Scratchin' the heads.

[Harry_S.]

While waiting in the chiropractor's office this morning, I was looking thru the Sept issue of Popular Science.There's an article on a fellow named Singh who has "scratched" the insides of the compression chambers that resulted in fantastic engine performance.

This would be of interest to all you engine fanatics and those seeking more compression from your present power plant. I make reference to your ground machines, not the gyro. :D

Although!? :rolleyes:

[scottessex]

Sounds like a good place for carbon deposits to hold on to.

[Chuck Irby]

That was my first thought as well, Scott. Maybe if Harry would post more of the article we'd have a better understanding of the subject though. :D Can you give us any more info, Harry?

[Harry_S.]

Nope. I didn't have time to read the entire article and I didn't pilfer it...the magazine. The article had several pictures on the results of his work, it didn't look like scratching but carefully laid out grooves. The purpose of these *grooves* was to create turbulence within the chamber, resulting in more efficient firing and less carboning.

Maybe someone has a copy of the mag. and could post some of it (pics) here.

[Chuck Irby]

Okay, that sounds like it would probably work. Pretty interesting! Thanx Dirty Harry.

[scottessex]

I guess it would keep the mixture atomized, A more even burn, the same as a swirl does. Hmmmm.

[automan1223]

These micro grooves are what I think they are refering to I have not seen the article but many moons ago in the bowels of my college library I had read about some surface "patterning' similiar to the microscopic grooves on a sharks skin being tested or reported to be tested on the formula f 1 race engines. There are a few companies that were doing something close to what I had read about last year. I cannot imagine the process lending a tremendous hp or torque output unless it is correcting or rather directing the combustion process more throughly in a critical design. I was under the impression its contribution was less than 1%. Many racers were bent on polishing every surface to a near mirror finish anyway and the thoughts of grooving the internals on any engine were thought to be insignificant. The many secrets in a formula race engine are many. How else do they get 800+ hp out of 2 or 2.5 liters. Boost can only take you so far. I would like to get a copy of the article though.

[gyromike]

Ask, and thou shalt recieve...

Obsession: Mr. Singh’s Search for the Holy Grail (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/futurecar/article/0,20642,679464-1,00.html)

:)

[Harry_S.]

Mike, you are truly our computer Guru.

Thank you!!! :D :D

[gyromike]

I have my moments occasionally, Harry. :rolleyes:

Actually, I had seen a reference to the article posted on another newsgroup a couple of days ago, and had read through it myself.

[GyroRon]

In the next issue of KitPlanes magazine there will be a article on RAFs new Stabilator and the companys stand on the Horizontal stab "issue"

Also in this months issue there is a article on experimental aircraft insurance and in it when the subject of gyroplanes comes up, the short anwser is there is too much confusion in the gyroplane world to insure us.

[automan1223]

I read, and re read the article. This guy is genius and suffers from typical corporate world mentality. Why some american car company did not snatch this guy up is beyond me.

What MR Singh is doing is shaping the charge of the combustion chamber. Similiar to using shape charges inexplosives. Inducing a swirl in the charge and directing compressed gasses toward the center of the combustion chamber or spark plug. Many modern cylinder heads have employed a directed charge and a more efficient combustion process is the result.

General Motors used this same idea to get the first ZR 1 32 valve corvette engines to run with crazy high compression ratios. some as high as 13.25 to 1 on pump gas. Everyone said it was improbable but my teacher at the time, a retired Chief tech for a heavily funded winston cup race team said it was possible in theory and therefore could be done. GM employed a clover leaf quasi hemispherical combustion chamber in the design, along with the heat removing properities of aluminum and they had a potent engine.

MR Singhs grooving is far larger and more dramatic than the smaller grooving I saw on earlier attempts. I had suspicions F1 engines were employing some trickery along this line of thinking but never tried to improve upon it.While the improvements are possibly great in the low to mid range I am curious if the improvement % wise are that great on the upper end. I have found that once an engine is tuned and efficient there is not too much you can change on the upper end. Sure you can put more cam and more valve and maybe forced induction but there is no replacement for displacement at a given rpm.

Seeing the photos I understand what he is doing and it might bear fruit if I ever get things going. I have some subaru heads that might suffice for a test set. Of course to design a head with the correct pistons would see real gains.

Anyone got a few hundred thousand laying around so I can play ?

Jonathan

[Victor Duarte]

automan.. its funny but also dramatical some good ideas cant rise in a corporate world( excuse my bad english)

i remind the father of a friend (owned a car workshop in the past) that spent a LOT of time trying to create a new engine... he had a few contacts with scools, went to Geneva to try to rise some funds.. unfortunately , this man is a simple man (good man) and has not the "classy" outlook and talking so, a lot of people he met thought he was not a serious guy...

by the way, a patent was deposited, and he explained a little his invention to me, i helped him by doing some 3D drawings for him. it works almost like a water-wheel, rotative, but the difference is that he didnt use the volume of gas to generate power but the shockwave generated by the detonation.... do you think it could be working ?

i must admit i was not skilled enough to think it may work... but if it works, theres another example of a simple man having good ideas but unfortunately no connexions to fortunes...

best regards

victor

[automan1223]

Anytime I hear about the next best thing I always remember the story about apple computer. Was started in a garage by a genius student whos father worked for HP. HP looked at the working prototype and said "naah" not interested in personal computers hp let the next best thing and perhaps ONE of THE best things slip right thru their fingers. When Steve Jobs went out on his own and formed apple computer everyone ended up playing catchup.

This proves 1. That the corportate mentality is usually dumb as a box of rocks.

2. THE USA is still the greatest country out there because if there is a will there is a way.

3. Anything can be invented and anything is possible.

Jonathan

[Victor Duarte]

hi Jonathan, as you can see i live in france, and i agree that in US there is a greater place for invention. if you suffer corporate dumbs, here we suffer another disease : the "elite" thinking that great innovations MUST come from structured, well financed and high tech companies... these innovations CANT be the fact of simple thinkers but of GREAT engineers .....

in fact they think "hey ! we suffered a lot to learn what we know, spent a lot of time to be what we are, it is not you, simple guy, that is gonna give us good ideas !!!" thats also why (here) good ideas encouter some "drags" in their uprising..

[quadrirotor]

In fact in the domain of rotocraft, i think everything as being done by forgotten:
http://www.russian.ee/~star/vertigo/full_list.html
http://www.vstol.org