Applied Energy 40 (1991) 157-170

Wankel Engines as Steam Expanders: Design

Considerations

O. Badr, S. Naik,* P. W. O'Callaghan

& S. D. Probert

Department of Applied Energy, Cranfield Institute of Technology,

Bedford MK43 0AL, UK

ABSTRACT

Rotary Wankel engines offer several advantages compared with turbines and
other positive-displacement machines as the expansion devices in low-power-
output Rankine-eycle systems. So a Wankel expander was selected as the
most appropriate device for a steam Rankine-engine, operating principally as
a mini combined heat-and-power unit, providing a mechanical output of 5-20
k W. A computer-aided-design technique for selecting the optimal geometry
and location of the ports of the expander is described: the computer programs
are available from the authors. Lubrication and possible material
combinations are also discussed.

THE WANKEL S T E A M - E X P A N D E R

One of the main reasons for the early interest in Wankel engines, for
automotive applications, is the design simplicity of the rotary system. This
engine is more compact, almost free from vibration and cheaper to
manufacture than a typical traditional, reciprocating, internal-combustion
engine of the same power output, l - a The Wankel engine also possesses
several attractive features (relative to those for turbines and other positive-
displacement machines) when used as the expansion device in a s t e a m
Rankine-cycle system for small power-output (i.e. 5-20 kW) applications. 4
* Present address: Heat Transfer and Thermodynamics Group, Technology and
Environmental Centre, National Power PLC, Kelvin Avenue, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22
7SE, UK.
157
Applied Energy 0306-2619/91/$03"50 © 1991 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England.
Printed in Great Britain
158 O. Badr, S. Naik, P. W. O'Callaghan, S. D. Probert

However, for the Wankel engine to be used successfully as a steam expander,

basic design changes are desirable; the principal modifications being those
with respect to the intake and exhaust (i.e. the breathing) system. 5
For a Rankine-cycle engine, employed principally as a mini combined-
heat-and-power unit, with a power output of 5-20 kW, both the 131.4 mm
rotor-radius Curtiss-Wright, and the l18.5mm rotor-radius Mazda,
commercially available engines can be used as the expansion devices with an
output shaft speed of 3000 rpm. 5 In the present investigation, a design
procedure for the breathing system of the Mazda engine is presented.
Lubrication methods and appropriate material combinations for the
Wankel expander are also discussed.

INLET AND EXHAUST PORTS

The locations, and the timings of the opening and closing, of the inlet and
exhaust ports, ofa Wankel expander, influence significantly its power output
and efficiency.2'5'6 The selection of the appropriate values of the cut-off
ratios for the ports depends upon the following:
(i) location of the ports;
(ii) location and designs of the side and apex seals--see Fig. l;
(iii) variation of the volume of the working chamber of the expander,
with the angular displacement of the output shaft (or the rotor); and
(iv) mechanism for opening and closing of the ports.
The inlet and exhaust ports can be located either peripherally through the
rotor housing or through the side housings.
The advantage ofperipheralporting is that the fluid-flow direction is the
same as that of the motion of the rotor, thereby resulting in little flow
resistance.
The side-port system has the following features:
• The contours of the ports are subjected to certain geometrical
restrictions, viz.
--The ports must be located inside (with respect to the centre of
rotation) the path of the apex-seal arrangement, in order to prevent
its individual elements from dropping into the ports.
--The ports must be situated outside the oil-seal circle, in order to
prevent the lubricating oil, of the output shaft, from flowing into the
ports.
• The direction of flow of the steam differs from that of the movement of
the rotor, and this causes greater resistance to the flow when compared
with the peripheral-porting system.
 Wankel engines as steam expanders: design considerations 159

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160 O. Badr, S. Naik, P. W. O'Callaghan, S. D. Probert

