1 INTRODUCTION

Duke Engines are in an advanced stage of developing a unique high-speed, valve-less 5

cylinders, 3 injector axial internal combustion engine with zero first-order vibration, significantly
reduced size and weight, very high power density and the ability to run on multiple fuels and biofuels. The Duke engine is suited for many uses including marine, military automobile, light
aircraft and range extender applications. The Duke engines 5 cylinder, 3 liter, 4-stroke internal
combustion engine platform with its unique axial arrangement is already in its 3rd generation. In
comparisons made to conventional IC engines with similar displacement, the Duke engine was
found to be up to 19% lighter and up to 36% smaller. The Dukes notating reciprocator leads to
very low angles of con rod articulation resulting in a near sinusoidal reciprocating motion. This
combined with the counter-rotating cylinder group and crankshaft in the Duke engine delivers
near perfect mechanical balance resulting in a very low vibration engine. Axial engines,
including barrel engines, Wobble-plate engines and cam engines, are a type of reciprocating
engine with pistons arranged around an output shaft with their axes parallel to the shaft.
The key advantage of the axial design is that the cylinders are arranged in parallel around the
output shaft rather than at 90 degrees as in crankshaft engines. As a result it is a very compact,
cylindrical engine, allowing variation in compression ratio of the engine while running. In a
Wobble-plate engine the piston rods stay parallel with the shaft, and piston side-forces that cause
excessive wear can be eliminated almost completely. The small-end bearing of a traditional
connecting rod, one of the most problematic bearings in a traditional engine, is eliminated. An
alternate design, the Rand cam engine, replaces the plate with a sine-shaped cam.

2 The Duke Engine features

The Duke's unique counter rotation, 3 dimensional, almost vibration free motion and the
innovative methodology employed to achieve this, addresses previous limitations that have
prevented the commercialization of axial piston engines to date, especially at higher power and
speed. The absence of hot valves in the favorably shaped combustion chamber allows high
compression ratios for efficient operation on low octane fuels. With only 3 exhaust headers for 5
cylinders there is a low surface area for heat loss prior to any catalytic converter, offering a
potential catalyst light-off benefit. The current engine can be run on any suitable spark ignition
fuel. The Duke engine's lower component count (only 3 sets of injectors and ports for 5 cylinders
with no valve train), coupled with potentially lower production costs, make for savings in
manufacturing and operation.

3 Significance of current gasoline performance status:

11.8 Bar BMEP is competitive with conventional SI engines.

3.0L torque output of 339Nm / 250ft/lbs. is above that typically achieved by
comparable conventional engines - due to pistons reciprocating at 120% of output

speed, allowing a 20% higher output to be achieved at any given speed.

160kW power output is competitive with conventional SI engines of equivalent

displacement and is currently achieved at only 4500 rpm.

V3i gasoline performance reported is below its real potential due to the lower Jet
A1 compression ratio used and interim precautionary limit of 4500 rpm in this test
phase (design target 6000 rpm).

3.1 Centrifugal forces in an axial layout

The centrifugal forces in the Duke engine have been thoroughly analyzed. It should be
considered that the cylinder block rotates at a fraction of crankshaft speed and as a result Duke
radial inertial piston forces have been shown to be lower than the side forces created by the
conrods angle in a conventional engine.
3.2 Emissions
Like the Winkle rotary combustion chamber is unencumbered with valves and such like.
However unlike the rotary we approach a near optimal chamber shape far closer to a
conventional 4-stroke engine. Therefore we achieve a much more complete burn than a rotary.
Charge motion development will further improve our combustion efficiency to approach that of a
conventional 4-stroke.There is currently some oil required for the seals to work and this can add
to the emissions, however our consumption is far less than that required for a 2-stroke or rotary.
4 Working Principles
It works on basic principle of Wobble-plate. A wobble-plate is similar to a swashplate, in that the
pistons press down on the plate in sequence, forcing it to nutate around its center. This motion
can be simulated by placing a Compact Disc on a ball bearing at its center and pressing down at
progressive places around its circumference. The difference is that while a wobble plate nutate, a
swash-plate rotates but instead the disk is mounted at an oblique angle, which causes its edge to
appear to describe a path that oscillates along the shaft's length as observed from a non-rotating
point of view away from the shaft. The greater the disk's angle to the shaft, the more pronounced
is this apparent linear motion. The apparent linear motion can be turned into an actual linear
motion by means of a follower that does not turn with the Wobble-plate but presses against one
of the disk's two surfaces near its circumference. The device has many similarities to the cam.
The Wobble-plate engine uses a Wobble-plate in place of a crankshaft to translate the motion of a
piston into rotary motion. Internal combustion engines and sterling engines have been built using
this mechanism. The axial piston pump drives a series of pistons aligned coaxially with a shaft
through a Wobble-plate to pump a fluid.

