm. In practice, Wankel engines in production automobiles are not
operated at much higher mainshaft speeds than reciprocating piston engines of
similar output power, and cycle speeds (one-third of Wankel mainshaft speed and
one-half of four-stroke crankshaft speed) are similar to conventional engines; for
example, the "12A" rotary in the 1970 RX-2 produced peak power at 7,000 RPM (39
engine cycles per second),[8] while the reciprocating piston engine in the same year of
the same model family (Capella) produced peak power at 6,000 RPM (50 engine
cycles per second).[9] Mazda Wankel engines in auto racing are operated above
10,000 rpm, but so are four-stroke reciprocating piston engines of relatively small
displacement per cylinder. In aircraft, they are used conservatively, up to 6500 or
7500 rpm, but as gas pressure participates in seal efficiency, racing a Wankel engine
at high revolutions under no-load conditions can destroy the engine.
National agencies that tax automobiles according to displacement and regulatory
bodies in automobile racing variously consider the Wankel engine to be equivalent to
a four-stroke piston engine of up to two times the displacement of one chamber per
rotor, though three lobes exist per rotor (because the rotor is completing only one-
third rotation per one rotation of the output shaft, so only one power stroke occurs
per working per output revolution, the other two lobes are simultaneously ejecting a
spent charge and taking in a new one, rather than contributing to the power output of
that revolution). Some racing series have banned the Wankel altogether, along with
all other alternatives to the traditional reciprocating-piston, four-stroke design. [10]

History[edit]
Early developments[edit]

The first DKM Wankel engine designed by Felix Wankel, the DKM 54 (Drehkolbenmotor), at the Deutsches
Museum in Bonn, Germany: the rotor and its housing spin

The first KKM Wankel Engine designed by Hanns Dieter Paschke, the NSU KKM 57P (Kreiskolbenmotor),
at Autovision und Forum, Germany: the rotor housing is static.

In 1951, NSU Motorenwerke AG in Germany began development of the engine, with

two models being built. The first, the DKM motor, was developed by Felix Wankel.
The second, the KKM motor, was not developed by Felix Wankel but by Hanns
Dieter Paschke. The Paschke engine was adopted as the basis of the modern
Wankel engine, yet named after Felix Wankel.[11]
The basis of the DKM type of motor was that both the rotor and the housing spun
around on separate axes. The DKM motor reached higher revolutions per minute (up
to 17,000 rpm) and was more naturally balanced. However, the engine needed to be
stripped to change the spark plugs and contained more parts. The KKM engine was
simpler, having a fixed housing.
The first working prototype, DKM 54, produced 21 hp (16 kW) and ran on February
1, 1957, at the NSU research and development department Versuchsabteilung TX.[1]
[12]

The KKM 57 (the Wankel rotary engine, Kreiskolbenmotor) was constructed by NSU

engineer Hanns Dieter Paschke in 1957 without the knowledge of Felix Wankel, who
later remarked, "you have turned my race horse into a plow mare". [13]
Licenses issued[edit]
In 1960, NSU, the firm that employed the two inventors, and US firm Curtiss-Wright,
signed a joint agreement. NSU was to concentrate on low- and medium-powered
Wankel engine development, with Curtiss-Wright developing high-powered engines,
including aircraft engines of which Curtiss-Wright had decades of experience
designing and producing.[14] Curtiss-Wright recruited Max Bentele to head their design
team.
Many manufacturers signed license agreements for development, attracted by the
smoothness, quiet running, and reliability emanating from the uncomplicated design.
Among them were Alfa Romeo, American Motors, Citroën, Ford, General
Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Suzuki, and Toyota.
[1]
 In the United States in 1959, under license from NSU, Curtiss-Wright pioneered
improvements in the basic engine design. In Britain, in the 1960s, Rolls Royce's
Motor Car Division pioneered a two-stage diesel version of the Wankel engine.[15]
Citroën did much research, producing the M35, GS Birotor, and RE-2 [fr] helicopter,
using engines produced by Comotor, a joint venture of Citroën and NSU. General
Motors seemed to have concluded the Wankel engine was slightly more expensive
to build than an equivalent reciprocating engine. General Motors claimed to have
solved the fuel-economy issue, but failed in obtaining in a concomitant way to
acceptable exhaust emissions. Mercedes-Benz fitted a Wankel engine in
their C111 concept car.
Deere & Company designed a version that was capable of using a variety of fuels.
The design was proposed as the power source for United States Marine
Corps combat vehicles and other equipment in the late 1980s. [16]
In 1961, the Soviet research organization of NATI, NAMI, and VNIImotoprom
commenced development creating experimental engines with different technologies.
[17]
 Soviet automobile manufacturer AvtoVAZ also experimented in Wankel engine
design without a license, introducing a limited number of engines in some cars. [18]
By mid-September 1967, even Wankel model engines became available through the
German Graupner aeromodeling products firm, made for them by O.S. Engines of
Japan.
Despite much research and development throughout the world, only Mazda has
produced Wankel engines in large quantities.
Developments for motorcycles[edit]
In Britain, Norton Motorcycles developed a Wankel rotary engine for motorcycles,
based on the Sachs air-cooled rotor Wankel that powered the DKW/Hercules W-
2000 motorcycle. This two-rotor engine was included in the Commander and F1.
Norton improved on the Sachs's air cooling, introducing a plenum
chamber. Suzuki also made a production motorcycle powered by a Wankel engine,
the RE-5, using ferroTiC alloy apex seals and an NSU rotor in a successful attempt
to prolong the engine's life.
Developments for cars[edit]
Mazda and NSU signed a study contract to develop the Wankel engine in 1961 and
competed to bring the first Wankel-powered automobile to market. Although Mazda
produced an experimental Wankel that year, NSU was first with a Wankel
automobile for sale, the sporty NSU Spider in 1964; Mazda countered with a display
of two- and four-rotor Wankel engines at that year's Tokyo Motor Show.[1] In 1967,
NSU began production of a Wankel-engined luxury car, the Ro 80.[19] NSU had not
produced reliable apex seals on the rotor, though, unlike Mazda and Curtiss-Wright.
NSU had problems with apex seals' wear, poor shaft lubrication, and poor fuel
economy, leading to frequent engine failures, not solved until 1972, which led to
large warranty costs curtailing further NSU Wankel engine development. This
premature release of the new Wankel engine gave a poor reputation for all makes,
and even when these issues were solved in the last engines produced by NSU in the
second half of the '70s, sales did not recover.[1] Audi, after the takeover of NSU, built,
in 1979, a new KKM 871 engine with side intake ports, a 750-cc chamber, 170 hp
(130 kW) at 6,500 rpm, and 220 Nm (162 ft-lb) at 3,500 rpm. The engine was
installed in an Audi 100 hull named "Audi 200", but was not mass-produced.

Mazda's first Wankel engine, precursor to the 10A, at the Mazda Museum in Hiroshima, Japan

Mercedes-Benz C111 was fitted with a four-rotor Wankel engine

Mazda, however, claimed to have solved the apex seal problem, operating test
engines at high speed for 300 hours without failure. [1] After years of
development, Mazda's first Wankel-engine car was the 1967 Cosmo 110S. The
company followed with a number of Wankel ("rotary" in the company's terminology)
vehicles, including a bus and a pickup truck. Customers often cited the cars'
smoothness of operation. However, Mazda chose a method to comply
with hydrocarbon emission standards that, while less expensive to produce,
increased fuel consumption. Unfortunately for Mazda, this was introduced
immediately prior to a sharp rise in fuel prices. Curtiss-Wright produced the RC2-60
engine, which was comparable to a V8 engine in performance and fuel consumption.
Unlike NSU, Curtiss-Wright had solved the rotor sealing issue with seals lasting
100,000 miles (160,000 km) by 1966.[20]
Mazda later abandoned the Wankel in most of their automotive designs, continuing
to use the engine in their sports car range only, producing the RX-7 until August
2002. The company normally used two-rotor designs. A more advanced twin-
turbo three-rotor engine was fitted in the 1991 Eunos Cosmo sports car. In 2003,
Mazda introduced the Renesis engine fitted in the RX-8. The Renesis engine
relocated the ports for exhaust from the periphery of the rotary housing to the sides,
allowing for larger overall ports, better airflow, and further power gains. Some early
Wankel engines also had side exhaust ports, the concept being abandoned because
of carbon buildup in ports and the sides of the rotor. The Renesis engine solved the
problem by using a keystone scraper side seal, and approached the thermal
distortion difficulties by adding some parts made of ceramics. [21] The Renesis is
capable of 238 hp (177 kW) with improved fuel economy, reliability, and lower
emissions than previous Mazda rotary engines, [22] all from a nominal 1.3-L
displacement, but this was not enough to meet more stringent emissions standards.
Mazda ended production of their Wankel engine in 2012 after the engine failed to
meet the more stringent Euro 5 emission standards, leaving no automotive company
selling a Wankel-powered vehicle.[23] The company is continuing development of the
next generation of Wankel engines, the SkyActiv-R. Mazda states that the SkyActiv-
R solves the three key issues with previous rotary engines: fuel economy, emissions,
and reliability.[24] Mazda and Toyota announced they combined to produce a range
extending rotary engine for vehicles.[25][26]

This 1972 GM rotary engine cutaway shows twin rotors.

