There were, in the list of aero engines compiled in 1910, five rotary
engines included, all air-cooled. Three of these were Gnome engines, and
two of the make known as 'International.' They ranged from 21.5 to 123
horse-power, the latter being rated at only 1.8 lbs. weight per brake
horse-power, and having fourteen cylinders, 4.33 inches in diameter
by 4.7 inches stroke. By 1914 forty-three different sizes and types
of rotary engine were being constructed, and in 1913 five rotary type
engines were entered for the series of aeroplane engine trials held
in Germany. Minor defects ruled out four of these, and only the
German Bayerischer Motoren Flugzeugwerke completed the seven-hour test
prescribed for competing engines. Its large fuel consumption barred this
engine from the final trials, the consumption being some 0.95 pints
per horse-power per hour. The consumption of lubricating oil, also was
excessive, standing at 0.123 pint per horse-power per hour. The engine
gave 37.5 effective horse-power during its trial, and the loss due to
air resistance was 4.6 horse-power, about 11 per cent. The accompanying
drawing shows the construction of the engine, in which the seven
cylinders are arranged radially on the crank case; the method of
connecting the pistons to the crank pins can be seen. The mixture is
drawn through the crank chamber, and to enter the cylinder it passes
through the two automatic valves in the crown of the piston; the exhaust
valves are situated in the tops of the cylinders, and are actuated by
cams and push-rods. Cooling of the cylinder is assisted by the radial
rings, and the diameter of these rings is increased round the hottest
part of the cylinder. When long flights are undertaken the advantage of
the light weight of this engine is more than counterbalanced by its high
fuel and lubricating oil consumption, but there are other makes which
are much better than this seven-cylinder German in respect of this.
Rotation of the cylinders in engines of this type is produced by the
side pressure of the pistons on the cylinder walls, and in order to
prevent this pressure from becoming abnormally large it is necessary
to keep the weight of the piston as low as possible, as the pressure is
produced by the tangential acceleration and retardation of the piston.
On the upward stroke the circumferential velocity of the piston is
rapidly increased, which causes it to exert a considerable tangential
pressure on the side of the cylinder, and on the return stroke there
is a corresponding retarding effect due to the reduction of the
circumferential velocity of the piston. These side pressures cause an
appreciable increase in the temperatures of the cylinders and pistons,
which makes it necessary to keep the power rating of the engines fairly
low.
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