Patent Publication Number: US-7707987-B2

Title: Hydrogen G-cycle rotary internal combustion engine

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/721,521, filed Sep. 29, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 

   This invention relates to internal combustion engines, and more specifically to rotary vane engines using a hydrogen fuel thermodynamic G-cycle. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The growing demand for oil from various nations around the world is resulting in higher energy prices that have the potential to increase inflation and geopolitical tensions between the nations competing for the same limited oil reserves. Even if the supply of oil could be increased to meet the demand, doing so has the further potential of producing higher CO 2  emissions with the possibility of more rapid global warming. 
   Currently many transportation, oil, and energy companies and governments are investing billions of dollars in hydrogen related research and development programs to produce a fuel source that will gradually replace fossil fuels. For example, many car companies have been developing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. However, fuel cell durability, efficiency, fuel purity requirements, hydrogen storage, and cost limitations are major implementation barriers. 
   Automakers are also developing hybrid electrical/internal combustion engine propulsion systems as a transition stage between current internal combustion engine vehicles and future fuel cell vehicles. It is unclear, however, whether hybrid electrical propulsions systems provide high enough value added efficiency benefits to consumers to justify their higher cost. 
   Converting existing internal combustion engine systems to operate on hydrogen is also not without problems. The combustion temperature for hydrogen is much higher than for gasoline, resulting in high amounts of NOx emissions being formed. Using lean hydrogen fuel mixtures to reduce potential NOx emissions, but also greatly reduces the power output performance levels. Direct hydrogen injection can improve this problem, but the injectors are very expensive and require high pressures and tolerances. The injection pulse provides limited amount of hydrogen fuel making it insufficient for larger power applications. The dryness of the hydrogen gas also makes it more difficult for the pulsing injectors to work and increases injector wear. Moreover, the high diffusiveness of hydrogen gas often results in the hydrogen gas passing through engine sealing systems into crank shaft regions, resulting in very undesirable combustion that can damage the engine and/or ignite the oil lubricant. 
   BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   A high efficiency hydrogen G-cycle, rotary vane internal combustion engine maximizes thermodynamic energy benefits to provide improved thermal brake efficiency for higher fuel economy, higher power-density to engine weight and volume, with lower NOx. The engine is also optimized to maximize mechanical benefits of the rotary vane engine to complement the operation of the G-cycle with improved sealing, rotor, and housing systems to minimize heat losses, exergy energy destruction, and reduce friction to improve reliability, operating life and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). 
   The thermodynamic heat losses in the G-cycle and rotary vane internal combustion engine are controlled by removing heat and re-inserting it using a sodium vapor chamber, chamber water injections, and geometric chamber over-expansion, to thereby make use of the heat and exhaust gas enthalpy that otherwise would be lost to the cooling system and atmosphere. An active water cooling system captures heat from the housing and exhaust and injects it back into the engine cycle. Combining all these heat transfer flows produces an engine with very high power density and overall brake thermal efficiency at 65 to 85% that is ideally suited to power generation and propulsion applications. 
   The hydrogen engine of the present invention accomplishes the aforementioned objectives using a hydrogen high efficiency thermodynamic G-cycle from improved combustion process, improved heat transfer cooling, and lower heat rejection losses using an improved hydrogen fuel delivery, variable water compression ratio, wider fuel/air equivalence operating range, improved hydrogen ignition, expanded combustion/expansion chamber, longer combustion duration, energy reversible sodium vapor chamber heat transfer system with early and late stage water injections. 
   The hydrogen engine of the present invention has an improved sealing system comprised of split vane seals, snub nose tip, dynamic axial split vane seals, vane seal gas passages, dynamic rotor axial seals, vane face seals, vane structure, vane heat pipe channel cooling/heat transfer, and vane anti-centrifugal belting system. The engine has an improved rotor structure with rotor thermal control using a water vapor chamber cooling/heat transfer and reduced vane friction from an improved vane tangential bearing system. The engine has an improved housing with distorted oval inner housing stator geometry for larger expansion, higher housing operation temperatures, solid lubricants, active water cooling/heat transfer reduce hydrogen leaking, outer water vapor chambers, and insulation cover. 
   The present invention further provides an improved direct electrical power from an alkali metal thermal electrical converter (AMTEC) located in the sodium vapor chamber. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved thermodynamic cycle with lower exhaust heat loss, cooling system heat loss, and lower friction heat loss resulting in increased overall thermal brake efficiency over existing internal combustion engines. 
   Following the second law of thermodynamics, any conversion of heat to work is maximized by the Carnot cycle efficiency, and some amount of heat has to be sent to a cold sink. However, Carnot cycle efficiency is only valid in single chamber reactions. The G-Cycle overcomes the Carnot cycle efficiency limitations by using a multi-chamber reaction cycle that uses the whole engine&#39;s combined thermodynamic and mechanical systems as the reaction thermodynamic cycle. A sodium vapor chamber ties or overlaps the multiple chamber reactions together along the combustion/expansion zone. The sodium vapor chamber allows excess heat from the combustion zone to be transfer back into the combustion chambers along the expansion zone. 
   The G-Cycle engine is an automatic, dynamically balanced system that controls and maintains the thermodynamic heat transfer attributes across the combustion/expansion cycle to achieve maximum power and efficiency performance. The engine uses a larger combustion/expansion zone than the intake/compression zone where combustion gases can expand and perform maximum work until chamber pressures equal rotation friction losses. A sodium vapor chamber located along the combustion/expansion zone is used to ignite a hydrogen/water premix and remove excess combustion heat from the combustion zone and transfer it back into the combustion cavities of rotating chambers along the over-expanded expansion zone. Early stage water injection along the combustion/expansion path into the combustion chambers further absorbs excess combustion heat and heat from the sodium vapor chamber along the extended combustion/expansion zone. Late stage water injection along the combustion/expansion lowers combustion gas temperatures to minimize exhaust heat losses and cool the combustion chamber surface for the next intake cycle. 
   The water from the active cooling system is used in the early and late stage water injection into the combustion cavities. Heat absorbed into the active cooling system raises the water temperature to about 250 to 350 degrees C. or 523 to 623 degrees K. This temperature is just below water&#39;s vapor boiling point, and allows the water to be pumped at high pressure as a hydraulic liquid into the combustion cavities. With combustion temperatures around 1,800 degrees K., injecting water dramatically lowers the combustion gas temperature. This accelerates the heat transfer from the sodium vapor chamber back into the combustion chamber until temperature equilibrium is achieved. 
   The G-cycle engine has great potential to improve fuel economy and reduce exhaust emissions of the state-of-the-art Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). The great potential for fuel economy improvement comes from using otherwise wasted heat from the cylinder walls and exhaust gas to produce heated water and inject it into the cylinder where the heated water phase changes from a liquid to steam for additional expansion power. The cycle efficiency of the G-cycle engine is not limited to the Carnot cycle efficiency due to the fact that, in the G-cycle the mass of the working media to produce expansion power increases during the cycle, together with additional benefit of higher expansion ratio (generates power) than compression ratio (consumes power), while in the Carnot cycle the mass of the working medium and the compression ratio/expansion ratio is fixed. Also, the high cycle efficiency in the G-cycle engine does not rely on high combustion temperature (as the Carnot cycle recommends), but on shifting or transferring heat energy around the cycle. In this way the NOx/smoke/engine cycle efficiency trade-off barrier in a conventional ICE is a break through. 
   Not only does the G-Cycle utilize the entire combustion engine heat, but it also uses the mechanical friction heat that is captured in the cooling system and transferred back into the combustion chamber, resulting in a reversible energy system. 
   The following are the main G-cycle process events, as depicted in  FIG. 71 : 
   1. The rotor chamber rotates past the intake port where it takes a full charge of fresh air that is naturally aspirated or preferably turbo boosted. 
   2. Once the rotor chamber has passed the intake and reached its maximum intake charge, the housing geometry will begin to compress the intake air. A variable amount of heated water at about 250 C to 350 C or 523 K to 623 K from active cooling system is injected into the chamber cavity during the compression stage. This is the first variable water injection. The heated water is stratified in the combustion chamber along the sides and back half of the rotor chamber, increasing the effective chamber compression ratio. The heated water is considered an incompressible fluid, and the amount of heated water can be varied to control and adjust the chamber compression ratio. The rotor chamber is stratified with fresh air in the front half and injected water in the back half. 
   3. Heated hydrogen gas is directly injected into a rotor chamber cavity during the late stage compression. By using the direct injection of hydrogen into a rotor chamber cavity, the problem of pre-ignition knock is eliminated. The hydrogen is less dense than the air and water mass and will tend to stratify near the font half of the rotor chamber keeping a relatively homogenous concentration of hydrogen that is easily mixed with fresh intake air that is also stratified toward the front half of the chamber. The generating of a homogeneous hydrogen/air concentration mixture is easily ignited. 
   4. A spark plug can ignite the hydrogen, or, depending on the effective compression ratio, controlled auto-ignition can occur. The hydrogen auto-ignition temperature is 585 C or 858 K. 
   5. As the rotor chamber rotates past top dead center (TDC), combustion heat above 600 C or 873 K passes through a peroskvite thermal barrier coating (TBC) protection on the inner surface of the outer stator housing and is transferred into the Sodium Vapor Chamber (SVC). The peroskvite TBC protects the housing from constant combustion ignition at 1,800 K. The sodium in the SVC changes phase from a liquid to a gas and flows along the expansion path. 
   6. The surface temperature of the of the peroskvite TBC can match the peak gas temperature of 1,800 K. This high temperature surface area is well above the hydrogen autoignition temperature of 585 C or 858 K and will further improve the complete combustion reaction. 
   7. A second water injection of heated water at about 250 C to  350  C or 523 K to 623 K from active cooling system is injected into early-stage of combustion/expansion reaction to partially quench or cool combustion reaction to control the peak temperature at about 1,800 K and lower the chamber gas and water temperature to about 600 C or 783 K temperature to accelerate the heat transfer from higher temperature sodium vapor chamber back into the rotor chambers along the expansion path. The heated water will change phase from a liquid to a super heated steam vapor that greatly expands increasing the chamber&#39;s mean effective pressure (MEP) to perform work. 
   8. The Sodium Vapor Chamber will continue to transfer heat back into the rotating chambers keeping the chamber temperature at about 600 C or 873 K. As the rotor chambers gases and water cool, centrifugal forces will force cooler and heavier water droplets against the outer housing surface wall that will help to absorb heat from the SVC and accelerate heat transfer back into the rotor chamber from the SVC and further maintain high vapor pressure and MEP for performing work. 
   9. In the third water injection cooler, water from the active cooling system at 30 C or 303 K is injected into late-stage combustion/expansion just before the exhaust port to cool combustion reaction and combustion chamber rotor, vane, and seal components and to prevent thermal throttling on the next intake charge. The cool water helps increase chamber vapor pressure and density. The cool water also helps to condense the water vapor, making it easier to recover. 
   10. High pressure, high velocity, lower temperature, and water dense exhaust gases then go through a variable geometry turbo charger turbine and drive an intake compressor. 
   11. Water from the exhaust is condensed, filtered, and re-circulated back into the active cooling system. 
   Low Heat Loss Thermal Management 
   In the G-Cycle engine the heat sink is sent to the sodium vapor chamber and active cooling system with early and late stage water injection. These systems are reversible and capable of recycling heat flows back into engine chambers to improve the thermodynamic efficiency. Water from the active cooling system that would normally have no exergy value or ability to perform work is injected back into the engine chamber where it can perform positive exergy work. Heat absorbed into the SVC is deabsorbed or transferred back into the engine chambers to perform exergy work. Heat from both the active water cooling system and SVC will interact synergistically and can transfer heat to and from each other&#39;s system. This allows a large portion of heat to be continually transferred back through the engine to provide positive exergy work benefit. Albeit, some portion of heat is lost during each transfer. 
   It is quite easy to reduce the combustion gas temperature by regulating the amount of water injected back into the rotor combustion chamber. The key is to balance the water injection to also maximize the engine&#39;s work and enthalpy in the chamber and engine system. If too much water is added, the reaction will quench or cool too early and not have enough enthalpy to exhaust the airflow properly. If too little water is injected, all the heat potential will not be recovered and may have high exhaust heat losses and/or cooling heat losses. 
   Sodium Vapor Chamber and Heat Transfer 
   In the G-cycle engine, a Sodium Vapor Chamber (SVC) works like a two phase heat pipe, absorbing heat from the hot zone of combustion and transferring it back to the rotating chambers during the expansion stroke. 
   The SVC uses sodium as a working fluid. Heat released by the engine combustion is transferred into the evaporator zone of the SVC, where the liquid sodium absorbs the transferred heat and changes phase from a liquid to gas vapor. The sodium gas vapor then moves at sonic speeds along the SVC towards the condenser zone where the sodium gas transfers its heat back into the rotating combustion chambers along the expansion zone and the sodium changes phase from a gas vapor to a liquid. A series of wicking meshes provide capillary activity to evenly wick the liquid sodium back up towards the SVC evaporator zone where the sodium is evaporated again and the cycle is repeated. 
   There is a heat flow lag in the time that the heat is absorbed into the active cooling and sodium vapor chamber system and the time that it is transferred back into the engine&#39;s expansion cycle. However, this lag is insignificant to the working G-Cycle due to the continuous heat flows. The lag is only apparent during startup when combustion heat is primarily be absorbed into the SVC and active cooling system to charge them up to their operating temperature ranges. 
