Source
"The Wave Disk Generator uses 60 percent of its fuel for propulsion; standard car engines use just 15 percent. As a result, the generator is 3.5 times more fuel efficient than typical combustion engines.
Researchers estimate the new model could shave almost 1,000 pounds off a car's weight currently taken up by conventional engine systems.
The engine has a rotor that's equipped with wave-like channels that trap and mix oxygen and fuel as the rotor spins. These central inlets are blocked off, building pressure within the chamber, causing a shock wave that ignites the compressed air and fuel to transmit energy.
The Wave Disk Generator uses 60 percent of its fuel for propulsion; standard car engines use just 15 percent. As a result, the generator is 3.5 times more fuel efficient than typical combustion engines.
Researchers estimate the new model could shave almost 1,000 pounds off a car's weight currently taken up by conventional engine systems."
From another forum I frequent:
The wave disk generator came up in discussion this past weekend with an old friend of mine, an MSU engineering graduate of some 30 years ago (my vintage as well...), he is still well connected with the MSU engineering community and I consider him to be brilliant. He knows some fellows who do contract machine work for many of MSU’s engineering projects, and apparently his friends have done some machine and fabrication work for the wave disk generator.
When I asked him if he thought it was a real breakthrough, or just another “revolutionary ICE design that never goes anywhere...”, I believe I’m quoting him correctly as saying “...I believe it is complete and utter f**king bulls**t.”
Apparently, said wave disk generator requires a rather large amount of compressed air to operate, and as we know, large amounts of compressed air aren’t free, and some outsiders who have looked at it believe that a goodly amount of the shaft output power comes from the compressed air input. Granted now, if it has enough shaft output, it could likely run it’s own turbocharger.
One other consensus is that the MSU academics involved are quite skilled at working the federal grant system.
I find the claims of 1000 pound reductions in vehicle weight due to conventional powertrains (engine, transmission, cooling system, emissions, and fluids) to be an exaggeration, as decent sized generators, wheel traction motors, batteries, and their associated heavy wiring and control systems have substantial weight. But if this thing can efficiently run a generator at constant speed with lower BSFC and emissions than a piston ICE, and provide enough output to run an all-electric vehicle, then perhaps it has merit.
Guess we’ll see, but my engineering skepticism detector is beeping on this one.
I thought that today's engines were well over 90% emissions free...........maybe even around 96 or 97%.......
I prefer this one:
This might be interesting as an auxiliary power unit just driving lods like air conditioning, alternator, power stering, power brake, etc.