US20090007775A1

US20090007775A1 - Engine for Aeronautical Applications II

Info

Publication number: US20090007775A1
Application number: US12/044,508
Authority: US
Inventors: John C. Seymour; Robert L. Mullen; Marvin J. Schreck
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-03-07
Filing date: 2008-03-07
Publication date: 2009-01-08
Also published as: WO2008109836A1

Abstract

An improved engine for aeronautical applications includes a forged cylinder block having a drive device rotatably mounted therewithin and a motive device for rotating the drive device, the motive device including two cylinder banks in a V-type configuration and a plurality of cylinders mounted within the cylinder banks for producing power and rotating the drive device. The forged cylinder block further includes a plurality of cylinder cavities formed in the cylinder banks and the upper approximately one-third of each of the cylinder cavities is generally surrounded by a generally toroidal cooling chamber, and the lower approximately two-thirds of each of the cylinder cavities is generally free of any surrounding cooling chambers. Finally, a coolant circulation device in fluid transmission connection with each of the cooling chambers is operative to circulate cooling fluid therethrough whereby the upper approximately one-third of each of the cylinder cavities is cooled by the cooling fluid.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/905,558 filed Mar. 7, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to engines and, more particularly, to an improved engine for aeronautical applications which includes an improved coolant flow design in which only the upper one-third of each cylinder liner is cooled via contact with coolant fluid, the coolant also coming into direct contact with the cylinder head deck due to the elimination of the cylinder block deck, the improved engine further including a raised cam shaft to allow for shorter push rods and larger base circle cams which reduce cam-to-cam follower wear, the improved engine further consisting of a forged block of material and finally including a set of gas-filled metal “O”-rings which seal the cylinder head to the cylinder block in order to prevent leaks of any kind from the engine block.
2. Description of Related Art
Aircraft engines are subject to extreme conditions yet must function without fail in order to prevent catastrophic loss of life. This is especially true in the case of single-engine aircraft which have no backup engine power should the engine fail. It is also necessary to provide large amounts of thrust from the engine and propeller unit in order to both permit controlled flight and sufficient speed for the aircraft to get where it is going in a reasonable amount of time. To solve these problems, recent aircraft have utilized turbo prop or turbo jet engines which have a relatively high thrust-to-weight ratio and are generally reliable. However, such engines have inherent deficiencies, particularly in terms of cost and fuel consumption. There is therefore a need for an aircraft engine which is not of the turbo prop or turbo jet design to avoid the deficiencies of those designs yet which has many of the beneficial operational features of those designs.
An engine which fits those needs is a traditional internal combustion engine having a plurality of pistons and cylinders which provide the driving force for the drive shaft. However, in terms of thrust-to-weight ratio, combustion engines have a significant problem in that heretofore they have been in the lower end of the ratio spectrum and thus are usable for only certain aeronautical applications. There is therefore a need for a piston-driven aircraft engine which is usable in a greater number of situations and which can substitute for and even replace other types of aircraft engines currently being used.
Another problem encountered in connection with piston-driven engines is that the engines can take an inordinate amount of time to initially warm, thus causing increased cold engine parts wear, and furthermore, because of the configuration of the elements of the engine, it can be somewhat difficult to properly cool the engine during operation, particularly when the engine designed for higher speeds and higher stresses as is required in connection with piston-driven engines operative to power aircraft. There is therefore a need for a piston-driven aircraft engine which will quickly warm to prevent cold engine wear yet which will also not overheat due to efficient cooling of the engine.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved engine for aeronautical applications.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved engine for aeronautical applications which includes an improved coolant flow design in which only the upper one-third of each cylinder liner is cooled via contact with coolant fluid such that the engine warms more rapidly than ordinary aeronautical engines.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved engine for aeronautical applications in which the coolant comes into direct contact with the cylinder head deck due to the elimination of the cylinder block deck thereby improving cooling of the cylinder head deck.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved engine for aeronautical applications which includes a raised cam shaft to allow for shorter push rods and larger base circle cams which reduce cam-to-cam follower wear.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved engine for aeronautical applications which includes a set of gas-filled metal “O”-rings which seal the cylinder head to the cylinder block in order to prevent leaks of any kind from the engine block.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved engine for aeronautical applications which is relatively straightforward in design and which provides a safe, efficient and effective powerplant for aircraft.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved engine for aeronautical applications including a forged cylinder block having a drive device rotatably mounted within the forged cylinder block and motive device for rotating the drive device, the motive device including two cylinder banks in a V-type configuration and a plurality of cylinders mounted within the cylinder banks for producing power and rotating the drive device. The forged cylinder block further includes a plurality of cylinder cavities formed in the cylinder banks and the upper approximately one-half to one-fourth of each of the cylinder cavities is generally surrounded by a generally toroidal cooling chamber, and the lower approximately three-fourths to one-half of each of the cylinder cavities is generally free of any surrounding cooling chambers. Finally, a coolant circulation device in fluid transmission connection with each of the generally toroidal cooling chambers is operative to circulate cooling fluid therethrough whereby the upper approximately one-half to one-fourth of each of the cylinder cavities is cooled by the cooling fluid.
The present invention as thus described provides many improvements to engines for aeronautical applications which are heretofore unknown in the aircraft engine field of art. For example, because the present invention cools directly only the upper portion of each of the cylinders and pistons, the engine reaches proper operating temperature far more quickly than is found with the vast majority of engines currently being used, thus extending the lifespan of the cooling and lubricating fluids used in the engine. Furthermore, because the engine further includes a set of gas-filled metal “O”-rings mounted between the cylinder head deck and the cylinder block, coolant and lubrication fluid leaks from the engine are generally prevented. Finally, because the present invention provides an engine for aeronautical applications which is relatively straightforward in design and which provides a safe, efficient and effective powerplant for aircraft, it is far more useful in such applications than those engines found in the prior art. It is thus seen that the improved engine for aeronautical applications of the present invention provides significant improvements over those engines and devices found in the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the improved aeronautical engine of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed front elevational view of the engine showing the internal operational elements thereof;