American Motors Corporation (AMC), the smallest U.S. automaker, was so

convinced "... that the rotary engine will play an important role as a powerplant for
cars and trucks of the future ...", that the chairman, Roy D. Chapin Jr., signed an
agreement in February 1973 after a year's negotiations, to build Wankel engines for
both passenger cars and Jeeps, as well as the right to sell any rotary engines it
produced to other companies.[27][28] AMC's president, William Luneburg, did not expect
dramatic development through to 1980, but Gerald C. Meyers, AMC's vice president
of the engineering product group, suggested that AMC should buy the engines from
Curtiss-Wright before developing its own Wankel engines, and predicted a total
transition to rotary power by 1984.[29] Plans called for the engine to be used in
the AMC Pacer, but development was pushed back.[30][31] American Motors designed
the unique Pacer around the engine. By 1974, AMC had decided to purchase
the General Motors (GM) Wankel instead of building an engine in-house. [32] Both GM
and AMC confirmed the relationship would be beneficial in marketing the new
engine, with AMC claiming that the GM Wankel achieved good fuel economy. [33] GM's
engines had not reached production, though, when the Pacer was launched onto the
market. The 1973 oil crisis played a part in frustrating the use of the Wankel engine.
Rising fuel prices and talk about proposed US emission standards legislation also
added to concerns.
By 1974, GM R&D had not succeeded in producing a Wankel engine meeting both
the emission requirements and good fuel economy, leading a decision by the
company to cancel the project. Because of that decision, the R&D team only partly
released the results of its most recent research, which claimed to have solved the
fuel-economy problem, as well as building reliable engines with a lifespan above
530,000 miles (850,000 km). Those findings were not taken into account when the
cancellation order was issued. The ending of GM's Wankel project required AMC to
reconfigure the Pacer to house its venerable AMC straight-6 engine driving the rear
wheels.[34]
In 1974, the Soviet Union created a special engine-design bureau, which in 1978,
designed an engine designated as VAZ-311 fitted into a VAZ-2101 car.[35] In 1980, the
company commenced delivery of the VAZ-411 twin-rotor Wankel engine in VAZ-
2106 and Lada cars, with about 200 being manufactured. Most of the production
went to the security services.[36][37] The next models were the VAZ-4132 and VAZ-415.
A rotary version of the Samara was sold to Russian public from 1997. Aviadvigatel,
the Soviet aircraft-engine design bureau, is known to have produced Wankel engines
with electronic injection for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, though little specific
information has surfaced.
Ford conducted research in Wankel engines, resulting in patents granted: GB
1460229, 1974, method for fabricating housings; US 3833321 1974, side plates
coating; US 3890069, 1975, housing coating; CA 1030743, 1978: Housings
alignment; CA 1045553, 1979, reed-valve assembly. In 1972, Henry Ford II stated
that the rotary probably would not replace the piston in "my lifetime". [38]

Engineering[edit]

Apex seals, left NSU Ro 80 Serie and Research and right Mazda 12A and 13B
 Left: Mazda L10A camber axial cooling
 Middle: Audi NSU EA871 axial water cooling only the hot bow
 Right: Diamond Engines Wankel radial cooling only the hot bow

Felix Wankel managed to overcome most of the problems that made previous rotary
engines fail by developing a configuration with vane seals having a tip radius equal
to the amount of "oversize" of the rotor housing form, as compared to the theoretical
epitrochoid, to minimize radial apex seal motion plus introducing a cylindrical gas-
loaded apex pin which abutted all sealing elements to seal around the three planes
at each rotor apex.[39]
In the early days, special, dedicated production machines had to be built for different
housing dimensional arrangements. However, patented design such as U.S. Patent
3,824,746, G. J. Watt, 1974, for a "Wankel Engine Cylinder Generating
Machine", U.S. Patent 3,916,738, "Apparatus for machining and/or treatment of
trochoidal surfaces" and U.S. Patent 3,964,367, "Device for machining trochoidal
inner walls", and others, solved the problem.
Rotary engines have a problem not found in reciprocating piston four-stroke engines
in that the block housing has intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust
occurring at fixed locations around the housing. In contrast, reciprocating engines
perform these four strokes in one chamber, so that extremes of "freezing" intake and
"flaming" exhaust are averaged and shielded by a boundary layer from overheating
working parts. The use of heat pipes in an air-cooled Wankel was proposed by the
University of Florida to overcome this uneven heating of the block housing. [40] Pre-
heating of certain housing sections with exhaust gas improved performance and fuel
economy, also reducing wear and emissions.[41]
The boundary layer shields and the oil film act as thermal insulation, leading to a low
temperature of the lubricating film (approximate maximum 200 °C or 392 °F on a
water-cooled Wankel engine. This gives a more constant surface temperature. The
temperature around the spark plug is about the same as the temperature in the
combustion chamber of a reciprocating engine. With circumferential or axial flow
cooling, the temperature difference remains tolerable. [42][43][44][45]
Problems arose during research in the 1950s and 1960s. For a while, engineers
were faced with what they called "chatter marks" and "devil's scratch" in the inner
epitrochoid surface. They discovered that the cause was the apex seals reaching a
resonating vibration, and the problem was solved by reducing the thickness and
weight of apex seals. Scratches disappeared after the introduction of more
compatible materials for seals and housing coatings. Another early problem was the
build-up of cracks in the stator surface near the plug hole, which was eliminated by
installing the spark plugs in a separate metal insert/ copper sleeve in the housing,
instead of plug being screwed directly into the block housing. [46] Toyota found that
substituting a glow-plug for the leading site spark plug improved low rpm, part load,
specific fuel consumption by 7%, and also emissions and idle. [47] A later alternative
solution to spark plug boss cooling was provided with a variable coolant velocity
scheme for water-cooled rotaries, which has had widespread use, being patented by
Curtiss-Wright,[48] with the last-listed for better air-cooled engine spark plug boss
cooling. These approaches did not require a high-conductivity copper insert, but did
not preclude its use. Ford tested a rotary engine with the plugs placed in the side
plates, instead of the usual placement in the housing working surface (CA 1036073,
1978).
Recent developments[edit]
Increasing the displacement and power of a rotary engine by adding more rotors to a
basic design is simple, but a limit may exist in the number of rotors, because power
output is channeled through the last rotor shaft, with all the stresses of the whole
engine present at that point. For engines with more than two rotors, coupling two bi-
rotor sets by a serrate coupling (such as a Hirth joint) between the two rotor sets has
been tested successfully.
Research in the United Kingdom under the SPARCS (Self-Pressurising-Air Rotor
Cooling System) project, found that idle stability and economy was obtained by
supplying an ignitable mix to only one rotor in a multi-rotor engine in a forced-air
cooled rotor, similar to the Norton air-cooled designs.
The Wankel engine's drawbacks of inadequate lubrication and cooling in ambient
temperatures, short engine lifespan, high emissions and low fuel efficiencies were
tackled by Norton rotary engine specialist David Garside, who developed three
patented systems in 2016.[49][50]

