Yes, it is, I totally agree. There has been mentioned before, a little
here and a lot
here.
I was thinking that none of these posts mention that the main problem are the lateral seals, not the carriage seals, so I take the opportunity to say it.
Also, the posts say that there is nothing more unbeatable as a piston engine. I cede the floor to
Mr. Saint-Hilaire, visible head of the Quebec family that, legendarily, designed the engine on their free time, with this purpose in mind, in a summer vacation:
"... the sinusoidal crankshaft has actually been a major obstacle to the development of modern optimized engines. In contrast, the Quasiturbine design allows us to shape in time the volume pulse in the combustion chamber, which is something that a piston or Wankel engine simply can't do. This really optimizes the thermodynamic efficiency for the Quasiturbine combustion-cycle."
You really have to love those crazy french-canadians (Go Jacques!).
I would only add: "Eat
that, Ferrari!"
I noticed that Mr. Saint-Hilaire doesn't mention the six-stroke engine, with its adjustable chamber volume (by joining the piston to the crankshaft with a cam instead of a rod), mentioned on the posts I gave, so maybe Ferrari will have the last laugh.
I'd like to mention also that there have been recent developments:
* the Université de la Concorde
acquired one in April
* there are
crazy ideas in forums about using quasiturbines inside of the wheels.
As you can imagine, I loved that one because it seems impractical at first sight! I loved even more when somebody pointed out it has been tried in 1920, with classical rotary engines.
* there is an
association (with the longest page I have ever seen in the Internet, and a photo of a really weird, pure breed Canadian, quasiturbine family car).
* and there is a
site that will drown you in technical info.
* I left this one for the end: there is a white paper that goes by the unforgettable name of (I am not making this up!):
"Quantum Parallel: The Saint-Hilaire “Quasiturbine” As The Basis For a Simultaneous Paradigm Shift In Vehicle Propulsion Systems. An entry into the “Post Piston Engine Era” for Optimum Efficiency and Environmental Benefits"
that you can find
here.
Which reminds me of the old joke of the mathematician, the physic and the engineer.... that I will tell only if asked.