“Right here is one other radical alternative for the standard combustion engine,” writes long-time Slashdot reader Inzkeeper. “Take a look at the Astron Aerospace H2 Starfire Omega 1… an ICE engine with a turbine configuration.”
The corporate “is claiming that it’s a viable different to EVs,” experiences TopSpeed:
Astron have showcased a 3D rendering of their engine which helps to know this extraordinarily difficult new powerplant in all of its glory. In addition they confirmed a functioning prototype which supplies us a glimpse into how the engine might doubtlessly perform… The corporate claims that it weighs a fully mind-boggling 35 kilos but produces horsepower within the area of 160 and about 170 pound-feet of torque. These are insane figures. The Omega 1 boasts an alleged 60 % effectivity, which is absurd if true on condition that piston engines hardly ever ever high 40 % effectivity. On high of this, Omega 1 can run on any type of flamable gas, which means that hydrogen might simply be used to cut back emissions so near zero that it is negligible.
HotCars provides that “Based on Astron Aerospace, the engine idles at 1,000 rpm and redlines at an unimaginable 25,000 rpm — a lot larger than all the opposite rotaries we have seen. That is due to the round motion, slightly than the epitrochoidal motion used for Reuleaux triangle rotaries.”
The superior factor about this engine is that it’s stackable, which means two of them will make 320 hp and 340 lb-ft, three will produce 480 hp and 510 lb-ft, and many others… Astron Aerospace additionally acknowledged that because of the design, the engine is definitely scalable for different purposes — as an illustration, marine engines. Based on them and one in all their renders, a bigger model can simply attain 4,500 hp…
[I]t just isn’t solely extra environment friendly than the equal piston engine — 80% in comparison with a mere 34% — however the engine can be a lot smaller and lighter. This interprets to raised gas economic system and a lighter general car. The engine is air-cooled as effectively, which suggests there are not any extra radiators or different cooling programs wanted to maintain the engine working. Air-cooled could sound a bit old style, however on this case, it simplifies the entire package deal. The upkeep on such an engine would even be minimal, with Astron Aerospace claiming 60,000 miles additional utilization over a typical piston engine earlier than upkeep is required.
The drawback of this engine is that it hasn’t but been completely examined in real-world circumstances. Astron Aerospace has patented the engine and has a working prototype however has discovered no buyers to start mass testing and manufacturing. The engine must be labored arduous to flesh out any potential weak factors and new supplies must be used to deal with the interior stresses and put on.