 SPARCS
 Compact-SPARCS
 CREEV (Compound Rotary Engine for Electric Vehicles)
SPARCS and Compact-SPARCS provides superior heat rejection and efficient
thermal balancing to optimise lubrication. A problem with rotary engines is that the
engine housing has permanently cool and hot surfaces when running. It also
generates excessive heat inside the engine which breaks down lubricating oil
quickly. The SPARCS system reduces this wide differential in heat temperatures in
the metal of the engine housing, and also cooling the rotor from inside the body of
the engine. This results in reduced engine wear prolonging engine life. As described
in Unmanned Systems Technology Magazine, "SPARCS uses a sealed rotor cooling
circuit consisting of a circulating centrifugal fan and a heat exchanger to reject the
heat. This is self-pressurised by capturing the blow-by past the rotor side gas seals
from the working chambers."[51][52] CREEV is an ‘exhaust reactor’, containing a shaft &
rotor inside, of a different shape to a Wankel rotor. The reactor, located in the
exhaust stream outside of the engine's combustion chamber, consumes unburnt
exhaust products without using a second ignition system before directing burnt
gasses into the exhaust pipe. Horse power is given to the reactors shaft. Lower
emissions and improved fuel efficiency are achieved. All three patents are currently
licensed to UK-based engineers, AIE (UK) Ltd.[53][54][55][56][57]
Materials[edit]
Unlike a piston engine, in which the cylinder is heated by the combustion process
and then cooled by the incoming charge, Wankel rotor housings are constantly
heated on one side and cooled on the other, leading to high local temperatures and
unequal thermal expansion. While this places great demands on the materials used,
the simplicity of the Wankel makes it easier to use alternative materials, such as
exotic alloys and ceramics. With water cooling in a radial or axial flow direction, and
the hot water from the hot bow heating the cold bow, the thermal expansion remains
tolerable. Top engine temperature has been reduced to 129 °C (264 °F), with a
maximum temperature difference between engine parts of 18 °C (32 °F) by the use
of heat pipes around the housing and in side plates as a cooling means. [40]
Among the alloys cited for Wankel housing use are A-132, Inconel 625, and 356
treated to T6 hardness. Several materials have been used for plating the housing
working surface, Nikasil being one. Citroën, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, A P Grazen and
others applied for patents in this field. For the apex seals, the choice of materials has
evolved along with the experience gained, from carbon alloys, to steel, ferrotic, and
other materials. The combination between housing plating and apex and side seals
materials was determined experimentally, to obtain the best duration of both seals
and housing cover. For the shaft, steel alloys with little deformation on load are
preferred, the use of Maraging steel has been proposed for this.
Leaded gasoline fuel was the predominant type available in the first years of the
Wankel engine's development. Lead is a solid lubricant, and leaded gasoline is
designed to reduce the wearing of seal and housings. The first engines had the oil
supply calculated with consideration of gasoline's lubricating qualities. As leaded
gasoline was being phased out, Wankel engines needed an increased mix of oil in
the gasoline to provide lubrication to critical engine parts. Experienced users advise,
even in engines with electronic fuel injection, adding at least 1% of oil directly to
gasoline as a safety measure in case the pump supplying oil to combustion chamber
related parts failed or sucked in air.[citation needed] Lead tetraethyl (TEL) burns in the engine
to form carbon dioxide, lead oxide and water. Since the lead oxide would deposit in
the combustion chamber, TEL is used together with ethyl bromide or ethylene
chloride, which convert the lead oxide into lead bromide or lead chloride, which
evaporate more easily. [58] A SAE paper by David Garside extensively described
Norton's choices of materials and cooling fins.
Several approaches involving solid lubricants were tested, and even the addition of
LiquiMoly (containing MoS2), at the rate of 1 cc (1 mL) per liter of fuel, is advised.
Many engineers[who?] agree that the addition of oil to gasoline as in old two-stroke
engines is a safer approach for engine reliability than an oil pump injecting into the
intake system or directly to the parts requiring lubrication. A combined oil-in-fuel plus
oil metering pump is always possible.[59][failed verification]
Sealing[edit]
Early engine designs had a high incidence of sealing loss, both between the rotor
and the housing and also between the various pieces making up the housing. Also,
in earlier model Wankel engines, carbon particles could become trapped between
the seal and the casing, jamming the engine and requiring a partial rebuild. It was
common for very early Mazda engines to require rebuilding after 50,000 miles
(80,000 km). Further sealing problems arose from the uneven thermal distribution
within the housings causing distortion and loss of sealing and compression. This
thermal distortion also caused uneven wear between the apex seal and the rotor
housing, evident on higher mileage engines. [citation needed] The problem was exacerbated
when the engine was stressed before reaching operating temperature. However,
Mazda rotary engines solved these initial problems. Current engines have nearly 100
seal-related parts.[1]
The problem of clearance for hot rotor apexes passing between the axially closer
side housings in the cooler intake lobe areas was dealt with by using an axial rotor
pilot radially inboard of the oils seals, plus improved inertia oil cooling of the rotor
interior (C-W US 3261542, C. Jones, 5/8/63, US 3176915, M. Bentele, C. Jones.
A.H. Raye. 7/2/62), and slightly "crowned" apex seals (different height in the center
and in the extremes of seal).
Fuel economy and emissions[edit]
The Wankel engine has problems in fuel efficiency and emissions when burning
gasoline. Gasoline mixtures are slow to ignite, have a slow flame propagation speed
and a higher quenching distance on the compression cycle of 2 mm compared to
hydrogen's 0.6 mm. Combined, these factors waste fuel that would have created
power, reducing efficiency. The gap between the rotor and the engine housing is too
narrow for gasoline on the compression cycle, but sufficiently wide for hydrogen. The
narrow gap is needed to create compression. When the engine uses gasoline,
leftover gasoline is ejected into the atmosphere through the exhaust. This is not a
problem when using hydrogen fuel, as all the fuel mixture in the combustion chamber
is burnt which gives nearly no emissions and raises fuel efficiency by 23%. [60][61]
The shape of the Wankel combustion chamber is more resistant
to preignition operating on lower-octane rating gasoline than a comparable piston
engine.[62] The combustion chamber shape may also lead to incomplete combustion
of the air-fuel charge using gasoline fuel. This would result in a larger amount of
unburned hydrocarbons released into the exhaust. The exhaust is, however,
relatively low in NOx emissions, because combustion temperatures are lower than in
other engines, and also because of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in early engines.
Sir Harry Ricardo showed in the 1920s that for every 1% increase in the proportion
of exhaust gas in the admission mix, there is a 7 °C reduction in flame temperature.
This allowed Mazda to meet the United States Clean Air Act of 1970 in 1973, with a
simple and inexpensive "thermal reactor", which was an enlarged chamber in
the exhaust manifold. By decreasing the air-fuel ratio, unburned hydrocarbons (HC)
in the exhaust would support combustion in the thermal reactor. Piston-engine cars
required expensive catalytic converters to deal with both unburned hydrocarbons
and NOx emissions.
This inexpensive solution increased fuel consumption. Sales of rotary engine cars
suffered because of the oil crisis of 1973 raising the price of gasoline leading to
lowering of sales. Toyota discovered that injection of air into the exhaust port zone
improved fuel economy reducing emissions. The best results were obtained with
holes in the side plates; doing it in the exhaust duct had no noticeable influence.
[47]
 The use of a three-stage catalysts, with air supplied in the middle, as for two-
stroke piston engines, also proved beneficial meeting emissions regulations. [63]
Mazda had improved the fuel efficiency of the thermal reactor system by 40% with
the RX-7 introduction in 1978. However, Mazda eventually shifted to the catalytic
converter system.[6] According to the Curtiss-Wright research, the factor that controls
the amount of unburned hydrocarbon in the exhaust is the rotor surface temperature,
with higher temperatures producing less hydrocarbon. [64] Curtiss-Wright showed also
that the rotor can be widened, keeping the rest of engine's architecture unchanged,
thus reducing friction losses and increasing displacement and power output. The
limiting factor for this widening was mechanical, especially shaft deflection at high
rotative speeds.[65] Quenching is the dominant source of hydrocarbon at high speeds,
and leakage at low speeds.[66]
Automobile Wankel rotary engines are capable of high-speed operation. However, it
was shown that an early opening of the intake port, longer intake ducts, and a
greater rotor eccentricity can increase torque at lower rpm. The shape and
positioning of the recess in the rotor, which forms most of the combustion chamber,
influences emissions and fuel economy. The results in terms of fuel economy and
exhaust emissions varies depending on the shape of the combustion recess which is
determined by the placement of spark plugs per chamber of an individual engine. [67]
Mazda's RX-8 car with the Renesis engine met California State fuel economy
requirements, including California's low emissions vehicle (LEV) standards. This was
achieved by a number of innovations. The exhaust ports, which in earlier Mazda
rotaries were located in the rotor housings, were moved to the sides of the
combustion chamber. This solved the problem of the earlier ash buildup in the
engine, and thermal distortion problems of side intake and exhaust ports. A scraper
seal was added in the rotor sides, and some ceramic parts were used in the engine.
This approach allowed Mazda to eliminate overlap between intake and exhaust port
openings, while simultaneously increasing the exhaust port area. The side port
trapped the unburned fuel in the chamber, decreased the oil consumption, and
improved the combustion stability in the low-speed and light load range. The HC
emissions from the side exhaust port Wankel engine are 35–50% less than those
from the peripheral exhaust port Wankel engine, because of near zero intake and
exhaust port opening overlap. Peripheral ported rotary engines have a better mean
effective pressure, especially at high rpm and with a rectangular shaped intake port.
[68][69][70]
 However, the RX-8 was not improved to meet Euro 5 emission regulations and
was discontinued in 2012.[71]
Mazda is still continuing development of next-generation of Wankel engines. The
company is researching engine laser ignition, which eliminates conventional spark
plugs, direct fuel injection, sparkless HCCI ignition and SPCCI ignition. These lead to
greater rotor eccentricity (equating to a longer stroke in a reciprocating engine), with
improved elasticity and low revolutions-per-minute torque. Research by T. Kohno
proved that installing a glow-plug in the combustion chamber improved part load and
low revolutions per minute fuel economy by 7%.[72] These innovations promise to
improve fuel consumption and emissions. [73]
To improve fuel efficiency further, Mazda is looking at using the Wankel as a range-
extender in series-hybrid cars, announcing a prototype, the Mazda2 EV, for press
evaluation in November 2013. This configuration improves fuel efficiency and
emissions. As a further advantage, running a Wankel engine at a constant speed
gives greater engine life. Keeping to a near constant, or narrow band, of revolutions
eliminates, or vastly reduces, many of the disadvantages of the Wankel engine. [74]
In 2015 a new system to reduce emissions and increase fuel efficiency with Wankel
Engines was developed by UK-based engineers AIE (UK) Ltd, following a licensing
agreement to utilise patents from Norton rotary engine creator, David Garside.
The CREEV system (Compound Rotary Engine for Electric Vehicles) uses a
secondary rotor to extract energy from the exhaust, consuming unburnt exhaust
products while expansion occurs in the secondary rotor stage, thus reducing overall
emissions and fuel costs by recouping exhaust energy that would otherwise be lost.
[51]
 By expanding the exhaust gas to near atmospheric pressure, Garside also
ensured the engine exhaust would remain cooler and quieter. AIE (UK) Ltd is now
utilising this patent to develop hybrid power units for automobiles [53] and unmanned
aerial vehicles.[75]
Laser ignition[edit]
Traditional spark plugs need to be indented into the walls of the combustion chamber
to enable the apex of the rotor to sweep past. As the rotor's apex seals pass over the
spark plug hole, a small amount of compressed charge can be lost from the charge
chamber to the exhaust chamber, entailing fuel in the exhaust, reducing efficiency,
and resulting in higher emissions. These points have been overcome by using laser
ignition, eliminating traditional spark plugs and removing the narrow slit in the motor
housing so the rotor apex seals can fully sweep with no loss of compression from
adjacent chambers. This concept has a precedent in the glow plug used by Toyota
(SAE paper 790435), and the SAE paper 930680, by D. Hixon et al., on 'Catalytic
Glow Plugs in the JDTI Stratified Charge Rotary Engine'. The laser plug can fire
through the narrow slit. Laser plugs can also fire deep into the combustion chamber
using multiple lasers. So, a higher compression ratio is permitted. Direct fuel
injection, to which the Wankel engine is suited, combined with laser ignition in single
or multiple laser plugs, has been shown to enhance the motor even further reducing
the disadvantages.[73][76][77]
Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI)[edit]
Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) involves the use of a pre-mixed
lean air-fuel mixture being compressed to the point of auto-ignition, so electronic
spark ignition is eliminated. Gasoline engines combine homogeneous charge (HC)
with spark ignition (SI), abbreviated as HCSI. Diesel engines combine stratified
charge (SC) with compression ignition (CI), abbreviated as SCCI. HCCI engines
achieve gasoline engine-like emissions with compression ignition engine-like
efficiency, and low levels of nitrogen oxide emissions (NO x) without a catalytic
converter. However, unburned hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions still
require treatment to conform with automotive emission regulations.
Mazda has undertaken research on HCCI ignition for its SkyActiv-R rotary engine
project, using research from its SkyActiv Generation 2 program. A constraint of
rotary engines is the need to locate the spark plug outside the combustion chamber
to enable the rotor to sweep past. Mazda confirmed that the problem had been
solved in the SkyActiv-R project. Rotaries generally have high compression ratios,
making them particularly suitable for the use of HCCI. [78][79][80]
Spark Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI)[edit]
SPCCI incorporates spark and compression ignition. A spark is always used, to
control exactly when combustion occurs. Depending on the load, it may be only
spark ignition, other times SPCCI.
The spark ignites a small pulse of richer mixture injected into the combustion
chamber. A fireball is created, acting like an air piston, and increasing the pressure
and temperature. Compression-ignition of the very lean mixture occurs, with a rapid
and even and complete burn leading to a more powerful cycle. The compression-
ignition aspect makes the lean burn possible, improving engine efficiency up to 20–
30%. It gives a rotary the ability to switch from the ideal, stoichiometric, 14.7:1 air-to-
fuel mixture of a conventional gasoline burning engine to the lean-burn mixture of
over 29.4:1. The engine is in lean-burn mode about 80% of running time. The
combustion timing is controlled by the flame from the spark plug.
According to Mazda, SPCCI combines advantages of both petrol and diesel engines
and gives high efficiency across a wide range of rpms and engine loads. Combined
with a supercharger the compression ignition delivers an increase in torque of 20–
30%.[81][82]
Compression-ignition rotary[edit]
Main article: Wankel Diesel engine

