New engine for the Valk !

[BnB Tom]

http://www.engineeringtv.com:80/video/Opposed-Piston-Opposed-Cylinder

[Bobbo]

Just another way to burn diesel fuel in a 2 stroke cycle engine.  No improvement in efficiency, and the intake/exhaust port scheme limits usable torque to a narrow RPM band.  Coupled with the extra mechanical linkages for the second piston, I would think this design would be high maintenance and prone to failure.  I hope our tax dollars didn't fund this folly!   

[Chrisj CMA]

Just another way to burn diesel fuel in a 2 stroke cycle engine.  No improvement in efficiency, and the intake/exhaust port scheme limits usable torque to a narrow RPM band.  Coupled with the extra mechanical linkages for the second piston, I would think this design would be high maintenance and prone to failure.  I hope our tax dollars didn't fund this folly!   

If the addition of the twin drive arms eliminates much of the stress on the crank as he says......It would be worth it.  It seems like a simple way to make performance and fuel economy improvements to me.  Just the ability to shut down a "bank" or whatever he called it without compromising engine balance is worth the effort.  If it gets near the 40% effeciency he claims, that would certainely be a huge increse in economy. But Im not an expert in EVERYTHING like you seem to be Bobbo

[hotglue #43]

Y'all play nice in our back yard.

[BnB Tom]

Y'all play nice in our back yard.

  .. hmm seems as tho some folks get stirred up pretty easy   

                                                     

[f-Stop]

Looks like an awesome idea to me.  I know that the Army realized during the "first" Gulf War (Desert Storm) that they needed more efficient vehicles.  Their advance into Iraq exceeded their supply lines and they had to hold up just to wait for fuel.  This motor is one of the offspring from that realization.

I would suspect that we will be seeing more prototypes of this sort looking to get funding and I would hope that some of them actually work and eventually end up in the private sector. 

Oh, and the fact that this motor is somewhat of a "boxer" design does make it Valk related...right?  

[Houdini]

Coupled with the extra mechanical linkages for the second piston, I would think this design would be high maintenance and prone to failure.

Know as connecting or piston rods to the mechanically inclined, I think these parts have proved themselves already. 

I hope our tax dollars didn't fund this folly!

I'm pretty sure my tax dollars fund the Army which is paying for this research.

It looks like a great idea to me, a smaller, lighter and more efficient engine.  What's not to like?

[Bobbo]

Coupled with the extra mechanical linkages for the second piston, I would think this design would be high maintenance and prone to failure.

Know as connecting or piston rods to the mechanically inclined, I think these parts have proved themselves already. 

I hope our tax dollars didn't fund this folly!

I'm pretty sure my tax dollars fund the Army which is paying for this research.

It looks like a great idea to me, a smaller, lighter and more efficient engine.  What's not to like?

Mechanical engineers know that “connecting rods” are a subset of “mechanical linkages” and wouldn’t typically use the former to describe the twin linkages since it already has a popular definition.  Having two linkages on one piston, in addition to the longer wrist pin needed would increase the reciprocating mass, and limit the RPM of the engine.  The only way around this would be the use of exotic metals or other materials.

For our Wiki fans, here’s a note on diesel efficiency:

The diesel engine has the highest thermal efficiency of any regular internal or external combustion engine due to its very high compression ratio. Low-speed diesel engines (as used in ships and other applications where overall engine weight is relatively unimportant) often have a thermal efficiency which exceeds 50 percent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engine