FIG. 3 is a detailed front elevational view of the cylinder block of the engine of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a detailed front elevational view of the present invention taken along a different cross section from FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram view of the water coolant flow through the engine of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a detailed side elevational view of the accessories and camshaft driven by the crankshaft;

FIG. 7 is a detailed side elevational view of the connection between the crankshaft and camshaft showing operation thereof;

FIG. 8 is a detailed top plan view of the cylinder head segment of the engine of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a detailed front elevational view of the cylinder head segment of the engine of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The improved aeronautical engine 10 of the present invention is shown best in FIGS. 1 and 2 as being constructed in a V8 configuration and which includes many of the features standard with such piston-driven engines, including a single cam, a pushrod design, mechanical fuel injection, twin magneto ignition, four valves and two spark plugs per cylinder, a centrifugal supercharger and water and oil cooling and lubrication systems which extend throughout the block of the engine. The present description will be specifically directed to those features which are believed to be unique and inventive in nature, but it is to be understood that many other features which will be described herein may also be novel and deserving of protection.
As shown best in FIG. 2, the improved aeronautical engine 10 of the present invention includes several features which are unique to the present invention. Specifically, one of the most unique features is the forged cylinder block 12 which starts out as a raw aluminum forging and is machined into a light-weight extremely stiff and strong structure to serve as the cylinder block once machined. During the machining process, the cylinder cavities 14 a and 14 b are formed, as shown in FIG. 3, along with the various bolt-receiving shafts 16 formed adjacent the cylinder cavities 14 a and 14 b, and the camshaft chamber 18 is also machined out of the billet block 12, as shown in FIG. 3. Returning to FIG. 2, once the cylinder block 12 is properly machined, the cylinder linings or sleeves 20 a and 20 b are inserted into the cylinder cavities 14 a and 14 b and the cylinders 22 a and 22 b themselves are positioned within the cylinder sleeves 20 a and 20 b, in order to permit the improved aeronautical engine 10 of the present invention to function as a piston-driven engine should function.
One should note, however, that an extremely important element of the present invention is that the cylinder sleeves 20 a and 20 b fill the lower two-thirds of the cylinder cavities 14 a and 14 b but the upper approximately one-third of each of the cylinder sleeves 20 a and 20 b does not extend to the outer edges of the cylinder cavities 14 a and 14 b thus leaving a generally toroidal cooling chamber 30 a and 30 b surrounding each of the cylinder sleeves 20 a and 20 b. Water or another such coolant fluid is circulated through the cooling chamber 30 a and 30 b by the coolant system, as it has been found that the upper one-third of the cylinder sleeves 20 a and 20 b is where the majority of the combustion heat is generated and therefore there is a pressing need to cool the upper one-third of the cylinder sleeve 20 a and 20 b. However, the vast majority of engines currently produced include full water jackets which surround the entire cylinder sleeve 20 a and 20 b, and it has been found that when the entire cylinder sleeve 20 a and 20 b is surrounded by cooling water, it takes a longer time for the engine to reach optimum operating temperatures, which often will result in significantly increased engine wear due to prolonged cold start up. The significant advantage of the present invention is that cooling the upper one-third of the cylinder sleeve 20 a and 20 b via the cooling chamber 30 a and 30 b permits the engine to heat up much more quickly and will also not affect cooling efficiency once the improved aeronautical engine 10 is at normal operating temperature. Of course, the same structure would be used in connection with each of the cylinders and cylinder sleeves in the engine, regardless of the precise number or arrangement of the cylinders in the block 12. Also, although the present invention has been described as cooling only the upper one-third of the cylinder sleeves 20 a and 20 b, the present invention may cool more or less of each of the cylinder sleeves 20 a and 20 b depending on the performance characteristics desired from the engine 10, although it has been found that at least the upper one-half of the cylinder sleeves 20 a and 20 b should be cooled via the system of the present invention to gain the benefits of use thereof.