Rolls Royce R6 two stage rotary compression ignition engine

Rolls-Royce R1C compression ignition prototype.

Research has been undertaken into rotary compression ignition engines and the
burning of diesel heavy fuel using spark ignition. The basic design parameters of the
Wankel engine preclude obtaining a compression ratio higher than 15:1 or 17:1 in a
practical engine, but attempts are continuously being made to produce a
compression-ignition Wankel. The Rolls-Royce[83] and Yanmar compression-
ignition[84] approach was to use a two-stage unit, with one rotor acting as compressor,
while combustion takes place in the other.[85] Conversion of a standard 294-cc-
chamber spark-ignition unit to use heavy fuel was described in SAE paper 930682,
by L. Louthan. SAE paper 930683 (BSFC 330 g/KWhr), by D. Eiermann, resulted in
the Wankel SuperTec line of spark ignition rotary engines (BSFC 270-310 g/KWhr),
[86]
 not much less than motor 250/400 by Rudolf Diesel of the year 1897. But the
Curtiss-Wright RC2-47 with stratified charge injection achieves consumption values
around 226g/kWh which is on par with the common rail diesel engine MTU MB 873-
Ka 501.[87][88]
Compression-ignition engine research is being undertaken by Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne, which was commissioned by DARPA to develop a compression-ignition
Wankel engine for use in a prototype VTOL flying car called the "Transformer".[89][90][91]
[92]
 The engine, based on an earlier concept involving an unmanned aerial vehicle
called "Endurocore", powered by a Wankel diesel. [93] plans to utilize Wankel rotors of
varying sizes on a shared eccentric shaft to increase efficiency. [94] The engine is
claimed to be a 'full-compression, full-expansion, compression-ignition-cycle engine'.
An October 28, 2010 patent by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, describes a Wankel
engine superficially similar to Rolls-Royce's earlier prototype, that required an
external air compressor to achieve high enough compression for compression-
ignition-cycle combustion.[95][96] The design differs from Rolls-Royce's compression-
ignition rotary, mainly by proposing an injector both in the exhaust passage between
the combustor rotor and expansion rotor stages, and an injector in the expansion
rotor's expansion chamber, for 'afterburning'.
The British company Rotron, which specialises in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
applications of Wankel engines, has designed and built a unit to operate on heavy
fuel for NATO purposes. The engines uses spark ignition. The prime innovation is
flame propagation, ensuring the flame burns smoothly across the whole combustion
chamber. The fuel is pre-heated to 98 degrees Celsius before it is injected into the
combustion chamber. Four spark plugs are utilised, aligned in two pairs. Two spark
plugs ignite the fuel charge at the front of the rotor as it moves into the combustion
section of the housing. As the rotor moves the fuel charge, the second two fire a
fraction of second behind the first pair of plugs, igniting near the rear of the rotor at
the back of the fuel charge. The drive shaft is water cooled which also has a cooling
effect on the internals of the rotor. Cooling water also flows around the external of
the engine through a gap in the housing, thus reducing the heat of the engine from
outside and inside eliminating hot spots. [97]
Hydrogen fuel[edit]

Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE hydrogen fuelled rotary engined car

Using hydrogen fuel in Wankel engines improved efficiency by 23% over gasoline
fuel with near zero emissions.[60] Four-stroke reciprocating piston Otto cycle engines
are not well suited for conversion to hydrogen fuel. The hydrogen/air fuel mix can
misfire on hot parts of the engine like the exhaust valve and spark plugs, as all four
stroke operations occur in the same chamber.[98]
As a hydrogen/air fuel mixture is quicker to ignite with a faster burning rate than
gasoline, an important issue of hydrogen internal combustion engines is to prevent
pre-ignition and backfire. In a rotary engine each pulse of the Otto cycle occurs in
different chambers. The rotary has no exhaust valves that may remain hot and
produce the backfire that occurs in reciprocating piston engines. Importantly, the
intake chamber is separated from the combustion chamber, keeping the air/fuel
mixture away from localized hot spots. These structural features of the rotary engine
enable the use of hydrogen without pre-ignition and backfire.
A Wankel engine has stronger flows of air-fuel mixture and a longer operating cycle
than a reciprocating piston engine, achieving a thorough mixing of hydrogen and air.
The result is a homogeneous mixture with no hot spots in the engine, which is crucial
for hydrogen combustion.[99] Hydrogen/air fuel mixtures are quicker to ignite than
gasoline mixtures with a high burning rate, resulting in all the fuel being burnt with no
unburnt fuel being ejected into the exhaust stream as is the case using gasoline fuel
in rotary engines. Emissions are near zero, even with oil lubrication of apex seals.
Another problem concerns the hydrogenate attack on the lubricating film in
reciprocating engines. In a Wankel engine the problem of a hydrogenate attack is
circumvented by using ceramic apex seals.[100][101]
All these points lend the Wankel engine as ideal for hydrogen fuel burning. Mazda
built and sold a vehicle that took advantage of the rotary's suitability to hydrogen fuel,
a dual-fuel Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE that could switch on the fly from gasoline to
hydrogen and back.[102][61]

Advantages[edit]

NSU Wankel Spider, the first line of cars sold with a rotor Wankel engine
Mazda Cosmo, the first series two rotor Wankel engine sports car

Prime advantages of the Wankel engine are: [20]

