An internal combustion engine based on rotation rather than reciprocation that reduces complexity for many advantages. I think I've heard this story before. Oh yeah:
The Wankel engine is by far the most mature of those, and it's a lot more complicated in 3d than in a 2d cross-section. Sealing and such are an issue. Mazda has really done a lot of good things with them, and their power-weight is way better than your average 4-stroke, but it is still a niche product.
I'm not saying the Wave Disk engine isn't going to be great, I'm saying you're not going to see one of these in your car in the next 20 years, and 20 years from now, who knows what the "average car engine" is going to be and how well the wave disk engine will compare to it.
There is an argument to be made that the shift to hybrid cars opens the door for a lot of engine design variations that did not work in the past. In a normal car, the engine drives the wheels directly which puts a lot of constraints on engine performance parameters (e.g. needs to be able to generate a lot of torque at slow speed, needs to operate over a wide RPM range, etc). Today's engines are a compromise to meet those requirements. If you decouple the engine from the wheels (as in some newer hybrids) and just use the engine as a generator, it can be run at its optimum RPM all the time, and does not need to be able to generate high torque.
So, I think it is feasible that we'll see some movement away from the 4 stroke otto cycle that is standard today, and some ideas that didnt work out in the past might work out better now.
It seems to use ceramic balls which have the same function as cranks in an Otto motor, which is probably a weak spot (much wear and tear). Otherwise the idea is elegant; an actual working prototype might be nice to see.
Comments
An internal combustion engine based on rotation rather than reciprocation that reduces complexity for many advantages. I think I've heard this story before. Oh yeah:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_combustion_engine
The Wankel engine is by far the most mature of those, and it's a lot more complicated in 3d than in a 2d cross-section. Sealing and such are an issue. Mazda has really done a lot of good things with them, and their power-weight is way better than your average 4-stroke, but it is still a niche product.
I'm not saying the Wave Disk engine isn't going to be great, I'm saying you're not going to see one of these in your car in the next 20 years, and 20 years from now, who knows what the "average car engine" is going to be and how well the wave disk engine will compare to it.
There is an argument to be made that the shift to hybrid cars opens the door for a lot of engine design variations that did not work in the past. In a normal car, the engine drives the wheels directly which puts a lot of constraints on engine performance parameters (e.g. needs to be able to generate a lot of torque at slow speed, needs to operate over a wide RPM range, etc). Today's engines are a compromise to meet those requirements. If you decouple the engine from the wheels (as in some newer hybrids) and just use the engine as a generator, it can be run at its optimum RPM all the time, and does not need to be able to generate high torque.
So, I think it is feasible that we'll see some movement away from the 4 stroke otto cycle that is standard today, and some ideas that didnt work out in the past might work out better now.
Can I dream with a Ford Nucleon? ;-)
Another very interesting engine design is the Superball motor which was much hyped a few years ago, but nothing seems to have materialized:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CmGJucRDBk
It seems to use ceramic balls which have the same function as cranks in an Otto motor, which is probably a weak spot (much wear and tear). Otherwise the idea is elegant; an actual working prototype might be nice to see.