FR3059384A1 - A ROTARY MOTOR WITH VORTEX TORIQUE - Google Patents

Abstract

Internal combustion engine, in particular for driving onboard generator sets in vehicles called "hybrid" or for propelling aircraft. The invention relates to a motor consisting of a torus formed of two half-shells (1) and (2) assembled by the periphery. Inside the torus can rotate a turbine consisting of a flat portion (3) and a portion carrying vanes (4). Rotation of the turbine produces a toric vortex. The blades can be either single or double. In the second case, the blade is double curvature: curvature in one direction in the near-axis part (5), curvature in the other direction in the part of the vortex remote from the axis (6). The action of the vortex produces the same effects on both parts of the blades: compression of the air before the injection of fuel and expansion of the gases in combustion after fuel injection, with production of motive power.

Description

059 384

01689 ® FRENCH REPUBLIC

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY © Publication number:

(to be used only for reproduction orders)

©) National registration number

COURBEVOIE © IntCI ⁸ : F16 H 3/10 (2017.01)

PATENT INVENTION APPLICATION

A1

©) Date of filing: 29.11.16. © Applicant (s): DAVID FABRICE— FR. (© Priority: @ Inventor (s): DAVID FABRICE. ©) Date of public availability of the request: 01.06.18 Bulletin 18/22. ©) List of documents cited in the report preliminary research: The latter was not established on the date of publication of the request. (© References to other national documents ® Holder (s): DAVID FABRICE. related: ©) Extension request (s): © Agent (s): DAVID FABRICE.

FR 3 059 384 - A1 (04) A ROTARY MOTOR WITH TORIC VORTEX.

©) Internal combustion engine, in particular intended to drive generator sets on board so-called “hybrid vehicles” or else intended to propel aircraft.

The invention relates to a motor consisting of a torus formed by two half-shells (1) and (2) assembled by the periphery. Inside the torus can rotate a turbine composed of a flat part (3) and a part carrying blades (4). The rotation of the turbine produces a toric vortex. The vanes can be either single or double. In the second case, the blade is double curved: curvature in one direction in the part close to the axis (5), curvature in the other direction in the part of the vortex distant from the axis (6). The action of the vortex produces the same effects on the two parts of the blades: compression of the air before the injection of fuel and expansion of the gases in combustion after the injection of the fuel, with production of motive force.

The present invention relates to the field of internal combustion engines, particularly engines intended to drive generator sets, in particular generator sets on board so-called “hybrid” vehicles.

State of the art

Piston engines are the most widely used internal combustion engines today. The “two-stroke” models combine real technical simplicity with a relatively low manufacturing cost. However, environmental standards will soon condemn this type of engine, as they release a significant amount of unburnt fuel, as well as particles produced by the incomplete combustion of the oil.

Classic four-stroke engines have qualities that still give them a bright future, but they have a number of shortcomings, including the nitrogen oxides they produce. Improved four-stroke engines, including variable displacement engines are announced, but engines equipped with these improvements will be expensive to produce. Industrialized forty years ago, they would have revolutionized the automotive industry, but it is feared that they will arrive on the consumer market far too late, at a bad time.

Diesel-type engines use low-cost fuels in countries where they are used only for trucks, buses and construction equipment. In countries like France, where the majority of individual vehicles run on diesel, in addition to heavy goods vehicles and coaches, diesel is not economical to produce, since it is necessary to use reforming in refineries. However, for tax reasons, diesel remains temporarily cheaper than petrol. But combustion for a short time in a diesel engine, these reject microparticles dangerous to health. Indeed, the microdrops of fuel injected into the high temperature gas contained in the piston burn on the surface, and the intense thermal flash associated with the compression wave emitted by the burning surface carbonizes the interior of the drop, which transforms into a high molecular weight aromatic polymer trapping hydrogen. The carcinogenic aromatic polymer microparticle is then released into the atmosphere. Hydrogen diffuses quickly out of the soot particle, but it remains in the environment for a very long time. Their small diameter means that said particles reach the pulmonary alveoli. In the alveoli, they will be phagocytosed by the macrophages which enter and leave the lumen of the alveoli by diapedesis. The particles that settle in the bronchi will be mobilized by the eyelashes lining them, and will then be swallowed. Their carcinogenic potential can therefore be expressed throughout the body, with a predilection for the lungs. The same problem is found, although less acutely, in "injection" petrol engines.

In all piston engines, injecting water or recycling part of the burnt gases improves efficiency. Water is a particularly active catalyst, as are the free radicals contained in the burnt gases (It would be more correct to speak in this case of "unburnt gases", because the rapid combustion of the fuel is never complete in any engine piston, including in engines where the fuel is introduced in the vapor phase via a carburetor. In all cases, the engines release a significant amount of carbon monoxide, very toxic gas and combustible gas, which gas will not burn in the cylinder to produce live force, and will unfortunately unnecessarily heat the catalytic converter, when it is present.)