   As the engine changes rpm speeds, the transient heat loading proportionally changes. This changes the heat transfer lag ratio with the rotation chambers. However, the SVC is a self balancing system that automatically adjusts to higher load conditions. As rpm speeds increase, the thermal heat transfer loading into the SVC increases and the rotor motion also increases the lag potential to transfer the heat back to the rotor chambers. The higher the SVC sodium temperature the larger the temperature differential from the hot sodium evaporator zone to the condenser zone. This increases the heat transfer inside the SVC. As combustion heat loading continues, the SVC average operating temperature of both the evaporator and condenser zones may increase. This results in a condition where there is a larger temperature differential between the SVC and rotating chambers along the expansion path so that more heat is transferred back at much higher rates. Also at higher rpm there is a shorter duration of heat transfer to and from the SVC. This will limit excessive heat loading into the SVC. 
   Sodium is highly reactive with water and can generate heated hydrogen gas that can ignite. To reduce sodium water interaction and reaction: first, the amount of sodium is kept relatively small to do limited damage, even with very large sized engines; second, the engine cover is made from a super alloy material that is very strong so as to not rupture easily; third, curvature of the SVC cover geometry design also provides tremendous strength to transfer impact forces to prevent rupture; fourth, the outer cover is further protected by a very thick layer of metal foam insulation or blanket material that also protects the sodium vapor chamber from impact; fifth, an internal SVC pressure regulator system is used that helps optimize the internal sodium operation heat flows, absorb high impact pressures, and reduce the chance of a rupture; and sixth, in the case of a rupture, the sodium water interaction is typically very localized and the reaction speed slow so there is some fire potential, but not necessarily an explosion that would result in metal flying. 
   Outer SVC Insulation Cover 
   The outer SVC surface is covered with an Insulation cover that helps reduce heat losses through the SVC to the ambient environment. The insulation cover also helps significantly reduce the G-cycle engines noise level. The insulation cover can be made from an insulation blanket of ceramic materials or foam metal or ceramic materials. These materials also greatly protect the SVC from impact damage from an accident that might rupture the SVC. 
   Alkali Metal Thermal Electrical Converter 
   It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a direct source of electricity. The present invention provides sodium vapor chamber systems for removing excess heat from along the combustion zone and transferring it along the expansion zone. The circulation heat transfer profile of the sodium working fluid is identical for using an alkali metal thermal electrical converter (AMTEC) to generate electricity. The AMTEC uses sodium as a working fluid that is heated and pressurized against a beta alumina solid electrode (BASE) where the sodium is converted from a liquid to gas and the ions of the sodium pass through the BASE generating electricity. 
   Rotor Cooling 
   The rotor surface is covered with a defect cluster TBC that is capable of operating at up to 1,400 C. The TBC helps protect the rotor from combustion heat damage and minimizes surface heat transfer into the rotor. Heat from the rotor chamber that passes through the rotor&#39;s TBC will be absorbed into a water vapor chamber located underneath the rotor surface. The rotor&#39;s top water vapor chamber is an evaporator zone where water working fluid changes phase from a liquid to a gas and transfers the heat inside the water vapor chamber to condensers located at both sides of the rotor. An active water cooling system sprays water across the rotor condensers as the rotor rotates to absorb the condenser heat, whereby the rotor vapor chamber water cools and changes phase from a gas to a liquid and is then re-circulated back towards the evaporator zone by high-G centrifugal forces. The rotor water vapor chamber also helps isothermalize the heat distribution across the entire rotor surface. This helps to improve even combustion throughout the chamber and prevent thermal hot spots and deformations in the rotor structure. 
   High Brake Thermodynamic Efficiency 
   Because of its sodium vapor heat transfer, water injection, and extended expansion stroke, the G-cycle engine can achieve higher brake thermodynamic efficiency. Heat that might be lost to the housing and cooling system is recovered from the sodium vapor chamber system. Heat that is transferred into the active cooling system is recycled back into the combustion/expansion cycle. The expanded combustion/expansion chamber with water injection allows for maximum amount of combustion heat to be converted into MEP and work, reducing the exhaust temperature losses. Friction losses from compression stroke and heat from the sliding vanes and rotor are captured in the water of the active cooling system and injected back into the combustion chambers and operation cycle. Using the whole engine as the cycle reduces overall heat loses from combustion, heat transfer cooling, exhaust, and friction that boosts maximum power and brake thermodynamic efficiency to levels reaching 65-80%. 
   The G-Cycle can be adapted for use with Wankel and other rotary engines, but the preferred embodiment is specifically designed for the present invention G-Cycle engine having a number of unique mechanical systems designed to optimize the thermodynamic and mechanical operation of the G-Cycle. 
   High Balanced Power Density 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a better balanced power distribution that also has higher engine power to volume and weight performance. 
   An object of this engine is to optimize each of the four engine cycle strokes and synthesize their operation into a completely integrated engine system achieving high engine efficiency, as well as, high power to engine volume and mass weight density. The preferred engine configuration is a rotary vane type engine wherein the rotor is centered on the drive shaft. The rotary style engine is ideal in that it can separate each of the four engine cycles independently. It also allows all the combustion and mechanical forces to work continuously and be aligned to rotate in only one direction as opposed to reciprocating engines. This creates a smoother, more balanced rotation with less vibration and stress forces. The chambers used in the engine of the present invention are relatively smaller, which allows the combustion reaction to be better controlled so that the engine can operate smoothly with just one rotor. 
   The engine can also have a variable number of rotors linked onto the same driveshaft to increase the engine system&#39;s overall power capability. The number of rotors is limited to the length and strength of the driveshaft to handle all the rotors&#39; operational loads. The engine of the present invention can also have six, eight, nine or twelve combustion chambers. However, the preferred embodiment is an eight-chambered engine. With six, eight, nine, twelve or more chambers, depending on engine scale per 360 degrees CA rotation, the engine can generate very high displacement power and torque within a small engine volume and mass weight. 
   For example, for an engine with eight combustion chambers in the rotor, the engine will provide eight power pulses per 360 degrees crank rotation. 
   Variable Water Injection Compression Ratio 
   Although the use of a SVC in the hydrogen G-cycle engine would allow a combustion cavity to be completely eliminated from the engine, such a cavity does help control hydrogen and water stratification properties to improve ignition and generate turbulence for enhanced combustion reaction mixing. However, the use of a combustion cavity recess generates more chamber volume that negatively impacts the chamber compression ratio by adding chamber volume that can not be easily compressed based on the rotor geometry interaction with the outer housing stator surface. In the G-cycle engine, the water injection is geometrically separated from the fuel injection. Two water injections are located earlier in the compression stroke at the point when a trailing rotor chamber vane clears the intake port. This allows for a full charge of fresh intake air before water injections occurs. At this point heated water from the active cooling system is injected into the rotor chamber by two water injectors on the sides of the rotor stator housing. The water injection is directed forward with the direction of rotor rotation with each injector injecting water on each side of the rotor and rotor chamber near the axial seals. The water temperature is 250 to 350 degrees C. near vapor point. As the rotor revolves in the inner housing stator the injected water stratifies into the back half of the rotor chamber from centrifugal and inertia forces. The rotor chamber is then stratified with fresh air in the front half and injected water in the back half. At this point, the water is treated as an incompressible fluid and greatly reduces the effective chamber volume. The hydrogen fuel is then directly injected into the center front half of the rotor chamber. The added water helps control the peak combustion temperature and also increases the effective compression ratio to helps ignite the fuel. The stratification of the water and fuel in the chamber also helps the fuel to ignite faster without water dilution improving the combustion performance. The water and fuel stratification also keeps the combustion reaction in the front section of the rotor chamber. This further improves the forward leveraging of the combustion forces. Without this stratification the fuel would also tend to stratify in the chamber toward the back half of the rotor chamber, minimizing the desired combustion vectored forces. Once the hydrogen fuel is ignited, a very small amount of combustion heat is needed to vaporize the water into super heated steam. This super heated steam flashes forward in the direction of rotation with very strong blast motion generating tremendous chamber turbulence to mix with the combusting fuel. This superheated highly turbulent fuel/water reaction then passes over the combustion surface of the sodium vapor chamber with a surface temperature of 1,800 K or 1,526 degrees C. This geometric section of the G-cycle engine has a very high housing surface area to chamber volume and helps to improve the combustion rate and complete combustion of the fuel. The amount of water injected into the compression stroke can be varied to change the effective compression ratio to optimize engine performance and efficiency under different rpm conditions. 
   For example a geometric intake volume of 400 cc could compress down to 40 cc with a compression ratio of 10:1. However, if 20 cc of incompressible water is injected the effective gas compression volume is 20 cc with a 20:1 compression ratio. The amount of water can be regulated to adjust the effective compression ratio to ideal engine operating conditions. 
   Combustion Losses Reversed 
   The compression ratio is adjusted so that the hydrogen/water/air premix temperature is very close to 585 degrees C., i.e., the auto-ignition temperature. Hydrogen is a very diffuse fuel and quickly forms a homogeneous charge with the water. Heat from the sodium vapor chamber ignites the hydrogen/water/air mixture. By using the housing surface area to ignite the mixture, the whole combustion chamber is ignited simultaneously. Little combustion energy is lost due to the hydrogen/water/air premix temperature being in equilibrium with the auto-ignition temperature. Since the entire housing is used to ignite the mixture there is very little combustion energy lost from flame front exchange with unreacted fuel and air. Since the combustion mixture is only hydrogen, water, and air the products and reactants are limited to just these elements. This reduces the combustion kinetic energy losses associated with breaking the molecular bonds of larger hydrocarbon chained fuels. With a homogeneous hydrogen/water/air mixture the water in close proximity to the hydrogen and will help to restrain the combustion reaction converting the heat energy into high vapor pressure energized energy to perform work. Heating the water vapor in the combustion reaction is a more reversible reaction where the combustion heat can be transferred or conducted between other water molecules with little energy destruction. 
   Improved Hydrogen Fuel Delivery 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved hydrogen fuel delivery and ignition performance over existing engines. The G-cycle engine not only utilizes and recycles all the combustion reaction heat, but it also uses an active water cooling system that captures heat from the engine&#39;s mechanical friction, cycle compression, and exhaust gas flow. Heated water from the active cooling system is used to premix with the hydrogen gas before injection, early and late stage water injection into the combustion/expansion zones. Compressed hydrogen storage systems are using tanks capable of 10,000 to 15,000 psi pressures. The G-cycle engine uses regulators to pressure inject the hydrogen into the rotating combustion cavities. When a compressed gas goes from high pressure to low pressure there is a heat is absorbed from gas expansion. If the pressure difference and rate of gas usage is high enough, it can result in icing and the regulators and system failure. The G-cycle engine uses heated water from the active cooling system premixed with the hydrogen gas before it enters the engine&#39;s combustion chamber, and supply heat needed in the gas expansion to prevent the regulators from icing. With hydrogen having a high auto-ignition temperature of 585 degrees C. it is important to quickly raise its temperature higher for proper combustion. 
   High Compression 
   It is also a further object of the present invention to provide an engine with a higher operating intake compression. Hydrogen is capable of very high compression ratios that can be as high as 33:1. By premixing hydrogen with water, the engine of the present invention can produce higher compression ratios of &gt;14:1, with reduced potential for the occurrence of knock or pre-ignition. The present invention uses a compression ratio that brings the hydrogen/water/air premix up to a temperature close to 585 degrees C., near the autoignition temperature. This combustion equilibrium helps reduce kinetic combustion reaction heat losses to ignite the fuel premix. 
   Wider Fuel/Air Equivalence Operating Range 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hydrogen engine that is capable of operating successfully with a wider range of Phi fuel to air mixtures that can be adjusted from very lean to stoichiometric or (&gt;=0.4 to &lt;=1.0) to optimize the combustion reaction for high fuel efficiency or high power performance. The hydrdogen and intake air are concentrated together for excellent ignition even at low equivalence ratios. The water injection can create high compression which can improve ignition performance. The high temperature of the inner stator surface will further improve lean fuel mixture ignition and complete combustion. 
   Lower NOx Emissions 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved lower NOx emissions with higher power output performance over existing internal combustion engines. Premixing the hydrogen with water dilutes the fuel mixture and reduces and control the peak temperature to about 1,800 degrees K., at which very little NOx emissions are formed. 
   Hydrogen Ignition, Combustion Duration, and Mean Effective Pressure 
   It is another further object of the present invention to provide an ignition system that uses less electrical energy and provides more instantaneous and complete combustion over existing engine systems. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combustion reaction that improves the complete combustion performance, improves the combustion reaction turbulence, improves combustion reaction rate, and increase combustion duration over existing internal combustion engines. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combustion cycle with a higher mean effective pressure (MEP) over existing engine systems. 
   Hydrogen has a low quenching threshold and the combustion reaction will quench or go out if it loses too much heat through the housing surface area. The rotary vane engine of the present invention is designed with an expanded combustion/expansion zone that results in a combustion cavity with a high surface to volume ratio. In typical engines this will generate high combustion heat loses through the housing surface resulting in combustion reaction quenching with incomplete combustion, poor fuel efficiency, and pure fuel emissions. In the engine of the present invention, a high surface area to volume is a great benefit due to the integration of the sodium vapor chamber along the combustion/expansion zone. One or two spark plugs ignite the hydrogen/air/water premix during startup. Once the engine surfaces have reached operating temperature, the spark plugs are turned off to save electrical power, and the heat from the sodium vapor chamber through the inner housing surface is used to ignite the fuel mixture. Hydrogen has an auto-ignition temperature of 585 degrees C. and the sodium vapor chamber has an operational temperature of 600 degrees C. Once the hydrogen/air/water premix rotates into combustion/expansion zone where the sodium vapor chamber is, it will instantly ignite the fuel mixture. The high surface to volume ratio also creates high gas turbulence due to shearing forces with the inner housing stator surface. This results in further improved complete combustion performance and heat transfer with the sodium vapor chamber. The water vapor has a higher density than air and with high rotation centrifugal forces tend to migrate along the surface of the inner housing stator where the sodium vapor chamber resides. The water moving along the high surface area of the inner housing stator improves the heat transfer from the sodium vapor chamber into the combustion cavities. This also continues to maintain the high water vapor pressures and MEP work across the entire length of the expanded combustion/expansion zone. The high water vapor pressure also helps prevent hydrogen from penetrating behind the sealing system into the internal compartment of the engine. 
