Elbow engine

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The elbow engine is a power machine that converts the gas pressure of the compressed gas fed in - steam or compressed air - into mechanical work.

The name is derived from English elbow = angle piece of a pipe.

Such right-angled elbows of cylindrical tubes penetrate two thick (circular) disks, which are rotatably mounted at right angles to each other. This mechanical structure forms a Hobson coupling between two rotary movements with axes that are at right angles to one another and geometrically intersecting .

The cylindrical bores in the disks guide each pipe leg axially easily rotatable and displaceable yet as kink-proof and gas-tight as possible. In terms of gas, the tube and disk work together like the cylinder and piston of a piston engine .

The pipes can be flown through by the gas, controlled by valves. The gas space on the back of the panes is mechanically sealed.

At least 2 pipe angles are required to ensure that the flow is as continuous as possible, but at least 3 for better concentricity.

Viewed as a whole, the gaseous pressure medium is inlet and outlet on just one disk. The pipes are traversed in opposite directions, and the gas flow is deflected and possibly redistributed at the second disc.

Along the angled pipes, there is a drop in static pressure due to flow resistance, resulting in an increase in the volume of the gas and thus an increase in its flow velocity.

The elbow engine is actually not used technically, but is often built as a demonstration model - because of its unique functionality.

functionality

How the elbow engine works. - The direction of rotation of a disk is incorrectly shown: The disks must rotate in relation to each other as if they - somewhat enlarged - would act on each other as a pair of friction wheels .

The simplified graphic on the right is intended to show the functional principle. Two metal disks (G and H) are rotatably arranged on the E axes. The axes are perpendicular to each other. The disks are provided with bores in which the pistons (F1 and F2) are movably fitted - indicated by the dashed line on the blue piston. In practice there should be at least three pistons, for the sake of clarity only two are shown. The pistons themselves consist of a round tube. A, B, C and D represent the valves . From outlet valve B there is a connection to inlet valve C.

Inlet valve A is open and outlet valve D is closed. The compressed air flows into the piston F1 and tries to push it upwards - it is fitted in the disc so that it can be moved. The upward movement rotates the left disc to the left. The compressed air continues to flow into piston F2. This is then pushed to the right and thus also turns the lower disk to the left. When the pistons reach their dead center , the inlet valves are closed and the outlet valves are opened. The only thing missing is the valve control, which ensures that the compressed air can flow into the piston that is moving upwards. This is achieved by a fixed disk with corresponding holes, which is arranged below the lower disk and to the left of the left disk (not shown in the graphic).

The mechanical energy can be taken from one of the two discs, which is then also coupled to a flywheel. Note that the two discs are generally only coupled to one another via the pistons. The axes have no connection with each other.

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