Turbine engines, industrialized in the first half of the last century in the form of fixed gas turbines, then naval, then in the form of turbojets and turbopropellers have never imposed themselves in the automobile, with the exception of some military applications in the armored field.

Indeed, the yield of these machines is relatively low, due to the moderate compression rate, and also because of a fairly high unburnt rate. Indeed, the fuel journey time in the combustion chamber is very short: combustion is always incomplete.

On some turbine engines, attempts have been made to insert a heat exchanger that heats the air at the inlet using hot gases from the exhaust, which increases efficiency. The principle has been adapted on experimental turbine engines using a rotary perforated ceramic disc which passes successively in front of the hot gas outlet and in front of the air inlet. This rotating disc can also serve as a support for catalysts intended to destroy soot particles and to oxidize unburnt gases, or even to destroy nitrogen oxides. (It's sort of like a "rotating catalytic converter" in a way.) By heating the intake air, the efficiency of the engine is increased. For both technical and economic reasons, this very ingenious device was not imposed industrially. In any case, gas turbines are complicated and expensive engines, and their performance remains modest. As stated above, the ignited gases remain in the combustion chamber for a relatively short time, which results in the release of many unburnt hydrocarbons. It’s a shame, because gas turbines have characteristics that made them suitable for driving alternators in hybrid vehicles.

We have sought to give internal combustion piston engines the same advantages as turbine engines, by imagining many models with rotary pistons. The Wankel engine is one of the few rotary engines to be crowned with industrial production. Many models have been imagined. Most of them are variations around the Wankel principle, that is to say that they comprise a rotary piston of more or less complex shape determining spaces of variable volumes during its rotation in a cavity with a complementary profile. These motors are all based on the principle of rotary pumps invented in Florence during the Renaissance. The problem is that leaks and friction are unacceptable for engines, while they are tolerable in a pump, in which the pumped liquid is also used for lubrication and cooling. The dramatic problem of joints will be discussed below.

Recently, the rotary nutator disc motor has been used in experimental drones. With the Wankel engine, it is the only rotary engine on the market. The advantage of the nutator disc motor is that the main seal is a circular "segment", as in a piston engine. However, it requires secondary seals to guarantee sealing at the level of the septum which cuts the disc. In addition, its complex shape makes it difficult to manufacture.

Three-dimensional variants have been devised, such as sphere-shaped motors, nested screws, or even motors comprising pistons in the form of rotary cones which mesh with one another.

Such motors, made up of very complex shapes, would be particularly costly to mass produce, assuming that a prototype could be operated. An extremely ingenious type of engine derived from the Wankel engine has recently been proposed: it comprises a piston of more or less ellipsoidal shape which is crossed by the intake air tangentially, which makes it possible to cool it, which doesn’t was not possible in the case of the Wankel engine. (Liquid Piston) Prototypes based on this principle work, however, the large area of rotating joints remains a technical challenge.

Indeed, the main problem of rotary motors remains unsolved: the problem of seals. On a Wankel engine, however particularly elegant in principle, it is necessary to design linear seals at each edge of the rotary piston, but also seals on the sides (flanges). On paper, all rotary motors work, but in reality, friction surfaces become very large, which causes a reduction in yield and excessive oil consumption.

In many models of engines made up of complex shapes, it is not possible to circulate oil in contact with important moving parts, or even to cool them, which is unacceptable for regular operation and without breakdowns of these engines.

The cars of the future will not be electric, as the majority of drivers are disgusted with the idea of breaking down far from any electrical outlet. The cars of the future will be plug-in hybrid vehicles: that is to say, electric rolling vehicles with a thermal load extender. Current heat engines are not suitable for this ecological objective, as we have seen above. And this observation is valid in the same way for internal combustion engines as for external combustion engines of the Stirling type. The faults of Stirling-type engines and their variants will not be discussed here, as they only managed to win in submarines, due to their remarkable discretion.

To propel the hybrid cars of the future, on the contrary, it will require a simple engine of correct performance, low pollution, and above all inexpensive. Indeed, high capacity batteries using light metals and polymers are very expensive and will remain so, (all the more so since one day it will be necessary to integrate the cost of their recycling in the price and regulations of purchase.) and it will therefore be necessary to cut corners on all other expenditure items to offer hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles at a competitive price.

It is therefore necessary to design an engine which is simple to manufacture by deep drawing techniques with the minimum of machining, and which combines the qualities of piston engines without inheriting too many faults from turbine engines. The compression ratio and temperature should remain moderate to avoid the production of nitrogen oxides. If the compression ratio remains relatively low, then the combustion gases must remain in the reaction zone long enough for their oxidation to take place completely.

If possible, the engine must include a reinjection of a small part of the exhaust gases at the intake, which increases the efficiency, by the catalytic action of the water vapor present in the exhaust gases, and also by the catalytic action of other reactive species such as free radicals.

