U engine

U engine

A U engine is a piston engine made up of two separate straight engines (complete with separate crankshafts) joined by gears or chains. It is similar to the H engine which couples two flat engines. The design is also sometimes described as a "twin bank" or "double bank" engine, although these terms are sometimes used also to describe V engines.

This configuration is uncommon as it is heavier than a V design. The main interest in this design is its ability to share common parts with straight engines. However, V engines with offset banks can also share straight engine parts (except for the crankshaft), and this is therefore a far more common design today when both engine forms are produced from the same basic design. An engine of this type was the 16-cylinder engine found on the Bugatti Type 45, and only two were produced. However, Bugatti licensed the design to Duesenberg in America, who produced about 40, and Breguet of France, who both intended the engine for aircraft use.

Matra developed a high-end Bagheera prototype powered by a 2.6 L U8 engine made of two Simca 1000 Rallye 2 Straight-4s connected by chains around 1974. However with petroleum crisis this car was never put in production.

Several types of U-form diesel engine have been historically produced, by companies such as Lister Blackstone [http://www.oldengine.org/members/blkstone/History6.htm] and Sulzer Brothers Ltd.A twin bank diesel engine for marine use is described in US Patent 4167857 [http://freepatentsonline.com/4167857.html] . However, no further documentation has been found for any ship or marine application of such an engine.

Sulzer Brothers developed a diesel engine for rail traction of this type, the LD series, in the 1930s, that was in production for more than fifty years. Several cylinder sizes were produced, including the 19 (bore 190 mm), 22 (bore 220 mm), 25 (bore 250 mm), 28 (bore 280 mm) and 31 (bore 310 mm). The engines of the LD and later, the LDA series, were commonly found in 6 and 8 cylinders inline and 12 cylinders U form. The U form engines were installed in railway locomotives operating in several countries, including Britain, Bulgaria, China, France, Poland and Romania. Sulzer Brothers later discontinued the rail traction engine business. [http://www.derbysulzers.com/sulzerengine.html]

If the crankshaft on one bank of cylinders is made to rotate in the opposite direction of the crankshaft on the other bank, then the gyroscopic effects of the rotating components would be canceled. However, counter-rotating crankshafts would make the joining of the power outputs very difficult.

quare four engine

A square four is a U engine with two cylinders on each side.

This configuration was used on the Ariel Square Four motorcycle from 1931 to 1959.

This design was revived as a two-stroke version on some racing Suzukis, and their subsequent road-going version the Suzuki RG500. Although some racing success was achieved, the road bikes didn't sell in great numbers, and the design was phased out in favour of in-line, four-stroke designs, as at the time two stroke engines were quickly being superseded by more economical, reliable, and emissions-friendly four-strokes.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Engine tuning — is the adjustment, modification or design of internal combustion engines to yield optimal performance, either in terms of power output or economy. It has a long history, almost as long as the development of the car in general, originating with… …   Wikipedia

  • Engine braking — is where the retarding forces within an engine are used to slow a vehicle down, as opposed to using an external braking mechanism, for example friction brakes or magnetic brakes. The term is often confused with several other types of braking,… …   Wikipedia

  • Engine balance — is the design, construction and tuning of an engine to run smoothly. Engine balance reduces vibration and other stresses, and may improve the performance, efficiency, cost of ownership and reliability of the engine, as well as reducing the stress …   Wikipedia

  • Engine configuration — is an engineering term for the layout of the major components of an internal combustion engine. These components include cylinders, pistons, crankshaft(s) and camshaft(s).For many automobile engines, the term ´block is interchangeable with engine …   Wikipedia

  • Engine cooling — is cooling an engine, typically using either air or liquid.OverviewHeat engines generate mechanical power by extracting energy from heat flows, much as a water wheel extracts mechanical power from a flow of mass falling through a distance.… …   Wikipedia

  • Engine Sentai Go-onger — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Engine Sentai Go Onger Título original Engine Sentai Go onger Español Escuadrón Motorizado Go onger Género Drama Juvenil de Ciencia Ficción F …   Wikipedia Español

  • Engine efficiency — of thermal engines is the relationship between the total energy contained in the fuel, and the amount of energy used to perform useful work. There are two classifications of thermal engines (1) Internal combustion (gasoline, diesel and gas… …   Wikipedia

  • Engine Sentai Go-onger — Titre original 炎神戦隊ゴーオンジャー Translittération Enjin Sentai Gō Onjā Genre Sentai Pays d’origine  Japon Chaîne d’origine …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Engine — En gine ([e^]n j[i^]n), n. [F. engin skill, machine, engine, L. ingenium natural capacity, invention; in in + the root of gignere to produce. See {Genius}, and cf. {Ingenious}, {Gin} a snare.] 1. Note: (Pronounced, in this sense, [e^]n*j[=e]n .)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Engine driver — Engine En gine ([e^]n j[i^]n), n. [F. engin skill, machine, engine, L. ingenium natural capacity, invention; in in + the root of gignere to produce. See {Genius}, and cf. {Ingenious}, {Gin} a snare.] 1. Note: (Pronounced, in this sense,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Engine lathe — Engine En gine ([e^]n j[i^]n), n. [F. engin skill, machine, engine, L. ingenium natural capacity, invention; in in + the root of gignere to produce. See {Genius}, and cf. {Ingenious}, {Gin} a snare.] 1. Note: (Pronounced, in this sense,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”