   Combustion Chamber Sealing System 
   It is also an object of the present invention to provide a means for sealing the combustion chambers of rotary vane internal combustion engines that achieves increased sealing performance, decreased frictional wear, decreased frictional heat buildup, and increased strength and durability over existing seals. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combustion chamber seal that reacts with the thermal deformation size changes of the inner housing stator, utilizes combustion chamber gases to maintain sealing forces, reacts quickly to air/gas pressures, and independently maintains ideal front and back combustion chamber sealing under different dynamic combustion chamber forces to provide improved sealing performance over existing seals. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved combustion chamber sealing interface system that provides improved sealing interfaces between the sliding split vane seals, axial seals, and vane face seals over existing seals. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved combustion chamber seal that reduces vane flexing deformation over existing seals. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved combustion chamber seal that minimizes seal chattering mark damage to inner housing stator surface and decreases operational vibrations and harshness stresses over existing seals. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved combustion chamber seal that creates combustion chamber gas turbulence to improve combustion reactions over existing seals. 
   Combustion chamber sealing is an important aspect of the present invention. The sliding vanes must sustain high compression and combustion pressure to prevent leaking through their forward and backward flexing deformations through all the cycles. Sealing friction also plays a critical role in the engine efficiency of the present invention. However, creating more sealing force usually also generates higher frictional energy losses and wear. The design of the combustion chamber sealing solves complex geometric surface interfaces associated with continuous varying chamber sizes. The combustion chamber sealing system is made up of three main sealing subsystems: seals between the sliding vane and the engine housing, between the sliding vane and the rotor, and between the rotor and the engine housing. The quality of this sealing system is essential to the engine power, efficiency, durability, and emissions. 
   The G-cycle engine system uses a special vane split seal system where each vane contains two split seals. Rotation centrifugal forces and gas pressure helps to force the seal against the inner housing stator surface. Each vane split seal has gas passage perforations that allow small amounts of gas to penetrate underneath the seals to force the seals outward against the inner housing stator surface. The gas loading of the vane seals allows the sealing force from each chamber to balance the sealing forces without generating excess friction. Using two seals per each vane provides a double sealing system that further reduces chamber blow-by losses. However, chamber blow-by between chambers is not parasitic to the engine cycle. Any gas blow-by that occurs will still be used positively in that chamber. 
   The Vane split seals are interfaced by vane face curved seals that seal between the vane face surface and the rotor and side axial seals that seal between the rotor and side housing. All together, the vane split seals, face seals, and axial seals seal each of the rotor chambers. 
   The vane face and axial seals are also preloaded with a corrugated spring. Once the engine begins operation chamber gases will also pressurize the seals. The vane face and axial seals also contain a small seal strip along their sealing surfaces. Any strong combustion vibrations that vibrate these seals may result in gas leaks. These small seal strips will provide additional sealing protection. 
   Split Vane Seals 
   In further accordance with the aforementioned objectives, the present invention provides split vane seals slidably fastened along the outer perimeters of generally semi-circular U-shaped sliding vanes within a rotary vane internal combustion engine. Each split vane seal contains two vane seals that are contoured to maximize the surface area contact with the inner surface of the stator housing of the engine. The large contoured surface of each seal ring provides a larger surface area of contact sealing versus existing thin edged apex seal systems. Thus, it provides better sealing performance under high combustion pressures and rotation speeds. The large contoured surface of each vane seal also distributes the sealing contact forces across the entire front, top, and back surfaces of each vane seal as the split vane seal sweeps around the inner surface of the stator. This distribution of sealing contact forces minimizes the constant friction wear at any one point and helps to greatly extend the life span, durability, and sealing performance of the vane seals. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide vane seals that toggle back and forth to provide optimum sealing contact with the changing surface contact angles of the inner housing stator. 
   The toggling motion of each vane seal is facilitated by roller bearings located inside vane bearing channels sandwiched between the two vane seals within each split vane seal, as well as between each vane seal and its adjacent section of rotor. These small roller bearings embedded in the inner and outer surfaces of the vane seals help toggle the vane seals back and forth as they rotate around inside the stator. 
   Snub Nose Seal Tip 
   A vane seal tip includes a snub nose tip that provides a small contoured rounded tip on the top of the vane seal that can slide smoothly across profile the inner housing stator surface. The small snub nose tip is more concentrated like a piston ring to minimize excessive surface sealing contact. During combustion large stress and vibration forces are created. The seal gas passages will help absorb and compensate for these forces. However, the snub nose seal may be vibrated off the inner housing stator surface. This action may result in chattering mark damage to the stator surface. However, by making the snub nose seal slightly wider the impact forces will be distributed over a slightly larger surface area and will be less likely to result in chattering mark damage. The snub nose tip is also coated with oxide lubricant and the rest of the extended seal tip surface is coated with a thermal barrier coating. Another advantage of the snub nose seal tip is that it can transition from the top center of the vane to the outer sides of the lower section vane section that make for an ideal flat contact interface surface with the axial and vane face seals. 
   Extended Tip edge 
   Additionally, the side surfaces of each vane split seal edge flares out or extend near the top, providing a surface for the combustion gases to push each vane seal outward toward the inner surface of the stator. This extended tip will act as a steel “I” beam vane tip structure reinforcement to help prevent the vane seal from twisting or deforming as it rotates around the inner housing stator profile and is influenced by combustion forces. 
   Vane Seal Gas Passages 
   Each of the vane seals will ride over the top of a vane ridge that helps prevent each vane seal from torquing out of position as it moves across the inner housing stator surface. Each vane seal can also move in and out perpendicularly to the axis of the rotor along the sides of each sliding vane in a toggling motion. This provides improved surface contact with the inner housing stator surface as it moves around the inner housing stator surface with a changing point of contact. As the vane seals toggle in and out on top of each sliding vane, gas passage channels located within each vane seal allow gas from combustion chambers to flow underneath portions of each vane seal over the vane ridge, thereby forcing each vane seal into closer contact with the inner surface of the stator, as well as, balancing the needed sealing forces with the combustion chamber&#39;s gas pressure. A vane ridge spring seal will be placed near the bottom of the lower seal side section to help maintain proper gas passage pressures and prevent gas from leaking out the bottom of the vane seal. 
   Dynamic Axial Split Vane Seals 
   Another dynamic aspect of the vane seal is that it is split into an upper semi-circular center section and two lower straight side segments, with each side segment having the freedom of motion in particular directions such that the combustion chambers remain tightly sealed. Both segments are free to move in and out radially along the plane of rotation of the rotor. The lower side segments are also free to move in and out axially, in a direction somewhat parallel to the axis of the rotor. A small gas channel runs down the inside of each of the lower side segments. The gas channels connect with the gas passages in the upper semi-circular center section. Gas from the combustion chamber goes through the vane seal gas passage to help pressure equalize sealing radially along the inner housing surface. The gas then flows along the lower side gas channels to pressure equalize sealing axially along the side inner housing stator surfaces. A gas channel spring seal helps to maintain proper gas channel pressures and prevent gases from leaking out the bottom of the vane seal. The dynamic motion of the center and side vane seal segments provides additional sealing range of motion and ability to react to thermal expansion changes of a thermally unsymmetrical housing profile. These novel designs provide the means to effectively seal each combustion chamber. 
   Dynamic Rotor Axial Seals 
   Dynamic rotor axial seals seal along the side of the rotor and the inner housing stator surface. Each dynamic rotor axial seal comprises a major axial seal and a minor seal strip that resides in a small groove in the major axial seal along the sealing contact surface with the inner housing stator. The major axial seal is split into a center section and two end sections. They are interfaced together along an angled surface where the center axial seal section uses a tongue extension and the end axial sections use a grooved recess. The center axial seal section is biased outward from the rotor by combustion chamber gas pressure and a corrugated spring to make sealing contact with the inner housing stator surface. As the gas pressure and corrugated spring bias the major seal outward they also bias the axial end segments outward or co-radially to apply sealing pressure both on the inner housing stator surface and on the lower section of the sliding vane seal. A small minor seal strip fits into a small groove running across the face of the major axial center and end segments. The minor seal strip provides a continuous sealing surface across the major axial seal segments and helps prevent any gas blow-by around the major axial seal. The sealing face surfaces of the major axial seals are coated with a solid lubricant to reduce friction and sealing wear. 
   Vane Face Seals 
   In further accordance with the aforementioned objectives, the present invention provides vane face seals that create a tight seal between the rotor and the face of each sliding vane, as well as provide support to the major axial end seals. The vane face seals are structured as a two stage combined major seal and minor seal strip. The major vane face seals are biased outward against the vane face surface from combustion chamber gas pressure and a corrugated spring located behind them to press the major seal. The minor seal strip provides a continuous sealing surface across the major vane face seal segments and helps prevent any gas blow-by past the major vane face seal. The sealing face surface of the major vane face seal are coated with a solid lubricant to reduce friction and sealing wear. 
   Vane Structure 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lighter and stronger vane structure that is less susceptible to thermal stresses and mechanical deformations. 
   The radial inner housing stator, rotor, and vanes use a semi-circular geometric profile instead of typical square geometric profile. This allows the vane to extend from the rotor and have the rotor provide strong support to the center of the vane that matches the semi-circular curvature profile of the vane. This provides excellent support for the perimeter of the vane where the seals press against the inner housing stator surface. This rotor support on the vane helps minimize vane and seal deformations from combustion and sealing forces. 
   Reducing the vane&#39;s mass greatly reduces the centrifugal sliding forces along the inner housing stator that can result in deformations. The shape of the vane is an inverted U-shaped structure with a semi-circular top edge where the vane seals reside for sealing along the inner housing stator surface. The center of the vane is cut out with just a vertical and horizontal interfaced support cross bar. Large holes are placed in the horizontal support bar section to further reduce the material mass of the vane. 
   The vane is preferably made from a high strength light weight material that is also high temperature resistant, like Haynes 230. The front and back face of the vane are preferably coated with a thermal barrier coating to prevent thermal damage to the vane structure that could result in excessive thermal expansion or deformation. 
   Vane Heat Pipe Cooling/Heat Transfer 
   The vanes also contain a heat pipe channel system underneath the perimeter seal surface. The heat pipe channel is preferably an upside down U-shaped like the vane profile and preferably uses water as the working fluid. The heat pipe operates primarily by high-G centrifugal forces. The centrifugal forces cause the water to move toward the tip of the vane underneath the seals in the evaporator zone. Heat from the seals is transferred into the heat pipe channel and the water is heated and changes phase from a liquid to a gas. The gas then flows through he heat pipe channel to one of the two side ends where it transfers the heat into the condensers and changes phase again from a gas to a liquid. The liquid then circulates back to the tip of the vane or the evaporator zone to start the cycle again. The active cooling system sprays water into the rotor and across the outer vane condensers to transfer the vane&#39;s heat into the water of the active cooling system. The heated water is then injected and recycled back into the engine cycle. A porous upside down U-shaped wick structure is preferably in the heat pipe channel to help wick or transfer the water and gas inside the heat pipe and also provide cold temperature protection of water expansion from freezing. The vane heat pipe channel greatly reduces the temperature of the vane and seal structures, allowing them to maintain their structural integrity and optimum performance. 
   Vane Anti-Centrifugal Belting System 
   In yet further accordance with the aforementioned objectives, the present invention provides vane anti-centrifugal systems to decrease friction generated between the split vane seals on the sliding vanes and the inner surface of the stator. The vane centripetal force systems include a vane belt system that applies centripetal force to counteract the centrifugal force generated by the rapidly rotating sliding vanes. Arched vane belt plates may be used to reduce stresses on the vane belts. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved sliding vane anti-centrifugal force belting system having increased operational range of movement and increased range of operational rpm speed over existing vane centripetal systems. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved sliding vane anti-centrifugal force belting system having decreased frictional wear, decreased frictional heat buildup, and decreased operational vibrations, and improved strength and durability over existing sliding vane centripetal systems. 
   As the vanes rotate around the inner housing stator centrifugal forces force the vanes and seals against the inner housing stator surface. As rpm speeds increase the centrifugal forces magnify and result in high friction forces that are so large that the friction forces may equal or become bigger than the combustion chamber pressure forces that drive the engine. This condition greatly limits the engine&#39;s power density and brake thermal efficiency. There are a number of ways to counter vane centrifugal friction. One way is to reduce the mass weight of the vane and seals. This reduces the overall force loading of the centrifugal forces. Another way is to use rings and connecting rods that connect the vanes to the main driveshaft. This allows the vanes to rotate at a fixed or constant distance from the inner housing stator surface. This method helps solve the vane and seal centrifugal friction problem but only works with oval shaped inner housing stator geometrical profiles. This limits the combustion/expansion duration to only 90 degrees CA rotation from TDC ignition. Another method uses a rhombic linkage that is connected to the bottoms of the vanes. The advantage of the rhombic linkage system is that the vane and seal centrifugal forces are transformed to centripetal forces through the linkage to balance or offset the centrifugal forces. The rhombic linkage operates like a scissoring system that automatically adjusts as the vanes rotate around the inner housing stator profile. As two opposite vanes follow the profile and extend outward they cause the other two vanes to retract inward. The problem with the rhombic linkage is again the inner housing stator must be have an oval profile resulting in only 90 degrees of combustion/expansion duration. The rhombic linkage also uses a large number of pins and links that are prone to friction and wear. They also can not be adjusted or re-tensioned when wear occurs resulting in system failure. Another method is to add large cams to the bottoms of the vanes and cut a cam groove in the inner housing that follows the rotation profile. The centrifugal friction is transferred from the tips of the vanes and seals to the cams in the cam channel. The vane cams and cam channel are well oil lubricated and can even use elaborate roller bearing systems. This allows the vanes to use an extended geometry profile with combustion/expansion duration larger than 90 degrees CA from TDC. The problem with this system is that it is difficult to seal and oil the cam channel. This cam channel system also does not allow for any type of adjustments, due to system wear. It only slightly improves the centrifugal friction problem by transferring the load forces to a cam and cam channel that are designed to lower the high friction loads. The vane cam adds mass weight to the vane and additional friction in the cam channel that offset the friction levels they were trying to reduce. 
