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| The '''Bourke engine''' was designed by Russell Bourke in the late ], who endeavored to improve upon the ] engine. Despite finishing his redesign and building several working engines; bad luck (] |
The '''Bourke engine''' was designed by Russell Bourke in the late ], who endeavored to improve upon the ] engine. Despite finishing his redesign and building several working engines; bad luck (onset of ]), bad health and a know-best attitude compounded to prevent his engine from ever coming to market despite its claimed advantages. Well into the 2000's there are several small groups extolling the virtues of the design. The Bourke engine has two opposed cylinders with the ]s in a ] mechanism. Because the motion of the pistons is a perfect sine wave with regards to time vs displacement the fuel burns in a smaller volume, and so burns hotter. The Bourke engine also has a looser coupling with the output shaft, preventing excess vibration. The intake valves are replaced by ports, saving on parts. | ||
| It is thought that the design features that increase its efficiency, namely the ] mode of combustion, may cause emission problems. The higher combustion temperatures combined with the increased cycle time around top |
It is thought that the design features that increase its efficiency, namely the ] mode of combustion, may cause emission problems. The higher combustion temperatures combined with the increased cycle time around ] may lead to increased ] emissions. There have not been any verified nitrous oxide tests on running engines to verify the emission problem. | ||
| ==Design features== | ==Design features== | ||
| * Scotch yoke instead of connecting |
* Scotch yoke instead of ]s to translate motion to rotary motion | ||
| ** Fewer moving parts | ** Fewer moving parts | ||
| ** Smoother operation | ** Smoother operation | ||
| ** Longer percentage of cycle spent at top |
** Longer percentage of cycle spent at top dead center and bottom-dead-center for more complete combustion and exhaust scavenging | ||
| * Two power strokes for every rotation from the opposed pistons instead of one every other rotation (]) resulting in nearly twice the power at a given engine speed | * Two power strokes for every rotation from the opposed pistons instead of one every other rotation (]) resulting in nearly twice the power at a given engine speed | ||
| * High compression and temperatures to cause an instantaneous and ] reaction as opposed to a drawn out combustion | * High compression and temperatures to cause an instantaneous and ] reaction as opposed to a drawn out combustion | ||
| * Lean fuel/air mixture combined with the adiabatic reaction resulting in zero unburnt hydrocarbons in the exhaust | * Lean fuel/air mixture combined with the adiabatic reaction resulting in zero unburnt hydrocarbons in the exhaust | ||
| * Sealed underside of the piston to isolate the fuel/air mixture from the crankcase | * Sealed underside of the piston to isolate the fuel/air mixture from the crankcase | ||
| ** Eliminate the need to mix oil with the fuel as with standard |
** Eliminate the need to mix oil with the fuel as with standard ]s | ||
| ** Prevents the ] blow by from polluting the crankcase oil extending the life of the oil | ** Prevents the ] blow by from polluting the ] oil extending the life of the oil | ||
| == Simplified explanation: == | == Simplified explanation: == | ||
| The Bourke engine should be considered a ] or "explosion" engine because of the extremely fast burn time of the fuel air mixture. | The Bourke engine should be considered a ] or "explosion" engine because of the extremely fast burn time of the fuel air mixture. | ||
| The rising piston compresses the mixture heating it, because of the cool piston head and cylinder walls the mixture is not heated enough to start a burn. The piston "latches" at top dead center because of the action of the scotch yoke. Spark plug fires causing an explosive burn. All of fuel is burned completely because of explosive burn time. Sharp rise in pressure causes scotch yoke to "unlatch" piston. Piston moves down cylinder, expanding gasses following piston cause cooling of piston and cylinder walls. Since all of fuel was burned during "latching" of piston no fuel is being burned at this time, no heat is being added, all expansion results in cooling. When piston reaches the bottom of the |
The rising piston compresses the mixture heating it, because of the cool piston head and cylinder walls the mixture is not heated enough to start a burn. The piston "latches" at top dead center because of the action of the scotch yoke. Spark plug fires causing an explosive burn. All of fuel is burned completely because of explosive burn time. Sharp rise in pressure causes scotch yoke to "unlatch" piston. Piston moves down cylinder, expanding gasses following piston cause cooling of piston and cylinder walls. Since all of fuel was burned during "latching" of piston no fuel is being burned at this time, no heat is being added, all expansion results in cooling. When piston reaches the bottom of the cylinder it again "latches" until "unlatched" by the explosion in the opposite cylinder. This gives time for scavenging of explosive gases. | ||
| The mixture must be lean enough so that compression heating of the mixture does not cause it to ignite prior to the "latching". If this occurs engine will not run, or will run rough. Mixture of the fuel must be in the "explosive" range for the engine to run correctly. Any fuel that is used that is mixed into its "explosive" range will work on this engine |
The mixture must be lean enough so that compression heating of the mixture does not cause it to ignite prior to the "latching". If this occurs engine will not run, or will run rough. Mixture of the fuel must be in the "explosive" range for the engine to run correctly. Any fuel that is used that is mixed into its "explosive" range will work on this engine thus giving it multi-fuel capabilities. | ||