The engine must also incorporate a heat exchanger to increase efficiency, and if possible a catalytic exhaust, so as to minimize pollution. Ideally, the entire internal surface of the engine should be covered with a porous catalytic coating, but this will need to resolve the friction problem. In a context of uncertain supplies, this engine could advantageously be multi-fuel, accepting petrol, diesel, vegetable oils, even natural gas, lean gas, hydrogen or even solid fuels in powder and wet boiled form containing combustible solid or pasty substances. (Concentrated black stationery liquors, cane pulp, bagasse, molasses, wood shavings, sawdust, coal dust, wet oil sands, straw and chopped leaves, this list is not exhaustive.) Surprisingly a priori, it is theoretically it is possible to burn a fuel containing a significant proportion of water, provided that all this water is first transformed into vapor. The transformation into vapor must obviously take place after injection into the cylinder. Once this vaporization step has been carried out, combustion takes place correctly, as long as there is sufficient oxygen remaining.

Such a multi-fuel engine will be particularly attractive for producing electricity in the hybrid military vehicles of the future. Armor officers would therefore be sure to always find fuel near the battlefield. A hybrid armored vehicle will be capable of good autonomy on the road, at low speed, and lightning-fast acceleration in an all-terrain combat situation. It will be advantageous to include the electric motors in the rims of the wheels, and the batteries on the sides, bottom and roof of the vehicle, which will increase the protection of personnel, especially if using a ceramic electrolyte support or made of textile fibers as resistant as kevlar (Kevlar itself is not a good candidate, because of its instability in the presence of acids or bases). Today's military tracked vehicles are a strange survival from the first part of the 20th century, a time when trucks had narrow wooden wheels covered with solid rubber tires. Current tires have nothing to envy to the tracks with regard to their off-road capability, provided that the number of axles is equal to or greater than 3. Wheeled armored vehicles do not require a tank carrier. Tires do not have the vulnerability of caterpillars to anti-tank mines which very easily "rip" a tracked armored vehicle. A 6-axle armored vehicle can lose a wheel on a mine without losing its mobility. It’s already tricky to hook up a broken track on a gun square, but it’s an "impossible mission" in the mud and under enemy fire. And an immobilized tank is a destroyed tank. On the contrary, a wheel destroyed by a mine can be changed without too many problems, especially if an oleopneumatic suspension or integrated jacks allow the body to be lifted automatically. The tires will obviously be chosen from the large models already fitted to civilian trucks. Spare wheels on the roof will further add protection against intelligent missiles arriving from above. The batteries will be supplied with electricity by several alternators coupled to vortex motors, and because of their relatively flat shape, it will be extremely advantageous to place them outside the vehicle, which will further increase the protection against charges. hollow or against under-calibrated hyper-velocity projectiles. The armament, which is made up of smart missiles that are self-guided by their video cameras and fired vertically, will be placed in silos on the sides, which will further add to the protection of the crew. The wheels being fully electrically controlled, whether for their motorization or for their orientation, the heavily armored crew station may be located randomly at a variable location inside the body, and this for the same series of armored vehicles. Around the crew station, seats will be able to transport a platoon in still very good protection conditions.

In a more peaceful way, in individual hybrid cars, the vortex engines will be placed at the front, and the batteries under the floor of the body to lower the center of gravity, and the silhouette of these vehicles will evoke much the current "Minivans", especially if the electric motors are also placed in the rims. Due to their thin sheet steel construction, the vortex motors will crash in the event of a head-on collision. In doing so, they will absorb a large amount of kinetic energy, greatly increasing passenger safety. On the contrary, current engines do not deform, and directly transmit impact energy to the legs of front passengers of a vehicle, which are crushed and shredded by this huge castile projectile. If the steering of the drive wheels is carried out by electrical controls, which is desirable to eliminate the heavy and complex steering column, we will eliminate another potentially deadly projectile when it crosses the rib cage of the driver: the axis of the steering wheel of management.

The walls of the cylinder of the vortex motors being covered with a rough catalytic coating, friction should be eliminated as much as possible, and rotary joints should be avoided. Only the essential friction involving the bearings of the motor shaft should be tolerated, of course. If it is possible to cool the supports of the motor shaft to a sufficiently low temperature, the anti-friction alloy bearings may advantageously be replaced by ball bearings or needle or cylinder bearings.

Description of the invention

The invention is based on the aerodynamic properties of the toric vortices. The vortices have been described by Leonardo da Vinci, Victor Schauberger then Théodore Von Karman. Toric vortices are particularly stable aerodynamic structures. They can even be called freestanding structures.

A “smoke circle” produced by a “Havana” smoker is a toric vortex. At the beginning of the last century, farmers in the southwest of France used "vortex cannons" to protect themselves from hail. The effects of these cannons on the hail are still discussed, but what is beyond doubt is that the vortices produced by these devices remained stable while moving at high speed towards the layers of clouds several kilometers away, where their effects were perfectly visible.