The present invention also includes a set of gas-filled metal “O”-rings 26 which seal the cylinder head to the cylinder block in order to prevent leaks of any kind from the engine block. Generally, solid gaskets are used between elements of piston-driven engines to prevent leakage, but in high-performance engines such as that described in the present invention, there is a need for increased protection for such leakage. Therefore, the present invention includes the set of gas-filled metal “O”-rings 26 as shown best in FIG. 2.
The flow of coolant through the improved aeronautical engine 10 is shown in diagrammatical form in FIG. 5 in which the coolant system 32 includes a pair of coolant pumps 34 a and 34 b which drive the coolant past a pair of check valves 36 a and 36 b into the engine block circulating the coolant through the cooling chamber 30 a and 30 b and through the various other coolant flow cavities 38 and 40 which have been machined into the billet or cylinder block 12, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. Once the coolant has been circulated through the billet block 12, the coolant flows out through water out manifolds 42 a and 42 b and through a pair of thermostats 44 a and 44 b and from there out to the radiator 46 where the coolant flow process is begun all over again. The significant advantage of the coolant system described herein is the redundancy provided by the dual pumps 34 a and 34 b and dual thermostats 44 a and 44 b which will ensure that the coolant will flow through the billet block 12 even should one of the pumps or thermostats fail. A manual control balance valve 48 is provided between the two systems which will permit the operator of the engine to adjust coolant flow between the two systems in an emergency, for example, should one of the pumps or thermostats break down.
Coolant efficiency for the improved aeronautical engine 10 of the present invention is further increased due to the elimination of the cylinder block deck which ordinarily sits between the billet block 12 and cylinder head deck 50. As shown best in FIG. 2, coolant flowing through the various cooling cavities 38 and 40 will come into direct contact with the cylinder head deck 50 instead of indirectly cooling through the block deck, head gasket, and then cylinder head as is currently found in piston-driven engines of the prior art. This improved efficiency in cooling the cylinder head deck 50 and billet block 12 will result in significantly increased operating efficiency and, when combined with the redundant nature of the coolant supply system described previously, will result in a significantly improved engine for aeronautical applications.
FIGS. 6 and 7 disclose the camshaft 70 and crankshaft 60 arrangement within the improved aeronautical engine 10, which presents a significant improvement over the cam shaft and crank shaft connections found in the prior art. Specifically, it is seen that the crankshaft 60 and camshaft 70 sit high in the cylinder block to allow for the use of shorter pushrods 80 which will increase valve arm and pushrod rigidity. Of primary significance however, is that a vibration dampening device 62 is mounted on crankshaft 60, the vibration dampening device 62 consisting of a generally perpendicular planar disk mounted on the outer surface of the crankshaft 60, the disk being constructed of a rubberized generally rigid material such as high-strength composite rubber, such that rotational inconsistencies in the crankshaft 60 are generally dampened due to the extended moment of rotation of the vibration dampening device 62. Use of the vibration dampening device 62 thus will significantly increase the efficiency of the operation of the improved aeronautical engine 10 by generally eliminating harmful vibrations caused by ordinary and extreme operation of the engine, particularly in the inner action between the crankshaft 60 and the camshaft 70.
Numerous other improvements are contemplated in connection with the improved aeronautical engine 10 of the present invention, and those improvements will be set forth herein in the following list:
Forged aluminum block either net forged or a solid billet and could consist of materials other than aluminum.
A unique method of machining a water passage in the billet block by pocketing down from the block decks forming a coolant cavity.
Utilizing free standing wet cylinder sleeves with the lower ⅔rds or so dry.
The cylinder sleeves will be sealed to the cylinder heads by gas-filled metal “O” rings without a conventional head gasket which will allow higher cylinder pressures.
The upper one-third of the cylinder liners will be cooled where the majority of the combustion heat is located and will also allow the engine to reach optimum operating temperatures expeditiously (much quicker than a full water jacket) and will cut down on engine wear due to prolonged cold startup while not effecting coolant efficiency once at normal operating temperatures.