   The vane and seal anti-centrifugal system of the present invention uses a series of belts that are connected to a toggling system attached to the bottom of each of the vanes. Two series of belts are formed where the two belts are split between alternating vanes. One belt runs along the radial center of the engine and around the driveshaft and the other belt is spit in half and runs on the outside of the center belt. Each of the outer belts is one half the width of the center belt. The operation of the belt system works similarly to the string/finger cat&#39;s cradle game where players use a string loop to make creative string shapes by distorting the loop with their fingers. To keep the creative string shape, the players must use both hands and pull them apart to apply tension on the string. The players can change sting shape or position by adjusting the string with their fingers, but must maintain a constant tension to the string with all fingers. The present invention operates in a similar way. In an eight vane engine system, four alternating vanes are connected to the center belt system, and four vanes are connected to the outer belt system. In each belt system, as two vanes follow the inner housing stator profile and begin to extend from the rotor&#39;s center they pull the other two vanes back into the rotor. This system also operates much like the rhombic linkage system by balancing the centrifugal vane and seal forces with centripetal forces of the other vanes and seals. The advantage of the present invention is that it also uses a vane belt toggling system and profile belt that allows the vanes and seals to follow asymmetrical inner housing profiles where the combustion/expansion is greater than 90 degrees CA from TDC. The toggles allow the vane segments to be extended or shortened to adjust to the inner housing profile distortions. A profile belting system is a third belting system comprised of two smaller belts that go on the outside perimeter of the two inner belting systems. The profile belting system connects both the center and outer belting system together as a unified system and acts like a dynamic cam channel to help keep the vanes and seals in proper position with the inner housing stator surface as they rotate around an asymmetrical or distorted oval inner housing stator profile. Another advantage of the proposed invention is that each of the vane toggle systems is connected to an adjustable tension bar that can adjust the belt tension from any system wear or belt stretching. 
   By using an active cooling system to spray water into the rotor center the temperature around the belting system can be maintained at around 100 degrees C. or 212 degrees F. At this temperature, a wide variety of different materials can be used as belting material. These materials include woven Nextel 610 and AGY&#39;s 933-S2 glass, fiberglass, carbon fibers, or stainless steel wire. The preferred belting material is high tensile strength fibers that are woven into flat belt segments and connected to the vane toggles. The vane belts will ride over belt arches located in between two connected vanes. The belt arches will contain roller bearings to further assist the movement of the belts across the vane arches. The roller bearings are also connected to a spring system that compresses at high rpm speeds greater than 1,000 rpm. At these speeds, the roller bearings break contact with the vane belts and the belts slide across small rounded surfaces of the belt arch that have been coated with a solid lubricant. The solid lubricant allows very high vane belt motion across the belt arch with very low friction and wear. The belts themselves can also be coated with a solid lubricant to further reduce friction and wear. 
   Rotor Structure 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved rotor structure that is lighter and stronger than other rotor systems. 
   The engine rotor is made up of eight or six segments depending on the size and engine configuration. The driveshaft preferably is octagon or hexagon in shape to match eight or six rotor segments, respectively. The bottom of each of the rotor segments preferably rests on one of the flat surfaces of the driveshaft. Round lock plates slide over each of the ends of the driveshaft and lock all the different rotor segments together to form a single rotor. The rotor preferably has a top semi-circular shape that matches the inner housing profile. The rotor top is connected to two side plates that make the rotor into an upside down U-shape like the vane and from a large open space under the rotor surface. The top semi-circular shape acts like a strong arch and provides great strength to the rotor and allows the large open space underneath. This reduces the weight of the engine and the material cost of manufacturing the rotor. It also provides space for the operation of the vane anti-centrifugal belting system to operate. 
   Combustion Cavity Vortex Turbulence 
   The combustion cavity forms a crescent shape and is narrower than typical combustion chambers. Hydrogen has a much higher flame speed than gasoline and diesel fuels. This generates surface shear with the chamber gases and water with the outer housing surface to generate mixing turbulence to improve flame front propagation throughout the entire chamber. With a high inner housing surface temperature the sear turbulence across this heated surface will further accelerate combustion and flame front propagation. 
   The combustion recess is primarily to slightly stratify the hydrogen and water. This helps provide a slight hydrogen homogeneous combustion section separate from the water that will be on the sides and back. The curvature of the combustion recess also helps generate chamber turbulence to improve hydrogen combustion and then mixing with water. 
   Once the hydrogen is ignited in the front part of the chamber, the water is stratified towards the back section of the chamber. As the rotor rotates through 90 CA degrees TDC, the curvature of the combustion recess allows the water to squish and squirt through this compression point more easily and smoothly without being in a compression locked position in the back of the chamber. The water is also traveling forward at high velocity to improve gas turbulence and mix with the combusting hydrogen. 
   Rotor Thermal Control and Water Vapor Chamber Cooling/Heat Transfer 
   A further object of the present invention is to minimize heat penetration into the rotor and to provide an improved rotor cooling system to remove any such heat penetration. 
   The top surface of the rotor and the surface of the three combustion cavity recesses are preferably coated with a thermal barrier coating (TBC) like yttrium stabilized zirconium YSZ. The TBC prevents heat due to combustion from penetrating the rotor surface and into inner rotor components. A water vapor chamber located underneath the rotor surface captures any heat that passes through the surface TBC and penetrates into the rotor. The rotor water vapor chamber helps isothermalize the surface to the rotor and provide a more uniform heat distribution across the surface to help stabilize the combustion reaction. The rotor vapor chamber operates similarly to the vane heat pipe system. The rotor vapor chamber uses water as a working fluid up to a temperature of 202 degrees C. The vapor chamber is a gravity circulation system that uses high G-rotation forces to circulate the water between the evaporator section which is under the rotors outer combustion cavity surface and two side condensers. The rotor vapor chamber also uses preferably a fine and coarse layer of wicking mesh to improve water distribution across the entire surface area of the rotor and improve water circulation between the evaporator and condenser. Two porous wick tubes are also placed in the rotor vapor chamber to improve working fluid circulation and help prevent water freezing expansion damage to the rotor and/or water vapor chamber. One porous wick wraps around the semi-circular section of the rotor axially from one side condenser to the other side condenser. The other porous wick runs across the center of the water vapor chamber radially. Water from the active cooling system is sprayed into the engine housing from both sides and across the rotor side condensers. Heat from the rotor water vapor chamber is transferred through the condenser in the water from the active cooling system. The heated water is then circulated out of the engine&#39;s housing and injected back into the combustion cavity or mixed with the hydrogen as premix. 
   Vane Tangential Bearing System 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved sliding vane tangential bearing system having increased operational speed, decreased frictional wear, decreased frictional heat buildup, and improved strength and durability over existing sliding vane tangential bearing systems. 
   In the rotor vane passage along the rotor face surface small raised zigzag surfaces preferably coated with an oxide lubricant are used to help the vanes slide against and transfer their captured combustion force into the rotor. The raised zigzag surfaces minimize contact surface area and the oxide lubricant minimizes sliding friction. The raised zigzag surfaces also act as small steam channels. Water from the inner rotor cooling system enters the zigzag channels and is converted into high pressure steam from the vanes as they are retracted back into the rotor through the vane passage. The steam creates pressure that forces some of the vane load off of the raised surface to minimize vane sliding friction. With the steam exerting pressure equally in all directions it also transfers some of the vane&#39;s combustion forces into the rotor to drive the engine. Small roller bearings located in recesses in the rotor vane passages transfer the vane&#39;s combustion forces into the rotor and minimize vane sliding friction. The roller bearings are primarily used during lower rpm operations at or less than 1,000 rpm. At higher rpm speeds, the roller bearings are connected to small bearing springs that compress due to rotation centrifugal forces, retracting the roller bearing into the rotor bearing passage. At this point, the vane is extending and retracting from the rotor so fast that the roller bearings would only be adding inertial friction and reducing the engine&#39;s efficiency. As the engine rpm speeds lower than 1,000 rpm, the roller bearing springs uncompress and press the roller bearing to make direct contact with the sliding vane surface and make positive efficiency benefits to reduce sliding vane friction and transferring vane combustion forces into the rotor. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved sliding vane tangential bearing damping system having improved vibration absorption capacity over existing sliding vane tangential bearing damping systems. 
   The combination of the raised zigzag water/steam channels and roller bearings not only reduces the vane sliding friction and transfers vane combustion forces to the rotor, it also greatly reduces harsh vibrations from the combustion pulses and the vanes&#39; extension and retraction motions. This minimizes NVH stresses to all the other engine components and improves engine operation and durability. 
   Engine Housing 
   As the engine of the present invention operates at much higher temperatures than standard engines, it incorporates the following unique combination of elements to minimize heat buildup in critical areas: oxide lubricants, thermal barrier coatings, vapor chamber systems, and an active water cooling system to efficiently transport excess heat for isothermalization of the outer engine housing. The engine housing and components are fabricated using high temperature alloys and thermal barrier coatings that are resistant to thermal stresses and deformations. The outer engine housing is preferably covered with a thick thermal blanket to minimize heat loss and reduce engine noise. 
   Distorted Oval Inner Housing Stator Geometry 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a geometry profile that maximizes or over-expands the combustion/expansion zone and minimizes the intake/compression zone, while achieving optimum thermodynamic cycle performance over existing engine systems. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved inner housing stator geometry that minimizes vane and seal deformations over existing engine systems. 
   The present invention uses an inner housing stator geometry profile where the combustion/expansion zone gradually expands from TDC to a maximum size at about 145 crank angle degrees from TDC, which is also the end of expansion point. This provides 61% more combustion/expansion duration over existing rotary vane engines and allows more of the kinetic thermodynamic heat to be converted into mechanical work. The exhaust port will be located by the front chamber sliding vane when the same chamber&#39;s back vane reaches the end of expansion point. By having the combustion/expansion zone gradually expand it greatly reduces the combustion stresses on the vane and seal components. Just after the TDC location, the combustion forces and pressures are at their highest. At this location, the vanes and seals are recessed into the rotor so as to not be greatly exposed to the strong forces that can result in vane and seal deformation and damage. As the vanes rotate around the combustion/expansion zone, they gradually extend from the rotor to seal along the inner housing stator surface. The vanes reach their maximum extension from the rotor when they reach the end of expansion point. At this point the combustion chamber pressures are much less and the risk of vane and seal deformation is much lower. After the end of the expansion point, the inner housing geometry rapidly shrinks to improve exhaust scavenging. The exhaust ports are located radially along the engine&#39;s axis to allow the rotation centrifugal forces to be used to easily and completely exhaust the heavier water vapor gases through the exhaust port. There is a single combustion chamber length gap between the chamber&#39;s back vane by the exhaust port and the front vane by the intake port. The intake port is also located radially along the engine&#39;s axis to allow fresh intake air to enter directly into the rotating combustion chambers. During the intake stroke the front chamber vane will reach its maximum intake expansion point when the same chamber&#39;s back vane finishes passing through the intake port. Once this point is reached, the inner housing stator profile is quickly reduced along the compression zone. As the compression stroke starts, and combustion chamber pressures begin to rise, the vanes begin to retract back into the rotor. This helps minimize vane and seal deformations from compression forces. 
   Higher Housing Operation Temperatures 
   It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a combustion reaction that operates at higher combustion operating temperatures over existing internal combustion engines. Although the combustion gas temperature of different engines may be similar to that in the engine of the present invention, the engine materials used need to be cooled to a temperature of 350 to 450 degrees F. This cooling results in about 27% of the thermodynamic heat from combustion being lost to the cooling system. Diesel engines lose only about 20% of their combustion heat to the cooling system due to a much larger cylinder volume to surface area ratio, and more of the combustion heat energy is converted into work. The engine of the present invention uses high temperature resistant alloys, like Haynes 230, that allow peak housing temperatures up to 900 degrees C. Nevertheless, housing expansion operating temperatures of around 600 degrees C. are used to optimize thermodynamic cycle performance with the sodium vapor chamber. At temperatures greater than 600 degrees C. there is a higher amount of heat transfer through the outer housing and sodium vapor chamber and potentially lost to the ambient environment. There is also a higher amount of thermal stress exerted into the engine housing and mechanical components that can result in thermal deformations, wear, and damage. 
   Solid Oxide and Superhard Nanocomposite Lubricants 
   It is yet a further object of the present invention to eliminate the use of oil lubrication and to completely make use of solid lubricants. Binary oxide lubricants, self lubricating solid lubricants, diamond like coatings, and near frictionless carbon coatings will be used on various engine components to reduce friction, improve component durability, and reduce HC emissions over engines using oil. 
   The G-cycle engine does not use oil lubricants. All of the seal contact surfaces are preferably coated with an oxide lubricant, such as Plasma Spray PS 304 developed at NASA Glenn. The PS 304 oxide lubricant provides the same level coefficient of friction as an oiled surface for temperatures of up to 900 degrees Celsius. Alternatively, a Superhard Nanocomposite (SHNC) lubricant coating being developed at Argonne National laboratory could be used. Both the PS 304 and SHNC offer low coefficient of friction, plus exceptional durability of millions of slides cycles. 
