The Anzani radial was considerably developed, special attention
being paid to this type by its makers, and by 1914 the Anzani list
comprised seven different sizes of air-cooled radials. Of these the
largest had twenty cylinders, developing 200 brake horse-power--it
was virtually a double radial--and the smallest was the original 30
horse-power three-cylinder design. A six-cylinder model was formed by
a combination of two groups of three cylinders each, acting upon a
double-throw crankshaft; the two crank pins were set at 180 degrees to
each other, and the cylinder groups were staggered by an amount equal
to the distance between the centres of the crank pins. Ten-cylinder
radial engines are made with two groups of five cylinders acting upon
two crank pins set at 180 degrees to each other; the largest Anzani
‘ten’ developed 125 horse-power at 1,200 revolutions per minute, the
ten cylinders being each 4·5 inches in bore with stroke of 5·9 inches,
and the weight of the engine being 3·7 lbs. per horse-power. In the 200
horse-power Anzani radial the cylinders are arranged in four groups
of five each, acting on two crank pins. The bore of the cylinders
in this engine is the same as in the three-cylinder, but the stroke
is increased to 5·5 inches. The rated power is developed at 1,300
revolutions per minute, and the engine complete weighs 3·4 lbs. per
horse-power.
With this 200 horse-power Anzani, a petrol consumption of as low as
0·49 lbs. of fuel per brake horse-power per hour has been obtained,
but the consumption of lubricating oil is compensatingly high, being
up to one-fifth of the fuel used. The cylinders are set _desaxé_ with
the crank shaft, and are of cast-iron, provided with radiating ribs
for air-cooling; they are attached to the crank case by long bolts
passing through bosses at the top of the cylinders, and connected to
other bolts at right angles through the crank case. The tops of the
cylinders are formed flat, and seats for the inlet and exhaust valves
are formed on them. The pistons are cast-iron, fitted with ordinary
cast-iron spring rings. An aluminium crank case is used, being made
in two halves connected together by bolts, which latter also attach
the engine to the frame of the machine. The crankshaft is of nickel
steel, made hollow, and mounted on ball-bearings in such a manner that
practically a combination of ball and plain bearings is obtained; the
central web of the shaft is bent to bring the centres of the crank pins
as close together as possible, leaving only room for the connecting
rods, and the pins are 180 degrees apart. Nickel steel valves of the
cone-seated, poppet type are fitted, the inlet valves being automatic,
and those for the exhaust cam-operated by means of push-rods. With an
engine having such a number of cylinders a very uniform rotation of the
crankshaft is obtained, and in actual running there are always five of
the cylinders giving impulses to the crankshaft at the same time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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