In the internal-combustion version of the Wankel engine, two peripheral

ports--one as the inlet and the other as the exhaust--are employed. These
ports are opened and closed automatically by the movement of the rotor,
thereby eliminating the need for valves. For the engine to operate as an
expander, two pairs of symmetrically-located inlet and exhaust ports are
required. 5 Due to this, when designing a porting system, the major question
'Is a valving mechanism for the ports necessary?' demands an answer.
Bowlus e t al. 7 indicated, in their Wankel steam-expander programme, 7 -9
that by locating the two exhaust ports through a side housing and the two
inlet ports through the periphery of the rotor housing, valving would then be
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of the Wankel expander during one complete revolution of the output shaft, so illustrating the
principle of operation of the breathing system. The arrows indicate the flows of steam
through the ports. A, B and C are the individual rotor flanks.
 Wankel engines as steam expanders: design considerations 161

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162 O. Badr, S. Naik, P. 14I. O'Callaghan, S. D. Probert

required only for the intake system. In the present study this breathing-
system arrangement is adopted. The advantages of such an arrangement are
(i) the number of moving parts of the expander are kept to a minimum;
and
(ii) the simple mechanical design of the engine is maintained.
In order to design the inlet and exhaust system for the Mazda engine
selected for this study, the geometrical model previously developed 5
was employed with the computer-aided design (CAD) package
'UNIGRAPHICS'. The advantage of using this package is that it could be
coupled directly to a 'Numerical Control' machining package. This would
allow the direct transfer of the design data for the individual parts of the
expander to the appropriate numerically controlled machine tools, and so
accomplish the manufacture expeditiously.
The centre lines of the openings of the valve-operated inlet ports through
the periphery of the rotor housing are located at 130° and 310 ° rotor angles
(see Fig. 2). The valve mechanism employed should allow the inlet port to an
expander's chamber to open on achieving its minimum volume, for a
duration of 90 ° output-shaft displacement, i.e. 30 ° rotor displacement (see
Figs 2 and 3). This arrangement has the following advantages:
(i) During the filling of the expander's chamber (i.e. the chambers
formed by flanks A and B of the rotor in Figs 2(b) and (d),
respectively), the flow of the working fluid (i.e. steam) is orthogonal to
the rotor's flank under consideration. This will ensure that losses due
to fluid resistance are kept to a minimum and that the dynamic
pressure of the incoming fluid is converted into a useful output
torque.
(ii) The timing of the opening of the inlet ports will allow the full
expansion of steam to occur in the chambers of the expander: the
chambers formed by flanks B, C and A of the rotor attain their
maximum volumes before the opening of the inlet port at the top,
bottom and top of Figs 2(a), (c) and (e), respectively.
The locations of the two-symmetrically-positioned exhaust ports,
through one of the side housings of the expander, must satisfy the following
conditions:
(i) The innermost curves of the exhaust ports (i.e. those nearest to the
centre of the rotor) must always be outside the rotor's oil-seal,
whereas the outer boundaries of the ports must be inside the paths of
the apex-seal arrangements.
(ii) For an exhaust port to be closed, its entire contour must lie within the
oil-seal's circle and the side seals of the rotor.
 Wankel engines as steam expanders: design considerations 163

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164 O. Badr, S. Naik, P. W. O'Callaghan, S. D. Probert

(iii) The start of the steam exhausting from an expander's chamber (i.e.
the opening of the exhaust port) should commence upon reaching the
maximum volume of the chamber considered. This allows the full
expansion of steam in the chamber and the achievement of maximum
possible power-output to ensue.
(iv) The changing process of an expander's chamber (i.e. the opening of
the valve of the inlet port) should begin at the moment when the
exhaust process for this chamber has just ended. Therefore, the
closure of the exhaust port should commence upon reaching the
minimum volume of the expander's chamber considered. This
eliminates any power expenditure upon compressing the steam
during any time lag between the closure and opening of the exhaust
and inlet ports respectively.
(v) An exhaust-port's flow area must be sized such that the maximum
Mach number, of the steam flowing through it, is less than 0.25, in
order to avoid excessive fluid-flow resistances. 6
The geometry and location of the exhaust ports, which satisfy the above
constraints, were determined, using the U N I G R A P H I C S CAD package, by
considering the effects of moving the rotor within the epi-trochoidal housing
bore (see Figs 2 and 3). The exhaust phase in an expander's chamber
continues throughout a 270 ° angular displacement of the output shaft (i.e. a
90 ° rotor displacement).
According to the selected configuration for the expander's breathing
system, the cut-offratios of the inlet and exhaust ports 5 are 0.362 and 0.112,
respectively. Therefore, for the operating conditions applicable for Fig. 4,
the indicated power output and specific steam consumption of the Mazda
Wankel expander are 0.336 kW/rps and 25.74 kg/kW h, respectively. At a
rotational speed of 3000 rpm, for the output shaft, the indicated power-
output of the expander would be 16"8 kW, whereas the indicated steam flow
rate would be 0-12 kg/s.