It is remarkable that whatever the amount of energy used to produce a vortex, it always keeps the same shape: a vortex produced by a child's toy such as a pistol that shoots smoke rings is as stable as 'a vortex produced by the detonation of an acetylene / oxygen mixture in an anti-hail gun, and vice versa.

If we succeeded in compressing the fuel mixture of an engine using a toric vortex, and doing the same with the burnt gases, then the cylinder of this engine could be made of thin sheet metal, which would greatly reduce the structure of the engine . Indeed, it is the vortex itself which would ensure its own containment. However, it is then necessary to extract the energy from the vortex and here is how the present invention proposes to proceed:

Let us first consider an analogy to explain the operation of the invention: The rotary wing of a helicopter can behave in several ways. In the most usual case, when the aircraft is ascending or hovering, or descending at moderate speed, the air streams are accelerated when passing through the airfoil, and the induced lift allows the lift of the craft. (Figure 1) In the case of a descent in autorotation, it is the opposite: the air streams are slowed down and move away "in parasol" while crossing the wing upwards, and there also, the induced lift allows the lift of the machine. (Figure 2). If the aircraft changes from a hovering speed to a descent at too fast a speed, the air streams spread below the machine, and therefore the air slows down, which causes a loss of lift. . In addition, the air nets are dangerously folded up, and the air may therefore return to the airfoil several times. (Figure 3). If such a phenomenon occurs, we enter the regime of "Vortex Ring State" (Vortex Ring State) and the lift collapses dramatically. (Figure 4). We will not consider here the evolution of a helicopter close to the ground. In such a case, other vortices can appear under the craft. The rotation of the propeller produces a bearing force P. If the helicopter descends too quickly vertically, the blades of the craft enter the vortex (v), and the latter locks around the rotary wing, producing a dramatic decrease in lift p and then the fall and destruction of the craft. (Figure 4) This is why the landings of rotary wing machines are usually done while maintaining a non-zero horizontal speed, so as to prevent the blades from entering the vortex. It should be noted that almost all of the figures representing the vortex ring regime published in piloting works or even in aerodynamic treatises are false. Depending on the shape of the cabin, a small secondary vortex can also form at the root of the wing, without much practical consequence. It is not drawn in the figures.

The torque constituted by a propeller or a turbine interacting with a toric vortex constitutes an example of a self-supporting structure: whatever the forces applied, this structure tends to remain unchanged. In such a case, the propeller remains trapped in the vortex, exchanging its energy with it. It takes considerable effort to extract it from the vortex.

We are going to use this aerodynamic principle by building our rotary engine around a toric vortex. The structure of the engine will therefore not have to fight mainly against internal pressures, as in a piston engine, but this structure essentially to channel the forces of the moving gases to use them for the best of our industrial interests.

Instead of using many discs with fixed and movable blades, as in a turbine engine, we will use a single movable turbine, but the vortex will force the gases to pass through it many times. This turbine will be used as much to compress the gases before combustion as to then recover their live force to drive the axis connected to the alternator. Whether it is in the case where the engine is intended to drive an electric generator, or in the cases where it will for example drive a propeller, or even the wheels of a vehicle, or even a pump, its speed rotation should remain modest so as not to have to use a speed reducer.

The toroidal vortex motor which is the subject of the present invention consists of a metal torus or of another heat resistant material (stamped, molded, printed by additive synthesis or else machined) formed by two half-shells (1) and (2) assembled by the periphery. (Figure 5) For the sake of industrial design, the half-shells (otherwise called hemitores in the description) seem quite thick in the figures of this patent, but they can be formed from a very thin stamped steel sheet. Inside the torus can rotate a turbine composed of a flat part (3) and a part carrying blades (4). The rotation of the turbine produces a vortex (v). The vanes can be either single or double. In the first case, said blades only interact with the part of the vortex close to the axis. In the second case, the blade is double curved: curvature in one direction in the part close to the axis (5), curvature in the other direction in the part of the vortex distant from the axis (6). (Figure 6) The action of the vortex contributes to the same effects on the two parts of the blades: compression of the air before the injection of fuel and expansion of the gases in combustion after the injection of the fuel. The turbine can be manufactured by stamping a thin sheet, or by forging a thicker sheet, or by additive synthesis. The turbine can be made of metal or any other heat-resistant material. In any case, complicated machining will not be necessary, with the exception of deburring of the parts, and possibly rectification. The turbine will also be covered with a catalytic coating (c) at the blades. The flat part of the turbine is fixed to an axis (7) which is connected either to an electric generator (8) or to another device using the driving force produced, for example a propeller, a hydraulic pump, etc. .. (Figure 6)

When the blades of the turbine have a double curvature, the part of the blades situated in the middle thereof has a curvature of variable shape, including a section of zero total curvature, that is to say a region without aerodynamic lift . In order to allow the vortex to wind correctly and without turbulence inside the torus, it may be advantageous to secure the blades with each other by a tubular part (9), of toric shape, said tube allowing a smoother winding of the vortex, while adding to the strength of the turbine. (Figure 7)

The air is admitted tangentially to the torus through an intake manifold (10) and the burnt gases escape from it through the exhaust manifold (11) As in a piston engine, the cross-sectional area of the manifold d The exhaust is preferably greater than the cross-sectional area of the intake manifold, so that the burnt gases exit at the lowest possible pressure, having given up most of their energy to the blades of the turbine.