Coolant efficiency will be greatly increased due to the elimination of the cylinder block deck which will allow coolant to come directly in contact with the cylinder head deck. Instead of indirect cooling through the block deck, head gasket then the cylinder head you have direct contact of coolant in contact with the cylinder head deck.
The cylinder block crankcase will have a skirt which will drop below the crankcase centerline greatly increasing block stiffness.
Each cylinder will be clamped by six or more studs allowing more even clamping and also allowing higher cylinder pressures.
The camshaft is raised high in the cylinder block to allow shorter push rods increasing valve train and pushrod rigidity.
By having the cam raised high in the block also eliminates any problems of connecting rod to camshaft interference and will allow a greater choice of crankshaft strokes.
By having the cam raised also allows larger base circle cams reducing cam to cam follower wear and reducing valve train harmonics and allows the camshaft designer to enhance the acceleration and deceleration ramps and also being able to increase list due to a milder lift ramp.
A raised cam also allows the engine designer to design the lift into the cam rather than using rocker ratio to get the lift the designer wants and allows a 1 to 1 ratio increasing valve train rigidity.
The cam followers will be of the finger roller type. This eliminates any problems of the cam follower rollers becoming misaligned and there is no need of any mechanical links between adjoining lifters or finger followers.
The cam will ride in either conventional insert bearings or in our case needle roller bearings.
The camshaft can have a larger base circle as aforementioned and can be gun drilled to save weight and increase rigidity.
The head and main bearing studs will be manufactured of either stainless steel or titanium which eliminates any electrolytic corrosion between the studs and an aluminum cylinder head or heads.
The cylinder head stud nuts will be titanium or steel with a stainless steel or titanium washer between the steel nut and cylinder head which will insulate the steel nut from the dissimilar and less noble aluminum cylinder head eliminating any electrolytic corrosion.
The cylinder block will have each cylinder bay isolated from adjoining bays and will have a separate vacuum stage for every two cylinders. Of course this would not be necessary although it will improve overall efficiency of the power plant by keeping excess oil droplets from making contact with the rotating assembly and will eliminate any pressure build up in the crankcase cavities and maintaining a light vacuum.
The connecting rod may be used to both positive pressure lube and cool the piston pins if necessary by introducing an oil passage through the connecting rod beam.
The connecting rods will be of a titanium forging and of either the I-Beam or H-Beam design and could be made of other suitable materials as well.
The crankshaft is either a billet or a forging and is lightened by gun drilling the mains and by drilling lighting holes in the rod journals as well leaving a sufficiently thick section to allow the oil supply hole to the rod journal to pass through the wall of the journal eliminating caps to plug the lighting holes, thereby reducing complexity; this is also used on the main bearing oil feeds as well.
As shown best in FIGS. 8 and 9, the cylinder heads are aluminum and could either be multi-piece billet and/or castings and have four valves per cylinder, however they could have two or more valves per cylinder. They could be either of one spark plug or more per cylinder. The aero power plant will have four valves 150 a, 150 b, 152 a and 152 b per cylinder and two spark plugs for redundancy and of the aviation variety with a screw on cigarette lead which will reduce radio interference. Four valves per cylinder create more valve area per cylinder and in crease volumetric head shim thereby locking the guide in the head which no other mechanical means. The engine coolant will enter the cylinder heads first and will inject coolant at the waterjacket side of the exhaust seats first (via internal manifolding) which is the hottest location within the cylinder head with coolant at its lowest temperature after exiting the heat exchanger (radiator). The cylinder head will have eight rectangular intake ports and eight rectangular exhaust ports. The spark plugs will be configured so as to be located down the center of the cylinder head will not be exposed to the exhaust port heat which will be conducive to turbocharging. The valve springs will also be cooled with a constant mist of oil which both lubricate and cool the valve springs and will have a pressure valve which will shut off the oil mist when the engine comes to an idle reducing oil build up when scavenging is at its lowest efficiency and the cooling is not required.