 A far higher power to weight ratio than a piston engine

 Easier to package in small engine spaces than an equivalent piston engine
 No reciprocating parts
 Able to reach higher revolutions per minute than a piston engine
 Operating with almost no vibration
 Not prone to engine-knock
 Cheaper to mass-produce, because the engine contains fewer parts
 Superior breathing, filling the combustion charge in 270 degrees of mainshaft
rotation rather than 180 degrees in a piston engine
 Supplying torque for about two thirds of the combustion cycle rather than one
quarter for a piston engine
 Wider speed range giving greater adaptability
 Can use fuels of wider octane ratings
 Does not suffer from "scale effect" to limit its size.
 Easily adapted and highly suitable to use hydrogen fuel.
 On some Wankel engines the sump oil remains uncontaminated by the
combustion process, so no oil changes are required. The oil in the mainshaft is
totally sealed from the combustion process. The oil for Apex seals and crankcase
lubrication is separate. In piston engines the crankcase oil is contaminated by
combustion blow-by through the piston rings.[103]
Wankel engines are considerably lighter and simpler, containing far fewer moving
parts than piston engines of equivalent power output. Valves or complex valve
trains are eliminated by using simple ports cut into the walls of the rotor housing.
Since the rotor rides directly on a large bearing on the output shaft, there are
no connecting rods and no crankshaft. The elimination of reciprocating mass, and
the elimination of the most highly stressed and failure prone parts of piston engines,
gives the Wankel engine high reliability, a smoother flow of power, and a high power-
to-weight ratio.
The surface-to-volume-ratio in the moving combustion chamber is so complex that a
direct comparison cannot be made between a reciprocating piston engine and a
Wankel engine. The flow velocity and the heat losses are quite different. Surface
temperature characteristics are completely different; the film of oil in the Wankel
engine acts as insulation. Engines with a higher compression ratio have a worse
surface-to-volume ratio. The surface-to-volume ratio of a reciprocating piston diesel
engine is much poorer than a reciprocating piston gasoline engine, but diesel
engines have a higher efficiency factor. Hence, comparing power outputs is a
realistic metric. A reciprocating piston engine with equal power to a Wankel will be
approximately twice the displacement. When comparing the power-to-weight ratio,
physical size or physical weight to a similar power output piston engine, the Wankel
is superior.
A four-stroke cylinder produces a power stroke only every other rotation of the
crankshaft, with three strokes being pumping losses. This doubles the real surface-
to-volume ratio for the four-stroke reciprocating piston engine and the displacement
increased.[104][105] The Wankel, therefore, has higher volumetric efficiency and lower
pumping losses through the absence of choking valves. [106] Because of the quasi-
overlap of the power strokes, that cause the smoothness of the engine and the
avoidance of the four-stroke cycle in a reciprocating engine, the Wankel engine is
very quick to react to power increases, giving a quick delivery of power when the
demand arises, especially at higher RPMs. This difference is more pronounced when
compared to four-cylinder reciprocating engines and less pronounced when
compared to higher cylinder counts.
In addition to the removal of internal reciprocating stresses by the complete removal
of reciprocating internal parts typically found in a piston engine, the Wankel engine is
constructed with an iron rotor within a housing made of aluminium, which has a
greater coefficient of thermal expansion. This ensures that even a severely
overheated Wankel engine cannot seize, as is likely to occur in an overheated piston
engine. This is a substantial safety benefit when used in aircraft. In addition, the
absence of valves and valve trains increases safety. GM tested an iron rotor and iron
housing in their prototype Wankel engines, that worked at higher temperatures with
lower specific fuel consumption.
A further advantage of the Wankel engine for use in aircraft is that it generally has a
smaller frontal area than a piston engine of equivalent power, allowing a
more aerodynamic nose to be designed around the engine. A cascading advantage
is that the smaller size and lower weight of the Wankel engine allows for savings in
airframe construction costs, compared to piston engines of comparable power.
Wankel engines operating within their original design parameters are almost immune
to catastrophic failure. A Wankel engine that loses compression, or cooling or oil
pressure, will lose a large amount of power and fail over a short period of time. It will,
however, usually continue to produce some power during that time, allowing for a
safer landing when used in aircraft. Piston engines under the same circumstances
are prone to seizing or breaking parts, which will almost certainly result in
catastrophic failure of the engine, and the instant loss of all power. For this reason,
Wankel engines are very well-suited to snowmobiles, which often take users into
remote places where a failure could result in frostbite or death, and in aircraft, where
abrupt failure is likely to lead to a crash or forced landing in a remote place.
From the combustion chamber shape and features, the fuel octane requirements of
Wankel engines are lower than in reciprocating piston engines. The maximum road
octane number requirements were 82 for a peripheral-intake port wankel engine, and
less than 70 for a side-inlet port engine.[107] From the point of view of oil refiners this
may be an advantage in fuel production costs. [108][109]
Due to a 50% longer stroke duration than a reciprocating four-cycle engine, there is
more time to complete the combustion. This leads to greater suitability for direct fuel
injection and stratified charge operation.

Disadvantages[edit]
Although many of the disadvantages are the subject of ongoing research, the current
disadvantages of the Wankel engine in production are the following: [110]
Rotor sealing
This is still a minor problem as the engine housing has vastly different
temperatures in each separate chamber section. The different expansion
coefficients of the materials leads to imperfect sealing. Additionally, both sides
of the seals are exposed to fuel, and the design does not allow for controlling
the lubrication of the rotors accurately and precisely. Rotary engines tend to
be overlubricated at all engine speeds and loads, and have relatively high oil
consumption and other problems resulting from excess oil in the combustion
areas of the engine, such as carbon formation and excessive emissions from
burning oil. By comparison, a piston engine has all functions of a cycle in the
same chamber giving a more stable temperature for piston rings to act
against. Additionally, only one side of the piston in a (four-stroke) piston
engine is being exposed to fuel, allowing oil to lubricate the cylinders from the
other side. Piston engine components can also be designed to increase ring
sealing and oil control as cylinder pressures and power levels increase. To
overcome the problems in a Wankel engine of differences in temperatures
between different regions of housing and side and intermediary plates, and
the associated thermal dilatation inequities, a heat pipe has been used to
transport heat from the hot to the cold parts of engine. The "heat pipes"
effectively direct hot exhaust gas to the cooler parts of the engine, with
resulting decreases in efficiency and performance. In small-displacement,
charge-cooled rotor, air-cooled housing Wankel engines, that has been shown
to reduce the maximum engine temperature from 231 °C to 129 °C, and the
maximum difference between hotter and colder regions of engine from 159 °C
to 18 °C.[111]
Apex seal lifting
Centrifugal force pushes the apex seal onto the housing surface forming a
firm seal. Gaps can develop between the apex seal and trochoid housing in
light-load operation when imbalances in centrifugal force and gas pressure
occur. At low engine-rpm ranges, or under low-load conditions, gas pressure
in the combustion chamber can cause the seal to lift off the surface, resulting
in combustion gas leaking into the next chamber. Mazda developed a
solution, changing the shape of the trochoid housing, which meant that the
seals remain flush to the housing. Using the Wankel engine at sustained
higher revolutions helps eliminate apex seal lift off, and makes it very viable in
applications such as electricity generation. In motor vehicles, the engine will
be suited to series-hybrid applications. [112]
Slow combustion
Fuel combustion is slow using gasoline fuel, because the combustion
chamber is long, thin, and moving. Flame travel occurs almost exclusively in
the direction of rotor movement, adding to the poor quenching of a
gasoline/air mixture of 2mm, being the main source of unburned
hydrocarbons at high rpm. The trailing side of the combustion chamber
naturally produces a "squeeze stream" that prevents the flame from reaching
the chamber trailing edge combined with the poor quenching of a gasoline/air
mixture. This problem does not occur using hydrogen fuel as the quenching is
0.6mm. Fuel injection, in which fuel is injected towards the leading edge of the
combustion chamber, can minimize the amount of unburnt fuel in the exhaust.
Where piston engines have an expanding combustion chamber for the
burning fuel as its oxidized and decreasing pressure as the piston travels
toward the bottom of the cylinder during the power stroke is offset by
additional leverage of the piston on the crankshaft during the first half of that
travel, there is no additional "leverage" of a rotor on the mainshaft during
combustion and the mainshaft has no increased leverage to power the rotor
through the intake, compression and exhaust phases of its cycle.
Bad fuel economy using gasoline fuel
This is due to the shape of the moving combustion chamber, which results in
poor combustion behavior and mean effective pressure at part load and low
rpm. This results in unburnt fuel entering the exhaust stream; fuel that is
wasted not being used to create power. Meeting the emissions regulations
requirements sometimes mandates a fuel-air ratio using gasoline fuel that is
not conducive to good fuel economy. Acceleration and deceleration in
average driving conditions also affects fuel economy. However, operating the
engine at a constant speed and load eliminates excess fuel consumption. [74]
[113]
 The Small Air Cooled Housing, Charge Cooled Rotor Wankel engines are
specially well adapted to Alcohol in Gasoline mixes, as E5 and E10 sold in
Europe. 'The Effect of Alcohol Blends on the Performance of an Air Cooled
Rotary Trochoidal Engine', SAE Technical Paper 840237, Marcel Gutman, Izu
Iuster.
High emissions
As unburned fuel when using gasoline fuel is in the exhaust stream,
emissions requirements are difficult to meet. This problem may be overcome
by implementing direct fuel injection into the combustion chamber. The
Freedom Motors Rotapower Wankel engine, which is not yet in production,
met the ultra low California emissions standards. [114] The Mazda Renesis
engine, with both intake and exhaust side ports, suppressed the loss of
unburned mix to exhaust formerly induced by port overlap. [115]
Although in two dimensions the seal system of a Wankel looks to
be even simpler than that of a corresponding multi-cylinder piston
engine, in three dimensions the opposite is true. As well as the
rotor apex seals evident in the conceptual diagram, the rotor must
also seal against the chamber ends.
Piston rings in reciprocating engines are not perfect seals; each
has a gap to allow for expansion. The sealing at the apexes of the
Wankel rotor is less critical, because leakage is between adjacent
chambers on adjacent strokes of the cycle, rather than to the
mainshaft case. Although sealing has improved over the years, the
less-than-effective sealing of the Wankel, which is mostly due to
lack of lubrication, remains factor reducing its efficiency. [116]
In a Wankel engine, the fuel-air mixture cannot be pre-stored
because there are consecutive intake cycles. The engine has a
50% longer stroke duration than a reciprocating piston engine. The
four Otto cycles last 1080° for a Wankel engine (three revolutions
of the output shaft) versus 720° for a four-stroke reciprocating
engine, but the four strokes are still the same proportion of the
total.
There are various methods of calculating the engine displacement
of a Wankel. The Japanese regulations for calculating
displacements for engine ratings use the volume displacement of
one rotor face only, and the auto industry commonly accepts this
method as the standard for calculating the displacement of a
rotary. When compared by specific output, however, the
convention resulted in large imbalances in favor of the Wankel
motor. An early revised approach was to rate the displacement of
each rotor as two times the chamber.
Wankel rotary engine and piston engine displacement, and
corresponding power, output can more accurately be compared by
displacement per revolution of the eccentric shaft. A calculation of
this form dictates that a two-rotor Wankel displacing 654 cc per
face will have a displacement of 1.3 liters per every rotation of the
eccentric shaft (only two total faces, one face per rotor going
through a full power stroke) and 2.6 liters after two revolutions
(four total faces, two faces per rotor going through a full power
stroke). The results are directly comparable to a 2.6-liter piston
engine with an even number of cylinders in a conventional firing
order, which will likewise displace 1.3 liters through its power
stroke after one revolution of the mainshaft, and 2.6 liters through
its power strokes after two revolutions of the mainshaft. A Wankel
rotary engine is still a four-cycle engine, and pumping losses from
non-power strokes still apply, but the absence of throttling valves
and a 50% longer stroke duration result in a significantly lower
pumping loss compared to a four-stroke reciprocating piston
engine. Measuring a Wankel rotary engine in this way more
accurately explains its specific output, because the volume of its
air fuel mixture put through a complete power stroke per revolution
is directly responsible for torque, and thus the power produced.
The trailing side of the rotary engine's combustion chamber
develops a squeeze stream which pushes back the flame front.
With the conventional one or two-spark-plug system and
homogenous mixture, this squeeze stream prevents the flame
from propagating to the combustion chamber's trailing side in the
mid and high engine speed ranges.[117] Kawasaki dealt with that
problem in its US patent US 3848574; Toyota obtained a 7%
economy improvement by placing a glow-plug in the leading site,
and using Reed-Valves in intake ducts. In 2-Stroke engines, metal
reeds last about 15'000 km while carbon fibre around 8'000 km.
[72]
 This poor combustion in the trailing side of chamber is one of the
reasons why there is more carbon monoxide and unburned
hydrocarbons in a Wankel's exhaust stream. A side-port exhaust,
as is used in the Mazda Renesis, avoids port overlap, one of the
causes of this, because the unburned mixture cannot escape.
The Mazda 26B avoided this problem through the use of a three
spark-plug ignition system. (At the 24 Hours of Le
Mans endurance race in 1991, the 26B had significantly lower fuel
consumption than the competing reciprocating piston engines. All
competitors had the same amount of fuel available due to the Le
Mans limited fuel quantity rule.)[118] Mazda SAE Paper 930677
shows that the upstream position for the injector allows reliable
stratification of the mixture over a wide operating range. This is
due to the fact that the injected fuel collides with the rotor wall only
very late which leads to a better evaporation of the fuel. As a
result, there is only air upstream on the downstream side of the
combustion chamber, and HC emissions and fuel consumption are
significantly reduced as a result.[119]
A peripheral intake port gives the highest mean effective pressure;
however, side intake porting produces a more steady idle,
[120]
 because it helps to prevent blow-back of burned gases into the
intake ducts which cause "misfirings", caused by alternating cycles
where the mixture ignites and fails to ignite. Peripheral porting
(PP) gives the best mean effective pressure throughout the rpm
range, but PP was linked also to worse idle stability and part-load
performance. Early work by Toyota[72] led to the addition of a fresh
air supply to the exhaust port, and proved also that a Reed-valve
in the intake port or ducts[121] improved the low rpm and partial load
performance of Wankel engines, by preventing blow-back of
exhaust gas into the intake port and ducts, and reducing the
misfire-inducing high EGR, at the cost of a small loss of power at
top rpm. David W. Garside, the developer of the Norton rotary
engine, who proposed that earlier opening of the intake port before
top dead center (TDC), and longer intake ducts, improved low rpm
torque and elasticity of Wankel engines. That is also described
in Kenichi Yamamoto's books. Elasticity is also improved with a
greater rotor eccentricity, analogous to a longer stroke in a
reciprocating engine. Wankel engines operate better with a low-
pressure exhaust system. Higher exhaust back pressure reduces
mean effective pressure, more severely in peripheral intake port
engines. The Mazda RX-8 Renesis engine improved performance
by doubling the exhaust port area compared with earlier designs,
and there has been specific study of the effect of intake and
exhaust piping configuration on the performance of Wankel
engines.[122]
All Mazda-made Wankel rotaries, including the Renesis found in
the RX-8, burn a small quantity of oil by design, metered into the
combustion chamber to preserve the apex seals. Owners must
periodically add small amounts of oil, thereby increasing running
costs. Some sources, such as rotaryeng.net, claim that better
results come with the use of an oil-in-fuel mixture rather than an oil
metering pump. Liquid-cooled engines require a mineral
multigrade oil for cold starts, and Wankel engines need a warm-up
time before full load operation as reciprocating engines do. All
engines exhibit oil loss, but the rotary engine is engineered with a
sealed motor, unlike a piston engine that has a film of oil that
splashes on the walls of the cylinder to lubricate them, hence an
oil "control" ring. No-oil-loss engines have been developed,
eliminating much of the oil lubrication problem. [citation needed]

