Jump to content

IRIS engine

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 138.88.13.108 (talk) at 03:11, 16 October 2008. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The IRIS Engine is a design for a new type of internal combustion engine. Its inventors say that engines constructed using this design can be smaller, lighter and significantly more efficient than traditional engines of comparable horsepower and displacement. The design replaces the piston and cylinder architecture of conventional engines with a purportedly novel mechanism called the Internally Radiating Impulse Structure, or IRIS.[1]

In January 2008, the IRIS Engine design won first prize for transportation technology in NASA's annual "Create the Future" design competition.[1][2] In October 2008, the Radial Expansion Engine (RXE), a variant of the IRIS design, won a major award in the ConocoPhillips Energy Prize competition.[3]

Geometry of the IRIS

In an IRIS combustion chamber, a number of inverted segments of a circle, or "chordons," interact to create a continuously sealed chamber of variable volume. Instead of elongating during combustion, as a traditional engine does, the IRIS engine's chamber expands in diameter. The inventors claim that this innovation will reduce waste heat and will increase the amount of surface area the engine has available to produce torque. [4]

Design variations

IRIS engines are designed to run on traditional fuels, but could also be adapted to use biodiesel, natural gas, or hydrogen. IRIS radial impulse technology could also be utilized to create pumps, compressors and medical devices, the inventors claim.[5]

Designers

The IRIS was conceived of by Timber Dick, a Denver, Colorado inventor and businessman. Three of his sons, Corban, Levi, and Tomicah Tillemann-Dick, also contributed to the design and are credited on patent applications relating to the IRIS engine. A closely related design by the same team of inventors, the Radial Expansion Engine, was recently awarded a $75,000 prize in the ConocoPhillips Energy Prize Competition. [6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYM11004022008-1.htm
  2. ^ NASA Tech Briefs Create the Future Design Contest
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Tendix Development | The IRIS Engine: A Breakthrough in Energy Efficiency
  5. ^ NASA Tech Briefs Create the Future Design Contest
  6. ^ PreGrant Publication Database Search Results: "radial impulse engine" in PGPUB Production Database
  7. ^ Tendix Development | The IRIS Engine: A Breakthrough in Energy Efficiency
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IRIS_engine&oldid=245591029"