Aluminum internal combustion engine

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An aluminum internal combustion engine is an internal combustion engine made mostly from aluminum metal alloys.

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Many internal combustion engines use cast iron and steel extensively for their strength and low cost. Aluminum offers lighter weight at the expense of strength, hardness and often cost. However, with care it can be substituted for many of the components and is widely used. Aluminum crank cases, cylinder blocks, heads and pistons are commonplace. The first airplane engine to fly, in the Wright Flyer of 1903, had an aluminum cylinder block. [1]

All-aluminum engines are rare, as the material is difficult to use in more highly stressed components such as connecting rods and crankshafts. The BSA A10 motorcycle engine had aluminum conrods, while the Škoda 935 Dynamic auto engine had an aluminum crankshaft. [2] [3]

Russian Aluminum ICE project

An aircraft engine made 90 percent from aluminum alloys was developed by scientists and engineers Novosibirsk State Technical University. Work on it was carried out for four years.

The engineers of NSTU, while working on this engine, applied the development of Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS. The designers were assisted by scientists Alexei Rogov and Olga Terleeva.

The crankshaft and main engine gearbox are made of aluminum. This allows reduction of mass by 40-50 percent, while maintaining the same power, compared to conventional steel engines.

A prototype engine was tested on ordinary AI-95 gasoline. Tests were going on throughout 2018 and completed in early 2019. As a result, the high performance characteristics of the heavy-duty coating, which the aluminum parts are processed with, were confirmed. [4] [5]

According to the professor of the Aircraft and Helicopter Engineering Department of the Faculty of Aircraft of NSTU, Ilya Zverkov, this engine was developed for the aircraft Yak-52 by order of the Russian Aviation Revival Foundation, which is based at the Mochishche airfield near Novosibirsk.[ citation needed ]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piston</span> Machine component used to compress or contain expanding fluids in a cylinder

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. In a pump, the function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder. In some engines, the piston also acts as a valve by covering and uncovering ports in the cylinder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radial engine</span> Reciprocating engine with cylinders arranged radially from a single crankshaft

The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is called a "star engine" in some other languages.

The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straight-twin engine</span> Inline piston engine with two cylinders

A straight-twin engine, also known as an inline-twin, vertical-twin, or parallel-twin, is a two-cylinder piston engine whose cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opposed-piston engine</span> Combustion engine using disks compressing fuel in the same cylinder

An opposed-piston engine is a piston engine in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends, and no cylinder head. Petrol and diesel opposed-piston engines have been used mostly in large-scale applications such as ships, military tanks, and factories. Current manufacturers of opposed-piston engines include Cummins, Achates Power and Fairbanks-Morse Defense (FMDefense).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W engine</span> Type of reciprocating engine

A W engine is a type of piston engine where three or four cylinder banks use the same crankshaft, resembling the letter W when viewed from the front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecting rod</span> Piston engine component which connects the piston to the crankshaft

A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the crankshaft. The connecting rod is required to transmit the compressive and tensile forces from the piston. In its most common form, in an internal combustion engine, it allows pivoting on the piston end and rotation on the shaft end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nissan VK engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The VK engine is a V8 piston engine from Nissan. It is an aluminum DOHC 4-valve design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Griffon</span> 1930s British piston aircraft engine

The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre capacity, 60-degree V-12, liquid-cooled aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. In keeping with company convention, the Griffon was named after a bird of prey, in this case the griffon vulture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X engine</span> Engine configuration

An X engine is a piston engine with four banks of cylinders around a common crankshaft, such that the cylinders form an "X" shape when viewed front-on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BSA Super Rocket</span> Type of motorcycle

The BSA Super Rocket was a 646 cc (39.4 cu in) air-cooled parallel twin motorcycle produced by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) at Small Heath, Birmingham introduced in 1957. It was an improved sports bike member of the BSA A10 series of motorcycles which was developed from the BSA Road Rocket. The A10 had a reputation for reliability but was struggling to compete against the Triumph engines and the Norton Featherbed frames. The model was discontinued in 1963 when the unit-construction A65 was introduced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranger L-440</span>

The Ranger L-440 are six-cylinder inline inverted air-cooled aero-engines produced by the Ranger Aircraft Engine Division of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation of Farmingdale, New York, United States. The engine was mainly produced for Fairchild's family of training aircraft in the mid-1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BSA A7</span> Motorcycle

The BSA A7 was a 500cc motorcycle model range made by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) at its factory in Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham. The range was launched in 1946 using a 495 cc (30.2 cu in) long stroke engine. An improved 497 cc (30.3 cu in) version based on the BSA A10 engine was launched in 1950. The various A7 models continued in production with minor modifications until 1961/2 when they were superseded by the unit-construction A50 model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispano-Suiza 18R</span>

The Hispano-Suiza 18R was an eighteen cylinder high performance water-cooled piston engine, in an 80° W or broad arrow layout, for use in racing aircraft, built in France during the latter half of the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal combustion engine</span> Engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber

An internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is typically applied to pistons, turbine blades, a rotor, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into kinetic energy which is used to propel, move or power whatever the engine is attached to.

The Ferrari flat-12 engine family is a series of flat-12 DOHC petrol engines produced by Ferrari from 1964 to 1996. The first racing Ferrari flat-12, the Mauro Forghieri-designed Tipo 207, was introduced in the Ferrari 1512 F1 car in 1964. Later flat-12 racing engines were used in Ferrari Formula One and sports racing cars from 1968 until 1980, including the 212 E Montagna, 312 B series, 312 PB and 312 T series. The roadgoing flat-12 engines were introduced with the 365 GT4 BB and were produced in various versions until the end of F512M production in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BSA A10 series</span> Motorcycle

The BSA A10 series was a range of 646 cc (39.4 cu in) air-cooled parallel twin motorcycles designed by Bert Hopwood and produced by Birmingham Small Arms Company at Small Heath, Birmingham from 1950 to 1963. The series was succeeded by the A65 unit construction models.

References

  1. "The Wright brothers: Inventing a Flying Machine", Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. (retrieved 10 June 2019)
  2. "BSA A10 1956-63 Large Journal Billet Aluminium Con Rod".
  3. "ŠKODA 935 Dynamic".
  4. "В России создали первый в мире алюминиевый двигатель". mir24.tv. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  5. "Первый в мире алюминиевый двигатель внутреннего сгорания создали в России | Новости | Известия | 28.01.2019". iz.ru. 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2019-03-13.