Rotary internal combustion engine with cooled insert

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10247092-B2
Application number	US-201514816245-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 3, 2015
Priority date	Feb 6, 2012
Publication date	Apr 2, 2019
Grant date	Apr 2, 2019

Abstract

A rotary internal combustion engine having an insert opening defined in a hot area of one of the walls of the stator body and in communication with its internal cavity. A cooling jacket is received in and lines the insert opening. An insert is sealingly received in the cooling jacket and made of a material having a greater heat resistance than that of the wall. The cooling jacket extends between the insert and the wall along most of the length of the insert to prevent direct contact between the insert and the wall. A cooling gallery surrounds the cooling jacket and the insert, and is defined at least in part by the cooling jacket such that a coolant circulated therein contacts the cooling jacket. The cooling jacket is located between the cooling gallery and the insert.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A stator body for a Wankel engine comprising:
two axially spaced apart end walls;
a peripheral wall extending between the end walls and defining an internal cavity therewith, the cavity having an epitrochoid shape defining two lobes;
a cooling jacket lining an opening defined in a hot area of one of the walls of the rotor body, the opening being in communication with the internal cavity;
an insert made of a material having a greater heat resistance than that of the walls and sealingly received in the opening with the cooling jacket surrounding the insert, the insert having a length defined along the thickness of the one of the walls, and wherein along most of the length of the insert, the cooling jacket extends between the insert and the one of the walls to prevent direct contact between the insert and the one of the walls; and
at least one cooling gallery defined around and bordered by the cooling jacket, the cooling gallery surrounding the insert with the cooling jacket being located between the cooling gallery and the insert.

2. The stator body as defined in claim 1 , wherein the stator body includes at least one coolant inlet channel and at least one coolant outlet channel in communication with each cooling gallery.

3. The stator body as defined in claim 1 , wherein the opening is defined in the peripheral wall.

4. The stator body as defined in claim 3 , wherein the insert has a subchamber defined therein and an inner surface bordering the internal cavity, the subchamber communicating with the internal cavity through at least one opening defined in the inner surface, at least one of the insert and the peripheral wall having a pilot fuel injector elongated hole defined therethrough communicating with the subchamber and sized to receive a pilot fuel injector therein, and at least one of the insert and the peripheral wall having an ignition element elongated hole defined therethrough communicating with the subchamber and sized to receive an ignition element therein.

5. The stator body as defined in claim 1 , wherein the insert is made of a high temperature metal alloy.

6. The stator body as defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling gallery includes an annular cooling gallery surrounding the cooling jacket.

7. The stator body as defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling gallery includes at least one helical cooling gallery defined around the cooling jacket.

8. The stator body as defined in claim 1 , wherein the insert has a groove defined around a perimeter thereof, the cooling jacket cooperating with the insert groove to define an air channel around the insert and between the insert and the cooling jacket.

9. The stator body as defined in claim 1 , wherein the cooling jacket is brazed or welded to the at least one wall within the opening.

10. A rotary internal combustion engine comprising:
a stator body having an internal cavity enclosed by a plurality of walls, one of the walls having an insert opening defined across a thickness of the one of the walls in a hot area thereof and in communication with the internal cavity;
a rotor body received within the internal cavity and sealingly engaged with the walls to define at least one chamber undergoing intake, compression, expansion and exhaust phases as the movable body moves;
a cooling jacket received in and lining the insert opening;
an insert sealingly received in the cooling jacket, the insert being made of a material having a greater heat resistance than that of the one of the walls, the insert having a length defined along the thickness of the one of the walls, the cooling jacket extending between the insert and the one of the walls along most of the length of the insert to prevent direct contact between the insert and the one of the walls; and
a cooling gallery surrounding the cooling jacket and the insert, the cooling gallery defined at least in part by the cooling jacket such that a coolant circulated therein contacts the cooling jacket, the cooling jacket located between the cooling gallery and the insert.

11. The engine as defined in claim 10 , wherein the one of the walls has at least one coolant inlet channel and at least one coolant outlet channels defined therethrough in fluid communication with the cooling gallery.

12. The engine as defined in claim 10 , wherein the plurality of walls of the stator body include two axially spaced apart end walls and a peripheral wall extending between the end walls, the internal cavity having an epitrochoid shape defining two lobes, and the rotor body has three circumferentially spaced apex portions, the rotor body being engaged to an eccentric portion of a shaft to rotate and perform orbital revolutions within the cavity with each of the apex portions remaining in sealing engagement with the peripheral wall and separating three rotating chambers of variable volume defined in the cavity around the rotor body.

13. The engine as defined in claim 12 , wherein the insert opening is defined in the peripheral wall.

14. The engine as defined in claim 13 , wherein the insert has a subchamber defined therein and an inner surface bordering the cavity, the subchamber communicating with the cavity through at least one opening defined in the inner surface, the insert receiving a tip of a pilot fuel and of an ignition element within the subchamber, the cooling gallery being defined around the subchamber.

15. The engine as defined in claim 10 , wherein the insert is made of a high temperature metal alloy.

16. The engine as defined in claim 10 , wherein the cooling gallery is annular.

17. The engine as defined in claim 10 , wherein the cooling gallery is helical.

18. The engine as defined in claim 10 , wherein the insert has a groove defined around a perimeter thereof, the cooling jacket cooperating with the groove to define an air channel around the insert and between the insert and the cooling jacket.

19. The engine as defined in claim 10 , wherein the cooling jacket is brazed or welded to the at least one wall within the insert opening.

Assignees

• Pratt & Whitney Canada

Inventors

• Gekht Eugene
• Villeneuve Bruno
• Fontaine Mike
• Gagnon-Martin David

Classifications

• F01C21/06

  Heating; Cooling (of machines or engines in general F01P); Heat insulation (heat insulation in general F16L) · CPC title

• F01C1/22 Primary

  of internal-axis type with equidirectional movement of co-operating members at the points of engagement, or with one of the co-operating members being stationary, the inner member having more teeth or tooth- equivalents than the outer member · CPC title

• F02B2053/005

  Wankel engines · CPC title

• F02B55/10 Primary

  Cooling thereof · CPC title

• F02B53/12

  Ignition · CPC title