   Layers of either the PS 304 or SHNC are preferably plasma sprayed onto all of the sealing contact surfaces. For the vane split seals, a special thick later of PS 304 or SHNC is preferably build up to create a rounded snub nose seal surface. The outer surface of the vane split seals encounter the highest sealing and friction forces. This thicker rounded snub nose seal provides a concentrated seal surface to minimize friction and longer sealing operational performance against seal wear. 
   Active Water Cooling/Heat Transfer 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved lower outer housing heat loss over existing internal combustion engines. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved rotor and vane cooling/heat transfer over existing internal combustion engine rotor cooling/heat transfer systems. 
   An active water cooling/heat transfer system is used to cool the outer housing from compression stroke, the main driveshaft bearing zone, and the inside of the engine housing for the rotor and vanes. Heat from compression and friction is transferred from these systems into the circulating water. The heated water injects the heat back into the reaction cycle for premix with hydrogen, and early and late state combustion/expansion zone injections. Heat that would have been lost to cooling system and friction, is about 20% and 10% percent respectively, is captured in the water and reused back in the engine cycle. This not only greatly improves the engine&#39;s brake thermal efficiency by about 30%, but the water adds a great amount of combustion chamber pressure by converting the heat into energized water vapor to improve the MEP work. The injected water also help reduce exhaust heat loses that are about 30%, cooling the combustion reaction from inside the combustion cavity results in low exhaust temperatures, but with very high velocity and high pressure. Water in the exhaust can be condensed and circulated back into the active cooling system of the engine. 
   Hydrogen Leaking 
   It is a further object of the present invention to reduce the ignition of hydrogen gas behind chamber seals in inner rotor component locations or venting out through the engine. Water from the active cooling system is sprayed into the center of the engine to cool the rotor and vanes. Much of this water is routed through zigzag cooling channels and underneath rotor seals. The water helps improve the sealing performance and prevent any hydrogen from passing by the seals. Any hydrogen that does pass by the seals is diluted by the water and collected by the active cooling system and removed from the engine in a closed loop system. Any hydrogen gas collected is used again by injecting it back into the chambers with the water injection. 
   Reduced NVH 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combustion reaction that reduces the combustion power pulse vibrations over existing internal combustion engines. 
   By premixing hydrogen with water and injecting water into the combustion cavity, the peak combustion temperature is reduced. It transforms the peak pressure profile so that its peak pressure level is lower and is smoothly distributed over more crank angle degrees thereby increasing the mean effective pressure to perform work (MEP). This reduces the high power pulse spikes that result in harsh shocks and stresses to engine components and produces a smoother engine operation. 
   The sodium vapor chamber isothermalizes the combustion/expansion zone by absorbing peak combustion temperatures in the combustion zone and transferring the heat back into to combustion chambers along the expansion zone. This also stabilizes the housing temperature thus minimizing housing deformations. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved outer housing noise reduction system over existing internal combustion engines. 
   The outer engine housing along the combustion/expansion zone over the sodium vapor chamber will be covered with a thick thermal insulation blanket or foam metal to minimize heat loss and help reduce engine noise. 
   Intake/Exhaust Ports with Vane Seal Support Ribs 
   A further object of the present invention is to minimize vane and seal deformation as they pass over the intake and exhaust ports. 
   The intake and exhaust ports are located radially with the rotation of the rotor and vane and seals. The port openings wrap around the semi-circular housing axially. This provides the best orientation for gas exchange and allows for large port size openings. The ports are split down the center radially with the bolt-up section of the two engine halves. An additional support rib spans across the middle of each port half and is slightly angled in the port opening. The center bolt-up section and two support ribs provide support to the vane and seal as they pass over the port openings to prevent deformation. Angling the support ribs in the port distributes the contact point with the vane and seals over a larger area so it does not always occur over the same location. The port openings are angled slightly so that the vanes and seals scissor over the edges of the port. This prevents any damage if the vanes and seals were squared with the port openings and any deformation occurred and the vanes and seals collide with the port opening edges. The rotational velocity creates centrifugal gas forces that that further improve gas exhaust. The inner housing stator geometry profile narrows to no space as it passes the exhaust port. This helps to improve complete scavenging and insure that all the combustion chamber gases are exhausted through the exhaust port. The inner housing stator geometry profile opens up greatly after the intake port. This provides a venturri suction effect that greatly helps draw fresh intake air in to the combustion chamber through the intake port. 
   Housing Water Vapor Chambers 
   A further object of the present invention is to minimize housing thermal deformations over existing engine systems. 
   The sodium vapor chamber stabilizes the housing temperature around the combustion/expansion zone and the active water cooling system helps stabilize temperature of the other main housing sections. There is a big temperature gap between these two systems. The sodium vapor chamber operates at a temperature of 600 degrees C. and the active cooling system operates at a temperature between 25 to 98 degrees C. This temperature difference could result in housing thermal deformations that could damage internal rotor, seal and vane components. High temperature resistant alloys such as Haynes 230 that have a low coefficient of thermal expansion are preferably used for the sodium vapor chamber section. Lower temperature water and hydrogen resistant alloys such as Stainless Steel 316L or 330 are preferably used for other sections of the engine housing. A thermal barrier coating is also plasma sprayed between the two bolt-up sections to minimize heat transfer from the sodium vapor chamber section into the other sections of the engine housing. Water vapor chambers are also used in the main housing section bridge the gap between the two temperature zones. The water vapor chambers operate at 202 degrees C. and help to isothermalize or stabilize the housing temperature to minimize housing thermal deformations between the sodium vapor chamber and the main housing zone with active cooling system. Stable isothermalization of the sodium vapor chamber and main housing sections allows accurate thermal expansion models to calculate adjustment to sodium vapor chamber and main housing geometries that can take these thermal expansions into consideration to minimize housing deformations during engine operation. 
   Light Weight Materials, Durability, and Cost 
   Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a powerful, light weight, durable and reliable hydrogen rotary vane internal combustion engines that can be manufactured economically. 
   With the dramatic reduction in engine volume and mass, the G-cycle engine can utilize more advanced and more expensive alloys. The G-cycle engine preferably makes use of cobalt/nickel based alloys like Haynes 230 for high temperature zone components. Stainless steel alloys like 316L, 330, and aluminum are preferably used for lower temperature components. The use of these advanced alloys further reduces engine mass and greatly improves engine strength, durability, and minimizes thermal deformations. These alloys are also resistant to hydrogen permeation and embrittlement. By wisely and strategically tailoring the benefits of the alloys to the specific key structural areas and components of the G-cycle engine, the amounts of these alloys is further reduced, minimizing costs and maximizing their material property benefits to the engine. 
   The engine durability gets into the use of advanced materials and component design. Super alloys like Haynes 230, can handle high temperatures and pressures with about 30,000 hour of life span. This is protected by a thermal barrier coating in critical areas. The oxide lubricants can handle millions of slides with virtually no wear. The seals are designed so that they allow for lubricant wear and dynamically adjust to maintain the sealing performance. Thermal mechanical analysis and failure analysis are an important aspect of the research. Additional studies with nano materials with these alloys and oxides will further improve their performance and durability. 
   Alkali Metal Thermal Electrical Converter 
   It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a direct source of electricity. The present invention provides sodium vapor chamber systems for removing excess heat from along the combustion zone and transferring it along the expansion zone. The circulation heat transfer profile of the sodium working fluid is identical for using an alkali metal thermal electrical converter (AMTEC) to generate electricity. The AMTEC uses sodium as a working fluid that is heated and pressurized against a beta alumina solid electrode (BASE) where the sodium is converted from a liquid to gas and the ions of the sodium pass through the BASE generating electricity. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Features and advantages of embodiments will be appreciated, as well as methods of operation and the function of the related parts, from a study of the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the drawings, all of which form a part of this application. In the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of the hydrogen G-cycle engine. 
       FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of the hydrogen G-cycle engine. 
       FIG. 3  is a partial cut away perspective view of the hydrogen G-cycle engine. 
       FIG. 4  is a side cross-sectional view of the G-cycle engine housing showing the rotor and engine chambers by crank angle. 
       FIG. 5  depicts inner engine housing water return passage with exploded water return components. 
       FIG. 6  depicts a cutaway plan view of Hydrogen G-cycle engine. 
       FIG. 7  depicts a perspective view of combustion chamber seals. 
       FIGS. 8 to 10  depict detailed side, top, and bottom perspective views of the combustion chamber seals.  FIG. 9A  shows and exploded detail view of  FIG. 9 . 
       FIGS. 11 to 13  depict the front, bottom, and back sliding vane assembly with split vane seals attached. 
       FIG. 14  depicts a side detailed cross-section breakout of split vane seals, sliding vane, and vane face seals. 
       FIGS. 15 to 17  depict the front, side, and top perspective views of the sliding vane and split vane seal with two exploded vane seals. 
       FIGS. 18 to 21  depict the front, top, bottom, and side perspective views of the sliding vane and split vane seal assembly. 
       FIGS. 22 and 23  depict top cross-sectional views of the sliding vane, split vane seal, and vane belt toggle assembly. 
       FIG. 24  depicts a bottom cross-sectional view of the sliding vane and split vane seal. 
       FIGS. 25 and 26  depict side cross-sectional views of the sliding vane and split vane seal. 
       FIG. 27  depicts a front cross-sectional view of the sliding vane and split vane seal. 
       FIG. 28  depicts an exploded view of a sliding vane and split vane seal assemblies. 
       FIG. 29  depicts a cut-away perspective view of engine housing with sliding vane and anti-centrifugal belting system. 
       FIGS. 30 and 31  depict side perspective views of the rotor and sliding vane anti-centrifugal belting system. 
       FIGS. 32 to 37  depict detailed perspective views of the sliding vane anti-centrifugal belting and belt arch system. 
       FIGS. 38 and 39  depict side perspective views of a single and double belt arch assembly.  FIG. 39A  shows an exploded detail view of  FIG. 39 . 
       FIG. 40  depicts the side view of an assembled rotor segment. 
       FIGS. 41 and 42  depicts side and front views of the rotor segment assembly. 
       FIG. 43  depicts a front cross-sectional view of the rotor segment assembly. 
       FIG. 44  depicts an off-center cross-section front view of the rotor segment assembly. 
       FIG. 45  depicts a side cross-section view of rotor segment assembly. 
       FIG. 46  depicts a detail view of the vane profile belt limit spring. 
       FIG. 47  depicts a side cross-section view of rotor segment assembly showing vane tangential roller bearing assembly. 
       FIGS. 48 and 49  depict bottom cross-section views of the rotor segment assembly. 
       FIGS. 50 and 51  depict top and bottom exploded views of the rotor segment assembly. 
       FIG. 52  depicts the top outer perspective of the sodium vapor chamber and AMTEC. 
       FIGS. 53 to 55  depict the inner top and side views of the sodium vapor chamber and alkali metal thermal electrical converter assembly. 
       FIGS. 56 to 61  depict outer side, side cross-section, and front cross-section views of the sodium vapor chamber and alkali metal thermal electrical converter assembly. 
       FIGS. 62 to 64  depict side, bottom, and top exploded views of the sodium vapor chamber and alkali metal thermal electrical converter assembly. 
       FIGS. 65 to 67  depict the top, side, and bottom view of the lower engine housing with exploded water vapor chamber components. 
       FIG. 68  depicts a side perspective view of the engine assembly with the sodium vapor chamber and alkali metal thermal electrical converter insulation cover exploded. 
       FIGS. 69 and 70  depict side and front cross-sectional views of the entire engine assembly. 
       FIG. 71  depicts G-cycle rotary vane engine processes. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Engine Operation Overview 
   The G-cycle engine  1  includes an outer housing  2  having an inner housing surface  37  in the form of a distorted oval within which a rotor assembly  183  rotates clockwise. See  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The housing  2  includes a sodium vapor chamber  229  separate from and not in communication with the compression, combustion and expansion zones  31 ,  32  and  33 , respectively of the engine  1 . Thus the inside surface  37  of housing  2  slopes arcuately inwardly toward a driveshaft  18  about which the rotor  183  rotates from an intake port  6  at about 0° crank angle through about 105° to a circumferential location adjacent the beginning of the sodium vapor chamber  229 . The inner surface  37  of the housing  2  adjacent to the beginning of the sodium vapor chamber  229  and the beginning of the expansion zone  33  arcuately moves outwardly away from the driveshaft  18  to obtain a maximum geometric distance from the center of driveshaft  18  at about 147° beyond the beginning of the expansion zone  33 . From that point of maximum distance from the center of driveshaft  18 , the inner surface  37  of the housing  2  gradually extends arcuately inwardly towards the center of driveshaft  18  through the remaining crank angle, i.e., through the compression zone  31 . Thus, the interior shape of the housing  2  forms a distorted oval or torus with sodium vapor chamber  229  overlying the expansion zone  33  of the combustion cavity  34 . 
   The rotor  183  includes, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , eight rotor vanes  116  displaceable radially inwardly and outwardly for sealing contact with the interior surface  37  of the housing  2 . The vanes  116  are circumferentially spaced from one another and rotor vane segments  310  extending between adjacent vanes  116 . The vanes  116  have double vane seals  80  for sealing against the inner surface  37  of the housing  2  throughout the compression and expansion zones  31  and  33 , respectively, and side vane face seals ill for sealing against the rotor segments  310 . 
