Multi-Row Radial Engine Questions
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I believe the 4360 crank was in four pieces - one for each cylinder row. This would be necessary because the engine is assembled in a stack: the crankcase (with its 5 bearings) is in five segments, front to rear, with the crankshaft spline joints at the bearing journals #2, #3, and #4.
Thus the crankshaft throws could be manufactured in any required angular relationship.
Thus the crankshaft throws could be manufactured in any required angular relationship.
did a bit of work on the centaurus a few years ago in the sea fury. the arrangement of baffles and the finning were a work of art. always amazed me that the americans didnt adopt the sleeve valve engine .
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America Had the Sleeve Valve
from Wiki:
The Knight Engine was an internal combustion engine, designed by American Charles Yale Knight (1868-1940), that used sleeve valves instead of the more common poppet valve construction.
Born in Indiana in 1868, Knight was originally a printer and newspaper publisher, publishing a midwest farm journal called Dairy produce. To cover dairy activities during 1901-02, he bought an early Knox automobile, a three-wheeler with an air-cooled, single cylinder engine whose noisy valves annoyed him. He believed that he could design a better engine and proceeded to do so. Knight was familiar with the slide valves used on early Otto engines, having repaired the similar valve mechanism in his father's sawmill. The slide valve had however been replaced in gasoline engines by the poppet valve, whose characteristics were better suited to four-stroke engines.
At first Knight tried making the entire engine cylinder reciprocate to open and close the exhaust and inlet ports. Though he patented this arrangement, he soon abandoned it in favour of a double sliding sleeve principle. Backed by Chicago entrepreneur L.B. Kilbourne, an experimental engine was built in Oak Park, Illinois in 1903. Research and development continued until 1905, when a prototype passed stringent tests in Elyria, Ohio. Having developed a practicable engine (at a cost of around $150,000) Knight and Kilbourne showed a complete "Silent Knight" touring car at the 1906 Chicago Auto Show. Fitted with a 4-cylinder, 40 hp (30 kW) engine, the car was priced at $3,500.
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The last sleeve valve engine produced in the US was in 1932.
Yes, the Sea Fury sounds wonderful - like nothing else.
GB
The Knight Engine was an internal combustion engine, designed by American Charles Yale Knight (1868-1940), that used sleeve valves instead of the more common poppet valve construction.
Born in Indiana in 1868, Knight was originally a printer and newspaper publisher, publishing a midwest farm journal called Dairy produce. To cover dairy activities during 1901-02, he bought an early Knox automobile, a three-wheeler with an air-cooled, single cylinder engine whose noisy valves annoyed him. He believed that he could design a better engine and proceeded to do so. Knight was familiar with the slide valves used on early Otto engines, having repaired the similar valve mechanism in his father's sawmill. The slide valve had however been replaced in gasoline engines by the poppet valve, whose characteristics were better suited to four-stroke engines.
At first Knight tried making the entire engine cylinder reciprocate to open and close the exhaust and inlet ports. Though he patented this arrangement, he soon abandoned it in favour of a double sliding sleeve principle. Backed by Chicago entrepreneur L.B. Kilbourne, an experimental engine was built in Oak Park, Illinois in 1903. Research and development continued until 1905, when a prototype passed stringent tests in Elyria, Ohio. Having developed a practicable engine (at a cost of around $150,000) Knight and Kilbourne showed a complete "Silent Knight" touring car at the 1906 Chicago Auto Show. Fitted with a 4-cylinder, 40 hp (30 kW) engine, the car was priced at $3,500.
------
The last sleeve valve engine produced in the US was in 1932.
Yes, the Sea Fury sounds wonderful - like nothing else.
GB
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bvcu
Didn't sleeve-valves require a lot of lubrication?
did a bit of work on the centaurus a few years ago in the sea fury. the arrangement of baffles and the finning were a work of art. always amazed me that the americans didnt adopt the sleeve valve engine .
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barit1
How many other multi-row (twin, three, four, etc) radials were assembled as a stack?
I believe the 4360 crank was in four pieces - one for each cylinder row. This would be necessary because the engine is assembled in a stack: the crankcase (with its 5 bearings) is in five segments, front to rear, with the crankshaft spline joints at the bearing journals #2, #3, and #4.
Thus the crankshaft throws could be manufactured in any required angular relationship.
Thus the crankshaft throws could be manufactured in any required angular relationship.
I worked on two large twin row radials in the workshops early in my career; the 14 cylinder sleeve valved Bristol Hercules and 18 cylinder P & W R2800.
Both had 3 piece crankshafts with 180 degree offset big end journals. The only major differences were, the Hercules incorporated the big end journal into the centre crankshaft section whereas the R2800 had the big end bearing journals as part of the front and rear crankshaft sections. The method of bolting the sections together, the vibration damping and main bearing arrangement was different as well.
The R4360 had, as far as I can see, a solid crankshaft with split master rod big end bearings similar to a typical car engine. There are several pictures of a cutaway R4360 on the AEHS website where the split master rod big end bolts are visible.
Both had 3 piece crankshafts with 180 degree offset big end journals. The only major differences were, the Hercules incorporated the big end journal into the centre crankshaft section whereas the R2800 had the big end bearing journals as part of the front and rear crankshaft sections. The method of bolting the sections together, the vibration damping and main bearing arrangement was different as well.
The R4360 had, as far as I can see, a solid crankshaft with split master rod big end bearings similar to a typical car engine. There are several pictures of a cutaway R4360 on the AEHS website where the split master rod big end bolts are visible.
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Bristol Centaurus
Bristol Industrial Museum used to have a collection of Bristol engines, including a glorious exploded Centaurus.
BIM closed in 2006 and is due to open under a new name soon, not sure if the engine collection is still there or whether at Kemble or Patchway.
Well worth a visit if you can track it down.
