Wankel diesel from Rolls-Royce
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• A diesel version of a Wankel rotary engine, having a high compression and a seal that is said to give twice the normal life, has been developed by Rolls-Royce Car Division, Crewe. for the Ministry of Defence. The principle of the Wankel in its original form is such that it is impossible to employ a compression ratio suitable for compression ignition, and an efficient long-life seal is obviously more important in the case of a diesel than a spark-ignition engine having a relatively low compression ratio. Development work has been under the direction of Mr Fitz Faller.
The Wankel diesel has two rotor units of different sizes that are geared together and the larger unit is used to precompress the intake air. Air is fed into the smaller unit with the opening of a port and is further compressed before diesel fuel is injected. The diesel operates at 4400 rpm which is about twice the speed of a typical high-speed unit. And it is anticipated that the latest diesel under development will be about one-quarter the size of a conventional diesel of the same output.