   The sodium vapor chamber  229  is a closed chamber containing sodium, potassium or sulphur, although sodium is preferred because it maximizes heat transfer capability. Within the chamber  229  are fine, medium and course wicking meshes  230 ,  231  and  232 , respectively ( FIG. 3 ) The sodium vapor chamber  229  overlies the combustion and expansion zones  32  and  33  from the beginning of the sodium vapor chamber to the point of maximum expansion of the expansion zone  33 , i.e., adjacent the end of the sodium vapor chamber. The sodium vapor chamber  229 , when the engine is operating, flows heat from rotor combustion cavities  186 , and distributes that heat substantially evenly across the vapor chamber  229  as the sodium continuously changes phase from a liquid near the ignition point to a vapor. At the intake port  6 , air is supplied into the engine  1 . At speed, the air, water and hydrogen fuel are compressed and auto-ignited in a rotor combustion cavity  186  when it is in the combustion zone  32  adjacent to the beginning of the overlying sodium vapor chamber  229 . As the combustion zone increases in volume at increasing crank angles, the vanes  116 , under centrifugal force, engage and seal against the interior surface  37  of the housing  2 . Thus, the sodium vapor chamber  229  absorbs the heat of combustion transferred across the inner housing between the sodium vapor chamber  229  and the combustion zone  32  into sodium evaporator zone  379  and in the expansion zone  33  after combustion, substantially without heat loss, i.e., heat is being put back into the combustion cavities  34  system along the sodium vapor chamber condenser zone  380 . By this isothermalization, the heat is continually transferred into the sodium vapor chamber  229  and back into the combustion expansion reaction. 
   A vane belting system is used to reduce the centrifugal force and hence seal wear between the vanes  116  and inner surface  37  of the housing  2 , as well as to balance the vanes  116  when two vanes are extending and other vanes are contracting or retracting. Because of the distorted oval nature of the housing  2 , non-uniform pressure of the vane seals  80  against the housing surface  37  is averaged out by use of the belting system. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 32 and 34 , and recognizing that the rotor  183  preferably has eight vanes  116 , a single vane belting system ( FIG. 32 ) is used to minimize the centrifugal forces for a first set of four orthogonally related vanes and a double vane belting system, as illustrated in  FIG. 34 , is used for the second set of remaining four orthogonally related vanes. Referring to  FIGS. 32 and 11 , and the single vane belting system, each vane  116  includes a pair of end vane belt rod holders  151  along bifurcated inner ends thereof mounting a single toggle bar system  142  pivotally mounted between the holders  151 . The toggle  142  includes a pair of vane belt bars  146  ( FIG. 11 ) mounted in a vane belt rod  145  pivotally mounted to holders  151 . As illustrated in  FIG. 32 , single vane belt arch bearings  156  are pivotally supported by rotor endplates on opposite sides of the rotor  183  fixed to the rotor segments. Four single vane belts  137  are secured at opposite ends to vane belt bars  146  of adjacent vanes  116  and extend along the inner surface of the arch bearing  156  between those vanes. Consequently, the orthogonally related vanes are able to extend or retract to match the distorted oval geometry of the inner housing surface with the eccentricities of the distorted oval geometry being accommodated by the pivoted toggles and arch bearings. 
   Referring to  FIG. 34 , a double vane belt system is employed for the remaining four orthogonally related vanes  116 . Each of the double belt vanes includes double toggle bar systems  143  mounted on a belt rod pivotally carried by the holders  151  of the vane  116 . A pair of arch bearings  158  ( FIG. 34 ) are axially spaced from one another and mounted for pivotal movement to the rotor end plates. A pair of vane belts  138  are secured at opposite ends to the vane belt bars  143  of the adjacent vane toggles and extend along the interior of the arch bearings  158 . A similar action is achieved with respect to these four vanes as with the single vane belt system for matching the vanes to the distorted oval contour of the inner housing stator wall surface. Note that the vane belts of the single and double sets of vane belt systems are axially spaced one from the other as are the respective toggles and arch bearings. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 29 and 36 , the single and double vane belting systems are tied together by a pair of profile belts  139  on axially opposite sides of the single and double vane belting systems. As best illustrated in  FIG. 36 , a pair of axially spaced profile belts  139  are mounted about the belt pins  365  in the single vane belting system, which mount the arch bearings  156 , and pins  159 , which mount the pair of arch bearings  158  in the double vane belting system. As illustrated in  FIG. 36 , the pair of profile belts  139  extend about the end portions of the pins  365  and  159  inside limit end plates  157 . The plates  157  are secured to the rotor segments  310  between the vanes  116 . 
   The details of the engine, including the interaction between sodium vapor chamber and the combustion chamber, as well as the belting system enabling the vane to extend and retract radially, while maintaining seals against the inner surface of the house, are disclosed hereinafter and in the drawing figures referenced in the following discussion. 
   The hydrogen G-cycle engine  1  uses heated water and hydrogen gas injections. Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , two water injection regulators  57  will supply heated water to the engine&#39;s rotor combustion cavity  34  at the beginning of the compression zone  31 . Two hydrogen injection regulators  26  supply the hydrogen to the engine&#39;s rotor combustion cavity  34  in a compression zone  31 . Two spark plugs  29  ignite the hydrogen/air/water mixture. An active cooling system circulates deionized water from a cold water storage tank through the engine&#39;s  1  lower housing  2 , intake  30  and compression zones  31 , driveshaft bearing/expansion zone  19 , and inner rotor  183  and sliding vanes  52 , and into a hot water storage tank (not shown). The heated water is injected into the engine at the beginning of compression zone  31  with water injectors  57 , early stage combustion/expansion combustion chamber injection  60  and cool water is injected during late stage combustion/expansion chamber cool water injection  61 . All the water vapor in rotor combustion chamber  34  is exhausted from engine  1  through exhaust port  9  and exhaust pipe  10  and into an exhaust water condenser (not shown), where the water vapor is condensed from a gas to a liquid and returned to the cold water storage tank and the air is exhausted out the condenser exhaust pipe. To prevent water freezing expansion damage to the engine  1  and all its components, ethyl alcohol stored in an ethyl alcohol storage tank (not shown) is, during engine shut down, when the temperatures are less than 32 degrees F., circulated in a water/ethyl alcohol mixture throughout the engine  1 . An electronic control unit (ECU) (not shown) controls all the regulators and variable speed pumps (not shown). The ECU also monitors a number of temperature and water level sensors to help control all the regulators and variable speed pump to make sure that the engine  1  is always operating properly. 
   Hydrogen/Water Injection 
   During operation of the G-cycle engine  1 , water is injected into combustion cavity  34  of engine  1  through water injection regulators  57  and water tube  308 . Hydrogen gas is injected into the combustion cavity  34  of engine  1  through a hydrogen injection regulator  293  and hydrogen tube  294  and into a hydrogen regulator  280 . From regulator  280 , the hydrogen gas passes through hydrogen tubes  28  and  27  and into hydrogen/water injection regulators  26  and into the combustion chamber  34  at injection location  38  in the compression zone  31 . 
   As the hydrogen gas expands from high compression to lower injection pressure it absorbs heat energy which can result in freeze damage to the hydrogen injection regulator  293 , hydrogen tube  294 , and hydrogen regulator  280 . To counteract the potential of thermal freezing, heated deionized water is pumped into tubing which coils around the hydrogen tubing  294  near the hydrogen regulator  280 . Heat absorbed by the water is released and transferred into the expanding hydrogen gas in the hydrogen tubing to help prevent freeze damage to hydrogen regulator  280 , and hydrogen injection regulator  26 . The hydrogen regulator properly balances the mixture of hydrogen and injects the hydrogen mixture through hydrogen tubing  28  and  27  and into hydrogen injection regulators  26  and into combustion cavity  34  at injection location  38  in the compression zone  31 . 
   Active Water Cooling System 
   Deionized water stored in a cold water storage tank (not shown) is used to cool the engine outer housing in the intake/compression zone  2 , driveshaft bearings and expansion zone  19 , and inner rotor  183  and sliding vanes  116 . Deionized water is used because it is a purer form of water without contaminates that could get into the engine&#39;s  1  components and because it has a low surface tension to minimize friction forces as it is pumped through the tubes, moves inside the inner rotor cavity  363 , and along the inner housing stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 . For the engine  1  outer housing  2  intake  30  and compression zone  31  cooling deionized coolant water is pumped from the cold water storage tank by a variable speed water pump through water coolant tubing  321  and T-shaped tube fitting  56  and split water coolant tubing  48  and housing  90 -degree fitting  54  to housing intake/compression zones coolant inlet  62  and through intake/compression zone coolant passage  63  and through intake/compression outlet  64 , then housing 90-degree fitting  54 , then split return coolant tubing  49 , through T-shaped tube fitting  56 , and through a single return coolant tubing  322  and then through a hot water filter and then into a hot water storage tank. 
   To cool engine l&#39;s rotor driveshaft bearing  19  and expansion zones  31 , deionized coolant water is pumped from the cold water storage tank by a variable speed pump through water coolant tubing  323  and T-shaped tube fitting  56  and then split water coolant tubing  50  and housing straight fitting  55  to driveshaft bearing/expansion zone water coolant inlet  65  and through driveshaft bearing/expansion zone water coolant passage  66  and through driveshaft bearing/expansion zone water coolant passage outlet  67 , then housing straight fitting  55 , then split return coolant tubing  51 , through T-shaped tube fitting  56  and then through a single return coolant tubing  324  and then the hot water filter and into the hot water storage tank. 
   To cool inner rotor assembly  183  and sliding vanes  116 , deionized coolant water is pumped from the cold water storage tank by a variable speed pump through water coolant tubing  325  and T-shaped fitting  56  and then split water coolant injection tubing  52  and into housing  90 -degree fitting  54  and through inner rotor/vane water injection inlet  334  across outer rotor condenser  202  and sliding vane condenser  132 . The water is collected along the sides of the inner housing stator surface  37  by the moving sliding vanes  116  and forced through inner housing water return recess  44  and water return slot  47  in the water return cover  45  that is screwed into a water return cover recess  276  by a water return cover screw  46 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
   The water then returns through inner rotor/vane water outlet  335  and into housing  90 -degree fitting  56  and through split water coolant return tubing  53  and through T-shaped tube fitting  56  and then through a single return coolant tubing  326  and then the hot water filter and into the hot water storage tank. 
   The late stage combustion/expansion chamber water injection  61  uses the deionized water  320  stored in the cold water storage tank and pumped by a high pressure water pump through cold water high pressure tubing  328  and into high pressure T-shaped tube fitting  59  and into high pressure split tubing  279  and into high pressure 90-degree housing fitting  58  and out late stage cold water spray nozzle  337  into rotor combustion cavity  34  at late stage compression/expansion injection location  61 . 
   All the variable speed pumps used in the active water cooling system are electrically controlled and regulated to use the minimum amount of electrical energy necessary to pump the water. 
   Hot water Injection 
   During engine&#39;s  1  operation, heated water is injected into the beginning of the compression zone  31  with hot water injection regulator  57  and early stage combustion/expansion combustion chamber injection  60 . For hot water compression zone injection, heated deionized water  320  is pumped from the hot water storage tank by a high pressure water pump through hot water injection tubing  308  and into water injection regulator  57 . The water injection regulator  57  regulates the amount of heated water to be injected into the rotor combustion cavity  34  in compression zone  31 . Deionized water  320  injected in the compression zone  31  will adjust the effective compression ratio and partially mix with the injected hydrogen gas  336 . For the early stage combustion/expansion hot water injection, heated deionized water is pumped from the hot water storage tank by another high pressure water pump and into hot water high pressure tubing  327  and into high pressure T-shaped tubing fitting  59  and into high pressure split tubing  278  and high pressure  90 -degree housing fitting  58  and through housing hot water injection passage  42  and connection tube  43  and out early stage hot water spray nozzle  40  into rotor combustion chamber  34  at early stage compression/expansion injection location  60 . At the early stage  60  combustion/expansion hot water injection in the rotor combustion chamber  34  interacts with the hydrogen combustion to help regulate the peak combustion temperature. The injected deionized water also interacts and absorbs heat from the sodium vapor chamber along the sodium vapor chamber housing stator surface  4 , and also provides some lubrication and sealing qualities to the sliding vane  116  split vane seals  79  as they moves across the inner housing stator surface  37 . 
   The deionized water vapor has a heavier mass than other combustion chamber  34  gases. The rotor&#39;s  183  rotational velocity and centrifugal forces will force the heavier deionized water vapor radially outward along the inner housing stator surface  37  and out through the radial exhaust port  9  and through exhaust pipe  10 . This helps the deionized water make good contact and heat transfer with the sodium vapor chamber stator  4 , and also be very beneficial in completely exhausting all the deionized water vapor through the exhaust port  9  and exhaust pipe  10 . 