4.1 Working of cycles

4.1.1Intake:

Fig.1. Charge intake

Instead of using complicated valve system slide pass forth and spark plug are mounted on
stationary head ring as the cylinder slide passes the inlet the fuel and air charge let in.
4.1.2 Compression

:
Fig.2. Charge compressed
The charges then compressed before the cylinder exposed to spark plug.

4.1.3 Ignition

Fig.3. Ignition by Spark

The charge burns and driving the piston down in power stroke.
4.1.4 Exhaust

Fig.4. Exhaust of burned charge

The piston then rises again ejecting the combustion gases through exhaust port to complete 4
stroke cycle.

4.2 Working of wobble plate:

A wobble plate does not go round; it is mounted on the Z-shaped crankshaft by a bearing. It is
articulated to the connecting rods by ball-joints, and clearly if it did go round would tie these
rods in knots. it does intoned to be a plate as such, but can be more of a spider.

Fig.5. Position of wobble plate

5 Duke Fuel efficiency - Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC):

A Duke engine was tested with BSFC of 255g/kWhr in the load/speed region near maximum
output. These tests were conducted. This result made it competitive with modern high end
automotive engines operating a similar combustion cycle (gasoline, port injected, spark
ignition).It should be recognized that the Duke engine at an early and non optimized condition,
being equal to conventional engines in their fully developed state, offers the very real prospect
for a developed Duke engine to improve substantially in comparison to conventional engines.

6 Applications
As well as automotive applications the Duke Engine lends itself well to Marine, Aircraft and
Generator/Utility Range Extender options. The output shaft, being 'geared down' to 5/6 of the
piston reciprocating speed, allows the 'engine-out' torque to be higher and maximum torque to be
developed at lower speeds. The Duke Engine is generally well suited to many applications of
40kW or greater.

Marine
Military automobile
Light aircraft
Range extender applications

7 Advantages:

Installation in small cowlings with lower drag.

Low weight.

Small package size.

Near perfect mechanical balance for very low vibration.

Direct drive low-power or geared high-power options..

Multi fuel options. Automotive gasoline with low octane requirements. Compatible with
100LL

avgas.

No cam drive train or valves.

Low parts count.

Simplicity of design 3 injectors & 3 manifold connections for 5 cylinder engine.

Multi-point spark ignition simply achieved.

Partial cancellation of gyroscopic effects from slow speed counter rotation of cylinder
group.

Suitable for 50hp to 350+ hp

8 Conclusions:

Part-load fuel economy is comparable with modern conventional engines

Full-load performance is comparable with modern conventional engines without
performance enhancing technologies such as cam phasing and switchable intake systems

Motored engine friction falls within the range of current conventional engines.
Exhaust temperature at part-load is high compared to conventional engines this might
prove to be an advantage for catalyst light-off in automotive applications

9 References

http://www.dukeengines.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/DukeEngines
http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/POWER/unusualICeng/axial-ICeng/axial-

IC.htm#tech
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_engine
http://thekneeslider.com/duke-engines-5-cylinder-4-stroke-3-injector-valveless-axial-

engine/