Barnard Microsystems Limited

Developing Unmanned Aircraft Systems to benefit Mankind

The RCV rotating cylinder engine - Rotating Cylinder

Rotating cylinder engine

RCV 35cc UAV JP8 engine under dynamometer test

- from http://www.rcvengines.com

Rotating cylinder engines: an introduction...

- from http://www.rcvengines.com

Rotating cylinder engine

Rotating cylinder engine

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RCV rotating cylinder engines

Rotating cylinder engine

The RCV60-SP engine

RCV engine information from http://rcvengines.com/rcv_modelhome.htm

capacity in cc

power output in kWatts

kW / kg

J/ccfam

10

0.670 at 5,400 rpm

1.175

0.744

15

1.120 at 5,400 rpm

1.427

0.830

20

1.340 at 5,400 rpm

1.34

0.744

Notes:

  • All RCV engines use " glow fuel" : methanol + 10 % nitromethane + 15% minimum synthetic castor oil lubricant.
  • J/ccfam = energy in Joules per cc of fuel-air mixture
  • For RCVxx-SP, J/ccfam = ( power_in_watts x 60 ) / (capacity_in_cc x rpm ) = measure of energy efficiency

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New RCV engine

Rotating cylinder engine

Rotating cylinder engine

from http://www.sae.org/aeromag/techupdate/09-2006/2-26-8-5.pdf

Rotating cylinder engine

An engine prototype displayed at the AUVSI Conference 2008 in San Diego.

Rotating cylinder engine

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RCV engines for UAV applications - Heavy Fuel, JP8, JP5

The RCV engine is particularly suited to UAV applications because it runs extremely well on heavy fuels, typically generating the same power levels that it does on gasoline. The excellent JP5/JP8 running characteristics, are due to the compact combustion chamber and high internal turbulence levels, generated by the large squish area, sharp valve edges and rotating cylinder.

RCV have developed and patented a reliable cold start system, for use with heavy fuels.

Benefits include:-

  • High power density
  • Low BSFC for long endurance missions
  • Excellent JP8 performance
  • Ultra compact size
  • Suitable for ducted fan operation

    • These engines are designed to give low Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) at part throttle:

    Observed on general RCV engines

    Fixed valve timing and compression engine (JP-8)

    Variable valve timing and compression engine (JP-8)

    Typical conventional automotive

    82 KW / litre

    82 KW / litre

    82 KW / litre

    75 KW / litre

    630 g / KW

    < 350 g / KW

    < 400 g / KW

    500 - 600 g / KW

    290 g / KWhr

    270 g / KWhr

    270 g / KWhr

    300 g / KWhr

    396 g / KWhr

    331 g / KWhr

    440 g / KWhr

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