Applications[edit]
Automobile racing[edit]

Mazda 787B

In the racing world, Mazda has had substantial success with two-

rotor, three-rotor, and four-rotor cars. Private racers have also had
considerable success with stock and modified Mazda Wankel-
engine cars.[123]
The Sigma MC74 powered by a Mazda 12A engine was the first
engine and only team from outside Western Europe or the United
States to finish the entire 24 hours of the 24 Hours of Le
Mans race, in 1974. Yojiro Terada was the driver of the MC74.
Mazda was the first team from outside Western Europe or the
United States to win Le Mans outright. It was also the only non-
piston engined car to win Le Mans, which the company
accomplished in 1991 with their four-rotor 787B (2.622 L or
160 cu in—actual displacement, rated by FIA formula at 4.708 L or
287 cu in). In the C2 class, all participants had only the same
amount of fuel at their disposal, besides the unregulated C1
Category 1 . In the category C1 was only naturally aspirated
engines allowed. The Mazdas were allowed as naturally aspirated
to start with 830 kg weight, 170 kg less than the supercharged
competitors.[124] The cars under the Group C1 Category 1
regulations for 1991 were allowed to be another 80 kg lighter than
the 787B.[125] In addition, Group C1 Category 1 had only permitted
3,5 liter naturally aspirated engines and had no fuel quantity limits.
[126]

Formula Mazda Racing features open-wheel race cars with Mazda

Wankel engines, adaptable to both oval tracks and road courses,
on several levels of competition. Since 1991, the professionally
organized Star Mazda Series has been the most popular format for
sponsors, spectators, and upward bound drivers. The engines are
all built by one engine builder, certified to produce the prescribed
power, and sealed to discourage tampering. They are in a
relatively mild state of racing tune, so that they are extremely
reliable and can go years between motor rebuilds. [127]
The Malibu Grand Prix chain, similar in concept to commercial
recreational kart racing tracks, operates several venues in the
United States where a customer can purchase several laps around
a track in a vehicle very similar to open wheel racing vehicles, but
powered by a small Curtiss-Wright rotary engine.
In engines having more than two rotors, or two rotor race engines
intended for high-rpm use, a multi-piece eccentric shaft may be
used, allowing additional bearings between rotors. While this
approach does increase the complexity of the eccentric shaft
design, it has been used successfully in the Mazda's production
three-rotor 20B-REW engine, as well as many low volume
production race engines. The C-111-2 4 Rotor Mercedes-Benz
eccentric shaft for the KE Serie 70, Type DB M950 KE409 is made
in one piece. Mercedes-Benz used split bearings.
Motorcycle engines[edit]

Norton Interpol2 prototype

The small size and attractive power to weight ratio of the Wankel
engine appealed to motorcycle manufacturers. The first Wankel-
engined motorcycle was the 1960 'IFA/MZ KKM 175W' built by
German motorcycle manufacturer MZ, licensed by NSU.[128]
In 1972, Yamaha introduced the RZ201 at the Tokyo Motor Show,
a prototype with a Wankel engine, weighing 220 kg and producing
60 hp (45 kW) from a twin-rotor 660-cc engine (US patent
N3964448). In 1972, Kawasaki presented its two-rotor Kawasaki
X99 rotary engine prototype (US patents N 3848574 &3991722).
Both Yamaha and Kawasaki claimed to have solved the problems
of poor fuel economy, high exhaust emissions, and poor engine
longevity, in early Wankels, but neither prototype reached
production.
In 1974, Hercules produced W-2000 Wankel motorcycles, but low
production numbers meant the project was unprofitable, and
production ceased in 1977.[129]
From 1975 to 1976, Suzuki produced its RE5 single-rotor Wankel
motorcycle. It was a complex design, with both liquid
cooling and oil cooling, and multiple lubrication
and carburetor systems. It worked well and was smooth, but being
rather heavy, and having a modest power output of 62 hp (46 kW),
it did not sell well.[130]
Dutch motorcycle importer and manufacturer Van Veen produced
small quantities of a dual-rotor Wankel-engined OCR-1000
motorcycle between 1978 and 1980, using
surplus Comotor engines. The engine of the OCR 1000, used a re-
purposed engine originally intended for the Citroën GS Birotor car.
[131]

