A Canadian physicist and inventor Kazimierz Holubowicz puzzled over the low efficiency of the reciprocating engine operating under normal combustion conditions because he knew that the energy released by fuel exploding, is very much more than under normal combustion. The obvious problem was how to build an engine that would allow fuel to explode (detonate) without the engine exploding! He came up with a design that uses a second free floating piston in a very long cylinder. The free piston oscillates as the main piston is driven downwards turning the crankshaft with the exhaust in the upper cylinder expending most of its energy, harmful SOx and NOx products are dissolved allowing simple treatment and disposal. High torque, low speed and multi fuel capabilities are all attributes claimed for this engine as are low fuel consumption with zero CO and particulate emission. The linear torque vs speed characteristics of this engine make the use of a transmission unnecessary for several applications.
Any engineer will tell you that detonation in an engine is a bad thing and should be avoided otherwise destruction of the engine is a question of time. That’s because abnormal combustion, actually explosion, is taking place inside the combustion chamber and creates pressures about fourteen times normal combustion pressure and a temperature increase that can create hot spots, causing the inlet mixture to pre-ignite, leading to burnt pistons.
A Canadian physicist and inventor Kazimierz Holubowicz puzzled over the low efficiency of the reciprocating engine operating under normal combustion conditions because he knew that the energy released by fuel exploding, is very much more than under normal combustion. The obvious problem was how to build an engine that would allow fuel to explode (detonate) without the engine exploding!
He came up with a design that uses a second free floating piston in a very long cylinder. Basically the detonating fuel in the upper cylinder forces the free piston downward compressing air trapped in the space between the cylinders which act as a cushion. The free piston oscillates as the main piston is driven downwards turning the crankshaft. The exhaust in the upper cylinder expending most of its energy is relatively cool at 140 deg F and steam products of combustion condense to dissolve harmful SOx and NOx products allowing simple treatment and disposal.
The long cylinder and explosion of the mixture somewhat resembles a gun, therefore this engine is sometimes referred to as a gun engine.
High engine torque, low speed and multi fuel capabilities are all attributes claimed for this engine as are low fuel consumption with zero CO and particulate emission. In fact the linear torque vs speed characteristics of this engine make the use of a transmission unnecessary for several applications.
A test engine based on a Suzuki block has shown the principle works in practice along with the other benefits. Recent interest from China in this engine has led to the development of a pre-production prototype model that is already delivering improved results over
the original test engine.