   Distorted Oval Housing Stator Geometry 
     FIG. 4  shows side cross-section view of the rotary vane engine  1  of the present invention.  FIG. 3  depicts a cutaway perspective view of engine  1 . Engine  1  includes a stator  37 , a rotor  183  and a multitude of sliding vanes  116  that extend and retract from rotor vane passages  184 . The lower stator housing  2  and the upper sodium vapor chamber stator  4  creates a distorted oval geometry shape that has a generally smooth inner surface  37 . The lower stator housing  2  and upper vapor chamber stator housing  4  are separated by a metal gasket  5  to help insure a uniform fit and seal between the different engine housing segments. The sliding vanes  116  uses split vane seals  79  comprised of a front and back vane seal  80  to seal the sliding vanes  116  along the inner stator surfaces  37 . A combustion chamber  34  is defined by two adjacent sliding vanes  116  and two rotor axial seals  102 . Engine  1  also includes an intake port  6  for air intake supply. The intake zone  30  begins when the back vane seal  80  of the front combustion chamber vane  116  begins to pass over the intake port  30  at 0 crank angle degrees and continues along the axis of rotation until the front vane seal  80  finishes passing over the intake port  30  at about 60 degrees of intake crank angle of rotation. At about 60 degrees crank angle, the inner stator housing  37  is at its intake maximum distance from the rotor surface  185  and sharply slopes inward back towards the rotor surface  185  to form the compression zone  31 . The compression zone  31  provides about 45 total degrees of crank angle rotation until the location of spark plug  29  at 105 crank angle degrees. Top dead center (TDC) is at 110 crank angle degrees. The combustion zone  32  runs from the spark plug location  29  until the early stage water injection  60  at about 145 crank angle degrees. The expansion zone  33  continues from this point until the back vane seal  80  of the front sliding vane  116  begins to pass over the maximum expansion point at 270 crank angle degrees, providing a total of about 160 crank angle degrees of combustion and expansion displacement. The inner housing stator  37  gradually slopes outward away from the rotor surface  185  along the combustion  32  and expansion  33  zones until it reaches its maximum distance at about 270 crank angle degrees. At this point, the inner housing stator surface  37  sharply slopes back towards the rotor surface  185  to bottom dead center (BDC) at 338 crank angle degrees. The late stage water injection  61  also occurs at about 275 crank angle degrees where the inner housing stator surface  37  is at maximum distance from the rotor surface  185 . Combustion chamber  34  exhausting occurs when the back vane seal  80  of the front combustion chamber siding vane  116  begins to pass over the exhaust port  9  at about 280 crank angle degrees and continues until the front vane seal  80  of the back combustion chamber vane  116  finishes passing over the exhaust port  9  at about 360 crank angle degrees, providing a total of 80 crank angle degrees for combustion chamber  34  exhaust. Once the combustion chamber  34  has finished exhausting the chamber gases, the back vane seal  80  of the front combustion chamber vane  116  is ready to cross over the intake port  7  and begin the next cycle. 
   The upper sodium vapor chamber stator  4  is located along the combustion  32  and expansion zone  33  from the TDC point at 110 crank angle degrees and continues until 255 crank angle degrees. A thermal barrier coating  36  is applied to the inner housing stator surface  37  from just before the hydrogen/water injection locations at 85 crank angle degrees and continue to just past the early stage water injection  60  location at about 160 crank angle degrees. 
   Inner Housing Stator with Rotor and Vanes 
     FIG. 3  depicts the bottom half of housing stator  2 . The top cross-section half of sodium vapor chamber stator  4 , a mirror image of the bottom stator  2  half, is removed to show the parts located inside the housing stators  2  and  4 . A rotor  183  has a generally circular disc shape with an outer surface  185  and a multitude of vane slots  184  ( FIG. 4 ) sliced vertically along its perimeter. Each sliding vane  116  fits within a vane slot  184 . The rotor  183  can have six, eight, nine or twelve vane slots  184  and sliding vanes  116 , depending on the scale of engine  1 . The preferred embodiment has eight vane slots  184  holding eight corresponding sliding vanes  116 . This configuration creates eight separate combustion chambers  34  bounded by the outer rotor surface  185  of the rotor  183 , the inner surface  37  of the housing stators  2  and  4 , and the sliding vanes  116 . Each sliding vane  116  has a generally flattened front and back face with an outer semi-oval shape that corresponds with the shape of the inner surface  37  of the stators  2  and  4 . In operation, the rotor  183  rotates around the drive shaft  18 , forcing the sliding vanes  116  to sweep along the inner surface  37  of the stators  2  and  4  in a continuous circular motion. This motion continuously rotates the combustion chambers  34  around the rotor  183 . The sliding vanes  116  toggle in and out of the vane slots  184  to maintain constant surface contact between the generally circular arrangement of the sliding vanes  116  and the generally oval shape of the inner surface  37  of the housing stators  2  and  4 . 
   Combustion Chamber Seals 
   For engine  1  to operate effectively and efficiently, the combustion chamber  34  must maintain sealing between the rotor  183  side housing stator  37 , the rotor  183  and the sliding vanes  116 , and the sliding vanes and the inner housing stator surface  37 .  FIG. 7  shows combustion chamber seals  78  used to isolate each individual combustion chamber  34  and help maintain proper combustion gas pressures in each combustion cavity  34 . The combustion chamber seals  78  include axial seals  102 , vane face seals  111 , and split vane seals  79 . 
   Axial Seals 
   The axial seals  102  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 7  ensure tight sealing between the rotor  183  and the side housing stator  37 . The axial seals  102  are generally arc-shaped segments. The axial seal  102  also ensure a tight seal between the lower vane split seal segment  82  along vane seal&#39;s axial seal contact surface  95  and the rotor  183 . The axial seal  102  is comprised of a center axial seal section  103  and two axial seal end sections  104  that are connected together along the axial center and end seal interface  105  where the axial center section  103  contains a tongue interface  106  and the axial end section  104  contains a groove interface  107 . The axial center and end seal interface  105  is angled to the front sealing surface. This allows both the axial center segment  103  and axial end segment  104  to move freely along the interface  105  and still maintain a contiguous seal with the inner stator surface  37 . The tongue interface surfaces  106  of axial center segment  103 , where the adjoining groove  107  of axial end segment  104  meets, are coated with a solid lubricant  35  comprised of oxides for high temperature lubricant and durability to minimize the sliding friction along axial center and end segment interface  105  and to increase the speed of their sealing motion. 
   The top surface  358  of axial seal  102  is slightly tapered as it goes back from the axial seal&#39;s front sealing surface. This allows combustion chamber  34  pressurized gases to go along this top tapered surface  358  to help bias the axial seal outward, making sealing contact with the inner housing stator surface  37 . 
   Corrugated springs  110  are located behind center axial segment  103  of axial seal  102 . The corrugated springs  110  are used initially to apply pressure to the center axial seal segment  103 , which applies sliding force along the center and end axial seal interface  105  to force axial seal end segment  104  axially outward against the inner housing stator surface  37  and radially against lower vane seal segment surface  95  of lower split vane seal  82 . The corrugated springs  110  apply only a limited amount of force to create an initial seal between the main axial seal  102 . Combustion and chamber  34  gas pressures are the dominant force determining their sealing performance to equalize the forces necessary for the axial center seal  103  and axial end seal segments  104  of axial  102  to maintain the proper sealing conditions against inner housing stator surface  37  of inner housing stators  2  and  4 . 
   A small axial seal strip  109  is located in an axial seal strip groove  108  that runs across the full length of sealing face of both the axial center segment  103  and axial end seals  104 . The axial seal strip  109  helps seal any combustion chamber gases that pass through the top axial seal lip above the axial seal trip groove  107 . The top back edge of the axial seal strip  109  has a small bevel  351  running the entire length of the axial seal strip  109  that will help bias the axial seal strip  109  outward against the inner housing stator surface  37 . The axial seal  102  and axial seal strip  109  contact sealing surfaces are coated with a solid lubricant comprised of oxides for high temperature operation and durability. 
   The axial center segment  103  and axial end segments  104  of axial seal  103 , seal strip  109  and corrugated spring  110  are curved to match the profile of the rotor  183 . 
   Vane Face Seals 
     FIG. 8  shows a side perspective view of the combustion chamber sealing system of the combustion chamber sealing system  78  with and exploded vane face seal strip  113 . 
   The vane face seals  111  are located in the rotor vane passage  184  to ensuring tight sealing between the rotor  183  and the sliding vanes  116 . The vane face seals  111  are generally semi-oval upside down U-shaped, roughly corresponding to the curved shape profile of the tips of sliding vanes  116 . There are thus sixteen vane face seals  111  in the preferred embodiment, one adjacent to each side of vane face  349 , of the eight sliding vanes  116 . The vane face seals  111  have a slight tapered top surface  359  that runs to the back edges of seals  111 . This allows combustion chamber&#39;s  34  gas pressure to help bias the vane face seals  111  outward to thereby seal against the vane face surface  349 . 
   The vane face seal  111  is also biased outward by a corrugated spring  114  located in rotor vane face seal spring recess  189 . The vane face seal  111  also contains a seal strip  113  located in small seal strip groove  112  that runs across the entire length of the vane face seal sealing surface  111  to help provide additional sealing along the vane face surface  349 . The top back edge of the vane face seal strip  113  has a small bevel  352  running the entire length of the vane face seal strip  113  that helps bias the vane face seal strip  113  outward against the vane face surface  349 . The contact sealing surface of the vane face seal  111  and vane face seal strip  113  are coated with a solid lubricant  35  that is comprised of lubrication oxides for high temperature lubrication and durability. The ends of the vane face seal  115  extend outward at 90-degrees from the main vane face seal  111  to help interface and seal across the lower split vane axial seal segment  82 , making sealing contact with surface  95  and to fit over and help support the axial seal end piece  104 . 
   The vane face seal  111 , vane face seal strip  113  and vane face seal corrugated spring  114  are generally semi-oval upside down U-shaped, roughly corresponding to the shape of the tips of each sliding vane  116 . 
   Split Vane Seals 
   Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 11 , one split vane seal  79  is slidably fastened along the outer perimeter  350  of each sliding vane  116 . The split vane seals  79  ensure tight sealing between the sliding vanes  116  and the inner stator surface  37  of the housing stators  2  and  4 . The split vane seals  79  are generally semi-oval upside down U-shaped, similar in overall shape but slightly larger than the vane face seals  111 . Each split vane seal  79  has two vane seals  80  that are mirror images of each other. There are thus sixteen vane seals  80  in the preferred embodiment, two for each of the eight sliding vanes  116 . By using two vane seals  80  for each sliding vane  116 , double sealing performance to the combustion chamber  34  is provided and vane seal  80  blow-by losses are minimized. This also allows two adjacent combustion chambers  34  to each sliding vane  116  to have their sealing forces optimized and balanced for each chamber&#39;s specific sealing requirements to maximized engine&#39;s  1  performance and minimize excessive friction and wear. 
   Segmented Vane Seals 
   Referring to  FIGS. 11 to 18 , each of the two vane seals  80  within each split vane seal  87  toggles back and forth on top of the sliding vane  116  to match the profile of the inner surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4  to maintain proper sealing conditions. However, due to a bipolar engine thermal profile with a constantly cooler intake-compression zone and a hotter combustion-expansion zone, the lower vane seal segment  82  or side straight portion of each split vane seal  87  needs to expand outward to maintain proper sealing conditions along the axial side of the sliding vane  116 . To accomplish this, each split vane seal  87  is segmented into a top center segment  81  and two side lower segments  82 . The top center vane seal section has two slant angled keystone interface grooves  84  at each end. Each of the lower segments  82  has a matching slant angled keystone shaped tongue interface extension  85 . The top vane seal center segment  81  and two lower segments  82  of each vane seal  80  are interleaved together with a slant angled keystone tongue and groove interface  83 . This slant angle vane seal segment interface  83  allows the lower segments  82  to slightly slide in and out along the slant angle vane seal interface  83 , thus sealing the slightly contracting and expanding the inner stator surface  37  swept out by the sliding vane  116  as it rotates. Side gas channels  97  behind the lower vane seal segment  82  use combustion chamber  34  gas pressure to press each lower vane seal segment  82  against the inner stator surface  37 . Having the vane seals  80  segmented not only helps improve sealing performance of the sliding vanes  116  from variations in the contour of the inner stator surface  37 , combustion vibrations, it also improves the vane seal&#39;s  80  operational durability due to wear. As the outer surface of the lower vane seal segment may wear away due to sliding friction with the inner housing stator surface  37 , the lower vane seal segment  82  is able to slide outward along the vane seal segment interface  83  to continue to make sealing contact with the inner housing stator surface  37 . This greatly increases the vane seal&#39;s operational durability and reduces the potential for sealing failure. 
   Contoured Snub Nose Vane Seal Tip 
   Referring to  FIGS. 9 and 14 , the vane seal  80  tip includes a snub nose tip  90  that provides a small contoured rounded tip that can slide smoothly across profile the inner housing stator surface. The small snub nose tip  90  is more concentrated to minimize excessive surface sealing contact. During combustion, large stress and vibration forces are created. However, the snub nose seal may be vibrated off the inner housing stator surface. This action may result in chattering mark damage to the inner housing stator surface  37 . However, by making the snub nose seal  90  slightly wider, the impact forces are distributed over a slightly larger surface area and are less likely to result in chattering mark damage. The curved contour of the snub nose tip  90  makes good contact with the changing angles of inner housing stator surface  37 , as the sliding vanes  116  and rotor  183  revolve around the inner housing stators  2  and  4 . This also distributes the contact sealing point across the curved contoured surface of the snub nose tip  90 , which helps extend the operational durability of the vane seal  80  and minimize sealing failure. The snub nose seal tip  90  curves around the top center profile of center vane seal segment  81  of the vane seal  80  and transitions to the outer vane seal sides  92  along the lower vane seal section  82  of vane seal  80 . The side snub nose seal  92  provides good axial sealing of the lower vane seal segment  82  and the side inner stator surface  37  of stator housing  2  and  4 . It also allows the vane seal  80  to make a sealing interface with the axial seal  102  and vane face seal  111 . The flat lower vane seal segment face surface  95  provides a flat contact interface surface with the axial seal end segments  104  and vane face seal interface extensions  115 . To prevent gases from blow-by the snub nose seal tip  90  and go between the two vane seals  80  from going into the inner sections of the rotor  183 , the snub nose seal surface will continue to wrap around the bottom edge  93  of vane seals  80 . The snub nose seal surface  90  then also wraps back up along the inner vane seal edge  94  where the two vane seal  80  meet and slide together. This short inner snub nose seal edge  94  is long enough so that when the vane seals  80  toggle, they still overlap each other to prevent any inner vane seal gases from leaking out of gaps in the bottom of vane seals  80 . Water from the active cooling system and water injections migrate between snub nose seal tips  90  and help provide sliding lubrication to the snub nose seals and inner housing stator surface  2  and  4 . Some of the water is also converted to steam that fills and pressurizes the space between the two snub nose seals  90 . This helps prevent blow-by between adjacent combustion chambers  34 . 