In the early 1980s, using earlier work at BSA, Norton produced the

air-cooled twin-rotor Classic, followed by the liquid-
cooled Commander and the Interpol2 (a police version).
[132]
 Subsequent Norton Wankel bikes included the Norton F1, F1
Sports, RC588, Norton RCW588, and NRS588. Norton proposed a
new 588-cc twin-rotor model called the "NRV588" and a 700-cc
version called the "NRV700".[133] A former mechanic at Norton,
Brian Crighton, started developing his own rotary engined
motorcycles line named "Roton", which won several Australian
races.
Despite successes in racing,[134] no motorcycles powered by
Wankel engines have been produced for sale to the general public
for road use since 1992.
The two different design approaches, taken by Suzuki and BSA
may usefully be compared. Even before Suzuki produced the RE5,
in Birmingham BSA's research engineer David Garside, was
developing a twin-rotor Wankel motorcycle. BSA's collapse put a
halt to development, but Garside's machine eventually reached
production as the Norton Classic.
Wankel engines run very hot on the ignition and exhaust side of
the engine's trochoid chamber, whereas the intake and
compression parts are cooler. Suzuki opted for a complicated oil-
cooling and water cooling system, with Garside reasoning that
provided the power did not exceed 80 hp (60 kW), air-cooling
would suffice. Garside cooled the interior of the rotors with
filtered ram-air. This very hot air was cooled in a plenum contained
within the semi-monocoque frame and afterwards, once mixed
with fuel, fed into the engine. This air was quite oily after running
through the interior of the rotors, and thus was used to lubricate
the rotor tips. The exhaust pipes become very hot, with Suzuki
opting for a finned exhaust manifold, twin-skinned exhausted pipes
with cooling grilles, heatproof pipe wrappings and silencers with
heat shields. Garside simply tucked the pipes out of harm's way
under the engine, where heat would dissipate in the breeze of the
vehicle's forward motion. Suzuki opted for complicated multi-stage
carburation, whilst Garside choose simple carburetors. Suzuki had
three lube systems, whilst Garside had a single total-loss oil
injection system which was fed to both the main bearings and the
intake manifolds. Suzuki chose a single rotor that was fairly
smooth, but with rough patches at 4,000 rpm; Garside opted for a
turbine-smooth twin-rotor motor. Suzuki mounted the massive
rotor high in the frame, but Garside put his rotors as low as
possible to lower the center of gravity of the motorcycle. [135]
Although it was said to handle well, the result was that the Suzuki
was heavy, overcomplicated, expensive to manufacture, and (at
62 bhp) a little short on power. Garside's design was simpler,
smoother, lighter and, at 80 hp (60 kW), significantly more
powerful.[136]
Aircraft engines[edit]

Wankel RC2-60 Aeronautical Rotary Engine

ARV Super2 with the British MidWest AE110 twin-rotor Wankel engine

Diamond DA20 with a Diamond Engines Wankel

 Sikorsky Cypher Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) powered with a UEL AR801
Wankel engine

In principle, Wankel engines are ideal for light aircraft, being light,
compact, almost vibrationless, and with a high power-to-weight
ratio. Further aviation benefits of a Wankel engine include:

1. Rotors cannot seize, since rotor casings expand greater

than rotors;
2. The engine is less prone to the serious condition known as
"engine-knock", which can destroy a plane's piston engines
in mid-flight.
3. The engine is not susceptible to "shock-cooling" during
descent;
4. The engine does not require an enriched mixture for
cooling at high power;
5. Having no reciprocating parts, there is less vulnerability to
damage when the engine revolves at a higher rate than the
designed maximum. The limit to the revolutions is the
strength of the main bearings.
Unlike cars and motorcycles, a Wankel aero-engine will be
sufficiently warm before full power is asked of it because of the
time taken for pre-flight checks. Also, the journey to the runway
has minimum cooling, which further permits the engine to reach
operating temperature for full power on take-off. [137] A Wankel aero-
engine spends most of its operational time at high power outputs,
with little idling. This makes ideal the use of peripheral ports. An
advantage is that modular engines with more than two rotors are
feasible, without increasing the frontal area. Should icing of any
intake tracts be an issue, there is plenty of waste engine heat
available to prevent icing.
The first Wankel rotary-engine aircraft was in the late 1960s being
the experimental Lockheed Q-Star civilian version of the United
States Army's reconnaissance QT-2, essentially a
powered Schweizer sailplane. The plane was powered by a
185 hp (138 kW) Curtiss-Wright RC2-60 Wankel rotary engine.
The same engine model was also used in a Cessna Cardinal and
a helicopter, as well as other airplanes.[20][138][139] In Germany in the
mid-1970s, a pusher ducted fan airplane powered by a modified
NSU multi-rotor Wankel engine was developed in both civilian and
military versions, Fanliner and Fantrainer.
At roughly the same time as the first experiments with full-scale
aircraft powered with Wankel engines, model aircraft-sized
versions were pioneered by a combine of the well-known
Japanese O.S. Engines firm and the then-extant
German Graupner aeromodeling products firm, under license from
NSU/Auto-Union. By 1968, the first prototype air-cooled, single-
rotor glow plug-ignition, methanol-fueled 4.9 cm3 displacement
OS/Graupner model Wankel engine was running, and was
produced in at least two differing versions from 1970 to the present
day,[140] solely by the O.S. firm after Graupner's demise in 2012. [141]
Aircraft Wankel engines are increasingly being found in roles
where the compact size, high power-to-weight ratio and quiet
operation are important, notably in drones and unmanned aerial
vehicles. Many companies and hobbyists adapt Mazda rotary
engines, taken from cars, to aircraft use. Others, including Wankel
GmbH itself, manufacture Wankel rotary engines dedicated for that
purpose.[142][143] One such use is the "Rotapower" engines in
the Moller Skycar M400. Another example of purpose-built aircraft
rotaries are Austro Engine's 55 hp (41 kW) AE50R (certified) and
75 hp (56 kW) AE75R (under development) both appr. 2 hp/kg.[144]
Wankel engines have been fitted in homebuilt experimental
aircraft, such as the ARV Super2, a couple of which were powered
by the British MidWest aero-engine. Most are Mazda 12A and 13B
automobile engines, converted to aviation use. This is a very cost-
effective alternative to certified aircraft engines, providing engines
ranging from 100 to 300 horsepower (220 kW) at a fraction of the
cost of traditional piston engines. These conversions were initially
in the early 1970s. With a number of these engines mounted on
aircraft, as of 10 December 2006 the National Transportation
Safety Board has only seven reports of incidents involving aircraft
with Mazda engines, and none of these were a failure due to
design or manufacturing flaws.[citation needed]
Peter Garrison, contributing editor for Flying magazine, has said
that "in my opinion ... the most promising engine for aviation use is
the Mazda rotary."[145] Mazda rotaries have worked well when
converted for use in homebuilt aircraft. However, the real
challenge in aviation is to produce FAA-certified alternatives to the
standard reciprocating engines that power most small general
aviation aircraft. Mistral Engines, based in Switzerland, developed
purpose-built rotaries for factory and retrofit installations on
certified production aircraft. The G-190 and G-230-TS rotary
engines were already flying in the experimental market, and
Mistral Engines hoped for FAA and JAA certification by 2011. As
of June 2010, G-300 rotary engine development ceased, with the
company citing cash flow problems.[146]
Mistral claims to have overcome the challenges of fuel
consumption inherent in the rotary, at least to the extent that the
engines are demonstrating specific fuel consumption within a few
points of reciprocating engines of similar displacement. While fuel
burn is still marginally higher than traditional engines, it is
outweighed by other beneficial factors.[147][148]
At the price of increased complication for a high pressure diesel
type injection system, fuel consumption in the same range as
small pre-chamber automotive and industrial diesels has been
demonstrated with Curtiss-Wright's stratified charge multi-fuel
engines, while preserving Wankel rotary advantages [149] Unlike a
piston and overhead valve engine, there are no valves which can
float at higher rpm causing loss of performance. The Wankel is a
more effective design at high revolutions with no reciprocating
parts, far fewer moving parts and no cylinder head. [150]
The French company Citroën had developed Wankel powered RE-
2 [fr] helicopter in the 1970s.[151]
Since Wankel engines operate at a relatively high rotational speed,
at 6,000 rpm of output shaft, the Rotor makes only 2,000 turns.
With relatively low torque, propeller driven aircraft must use
a propeller speed reduction unit to maintain propellers within the
designed speed range. Experimental aircraft with Wankel engines
use propeller speed reduction units, for instance the MidWest twin-
rotor engine has a 2.95:1 reduction gearbox. The rotational shaft
speed of a Wankel engine is high compared to reciprocating piston
designs. Only the eccentric shaft spins fast, while the rotors turn at
exactly one-third of the shaft speed. If the shaft is spinning at
7,500 rpm, the rotors are turning at a much slower 2,500 rpm.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has been commissioned
by DARPA to develop a diesel Wankel engine for use in a
prototype VTOL flying car called the "Transformer".[89][90][91][92] The
engine, based on an earlier unmanned aerial vehicle Wankel
diesel concept called "Endurocore". [93]
The sailplane manufacturer Schleicher uses an Austro Engines
AE50R Wankel[152][153] in its self-launching models ASK-21 Mi, ASH-
26E,[154] ASH-25 M/Mi, ASH-30 Mi, ASH-31 Mi, ASW-22 BLE,
and ASG-32 Mi.
In 2013, e-Go aeroplanes, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom,
announced that its new single-seater canard aircraft, the winner of
a design competition to meet the new UK single-seat deregulated
category, will be powered by a Wankel engine from Rotron Power,
a specialist manufacturer of advanced rotary engines for
unmanned aeronautical vehicle (UAV) applications. The first sale
was 2016. The aircraft is expected to deliver 100 knots (190 km/h;
120 mph) cruise speed from a 30 hp (22 kW) Wankel engine, with
a fuel economy of 75 mpg-imp (3.8 L/100 km; 62 mpg-US) using
standard motor gasoline (MOGAS), developing 22 kW (30 hp).[155]
The DA36 E-Star, an aircraft designed by Siemens, Diamond
Aircraft and EADS, employs a series hybrid powertrain with the
propeller being turned by a Siemens 70 kW (94 hp) electric motor.
The aim is to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to
25%. An onboard 40 hp (30 kW) Austro Engines Wankel rotary
engine and generator provides the electricity. A propeller speed
reduction unit is eliminated. The electric motor uses electricity
stored in batteries, with the generator engine off, to take off and
climb reducing sound emissions. The series-hybrid powertrain
using the Wankel engine reduces the weight of the plane by
100 kg compared with its predecessor. The DA36 E-Star first flew
in June 2013, making this the first ever flight of a series-hybrid
powertrain. Diamond Aircraft state that the technology using
Wankel engines is scalable to a 100-seat aircraft. [156][157]
Vehicle range extender[edit]

Structure of a series-hybrid vehicle. The grey square represents a differential gear.

