Opposed piston-opposed cylinder engine

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SoCalExile
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Opposed piston-opposed cylinder engine

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70_F100
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Re: Opposed piston-opposed cylinder engine

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Isn't that similar to the Corvair engine???
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Re: Opposed piston-opposed cylinder engine

Post by Old Bird »

It's "similar" to any boxer engine - corvair, vw bug, porsche, subaru, ferarri, except that there are two opposing cylinders in each bore. Brilliantly simple. I'll wait to see the results though, especially longevity and service requirements.
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Re: Opposed piston-opposed cylinder engine

Post by MaxKlinger »

Opposed piston engines, called OP's, have been around for a long time in an inline configuration with an upper and lower crankshaft. The biggest manufacturer of these type engines was Fairbanks-Morse, which made them as turbocharged two-cycle diesels. They were used extensively in submarines during World War II and used in tugboats and locomotives after the war.

Image

I believe they're still being produced today, although FM is now just a trade name owned by another company.

I wouldn't call the OPOC engine simple. It's not going to be an easy task to transmit the forces from the outer pistons to one central driveshaft. That's why FM went with two.

Also, if you think the OP-boxer concept is crazy, check this out:

Image

I believe it was called the Deltic-OP, and was built and operated in Great Britain years ago. I don't think it was too successful due to maintainability problems.
Last edited by MaxKlinger on Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Opposed piston-opposed cylinder engine

Post by Old Bird »

MaxKlinger wrote:I wouldn't call the OPOC engine simple. <<--snip-->> I don't think it was too successful due to maintainability problems.
Yeah, I didn't mean the engine was simple, but that it's a simple concept. Practicality is the issue, which is why they're on their 5th generation and are fully expecting many more prior to a production version.

The novel idea here is the combination of the boxer and opposing pistons, which is a simpler version, at least in theory, requiring fewer moving parts than most OPOC engines.
Timothy

It's for my twin boys, sure they're only 3 right now, but it's all for them! Well, and my twin girls. They're not even 1 yet, but when they are I'll have a pit crew!

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