The turbine blades have a concavity facing the intake manifold. Thus, compression is not carried out with maximum efficiency, but power extraction before exhaust takes place, on the contrary, but the best possible aerodynamic conditions, (Figure 9) Blades with variable pitch would be in theory more efficient, but the mechanical complication added by such a provision is not usually justified, including in large stationary machines.

Between the intake and the exhaust, the torus is blocked by a profiled metal diaphragm (12), which diaphragm is pierced with a passage (13) allowing the passage of the movable blades (4). (Figures 8, 9 and 10) Said diaphragm may have the shape of a double inclined plane perpendicular to the movement of the blades (blades), and it will be pierced with a slot having just the thickness of these. (13) This diaphragm can advantageously have the shape of two cones opposite by the base, each cone (14 & 15) being split by a passage (13) allowing the turbine to pass through it. (Figure 8) The role of the first cone is to allow the intake air to easily wind around a vortex (v), and the exhaust cone will serve to gradually open the vortex (v), and to guide it to the exhaust manifold. (Figure 10) It is immediately clear that a certain proportion of the burnt gases will pass through this diaphragm (12), without escaping through the exhaust pipe (11). Far from reducing the efficiency of the engine, this re-injection of exhaust gases will increase it. Indeed, said exhaust gases will cool by mixing with the fresh air coming from the intake manifold, and heat it, this simple effect increasing the efficiency. But above all, the reactive chemical species contained in the burnt gases will effectively catalyze the combustion of the fuel as soon as it is injected into the cylinder. An ignition device (16) such as a car spark plug will ignite the fuel mixture. The fuel is injected at (17), but it is also possible to provide a stepped injection at several other points of the torus such as (18), (19) etc ...

After starting the engine and warming up the turbine and the internal walls, the ignition of the fuel will most often occur spontaneously, and the flame will rise more or less to the point of injection, without causing any problems.

Note that a vortex motor does not require extensive liquid or air cooling. On the contrary, it will be advantageous to isolate the major part of the torus with a ceramic fiber (20), provided that the temperature of the torus does not rise too high, thus degrading the mechanical properties of the torus. Only the central flat part will be provided with fins used for cooling by the intake air, or by air specially blown on said fins. On large stationary machines, this flat part can be cooled by a liquid, this liquid being able to be the fuel (heavy oil, for example)

The advantage of a stepped injection at several other points of the torus (18), (19), is to allow a complete combustion of the fuel at the level of the first injector (blue flame) At the level of the following injectors the oxygen rate drops , but the temperature of the gas increases, as does its concentration of chemical species catalyzing the reaction (water vapor, free radicals) The combustion therefore always remains almost complete. Such an arrangement comprising multiple injectors is particularly suitable for large vortex engines, such as marine engines, hybrid locomotives or even power station engines.

Of course, in the case of the use of a granular solid fuel, or powder, or a pasty fuel, we will use a device of the prior art to introduce this fuel into the torus. (For example one or more worms.) We can also use two different fuels: for example a fuel which is easy to ignite like natural gas, then then an ad hoc device will introduce the second fuel (for example a lignite slurry and d 'water) in positions located further on the torus, in the middle of the hot gases which will allow the rapid ignition of the second fuel.

Engine operation:

The engine cannot start on its own: it must be started using, for example, the alternator as an engine, or using an auxiliary engine. The turbine can also be launched using compressed air, or using a pyrotechnic device.

The turbine will stir the air in the torus and cause a vortex movement. Each time it passes through the turbine blades, the air speed and pressure increases. In (17) an injection device penetrates the fuel into the engine. This device can consist of an injector of the prior art, injecting the fuel in bursts, or else of a sprayer injecting it continuously. In this case, an auxiliary pump will be used to increase the fuel pressure, so that it is higher than the air pressure in the toric "cylinder", which will be referred to below as "torus".

Brewed by the vortex, the fuel will mix with the compressed air and the mixture will ignite at the spark plug. Depending on the speed of rotation of the gas mixture, the flame may go up more or less towards the injection point. The compressed gas is heated, and the pressure increases. The burnt gases will then relax by giving their momentum to the turbine blades, eventually escaping in (11). During the expansion, the burnt gases also give off heat to the blades. These pass through the diaphragm slot, and then transfer their calories to the fresh air entering the engine at the intake. The overall efficiency of the engine is thus increased, without requiring a rotary temperature exchanger: the turbine itself constitutes this rotary exchanger.

