This paper describes the development of a comprehensive simulation environment for investigations of gas-dynamic processes and combustion phenomena in rotary engines, conducted by the Austrian Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology of the Vienna University of Technology. In this connection, proven, commercially available engine cycle calculation Software-Tools have been used.
For this, a rotary engine test bench has been established. As analysis tools, in addition to the traditional acquisition of the emitted engine torque, various pressures and temperatures, the recording of the pressure profile (combustion analysis measurement system) in the combustion chamber, as well as in the intake and exhaust ports, were used. The data of the test bench were used to develop and validate the methodology for the simulation tools.
The focus in this paper is the development of a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model with the software Converge from Convergent Science, Inc. In close cooperation with Convergent Science, Inc., a functioning basic Wankel model was developed. Using this model, it was possible to monitor and analyze the gas flow and the combustion processes in the three combustion chambers simultaneously.
To calculate the combustion, the SAGE module was used. This is a predictive combustion model that is based on the chemical reaction mechanism of the respective fuels. Therefore, a combustion reactor was constructed and the flame propagation was analyzed in detail (Combustion analysis and High-Speed-Camera). Thus, the numerical model could be adjusted and optimized.