LUBRICATION

For the Wankel engine to be employed successfully as a steam expander,

adequate lubrication of the rubbing surfaces must ensue. In the internal-
combustion engine version, the lubrication of the apex and side seals is
maintained by admitting a mixture of the combustible fluid and oil into the
working chambers. Previous studies of a rotary-vane expander, as the prime
mover in a steam Rankine-cycle system, 1°- 12 indicated that oil injection
into the expander's inlet resulted in an emulsion exhausting almost
uncontrollably from the machine. Thus a cost-effective technique for
 Wankel engines as steam expanders: design considerations 165

separating the oil from the exhausted steam will be required. However
considerable research has already been undertaken in the field of oil
separation from flows of gases, and effective systems have been developed.
O'Neill 13 reported that approximately 99-7% of the oil in the gas stream
from a screw compressor can be recovered via gravity, simply by (i) reducing
the velocity of the mixture and (ii) appropriate changes in the direction of the
flow. The 'impingement back' will achieve an oil separation down to about
35 parts per million by mass (ppmm) for most gases with a minimum
pressure drop. Separation down to 5ppmm can be achieved by using
coalescers (i.e. elements made from materials with carefully controlled pore
sizes).
Where the use of lubricating oils is undesirable, there is the possibility of
employing solid lubrication. This is simply the lubrication of two surfaces, in
moving contact, by means of solid materials interposed between them: the
materials are required to form a coherent film of low shear strength between
the two sliding surfaces. Depending upon the nature of the two surfaces, a
wide variety of solid lubricants can be used to reduce friction and prevent
seizure. These can be (i) employed as powders, rubbed on to surfaces to form
a burnished film 0-1-10 ~m thick; (ii) spread onto surfaces and cured to form
a bonded coating, 5-25/~m thick; or (iii) used directly as a lubricating
medium. 14'15 The desirable properties of a solid lubricant are that it
should: is
(i) facilitate low but constant and controlled friction between the
surfaces;
(ii) be chemically-stable over the operational temperature range
required, and not react with the materials of the surfaces;
(iii) preferably adhere strongly to one or both surfaces so that it is not
rapidly lost;
(iv) have sufficient resistance to wear in order to achieve a useful service-
life;
(v) be easy to apply in a controlled manner;
(vi) be non-toxic; and
(vii) be economic.
The main advantages of solid lubricants are: 1s'~6
(i) They have practically no tendency to flow, creep or migrate, so that
they can provide almost permanent lubrication for components
which become inaccessible after assembly.
(ii) They operate over wider temperature ranges than lubricating oils.
(iii) They maintain more consistent surface separations, than can usually
be attained with lubricating oils, under high-load, low-speed and
vibration conditions.
166 O. Badr, S. Naik, P. W. O'Callaghan, S. D. Probert

TABLE 1
Estimated Limiting Operating Conditions and Friction Coefficients for Solid
Lubricants14'15.17

Solid Maximum sliding Maximum Maximum service Static

lubricant speed load temperature coefficient
(m/s) (MN/m 2) (°C) of friction

Graphite 0.5 70 ~ 550 + 50 0.10 + 0.03

Molybdenum 0.2 2 000 ~400 0"085 + 0.015
disulphide
Unfilled PTFE 0.01 10 298 + 22 0.08 + 0.04
Filled PTFE 0.02 100 ~ 290 0"08 + 0.02
Reinforced 0.1 400
PTFE

(iv) The high structural strengths of some solid lubricants enable the
rubbing surfaces to be manufactured directly from them.
However solid lubricants have the following disadvantages: 15
(i) They are difficult and sometimes impossible to feed or replenish.
(ii) They inevitably wear away in use, so that their useful-service lives are
limited.
(iii) They generally have poor thermal conductivities, which limit the
maximum relative sliding speeds of the surfaces.
(iv) Their expansion coefficients differ significantly from those of metals,
so that losses of clearance may occur, with temperature changes
during operation, when they are used in conjunction with metals.
Hundreds of different solids have been tested for their stabilities as solid
lubricants, and scores of them have actually been used in practical
applications. However, the majority of solid lubrication is achieved via
(i) graphite; (ii) molybdenum disulphide; or (iii) polytetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE) and similar polymers. 14-16 The relevant characteristics of these
solid lubricants are summarised in Table 1.