We notice that the gases in combustion pass many times through the turbine, and that these cover a relatively long path in the torus: we can estimate the path of the gases in combustion at several meters, this for our prototype 30 cm in diameter. Even if the mixture between the fuel and the air is not perfect at the time of the initiation of combustion, any soot or the unburnt fuel will have all the time to be completely consumed during their helical journey to the exhaust light.

The turbine only touches the motor at the bearings (or even ball bearings) (21) of the shaft (7). Cooling fins protect this axis against the possible passage of hot gas. These bearings can therefore be made up of ball or needle bearings.

The Tesla effect helps to keep hot gases away from the axis of the engine. Since the turbine only touches the rest of the engine at the axis, friction is therefore nonexistent, and the entire internal surface of the torus, as well as the entire surface of the blades, can be covered by a catalytic deposit similar to that found on the wall of catalytic cooking ovens or in catalytic converters.

This type of engine will therefore be extremely polluting, and its combustion efficiency will be excellent. It is possible to texture the internal face of the torus by its more or less inclined grooves which will increase the catalytic surface and possibly slow the progression of the gases towards the exhaust, or on the contrary will accelerate it, according to the technical needs of the application. considered.

If the engine is intended to drive an electric generator, it will not be useful to provide a clutch. This could be the case if the engine was intended to drive a rotary wing, so as to avoid oversizing the starting engine. The rotary airfoil would not be engaged until after the vortex engine had started.

Since there is no contact between the turbine and the torus, the engine can be powered with solid fuel in powder form: coal dust, bran, plant dust, sawdust and dust, powdered metal sulfides and sulfur powder, powdered bituminous shales, various flours, in particular spoiled animal flours or contaminated with a pathogenic agent of the prion type, paper, sawdust of cardboard or sawdust of shredded wood, etc. We can also use liquid fuel containing in suspension or in solution of combustible materials: concentrated black stationery liquors, concentrated deballasting water, fatty water from the food and catering industry, fatty water from the degreasing stages of water purification stations, cane pulp , bagasse, molasses, wood shavings, sawdust, carbon suspension in the water transported by pipeline, (after a rapid spin partial.) suspensions of various fuels in fuel oil, slurry of dust, wet tar sands, straw and chopped leaves, this list not being exhaustive.

In the case of the oil sands, these must be moist enough so that the temperature at the end of combustion remains low enough to avoid the melting of the sands, which would cause the engine to seize up by the siliceous slag formed.

In a large vortex motor, one can even imagine the use of wood chips, even plastic, fragments of tires or various shredded waste, for example household shredded and sifted. In all cases, it will be necessary to provide a system intended to treat the mineral fly ash which will remain at the outlet, and also a gas washing system. The injection of limestone powder at the same time as the gaseous, liquid or solid fuel will make it possible to fix any sulfur oxides, and other acid gases such as hydrogen chloride. The introduction of gypsum powder at the same time as the gaseous, liquid or solid fuel will cause the formation of plaster dust and water vapor, which will increase the yield and thus make it possible to produce part of the electrical energy required by the industrial installations of a plasterer, or even generate a slight surplus. The heat of the exhaust gases can of course be recovered in an ad hoc boiler, for heating or electric cogeneration.

It should be noted that the passage of bituminous shale powder in a vortex motor will give at the output a pulverulent compound very similar to the "clinker" obtained in cement factories, except that it will not be necessary to grind and grind it to obtain a cement of inferior quality but acceptable for foundation works or road works.

If the fuel has a high sulfur content (heating oil, dust, lignite, etc.), it is possible to inject limestone dust at the same time. Gypsum dust will be recovered at the outlet, which can be recovered. Such “gray plaster” should not be used to coat the interior of dwellings, as well as to make plaster panels, because of the pollutants that it is likely to contain (uranium, polonium and radium, other heavy metals , unburnt hydrocarbons, even unburnt dioxins), but it can be economically used to manufacture the "cores" used in the sanitary ceramics industry, and in other industrial processes.

By injecting pulverulent marls with a fuel, a clinker dust can be obtained at the outlet which can be used to make lower quality concretes. These concretes can be used for civil engineering works, road engineering or even to establish foundations.

Whether in fixed or mobile installations, the possible injection of water in (22) or (23), after complete oxidation of the fuel will cause the formation of water vapor, and decrease the temperature of the burnt gases and therefore further increase the yield. Such water injection is however more particularly suitable for high power fixed installations.

