John Luft, COO of Advanced Engine Technologies, is immodest when describing his company's OX2 engine. "It's the first fundamental change to internal combustion engines, probably since their inception." The object of his bold claim is an aluminum drum that has a diameter of 12.8 in., weighs 125 lb. In reality it's an eight-cylinder engine that can generate 150 ft-lbs. of torque at just 400 rpm.

The OX2 has only six major components and doesn't rely on exotic materials, which should make it comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture. The OX2 also has one-third fewer moving parts than a conventional piston engine, and can generate high torque at low rpm, which reduces wear and the need for maintenance. The engine produces low emissions and operates on a variety of fuels including gasoline, CNG, LPG, methanol, ethanol and hydrogen. Its small footprint and low weight should increase packaging freedom and fuel economy.

The performance of the initial OX2 prototypes was enough to persuade automotive icon Carroll Shelby, creator of the Shelby Cobra, to sign on to lead the development. Says Shelby,"Over the last 50 years I've looked at maybe 50 to 75 engines, and this is the only one that's worth any effort." Another director is George Hunt, who has 36 years in the marine industry. Advisers include racing champion Bobby Allison, Bob Teague of Teague Custom Marine and motorcycle-racing champion Eddie Lawson.

AET garnered serious interest from Caterpillar, GM and Outboard Marine, but they wanted independent tests. The three companies are funding an evaluation at the University of California at Riverside. This is despite the fact that the OX2 won't be able to generate enough horsepower in the near future to be used as the sole power source for a car. Instead, says Luft, "The engine's first point of entry into automotive will be hybrid vehicles."

http://www.ox2engine.com

The OX2 has no crankshaft, camshafts or valvetrain. It doesn't need an oil pump or a water pump. It circulates its own fluids because it runs in a circle inside itself, distributed by centrifugal force. Pistons are connected by rings (called "plates") that move via rollers along a fixed cam. A constant-velocity roller bearing joint on the plates allows them to translate reciprocating motion into rotary motion, while the cam lobes force the pistons into the cylinders. Combustion sends the pistons back down, which rotates the plates and circular engine block. Power is transmitted directly to a drive shaft that runs through the middle of the assembly.

In place of a valve system, the OX2 has a simple port plate with a 3-mm thick full floating seal that covers the single port at the end of each combustion chamber. Unlike a traditional four-stroke internal combustion engine, there are two spark plugs firing every revolution and two pistons always fire together which gives the OX2 its high torque to rpm ratio.

AET claims that the OX2 has a leverage 6.6 times greater than that of a traditional piston engine design. But the downside is that, as AET's engineers coax more rpm out of the engine, the centrifugal force lifting the pistons from the track increases. Says Luft, "We have spent a tremendous amount of engineering time looking at modifications that will keep the pistons on track." Ultimately, resolution of this problem could hold the key to the OX2's potential success.

http://www.geocities.com/side_lines/ox2enginenews.html

wow, that's pretty nifty...

it certainly could be well applied in small passenger cars, and maybe even a small pick-up truck capacity (would be plenty good for towing, but i wonder about its efficiency at MUCH larger displacements...), but it's clear that this is no race engine...

pretty cool idea though.

It took me a looooong time staring at the diagram before I had an inkling how it works. That's some cool shit, by the looks of it.

That's what always threw me off for the "Quasiturbine." I can understand the basic mechanics of a four cycle or two cycle piston engine. I can also see how the Wankel works. This thing took a bit longer, but I get it too. The Quasiturbine still baffles me.

For its size, I would think the OX2 would be extremely efficient. Now if only they could scale it up...

[Edit] Hell with scaling it up... why not run two or three together and use some gearing to combine the resulting power?