The Linear Combustion Engine

Hybrid electric vehicles use rotary internal combustion engines to generate electricity. But what if you took the generator, and 'unrolled' it into a line, did away with all that crankshaft and flywheel nastiness, and replaced the lot with a straight bit of tube with a combustion chamber at each end?

That is the idea of researchers at the Czech Technical University who are developing a linear combustion engine, with two opposing pistons at either end of a cylinder.

The design of engine promises greater efficiency than rotary combustion engines paired with generators, however, this efficiency requires sophisticated control electronics to keep the system in check.

Because the compression ration of the system can be variable - controlled by electronics - not fixed as in a rotary engine, there is the possibility to design vehicles that will run on a wide variety of fuels.

Check out the Linear Combustion Engine Project here.