In engines intended to operate in anoxic environments such as space vacuum or the underwater environment, it will be possible to inject an oxidizing agent in (24), and a fuel in (25), and possibly to alternate new fuel injection and oxidizer at (26), (27), (28) and at other points on the periphery of the torus. It should be noted that the operation of this engine is free of vibrations, which is very important in use aboard a submersible, an area in which stealth is an essential concern. Of course, the passage of the blades in front of the exhaust manifold causes an inevitable "siren effect", but exhaust baffles with baffles of the prior art can easily mitigate this phenomenon. A reverberation chamber system (29) intended to phase the sound pulses and recombine them with the next pulse can also be used. (Figure 11) We can also achieve a configuration comprising two exhaust pipes (30) and (31). (Figure 12) These pipes will then meet so that the sound pulses caused by the passage of the blades in front of said exhaust pipes are found in phase opposition. This will greatly reduce the siren effect, always for the sake of stealth. (Figure 10) The vortex motor which is the subject of the present description can also be powered by concentrated hydrogen peroxide, the catalytic coating of the toric cylinder causing the decomposition of the peroxide. It is also possible to inject hydrogen peroxide and a permanganate solution into the engine by another injector, this making it possible to use a toric cylinder not covered with a catalytic coating.

An application of the present invention could be electric generators for spacecraft, using the couple of propellants of the main engine. Another application of the present invention could be the propulsion of torpedoes or underwater vehicles. The use of a “Otto fuel” type of fuel is also possible with a vortex motor, and this all the more advantageously since the injection can be carried out easily in a staged manner, which avoids excessively high pressures and too high temperatures at a single injector, which reduces the risk of switching to detonation mode, either of a monergol or of a couple of propellants.

The main application of the present invention remains, however, the production of inexpensive electric generators for hybrid vehicles, or else inexpensive motors for propelling drones. Multicopters are one of the most interesting applications of this new engine, due to its low weight compared to its power. In order to be able to allow the computerized stabilization devices to instantaneously apply the corrections imposed by the gyroscopes and by the pilot to the propellers (32), a small alternator (33) will be included in each engine axis, (34) or else an alternator will be integrated into the engine as shown below. (Figure 13) The circuit will be open in stationary conditions, but if a correction is necessary, some alternators will switch to generator mode, and will therefore produce more or less strong immediate braking on the vortex motors concerned. (35) The current produced will be diverted by the electronic circuit of the prior art (36) to the other motors, and their alternators will then operate as motors, producing an additional thrust on the motors concerned, and this with a time of extremely weak reaction, (figure 13) In order to reduce the weight of the machine, the orientable camera present on many drones will be replaced by a ring of fixed cameras directed at an angle of 45 degrees from the vertical, (37) and whose fields of vision will overlap. In the same way, possible armaments, such as self-propelled grenades (38) will be placed in fixed tubes, since the machine will be able to orient itself towards a target in an extremely fast way. Care will be taken that the vents (39) do not direct the propellant gases of the projectiles in the circle traversed by the propellers.

Due to its low weight and moderate cost, the vortex engine can also replace two-stroke engines in a large number of applications that do not require significant torque at the engine output: lawn mowers, leaf blowers, engines outboards for low power boats. This replacement will be carried out for the greatest benefit of the environment, since two-stroke engines are particularly polluting, unlike vortex engines constituting the present invention.

Due to its low weight and relatively flat discoid profile, the vortex motor can be used to extend the technology of hybrid motors to two wheels, bicycles and motorcycles. In such an application, the vortex motors will advantageously find their place inside the wheels.

Due to the relatively high peripheral speed of the blades, it is obviously possible to extend them by a ring carrying permanent magnets intended to induce a current in fixed windings placed at the periphery. The alternator will thus be integrated into the engine. In this case, a metal part must be provided to prevent heat from reaching the magnets. The permanent magnets can obviously be fixed on the flat part of the turbine (3) between the blades and the axis. Of course, in both cases, in order to avoid Foucauld currents, the casing and the hemiters will be made from an insulating or poorly conductive material (ceramic or stainless steel).

In order to avoid the mechanical complications and the additional weight caused by the use of permanent magnets at the periphery, it will be advantageous to include in the outer crown extending the blades of the turbine two crowns of conductive metal respectively housed in a groove of the turbine, said conductive rings being connected by radial bars of conductive metal, copper or aluminum. The part of the turbine comprising these conductive bars will pass through the magnetic air gap of two or three stators comprising windings of conductive wire Of course, in order to avoid wasting all the power in the form of eddy currents, the turbine must be produced ceramic, or a material of low electrical conductivity. The magnetic properties of the material constituting the turbine are less important, because the thickness traversed by the magnetic flux is very small, of the order of a few millimeters or even a few centimeters for large machines. Sintered stainless steel powder can be a good compromise material for manufacturing the turbine by additive synthesis. The resistivity of this material is high, and the magnetic susceptibility correct. This will make a discoid asynchronous generator of the prior art particularly light and easy to make. This generator can obviously serve as an asynchronous starting motor, then switch to generator mode.

