US3299864A - Rotary-engine rotors - Google Patents

Description

Jan 24, 1967 G. DE coYE DE CASTELET 3,299,864A

ROTARY-ENG INE ROTORS Filed Oct. 4, 1965 Mhjr nited States Patent C 3,299,864 ROTARY-ENGINE ROTORS Gatan de Coye de Castelet, Billancourt, France, as-

signor to Regie Nationale des Usines Renault, Billancourt, France Filed Uct. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 492,621 Claims priority, application France, Nov. 13, 1964, 994,904, Patent 1,422,344 1 Claim. (Cl. 12S-S) This invention relates to rotary-engine rotors cooled by a cooling liquid flowing through a peripheral passage, and more particularly to improvements in `design aimed at ensuring more effective cooling.

It is customary to stiften the wall forming the outer contour of the rotor by means of ribs which are parallel to the rotor bisecting plane and therefore ylocated inside the peripheral passage, parallel with the direction of flow of the cooling liquid.

This flow is consequently of a laminar character and the heat transfer coeicient between the liquid and the hot wall is low.

Now it is Well known that this coefficient is considerably augmented when the ow is made turbulent. Systematic experiments have demonstrated that:

the heat transfer coefficient is greatly improved when the longitudinal ribs are replaced by staggered spikes; and that the best coeicent is obtained when the ribs are arranged transversely in zig-zag fashion on the two walls of the passage.

These solutions cannot, however, be applied in practice, as the former fails to impart adequate rigidity to the casting while the latter is very diicult to carry into practice.

The present invention provides a solution the effectiveness of which lies intermediate the two solutions referred to and which consists in interconnecting the two walls of the peripheral passage by means of staggered columns.

This invention relates to rotary-engine rotors embodying this improvement.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying nonlimitative exemplary drawing of a rotary-engine rotor of the four-lobed type, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross sectional-view of the rotor;

FIGURE 2 is a half-section taken through the line II- II of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section take through the line III- III of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 4 is a developed section through the bisecting plane IV-IV of the peripheral passage.

As FIGURE 1 clearly shows, the rotor consists essentially of a rim 1 and a `hub 2.

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Rim 1 has, coextensive therewith either over its entire perimeter or level only with the lobes involved in the explosions as shown in the figure), an inner wall 3 connected to the rim by lateral walls 31 and 32, thereby forming a peripheral passage 4 through which the cooling liquid flows.

This liquid is conveyed, for instance, to the apex of the lobe through a hollow arm or spoke 5 and is discharged at the ends of the lobe through hollow spokes 6 and 7.

The present invention consists in replacing the customary arrangement (in accordance with which the rim 1 is stiened by ribs parallel to the direction of ow of the liquid, i.e. in this case parallel to the bisecting plane of the rotor) by staggered columns 3.

Thus, as is more particularly shown on FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, provision may be made, for instance, for five rows of columns. At the places where they cannot be provided, for example at the outlets of the hollow spokes, the columns are rep-laced by spikes 9 devoid of contact with the wall 3.

Consequently, all other things being equal, cooling is improved, that is to say that the temperature rise in the rotor is smaller than with the customary arrangement in which the rim is stiffened by ribs.

I claim:

A rotary-engine rotor comprising a peripheral passage `which is formed by the rotor rim and an inner Wall connected thereto by lateral walls and through which ows a cooling fluid, characterized in that the inner rim surface forming the outer wall of said passage is connected to said inner wall by staggered columns, it being possible for said columns to be replaced locally by spikes at points where said inner wall is absent.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,102,682 9/ 1963 Paschke 23 0-145 3,111,884 11/1963 Peras 123-8 3,112,870 12/1963 Bentele 230-210 3,131,679 5/1964 Peras 103-130 3,176,915 4/1965 Bentele et al 230210 3,204,614 9/1965 Huber 230-210 3,206,109 9/1965 Paschke 230-145 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,359,797 3/1964 France. 1,372,662 8/1964 France.

978,210 12/1964 Great Britain.

992,419 5/ 1965 Great Britain.

DONLEY I. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

W. I. GOODLIN, Assistant Examiner.

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