From: DARUS47959@aol.com
Message-ID: <0.aa0f1139.254dca52@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 1999 11:37:38 EST
Subject: Re: LPE    ZEHRBACH ENGINES
To: brent@regandesigns.com
CC: lancair.list@olsusa.com
Mime-Version: 1.0

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yes the test was on a rotary.  We used the information as part of our initial 
work for the UEL rotary engines (ex Norton) for the Navy Jet Labs and 
subsequent DARPA project on that engine in the early 90s for a drone engine.  
Project later canceled.  However, we used the results as part of our testing 
on our V8 engines and on the modified Continentals used in the 1993 high 
altitude programs with great success for the purpose of lowering the engines 
cooling needs at altitude and to reduce the fuel load that had to be lugged 
to altitude.  This was again used in the 1997 Vela Technology high altitude 
rocket launch program.

We then revived the rotary work in 1998 on the UEL engines, which in the 
meantime had been bought out by Silver Arrow (Israeli drone company) for whom 
we have been doing development work ever since.  The results have been in the 
same 16% range as per the NASA study on the rotary engines.  

The results in the NASA test indicated 16.1% fuel burn reduction if they 
coated the rotor and sidewalls.  I believe that the lack of squish area and 
the generally rotten combustion chamber characteristics of the rotary cause 
it to get slightly better fuel reduction than for a piston engine.  The 
better the design of the combustion chamber the lower the benefits.  On the 
Lycomings and Continentals with their big open chambers and lack of swirl, 
tumble, and squish the gains are 15%.  But when we run them on our liquid 
cooled V8 engines for the Lancair which run 10.2 / 1 compression on the turbo 
engines with a diesel style combustion chamber in the piston top and 100 psi 
fuel rail pressure on 45 degree injectors the gains are only 12%.  The big 
benefit to us on those engines has been the enormous tolerance for fuel that 
comes from the reduction of the exhaust valve temperatures and the equally 
higher knock threshold.  To put this in prospective, since you are a racer, 
we hold the worlds C gas Roadster, C gas Lakester record at Bonneville with a 
429 cubic inch engine making 1800 hp at 336 mph.  We beat the worlds open 
wheel car record for even the larger classes with this C class.  That engine 
makes over 4 hp per cube and has not been apart in 5 years.  We also run a 
Pro Exhibition NHRA drag car at 140 inches of boost, 2600 hp.  The results 
are in the new HP Books book on turbochargers.

Darus
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