Wankel rotary engine

views updated May 23 2018

Wankel rotary engine Internal combustion engine with rotors instead of pistons, invented in the 1950s by German engineer Felix Wankel (1902–88). Each triangular rotor turns inside a close-fitting casing. Gaps between the casing and rotor form three crescent-shaped combustion chambers. Each chamber goes through a sequence of events similar to those in a four-stroke engine with pistons.