The engine will have a remote thermostat housing located near the heat exchanger but it is not absolutes necessary, however it reduces the vibration of the power plant on the more delicate thermostat itself.
The coolant system consists of dual centrifugal gear driven water pumps which set vertically so if a water leak developed it would not be introduced into the oil supply which would be catastrophic. The pumps are redundant one from the other via internal check valves and run at a higher pressure than is considered normal (50 PSI) to scrub the cylinder head and block of heat and would enter the cylinder head first injected at the exhaust seat first and then down through the block and exiting the block and then flowing through the thermostat and through the heat exchanger and return to the water pumps.
The engine will not use the standard cam tappets. Instead it will have roller finger followers pivoting from removable shaft assemblies. This arrangement is much better able to handle roller side loads and can easily be removed for reconditioned when necessary.
The valve train will have a hydraulic lash adjustment feature.
The oil pump shafts will use splines to engage the oil pump elements not pins or keys. Splines eliminate the stress concentrations of pins or keys and the possibility of shaft failures. The inline oil pumps will also feature a bearing between each stage.
The lube system will have an air-oil separator to de-aerate the oil.
The crankshaft may be of light weight construction. This manufacturing method uses many pieces of high strength steel electron beam welded together. The individual pieces allow intricate interior machining to eliminate unnecessary material. The resulting crank has better fatigue than one piece cranks because of the elimination of stress concentrations. The crankshaft will be ion implanted for surface enhancement.
The cylinder head is made of at least two pieces of forged aluminum. This allows the necessary intricate interior machining required. The parts will be either mechanically joined or electron beam welded together.
The valve springs will be oil sprayed for cooling purposes to extend fatigue life.
The pistons may be assembled from separately made pieces and electron beam welded together. This allows the “Cocktail Shaker” design to be used.
In the preferred embodiment, the improved aeronautical engine 10 is an orthogonally opposed (90 degrees), eight cylinder, liquid cooled, all geared, fuel injected, normally aspirated or supercharged/turbocharged internal combustion aero engine. The priority of design is for reliability, safety and efficiency. Redundancy is of the foremost thought and is designed as an aero engine from its inception.
The engine block starts out as a raw aluminum forging and is machined into a light-weight extremely strong structure. The benefit of the block being forged is that the block will be virtually free of air pockets and other imperfections which are found in traditionally manufactured engine blocks, and this greatly increases the structural integrity of the block of the present invention. The block has dropped skirt which will greatly increase main cap rigidity and block stiffness. It has eight freestanding mechanite sleeves that may be coated with nicoseal to enhance cylinder wear and that come in direct contact with the liquid coolant 360 degrees of its circumference and is pressed into the block and therefore dry on the lower ⅔rds and wet on the upper ⅓ where all of the combustion heat is generated and to enhance engine warm up without detracting from it cooling efficiency. The coolant therefore comes in direct contact with the cylinder head deck greatly enhancing heat transfer and cooling efficiency. The cylinder sleeves have a light press into the block but for redundancy there are two “O” rings on the lower ⅔rds of the cylinder sleeves to ensure that no engine coolant can escape into the crankcase. The cylinders are sealed with a metal gas-filled “O” ring and the outer surface of the block is sealed with a rubber “O” ring. The head studs are titanium and will have either titanium, stainless steel, or steel nuts with either stainless or titanium washers ensuring that their will be no electrolytic corrosion between the aluminum cylinder head and the more noble studs. The main cap studs will be of titanium and the main caps will be cross bolted though the block skirt which drops well below the crankshaft centerline. There are inspection ports between each main cap allowing economical borescope inspection of the crankcase and reciprocating assembly. The block has oil passages to accommodate one hundred percent (100%) dedicated piston cooling with an automatic valve which will stop oil flow at idle eliminating excess oil buildup at idle when oil scavenging efficiency is reduced. The piston dome will be cooled on both sides of the connecting rod/piston dome with two oil squirts per piston. The connecting rods will be of a titanium forging and may or may not have an oil hole through the rod beam to cool and lubricate the piston pin. The pistons are of an aluminum forging and the piston pins are retained by pin buttons. The piston rights consist of a compression right, secondary ring, and an oil scraper ring. The camshaft is raised high in the block and has a large base circle and is gun drilled for lightness.