In another embodiment of the invention, the asynchronous generator will not be located in the outer part of the turbine, but just before the blades, in the flat part of the turbine. (3) Two rings of conductive metal (37) and (38) will be respectively housed in a groove of the turbine, said conductive rings being connected by radial bars (39) of conductive metal, copper or aluminum. (Figure 14) The part of the turbine comprising these conductive bars will pass through the magnetic air gap of two or three laminated silicon steel stators (40) comprising one or more windings of conductive wires (41). The magnetic circuit of the laminated silicon steel stator will have advantage to penetrate the motor casing by orifices (42) made watertight by welding or by hard friction insertion of the magnetic cores. (40) The number of these stators may be variable, the number of 3 being a minimum to avoid producing too much vibration. (On the other hand, a single stator would cause a crippling unbalance). This will make a discoid asynchronous generator particularly light and easy to make. This generator can obviously serve as an asynchronous starting motor, then switch to generator mode.

It is of course possible to stack two or more of these toroidal vortex motors so as to increase the power produced, this power being carried by a common axis.

Claims (16)

1) Internal combustion engine device characterized in that it comprises a metal or ceramic torus which can be formed of two half-shells, (1) and (2) and inside which turns a metal or ceramic composed of a flat part (3) and a part carrying vanes (4), the movement of this turbine generating a toric vortex. 2) internal combustion engine device according to claim 1 characterized in that the metal or ceramic turbine is composed of a flat part (3) and a part carrying blades (4), said blades having a double curvature , this double curvature allowing the turbine to interact with the part of the vortex close to the axis of the motor, and also to interact with the part of the vortex distant from the axis. 3) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the metal or ceramic turbine is composed of a flat part (3) and a part carrying blades (4), said blades comprising a simple curvature, said curvature allowing the turbine to interact with the part of the vortex close to the axis of the motor. 4) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an air intake manifold (10) and an exhaust manifold (11), between the intake and the exhaust, the torus being blocked by a profiled metal diaphragm (12), which diaphragm being pierced with a passage (13) allowing the passage of the vanes (4) and also the passage of a certain part of the exhaust gases. 5) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an ignition device (16) such as an automobile spark plug intended to ignite the fuel mixture, the fuel being injected into the toroid at a point (17) located before the ignition device. 6) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises several injection devices arranged at several other points of the torus such as points (18), (19), said points of injection located after the ignition device (16). 7) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises one or more devices according to the prior art, said devices allowing the introduction into the torus of a solid, granular, pulverulent fuel. or pasty. 8) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises several devices according to the prior art, said devices successively allowing the injection into the torus of an easily flammable fuel and then the introduction into the torus of a gaseous, liquid, granular, pulverulent or pasty secondary fuel, the combustion of said secondary fuels being thus facilitated. 9) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the metal or ceramic turbine is composed of a flat part (3) and a part carrying blades (4), said blades comprising a double curvature, the part of the blades situated in the middle of these being secured by a toroidal tube, (9) said tube allowing a more regular winding of the vortex, while adding to the solidity of the turbine. 10) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an oxidizer is injected into the torus at (22), and a fuel at (25), and that alternatively new injections are alternated. of fuel and oxidizer at (26), (27) and at other points on the periphery of the torus. 11) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an energetic chemical compound of the monergol type is injected into the torus at (22), the surface of the torus and of the blades of the turbine being coated with an agent catalyzing the decomposition of said monergol, or else the simple temperature of the hot parts of the engine being sufficient to initiate the decomposition of said monergol. 12) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that magnets are arranged on any part of the rotor, the rotation of said magnets inducing an alternating electric current in windings arranged on the fixed parts of the engine. 13) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotor carries rings of conductive metal (37) and (38) connected by radial bars (39), which pass through the air gap d '' at least two or three magnetic circuits (40) surrounded by coils of conductive wire (41), thus producing an asynchronous discoid generator. 14) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the exhaust of the burnt gases is effected by an exhaust pipe (11) comprising a reverberation chamber (28) whose shape and size will be defined in such a way that the sound pulses caused by the passage of the blades in front of the exhaust pipe (11) are in phase opposition with the pulses reflected by the chamber (28), this in order to reduce the noise produced by engine. 15) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the exhaust of the burnt gases is effected by an exhaust pipe (11) dividing into two branches (30) and (31) of which the shape and size will be defined in such a way that the sound pulsations caused 5 by the passage of the blades in front of the exhaust pipe (11) and passing through the branch (30) find themselves in phase opposition with the pulsations passing through the branch (31), this in order to reduce the noise produced by the engine . 16) Internal combustion engine device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a small alternator (33) is fixed to each axis 10 motor, or is integrated into the motor according to claims 12 or 13, this so as to be able to allow computerized stabilization devices to instantly apply the corrections imposed by the gyroscopes and by the pilot of a multicopter. 1/9 2/9