An alternative arrangement (not shown) is to have electric motors at two or four
wheels.

Mazda2 EV prototype

Due to the compact size and the high power to weight ratio of a
Wankel engine, it has been proposed for electric vehicles as range
extenders to provide supplementary power when electric battery
levels are low. There have been a number of concept cars
incorporating a series hybrid powertrain arrangement. A Wankel
engine used only as a generator has packaging, noise, vibration
and weight distribution advantages when used in a vehicle,
maximizing interior passenger and luggage space. The
engine/generator may be at one end of the vehicle with the electric
driving motors at the other, connected only by thin cables. Mitsueo
Hitomi the global powertrain head of Mazda stated, "a rotary
engine is ideal as a range extender because it is compact and
powerful, while generating low-vibration". [158]
In 2010, Audi unveiled a prototype series-hybrid electric car,
the A1 e-tron, that incorporated a small 250-cc Wankel engine,
running at 5,000 rpm, which recharged the car's batteries as
needed, and provided electricity directly to the electric driving
motor.[159][160] In 2010, FEV Inc said that in their prototype electric
version of the Fiat 500, a Wankel engine would be used as a
range extender.[161] In 2013, Valmet Automotive of Finland revealed
a prototype car named the EVA, incorporating a Wankel powered
series-hybrid powertrain car, utilizing an engine manufactured by
the German company Wankel SuperTec.[162] The UK company,
Aixro Radial Engines, offers a range extender based on the 294cc-
chamber go-kart engine.[163]
Mazda of Japan ceased production of direct drive Wankel engines
within their model range in 2012, leaving the motor industry
worldwide with no production cars using the engine. The company
is continuing development of the next generation of their Wankel
engines, the SkyActiv-R. Mazda states that the SkyActiv-R solves
the three key issues with previous rotary engines: fuel economy,
emissions and reliability.[24][164][165] Takashi Yamanouchi, the global
CEO of Mazda said: "The rotary engine has very good dynamic
performance, but it's not so good on economy when you
accelerate and decelerate. However, with a range extender you
can use a rotary engine at a constant 2,000rpm, at its most
efficient. It's compact, too."[74] No Wankel engine in this
arrangement has yet been used in production vehicles or planes.
However, in November 2013 Mazda announced to the motoring
press a series-hybrid prototype car, the Mazda2 EV, using a
Wankel engine as a range extender. The generator engine,
located under the rear luggage floor, is a tiny, almost inaudible,
single-rotor 330-cc unit, generating 30 hp (22 kW) at 4,500 rpm,
and maintaining a continuous electric output of 20 kW.[166][167][168] In
October 2017, Mazda announced that the rotary engine would be
utilised in a hybrid car with 2019/20 the targeted introduction
dates.[169][158][170]
Mazda has undertaken research on Spark Controlled
Compression Ignition (SPCCI) ignition on rotary engines stating
that any new rotary engines will incorporate SPCCI. SPCCi
incorporates spark and compression ignition combining the
advantages of gasoline and diesel engines to achieve
environmental, power and fuel consumption goals. [82]
Mazda confirmed that a rotary equipped range extended car would
be launched a year late in 2020. There may be a choice of a larger
battery bank to give full EV running with battery charging from the
grid, with the engine performing the dual functions of a range-
extender and battery charger when the battery charge is too low.
When running on the engine, the electric motor is used to assist in
acceleration and take off from stationary.[171][26]
Other uses[edit]
 UEL UAV-741 Wankel engine for a UAV

Small Wankel engines are being found increasingly in other

applications, such as go-karts,[172][173] personal water craft,
and auxiliary power units for aircraft.[174][175] Kawasaki patented
mixture-cooled rotary engine (US patent 3991722). Japanese
diesel engine manufacturer Yanmar and Dolmar-Sachs of
Germany had a rotary-engined chain saw (SAE paper 760642)
and outboard boat engines, and the French Outils Wolf, made a
lawnmower (Rotondor) powered by a Wankel rotary engine. To
save on production costs, the rotor was in a horizontal position and
there were no seals in the down side. The Graupner/O.S. 49-PI is
a 1.27 hp (950 W) 5-cc Wankel engine for model airplane use,
which has been in production essentially unchanged since 1970.
Even with a large muffler, the entire package weighs only 380
grams (13 oz).[176][177]
The simplicity of the Wankel engine makes it well-suited for mini,
micro, and micro-mini engine designs.
The Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) Rotary Engine Lab
at the University of California, Berkeley, has previously undertaken
research towards the development of Wankel engines of down to
1 mm in diameter, with displacements less than 0.1 cc. Materials
include silicon and motive power includes compressed air. The
goal of such research was to eventually develop an internal
combustion engine with the ability to deliver 100 milliwatts of
electrical power; with the engine itself serving as the rotor of
the generator, with magnets built into the engine rotor itself. [178]
[179]
 Development of the miniature Wankel engine stopped at UC
Berkeley at the end of the DARPA contract. Miniature Wankel
engines struggled to maintain compression due to sealing
problems, similar to problems observed in the large scale versions.
In addition, miniature engines suffer from an adverse surface to
volume ratio causing excess heat losses; the relatively large
surface area of the combustion chamber walls transfers away what
little heat is generated in the small combustion volume resulting in
quenching and low efficiency.
Ingersoll-Rand built the largest-ever Wankel engine, with two
rotors, which was available between 1975 and 1985, producing
1,100 hp (820 kW). A one rotor version was available producing
550 hp (410 kW). The displacement per rotor was 41 liters, with
each rotor being approximately one meter in diameter. The engine
was derived from a previous, unsuccessful Curtiss-Wright design,
which failed because of a well-known problem with all internal
combustion engines: the fixed speed at which the flame front
travels limits the distance combustion can travel from the point of
ignition in a given time, thereby limiting the maximum size of the
cylinder or rotor chamber which can be used. This problem was
solved by limiting the engine speed to only 1200 rpm (400 kW per
rotor)[180] and the use of natural gas as fuel. That was particularly
well chosen, since one of the major uses of the engine was to
drive compressors on natural gas pipelines.[181] The engines used
"homogeneous charge", and some ran for over 30,000 hours. [180]
John Deere acquired the Curtiss-Wright rotary division in February
1984, also making large multi-fuel prototypes, some with an 11-
liter rotor for large vehicles.[180][150][182] The developers attempted to
solve the flame front issue (which hampered Ingersoll-Rand's
homogeneous combustion) by stratifying the fuel in the
combustion chamber.[180] The technology was transferred to RPI in
1991.[183][184]
Yanmar of Japan produced some small, charge-cooled rotory
engines for chainsaws and outboard engines. [185] One of its
products is the LDR (rotor recess in the leading edge of
combustion chamber) engine, which has better exhaust emissions
profiles, and reed-valve controlled intake ports, which improve
part-load and low rpm performance.[186]
In 1971 and 1972, Arctic Cat produced snowmobiles powered by
Sachs KM 914 303-cc and KC-24 294-cc Wankel engines made in
Germany.
In the early 1970s, Outboard Marine Corporation sold
snowmobiles under the Johnson and other brands, which were
powered by 35 or 45 hp (26 or 34 kW) OMC engines.
Aixro of Germany produces and sells a go-kart engine, with a 294-
cc-chamber charge-cooled rotor and liquid-cooled housings. Other
makers are: Wankel AG, Cubewano, Rotron and Precision
Technology USA.
The American M1A3 Abrams tank may use an rotary Diesel APU,
[187]
 developed by the TARDEC US Army lab. It has a high-power-
density 330-cc rotary engine, modified to operate with various
fuels such as standard military JP-8 jet fuel.[188][needs update]
Non-internal combustion[edit]
 Ogura Wankel Air conditioning system compressor

In addition for use as an internal combustion engine, the basic

Wankel design has also been used for gas compressors,
and superchargers for internal combustion engines, but in these
cases, although the design still offers advantages in reliability, the
basic advantages of the Wankel in size and weight over the four-
stroke internal combustion engine are irrelevant. In a design using
a Wankel supercharger on a Wankel engine, the supercharger is
twice the size of the engine.
The Wankel design is used in the seat belt pre-tensioner
system[189] in some Mercedes-Benz[190] and Volkswagen[191] cars.
When the deceleration sensors detect a potential crash, small
explosive cartridges are triggered electrically, and the resulting
pressurized gas feeds into tiny Wankel engines which rotate to
take up the slack in the seat belt systems, anchoring the driver and
passengers firmly in the seat before a collision.[192]