MATERIALS SELECTION FOR THE WANKEL EXPANDER

The materials for the components of a Wankel expander-ideally should

satisfy the following conditions:
(i) low densities, in order to reduce the weight and inertia forces for the
moving parts;
(ii) low thermal conductivities, in order to reduce heat losses from the
expanding working-fluid;
 Wankel engines as steam expanders: design considerations 167

(iii) compatible expansion coefficients and good dimensional stabilities,

in order to maintain running clearances, and thereby prevent seizure
and excessive internal leakage flows;
(iv) sufficient strength at the expected operating temperatures;
(v) high wear, corrosion and erosion resistances;
(vi) low friction characteristics;
(vii) high fatigue limits;
(viii) easy to form into the final geometrical shapes required by machining,
casting, welding, etc; and
(ix) available at relatively low cost.
There is no single material that can satisfy all these attributes, and so a
compromise has to be achieved in selecting the appropriate set of materials
for a specific application. For a Wankel expander, the selection criteria
shown in Table 2 may be adopted. Examples of the materials used for the
components of commercially-available Wankel engines are given in Table 3.
With increasing emphasis placed upon energy efficiency, durability and
TABLE 2
Property Requirements for the Materials of the Main Components of a Wankel Expander

Component Thermal Coefh'cient Strength Wear Fatigue Typical

conductivity of resistance limit materials
expansion

Rotor Low Low Low- Low- High Graphite

moderate moderate Cast-iron
Duralumin
Rotor Low Low High Very high High Cast-iron
housing Duralumin
Internal- High Chrome plating
rotor Nickel plating
surface with silicon-
carbide
particles
Side Low Low Moderate High Moderate Cast-iron
housings -high -high Duralumin
Apex seals Low Low High Very high Very high Carbon
Cast-iron
(piston-ring
cast-iron)
Side seals Low Low High Very high High Cast-iron
(piston-ring
cast-iron)
168 O. Badr, S. Naik, P. W. O'Callaghan, S. D. Probert

TABLE 3
Wankel-Engines' Typical Material Combinations6

Rotor-bore surface Apex seals Side housings Side seals

Hard chrome Carbon Molybdenum Piston-ring

cast-iron
Cemented carbide C a s t - i r o n Bronze Cast-iron and
steel
10% molybdenum Soft-iron Nitrided Piston-ring
+ 90% steel cast-iron cast-iron
Nickel plating Piston-ring Spray-deposited Piston-ring
with silicon- cast-iron steel cast-iron
carbide particles
deposited
simultaneously

reliability, attention has been focused on advanced materials, particularly

ceramics and ceramic composites, for internal-combustion heat en-
gines, xS-11 Although the operating temperatures of steam Wankel
expanders are not as high as internal combustion engines, the use of ceramics
or ceramic composites would greatly enhance the efficiencies and service
lives of the expanders, primarily for the following reasons:
(i) Ceramics have low thermal conductivities. This will reduce the rates
of heat loss during the expansion (and compression) stages, so
increasing the isentropic efficiencies of the Wankel expanders.
(ii) Ceramics have low coefficients of thermal expansion. This is a
significant property for small Wankel expanders, because it would
enable machines to be produced with small operating tolerances and
clearances, so reducing internal-leakage flows.
(iii) The high wear resistance of ceramic materials will considerably
increase the durabilities and service lives of Wankel expanders.
However, ceramics have the disadvantages of being brittle and difficult to
form and they are expensive. 2° They have yet to be proved reliable in service
over long periods.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to thank the Science and Engineering Research Council
for supporting this research programme.
 Wankel engines as steam expanders: design considerations 169

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