Additional considerations follow:
Design Intent—To build a reliable, durable, and conventional spark ignition and also a heavy fuel piston engine of 1,000 horsepower for sport and commercial airplanes.
Engine configuration is a 14 liter V8, single cam, push rod, mechanical or electronic fuel injection, twin magneto ignition or redundant FEDEC system, four valves per cylinder, naturally aspirated, centrifugal supercharged, turbo supercharged or combination, water cooled, with dry sump lubrication.
All accessories are gear driven (13, or more, locations of various drive ratios) for reliability.
Two water pumps and four thermostats for redundancy. Separate water paths for block and cylinder heads to assure proper coolant quantities to each cylinder area. Precisely defined water channels direct coolant to exhaust seat and injector areas assure maximum cooling of these critical locations.
Ram induction manifold for increased volumetric efficiency. Cylinder block and heads are CNC machined from forged aluminum or magnesium material for added strength and elimination of porosity and casting flaws.
Spur gear propeller speed reduction unit with hydraulic system for variable pitch propeller.
Titanium main bearing caps for added stiffness and strength and cross bolted to the block extended skirt rails. Six bolt pattern around each cylinder for optimum sealing.
Forged titanium connecting rods for strength and reduced weight.
Titanium head studs with rolled threads for strength and corrosion resistance. Studs extend deep into the block into the main bearing bulkheads to minimize cylinder bore distortion.
The underside of each piston is cooled by two oil jets from a separate oil pump and galleries.
Seven, or more, scavenge pumps return lube oil from all areas of the engine permitting sustained inverted flight.
Cylinder head to block is sealed by gas filled metal O-rings. Open deck design has coolant on both sides of head deck for improved head cooling.
Titanium rocker arms will rotate on needle bearings and have needle bearing or pin roller tips.
The various parts of the engine will be coated to increase surface hardness, reduce friction, and increase fatigue life. This will be a unique advantage of this engine.
Take-off performance of the supercharged version is designed to be 1,000 bhp at 4750 rpm (198 bmep). Installed engine weight target is one pound per horsepower. Rated fuel consumption target of the heavy fuel version is less than 0.450 lbs. per break horsepower hour.
It is thus seen that the improved aeronautical engine 10 of the present invention provides a substantial improvement over those devices found in the prior art. It should be noted that numerous additions, modifications and substitutions may be made to the improved aeronautical engine 10 of the present invention which fall within the intended broad scope of the above description. For example, the precise design and layout of the cooling chambers 30 a and 30 b and cooling cavities 38 and 40 may be modified or changed depending on the size and shape of the billet block 12 and cylinder head deck 50, so long as such modifications contribute to the operational cooling efficiency of the system, and such modifications should be understood to be a part of this disclosure. Furthermore, the improved aeronautical engine 10 itself may be utilized in several different engine designs, such as single cylinder, flat opposed, stacked flat H configuration, V4, V6, V8, or V12 in various bank angles. Also, although the somewhat standard engine elements of the improved aeronautical engine 10 of the present invention have been described in relatively general terms, this has been done in order to focus attention on those elements of the present invention which are believed to be deserving of protection, such as the improved coolant system and improved vibration dampening structures used throughout the improved aeronautical engine 10. It is expected that those engine features which are not unique to the present invention will function generally as do standard engine elements, and therefore their description has generally been minimized in the above description. Finally, the dimensions and construction materials used in the manufacturing of the present invention may be modified or changed so long as the functionality of the present invention is not degraded or destroyed, and such changes will not affect the scope of protection intended to be achieved by this disclosure.
There has therefore been shown and described an improved aeronautical engine 10 which accomplishes at least all of its intended purposes

