REGI US Completes Prototype RadMax Pump

www.greencarcongress.com ^ | 10/19/2007 | Staff

[Red Badger]

REGI US, Inc. and Reg Technologies have completed a prototype, proof-of-concept pump that is suitable for customer demonstrations.

The RadMax Rad Max, based on RandCam/RadMax sliding-vane rotary engine technology (earlier post), is a 12-vane device that produces 48 pump actions every revolution. As a pump for water or fuel, the prototype 140-pound RadMax Rad Max has a theoretical displacement of more than 2,000 gpm at 3,600 rpm. The solution is scalable with minimal design changes, and many of the parts are interchangeable between different sized pumps.

/The completed pump prototype is 10-inches in diameter and weighs 140 pounds. Maximum pressure is 500 psi, and the pump will handle any oil or water.

Working with a customer's specifications, a production pump would include definition of performance goals, which translate into size, weight, materials, fluid to be pumped, etc. A production pump would require the design and development of production tooling for lower cost castings (aluminum, steel, other), or injection molded polymer devices.

The demonstration unit shows that a RadMax Rad Max is a positive displacement device, capable of processing approximately twice its internal volume every revolution.

This means that a production unit could have identical performance with half the size and weight of any competitive unit. Reduction of weight is a significant performance parameter for all equipment, directly translating into reduction of energy requirements.

REGI US owns the US rights to the Rand Cam/RadMax rotary technology. The RadMax engine has only two unique moving parts, the vanes (up to 12) and the rotor, compared to the 40 moving parts in a simple four-cylinder piston engine. This design makes it possible to produce up to 24 continuous power impulses per one rotation that is vibration-free and extremely quiet.

The vanes, which are mounted parallel to the driveshaft, slide up and down along the outside of the rotor as they follow a track along the inside of the stator housing. Combustion chambers form between the rotor, stator walls and vanes, and their volumes change as the vanes move during rotation.

With 12 vanes and the resulting 24 combustion events, the engine generates 1 hp per 0.75 lb, as compared to a conventional internal-combustion engine's 1 hp per 6 or 7 lbs. The engine has a compression ratio of 20:1, and can burn a variety of fuels, including diesel.

The engine also generates lower vibrations because all the components are spinning in the same direction. There are no pistons or valves making thousands of abrupt changes per minute. The combustion chambers are also balanced around the rotor, plus the rotor acts as a flywheel to smooth out power imbalances and eliminate destructive harmonics.

The RadMax engine also has multi-fuel capabilities allowing it to operate on fuels including gasoline, natural gas, hydrogen, propane and diesel. REGI US and parent company Reg Technologies Inc. are currently designing and testing prototype RadMax diesel engines, compressors and pumps intended for aviation, automotive, industrial processes and military applications.

[Red Badger]

Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.....

If you want ON or OFF the DIESEL ”KnOcK” LIST just FReepmail me.....

This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days.....

[Red Badger]

Update of an earlier diesel engine post................

[Ken522]

So how many miles per gallon do you think I could get out of the RadMax in my Nissan Sentra?

[Red Badger]

http://radmax.easyitis.net/

Go to the link and clik on “COMPARISON” in the sidebar....

# Shaft Power: 42 hp @ 7,000 RPM
# Fuel: JP-8, JP-5 (any diesel fuel)
# Speed: 7,000 * RPM (variable from approx. 1,200 to 12,000 RPM)
# SFC: Less than 0.4 lbs/hp-hr
# Starting Torque/Speed: 9 ft-lbf at 600 RPM *
# Vibration: essentially none
# MTBF approx: 5,000 hours *
# Cooling: air cooled

[loungitude]

At the company web site, no evidence is given of the engine ever working as an engine. A few times they spun it with an external power source and used it as a pump. All uses as an engine are ‘future prospects’. The seven-minute video is a waste of time. The presentation is very weak at best. Similar pump designs have existed for years.

[bolobaby]

Nice. Now put it in the Moller Skycar. That thing was working on Wankels.

http://www.moller.com/

[Red Badger]

[dangerdoc]

Looks alot like the MYT engine. They didn’t have a fuel burning prototype either.

[Zerodown]

The reason this is a pump, and still only a theoretical engine is that they probably have not been able to handle the axial load on the vanes, and efficiently lubricate it when it's putting out power, rather than being driven.

In fact, I'll wager that as an engine, with a bit of DDT in the fuel and lube oil, this thing would make one hell of an insect fogger.

BUT, I like it! I hope these fellows keep going!