A turboprop engine assembly for an aircraft, including an internal combustion engine having a liquid coolant system, an air duct in fluid communication with an environment of the aircraft, a heat exchanger received within the air duct having coolant passages in fluid communication with the liquid coolant system and air passages air passages in fluid communication with the air duct, and an exhaust duct in fluid communication with an exhaust of the internal combustion engine. The exhaust duct has an outlet positioned within the air duct downstream of the heat exchanger and upstream of an outlet of the air duct, the outlet of the exhaust duct spaced inwardly from a peripheral wall of the air duct. In use, a flow of cooling air surrounds a flow of exhaust gases. A method of discharging air and exhaust gases in an turboprop engine assembly having an internal combustion engine is also discussed.

An auxiliary power unit for an aircraft includes a rotary intermittent internal combustion engine drivingly engaged to an engine shaft, a turbine section having an inlet in fluid communication with an outlet of the engine(s), the turbine section including at least one turbine compounded with the engine shaft, and a compressor having an inlet in fluid communication with an environment of the aircraft and an outlet in fluid communication with a bleed duct for providing bleed air to the aircraft, the compressor having a compressor rotor connected to a compressor shaft, the compressor shaft drivingly engaged to the engine shaft. The driving engagement between the compressor shaft and the engine shaft is configurable to provide at least two alternate speed ratios between the compressor shaft and the engine shaft.

The present invention provides a rotary engine comprising: a housing provided with three lobe accommodation parts; a rotor which is provided with two lobes continuously accommodated in the lobe accommodation parts, has an intake storage part communicating with an intake port provided on the front surface-side, and has an exhaust storage part communicating with an exhaust port provided on the rear surface-side; an intake-side housing cover provided with an intake hole communicating with the intake storage part; an exhaust-side housing cover provided with an exhaust hole communicating with the exhaust storage part; and a crankshaft, wherein the flow of an exhaust gas into a stroke chamber during an intake stroke is reduced by preventing the exhaust storage part, at a portion of a section in which the exhaust port is open, from communicating with the exhaust hole during the intake stroke.

A cooling system for an internal combustion engine comprises a fluid circuit having an intercooler, a main cooler and a precooler. The intercooler is configured for receiving coolant and configured for heat exchange relation between the coolant and engine compressed air. The main cooler is configured for receiving the coolant from the intercooler and the internal combustion engine and configured for selectively delivering a first portion of the coolant from the main cooler to the precooler. The precooler is configured to deliver a flow of the coolant to the intercooler. The main cooler and the precooler are configured for cooling the coolant by heat exchange with at least one cooling flow.

A rotary engine that starts and operates on compression-ignition of a heavy fuel without a secondary ignition source. The rotary engine includes a rotor housing that forms an epitrochoidal-shaped chamber having linear side portions extending between rounded end portions. A three-flanked rotor is disposed in the chamber to rotate and operate in a manner similar to that of a common Wankel-style rotary engine. The rotor and chamber are configured to provide a compression ratio sufficient to produce compression-ignition of a heavy fuel. The rotor includes apex seal and side seal mounting blocks formed from hardened materials and that are simply removable from the rotor for replacing apex and side seals. The apex seals may include multiple non-parallel seal members at each apex and the apex seals and the side seals may overlap or intersect a corner seal to increase sealing under high compression loads produced by the rotor/chamber configuration.

Sealing in rotary positive displacement machines based on trochoidal geometry that comprise a helical rotor that undergoes planetary motion within a helical stator is described. Seals can be mounted on the rotor, the stator, or both. The rotor can have a hypotrochoidal cross-section, with the corresponding stator cavity profile being the outer envelope of the rotor as it undergoes planetary motion, or the stator cavity can have an epitrochoidal cross-section with the corresponding rotor profile being the inner envelope of the trochoid as it undergoes planetary motion. In some embodiments, the geometry is offset in a manner that provides advantages with respect to sealing in the rotary machine. In multi-stage embodiments, the rotor-stator geometry remains substantially constant or varies along the axis of the rotary machine.

A six-phase thermodynamic cycle for a rotary internal combustion engine. The thermodynamic cycle comprising: Phase 1 (intake) air enters the central intake chamber and mixes with recirculated exhaust gas from phase 3; Phase 2 (low compression) the air and recirculated exhaust gas from phase 1 is compressed at a low compression ratio; Phase 3 (scavenge and recirculation) a portion of air and recirculated exhaust gas from phase 2 scavenges the combustion chamber and partially scavenges the expansion chamber; Phase 4 (high compression) the intake chamber separates to form a compression chamber and the residual combined exhaust gas and air from phase 2 is compressed at a high compression ratio into the combustion chamber; Phase 5 (power phase) an expansion chamber is formed, originating from the static combustion chamber and torque is produced to turn the output shaft; and Phase 6 (exhaust) exhaust gas from phase 5 is discharged.

A method of operating a rotary engine including a rotor engaged to a shaft and rotationally received in a housing to define a plurality of working chambers of variable volume, including delivering a pilot quantity of fuel into a pilot cavity in successive communication with the working chambers, igniting the pilot quantity of fuel within the pilot cavity, and delivering a main quantity of fuel into the working chambers downstream of the successive communication of the pilot cavity with the working chambers, where at least one of the pilot quantity and the main quantity is varied between successive rotations of the shaft.

An assembly for an aircraft having a propeller, including a wheel well configured for receiving a retracted landing gear, the wheel well including walls and a closable bottom opening for deploying the landing gear therethrough, an engine assembly having an engine shaft configured for driving engagement with the propeller, and a mount assembly for supporting the engine assembly, the mount assembly connected to at least one of the walls of the wheel well. A method of supporting an engine assembly in an aircraft having a retractable landing gear and a propeller driven by the engine assembly is also discussed.

There is disclosed a cooling system for a liquid cooled internal combustion power plant housed in an engine compartment in a tail cone of an aircraft. The cooling system has: a tail cone inlet defined through a wall of the tail cone and fluidly communicating with an environment; a wall inlet defined through a firewall of the engine compartment; a blower within the engine compartment and having a blower inlet and a blower outlet, the blower inlet fluidly communicating with the environment via the tail cone inlet, via the wall inlet, and via an interior of the engine compartment; a blower outlet defined through a wall of the aircraft and fluidly communicating with the environment; and a cooling flow path extending from the tail cone inlet to the air outlet and across the wall inlet, the cooling flow path in heat exchange relationship with the power plant.