Claims

1. An improved engine for aeronautical applications comprising:

a forged cylinder block having a drive means rotatably mounted within said forged cylinder block and motive means for rotating said drive means, said motive means including two cylinder banks in a V-type configuration and a plurality of cylinders mounted within said cylinder banks for producing power and rotating said drive means;

said forged cylinder block further including a plurality of cylinder cavities formed in said cylinder banks;

the upper approximately one-half to one-fourth of each of said cylinder cavities generally surrounded by a generally toroidal cooling chamber, the lower approximately three-fourths to one-half of each of said cylinder cavities being generally free of any surrounding cooling chambers; and

coolant circulation means in fluid transmission connection with each of said generally toroidal cooling chambers for circulation of cooling fluid therethrough whereby said upper approximately one-half to one-fourth of each of said cylinder cavities is cooled by said cooling fluid.

2. The improved engine of claim 1 wherein said coolant circulation means includes a pair of coolant pumps which drive said cooling fluid into said forged cylinder block and said engine circulating said cooling fluid through said cooling chambers and through coolant flow cavities machined into said cylinder block, said cooling fluid flowing out through water out manifolds from said cylinder block and said engine to a radiator for dissipation of heat therefrom, said cooling fluid then flowing back to said pair of coolant pumps for recycling of said cooling fluid through said coolant circulation means.

3. The improved engine of claim 2 wherein said engine further includes a cylinder head deck, said cooling fluid coming into direct contact with said cylinder head deck via said coolant flow cavities, said engine free of any cylinder block deck which would interfere with cooling fluid contact with said cylinder head deck.

4. The improved engine of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of cylinder sleeves each inserted into and lining one of said plurality of cylinder cavities, each of said plurality of cylinder sleeves generally lining and sealing the lower two-thirds of said plurality of cylinder cavities, with the upper approximately one-third of each of said plurality of cylinder sleeves inwardly spaced from said cylinder cavity thus forming said generally toroidal cooling chamber surrounding each of the cylinder sleeves when mounted within each of said plurality of cylinder cavities.

5. The improved engine of claim 3 further comprising a set of gas-filled metal “O”-rings mounted between said cylinder head deck and said cylinder block thereby generally preventing coolant and lubrication fluid leaks from said engine.

6. An improved engine for aeronautical applications comprising:

the upper approximately one-third of each of said cylinder cavities generally surrounded by a generally toroidal cooling chamber, the lower approximately two-thirds of each of said cylinder cavities being generally free of any surrounding cooling chambers;

a plurality of cylinder sleeves each inserted into and lining one of said plurality of cylinder cavities, each of said plurality of cylinder sleeves generally lining and sealing the lower two-thirds of said plurality of cylinder cavities, with the upper approximately one-third of each of said plurality of cylinder sleeves inwardly spaced from said cylinder cavity thus forming said generally toroidal cooling chamber surrounding each of the cylinder sleeves when mounted within each of said plurality of cylinder cavities; and

7. The improved engine of claim 6 wherein said coolant circulation means includes a pair of coolant pumps which drive said cooling fluid into said forged cylinder block and said engine circulating said cooling fluid through said cooling chambers and through coolant flow cavities machined into said cylinder block, said cooling fluid flowing out through water out manifolds from said cylinder block and said engine to a radiator for dissipation of heat therefrom, said cooling fluid then flowing back to said pair of coolant pumps for recycling of said cooling fluid through said coolant circulation means.

8. The improved engine of claim 6 wherein said engine further includes a cylinder head deck, said cooling fluid coming into direct contact with said cylinder head deck via said coolant flow cavities, said engine free of any cylinder block deck which would interfere with cooling fluid contact with said cylinder head deck.

9. The improved engine of claim 8 further comprising a set of gas-filled metal “O”-rings mounted between said cylinder head deck and said cylinder block thereby generally preventing coolant and lubrication fluid leaks from said engine.