| The maximum pressure on the piston occurs right after the release of the piston from top dead center. It is not spread over the whole length of the piston travel as in a conventional engine. For this reason this is an extremely high torque engine. | The maximum pressure on the piston occurs right after the release of the piston from top dead center. It is not spread over the whole length of the piston travel as in a conventional engine. For this reason this is an extremely high torque engine. | ||
| The complete burn of the fuel while the piston is "latched" gives this engine its high efficiency and low |
The complete burn of the fuel while the piston is "latched" gives this engine its high efficiency and low emissions. | ||
| The cooling caused by the expanding gases, behind the piston head and the non burning of fuel while piston is traveling, causes the low temperature |
The cooling caused by the expanding gases, behind the piston head and the non burning of fuel while piston is traveling, causes the low temperature exhaust gases. This also prevents dieseling during the next compression cycle, because of the cooling of the piston head. | ||
Revision as of 06:45, 28 December 2006
The Bourke engine was designed by Russell Bourke in the late 1930s, who endeavored to improve upon the Otto cycle engine. Despite finishing his redesign and building several working engines; bad luck (onset of World War II), bad health and a know-best attitude compounded to prevent his engine from ever coming to market despite its claimed advantages. Well into the 2000's there are several small groups extolling the virtues of the design. The Bourke engine has two opposed cylinders with the pistons in a Scotch yoke mechanism. Because the motion of the pistons is a perfect sine wave with regards to time vs displacement the fuel burns in a smaller volume, and so burns hotter. The Bourke engine also has a looser coupling with the output shaft, preventing excess vibration. The intake valves are replaced by ports, saving on parts.
It is thought that the design features that increase its efficiency, namely the detonation mode of combustion, may cause emission problems. The higher combustion temperatures combined with the increased cycle time around top dead center may lead to increased nitrogen oxide emissions. There have not been any verified nitrous oxide tests on running engines to verify the emission problem.
Design features
- Scotch yoke instead of connecting rods to translate motion to rotary motion
- Fewer moving parts
- Smoother operation
- Longer percentage of cycle spent at top dead center and bottom-dead-center for more complete combustion and exhaust scavenging
- Two power strokes for every rotation from the opposed pistons instead of one every other rotation (4-stroke) resulting in nearly twice the power at a given engine speed
- High compression and temperatures to cause an instantaneous and adiabatic reaction as opposed to a drawn out combustion
- Lean fuel/air mixture combined with the adiabatic reaction resulting in zero unburnt hydrocarbons in the exhaust
- Sealed underside of the piston to isolate the fuel/air mixture from the crankcase
- Eliminate the need to mix oil with the fuel as with standard two-stroke engines
- Prevents the piston ring blow by from polluting the crankcase oil extending the life of the oil
Simplified explanation:
The Bourke engine should be considered a detonation or "explosion" engine because of the extremely fast burn time of the fuel air mixture.
The rising piston compresses the mixture heating it, because of the cool piston head and cylinder walls the mixture is not heated enough to start a burn. The piston "latches" at top dead center because of the action of the scotch yoke. Spark plug fires causing an explosive burn. All of fuel is burned completely because of explosive burn time. Sharp rise in pressure causes scotch yoke to "unlatch" piston. Piston moves down cylinder, expanding gasses following piston cause cooling of piston and cylinder walls. Since all of fuel was burned during "latching" of piston no fuel is being burned at this time, no heat is being added, all expansion results in cooling. When piston reaches the bottom of the cylinder it again "latches" until "unlatched" by the explosion in the opposite cylinder. This gives time for scavenging of explosive gases.
The mixture must be lean enough so that compression heating of the mixture does not cause it to ignite prior to the "latching". If this occurs engine will not run, or will run rough. Mixture of the fuel must be in the "explosive" range for the engine to run correctly. Any fuel that is used that is mixed into its "explosive" range will work on this engine thus giving it multi-fuel capabilities.
The maximum pressure on the piston occurs right after the release of the piston from top dead center. It is not spread over the whole length of the piston travel as in a conventional engine. For this reason this is an extremely high torque engine.
The complete burn of the fuel while the piston is "latched" gives this engine its high efficiency and low emissions.
The cooling caused by the expanding gases, behind the piston head and the non burning of fuel while piston is traveling, causes the low temperature exhaust gases. This also prevents dieseling during the next compression cycle, because of the cooling of the piston head.
External links
- Bourke Engine Blueprints - Documentary - Bourke Engine Runs DVD Video - VLB Engine - Bourke Engines For Sale - Bourke 400 Blueprints - Vaux Engine - DeVaux Engine - RadCam Engine - ECO Engine And More!
- Commercial Bourke Engine development
- Bourke engine videos.
- Bourke Engine Project, LLC
- The Bourke Engine by Paul Niquette