   The snub nose vane top sealing tips  90 , side edges  92 , bottom edges  93 , inner edges  94 , and flat face surfaces  95  of vane seals  80  are coated with a solid lubricant  35  comprised of oxides for high temperature lubrication and durability. 
   Vane Seal Gas Biasing 
   Referring to  FIG. 14 , during the operation of engine  1 , combustion gases in combustion chamber  34  tend to push into gas gaps  355  between the vane seals  80  and the inner stator surface  37 , forcing the vane seals  80  away from the inner surface  37 , thus compromising the sealing of the combustion chambers  34 . To effectively counter these very strong combustion forces, each vane seal  80  is preferably gas-biased for quick utilization of the combustion gases to equalize the forces separating the vane seals  80  from the inner stator surface  37 . In the preferred embodiment, this gas-biasing is achieved in two ways, by using an extended vane seal tip  91  with an angled surface  256  and bottom  257 , and by using vane seal gas passages  96  of vane seals  80 . 
   Angled Extended Vane Seal Tip 
   Referring again to  FIG. 14 , the first gas biasing method for countering gas forces in gas gaps  355  uses an a extended vane seal tip  91  with an angled outer side surface  356  and bottom surface  357  on each vane seal  80 . The angled outer sides  356  increase the width of each vane seal  80  as one moves closer to the inner stator surface  37 . The extended vane seal tips  91  angled outer sides  356  and bottom surface  357  thus provide surface areas that are angled outward, such that expanding combustion gases tend to push the vane seals  80  toward the inner stator surface  37  of stators  2  and  4 , thereby sealing each combustion chamber  34  more effectively. 
   A thermal barrier coating (TBC)  36  is applied to the top surfaces of the extended vane seal tip  91  and the angled outer sides  356  of vane seals  80  to minimize split vane seal  79  thermal stresses and deformations, so as to improve the split vane seal&#39;s  79  sealing performance with the inner housing stator surface  37  and extend its operation durability lifespan. 
   Vane Seal Gas Passages 
   Referring further to  FIG. 14 , the second gas biasing method for countering the combustion gas forces in the gas gaps  355  is the use of gas passages  96 . Multiple gas passages  96  pierce each vane seal  80  from the vane sealing angled surface  356  to the location where the vane seal  80  touches the inner vane seal surface  354  above support ridge  118  of the sliding vane  116 . The gas passages  96  the support ledge  118  of the sliding vane  116 , thus creating a surface for combustion gases to bias the vane seal  80  upward toward the inner stator surface  37 , and thereby sealing the combustion chamber  34  more effectively. The gas passages  96  are distributed along the entire curved center vane seal section  81  of the vane seals  80  as shown in  FIGS. 11 to 13 . Either or both of these gas biasing methods may be used. 
   The axial gas channels  97  cut into the vane seals  80  to direct combustion gases across the top of the side of the vane support ridges  118  behind lower vane seal segment  82  of sliding vane  116 . This forces the lower vane seal segment  82  outward against the side of the inner housing stator surface  37  making a tighter sealing contact between the vane seals  82  of the sliding vane  116  and the inner stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 . This tighter sealing contact helps minimize combustion gas leaks through the split vane seals  87 . It also creates a small amount of friction force that helps reduce the abrupt movement of the split vane seals  87  due to quick, high energy bursts from combusting gases. 
   A benefit of using split vane seals  87  with gas passages  96  and side gas channels  97  is that they not only provide superior sealing performance, but that they allow each vane seal  80  within a split vane seal  87  to be isolated to each adjacent combustion chamber  34  and provide a sealing force based on that individual combustion chamber&#39;s  34  pressure conditions. Thus, each of the sliding vane&#39;s  116  forward and trailing combustion chambers  34  may have different pressure and sealing requirements, and the split vane seals  87  with gas passages  96  and side gas channels  97  automatically adjust the sealing forces to match those pressure and sealing requirements. Balancing the chamber sealing forces with combustion chamber  34  gas pressures makes sure that only just enough sealing force will be applied against the inner housing stator surface  37  to properly seal the combustion chamber  34 , but not too much sealing force so as to result in excessive sealing friction that can reduce the engine&#39;s  1  performance potential and increase vane seal  80  and inner housing stator surface  37  wear. The vane seal  80  gas passages  96  and axial gas channels  97  will help absorb and compensate harsh combustion ignition forces that could result in chatter marks on the inner housing stator surface  37  that could also damage vane seals  80 . Gas biasing of vane seals  80  helps optimize combustion chamber  34  sealing performance with smooth sliding operation that extends the durability of the vane seal  80  and inner housing stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 . 
   Vane Seal Toggling Action 
   In operation, the two vane seals  80  in each split vane seal  79  slide against each other in a reciprocating motion in relation to each other, as they toggle in and out laterally relative to the rotor  183  within the plane of the generally disc-shaped rotor  183 . This toggling action complements the toggling action of the sliding vanes  116  themselves, providing additional combustion chamber  34  sealing capability by better matching the geometric profile of the inner surface  37 . 
   Split Vane Roller Bearings 
     FIG. 15  shows the sliding vane assembly  116  with vane seals  80  of the split vane seal  79  exploded, thereby showing the inner vane seal assembly  351  and outer vane seal assembly  352 . To help facilitate the toggling action of the vanes  80  of the split vane seal  79  an inner vane seal bearing assembly  351  and an outer vane seal bearing assembly  352  are used. For the inner bearing, assembly  351  is comprised of small roller bearings  98  are located in inner vane seal roller bearing channels  99  embedded in split vane seals  79  along the inner vane seal surface  353  where the two vane seals  80  in each split vane seal  79  meet and toggle together. The outer vane seal bearing assembly  352  is comprised of small roller bearings  100  that are smaller than the inner roller bearing  98 , and are located in outer vane seal bearing channels  101  in the split vane seals  79  along the outer vane seal surface  354  that makes contact with the inner vane groove surface  117  of the sliding vane  116 . 
   The location of the inner roller bearings  98  and inner roller bearing channels  99  are offset from the outer roller bearings  100  and outer roller bearing channels  101  on the vane seal  80  so as not to weaken the vane seal&#39;s  80  structural strength. 
   The inner vane seal surfaces  353  of the vane seals  80  are coated with a solid lubricant  35  comprised of oxides for high temperature lubrication and durability. The solid lubricant  35  also assists with the toggling action of the vane seals  80  by reducing friction along their inner vane seal contact surfaces  353 . The solid lubricant  35  comprised of oxides is also applied to the out side surface of the sliding vane  116  split vane seal support ridges  118  to further reduce toggling friction between the vane seals  80  and the sliding vane  116 . 
   Vane Seal Support Ridges 
   As shown in  FIGS. 14 ,  15  and  16 , two vane seal support ridges  118 , separated by a split vane seal groove  117 , are located along the outer perimeter  350  of each sliding vane  116 . The support ridges  118  rim the entire length of the elongated semi-oval U-shaped outer perimeter  350  of each sliding vane  116 , helping to keep each split vane seal  79  slidably fastened along the outer perimeter  350  of each sliding vane  116 . Without support ridges  118 , the split vane seal  79  would tend to torque out of position as it sweeps along the inner stator surface  37  of stator housings  2  and  4 . 
   Vane Seal Groove and Ridge Spring Seals 
   Referring to  FIGS. 22 ,  24  and  27 , in operation, the bottom edge of lower vane seal segment  82  of vane seals  80  must be closed off to prevent any combustion gases located underneath the vane seals  80  in the split vane groove  117  and top of the vane seal ridges  118  from penetrating deeper into the engine  1 . Therefore, the bottom inner edge of lower vane seal segment  82  contains a spring seal  86  that is embedded in spring seal recess channel  87 . The spring seal  86  presses inward toward the sliding vane  116  to help seal the bottom split vane groove  117 . The front sealing surface of the vane groove spring seal  86  is coated with a solid lubricant  35  comprised of oxides for high temperature lubrication and durability. The bottom vane seal support ridges  118  of sliding vane  116  are sealed by ridge spring seals  119  embedded in ridge spring recesses  120  located near the bottom of the vane seal support ridges  118 . The ridge spring seal  119  pushes outward from the vane ridge  118  sealing against the inner surface of the lower vane seal  82  sealing off the axial gas channel  97  to prevent combustion gases from gas channel  97  from passing out of the bottom of the lower vane seal  82  and into the inner sections of the rotor  183 . The sealing surface of the ridge spring seal  119  is also coated with a solid lubricant  35  comprised of oxides for high temperature operation and durability. 
   Water Drain Passage 
   Referring to  FIG. 18 , the bottom edge of the sliding vanes  80  of the split vane seal  79  is angled back towards that sliding vane  116 . This helps to make sure that the sliding vane seals  80  stay seated on the sliding vane  116  and do not extend off the top of the sliding vane  116 . This also creates a water drain passage  125  where a small amount of deionized water  320  from the inner rotor and vane cooling area  361  of the active cooling system  362  may get underneath the bottom of the vane seals  80  along the vane support ridges  118  until it reaches the vane ridge spring seal  119  that seals combustion gas on the top surface and deionized water  320  from the bottom. The deionized water  320  from the active cooling system  362  inside the water drain passage  125  also helps dampen shocks and vibration in the vane seals  80  of split vane seals  79  from combustion forces, sliding contact with the inner housing stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 , and as the vane seals toggle back an forth. This results in a smoother engine operation and improves vane seal  80  sealing performance and durability. 
   Solid Lubricants 
   Referring to  FIGS. 8 to 28 , solid lubricants based on oxide materials are applied to the load contact surfaces of all of the combustion chamber seals  78 . This helps reduce friction between all moving parts, thus reducing heat buildup. It also provides a lubrication system that will not mix with or contaminate the combustion reaction inside the combustion chamber  34 . Special binary oxides and Superhard Nanocomposite (SHNC) lubricant coating being developed at the Argonne National Laboratory may be used for this application. Preferably a plasma sprayed oxides PS 304 oxide solid lubricants may be used which have a maximum operation range of 900 degrees Celsius. 
   Sliding Vane Structure 
   Referring to  FIGS. 18 to 27 , the sliding vane  116  is generally semi-oval upside down U-shaped, similar in overall shape to the inner housing stator surface  37  geometry profile of inner housing stators  2  and  3 . The sliding vane has a split vane groove  117  to hold sealing vanes  80  of split vane seal  79  and support vane seal support ridges  118  to help prevent vane seals  80  of split vane seal  79  from torturing and/or deforming out of proper sealing contact position with the inner housing stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 . 
   Upside Down U-shaped Center Section 
   Referring to  FIG. 18 , the center upside down or inverted U-shaped section  360  of the sliding vane  116  is cut away to lighten the material mass of the sliding vane. As the sliding vane  116  revolves around the inner housing stator surface  37 , the mass weight of the sliding vane can exert considerable centrifugal force to the split vane seals  79  and inner housing stator surface  37  that can result in excessive friction forces resulting in lower engine  1  performance, sliding vane  116  deformation and split vane seal  78  wear. Removing this center inverted U-shaped section  360  of the sliding vane  116  greatly reduces unnecessary sliding vane  116  mass weight and excessive friction forces to improve the performance of engine  1 , vane  116  durability and split vane seal  78  sealing performance and durability. To insure that the sliding vane structure  116  will not deform due to the large inverted U-shaped section  360  removal, small vertical  121  and horizontal  122  support bars are placed across the inverted U-shaped opening  360  of the sliding vane structure  116 . The sliding vane  116  horizontal support bar  122  has multiple holes  123  drilled through its surface to reduce the mass weight of the horizontal support structure  123  and also allow the free movement of deionized water  320  of the inner rotor and sliding vane area  361  of active water cooling system  362 . The bottom ends surfaces  126  of the sliding vane are angled or sloped from the center of the sliding vane  116  outward towards the side stator housings  2  and  4  which allows deionized water  320  from the active cooling system  362  inside center of the rotor  183  to be diverted outward toward the side inner housing water return recesses  44  located on both sides of the lower inner housing stators  2  and then into the hot water storage tank (not shown). 
   Thermal Barrier Coating 
   Referring to  FIGS. 18 to 28 , a thermal barrier coating (TBC)  36  is applied to the front and back faces  349  of the sliding vanes  116 . The TBC  36  protects the sliding vanes from high combustion gas temperatures coming from the combustion chamber  34  which can damage or soften the sliding vanes  116  and result in thermal deformations. The thermal deformations of the sliding vanes  116  can be made more sever due combustion forces from the combustion chamber  34  and from sliding vane contact with the inner housing stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 . This can result in vane seals  80  being misaligned with the inner housing surface  37  and cause damage to the vane seals  80  and/or inner housing stator surface  37 , or sealing failure. The TBC  36  helps protect the sliding vane  116  from high combustion temperatures that might result in thermal deformations. This helps improve the sliding vane&#39;s  116  vane seals  80  sealing of split vane seal  79  sealing performance of combustion chamber  34  along the inner housing stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 . 
   Thermal barrier coatings  36  also help prevent the oxidation of substrate material. A low thermal conductivity thermal barrier coatings made of Yttrium Stabilized Zirconium (YSZ) doped with additional oxides that are chosen to create thermodynamically stable, highly deflective lattice structures with tailored ranges of defect-cluster sizes to reduce thermal conductivity and improve bonding adhesion with the rotor surface. The defect cluster YSZ TBC has a thermal conductivity of 1.55 to 1.65 watts per meter degree Centigrade between 400 and 1400 degrees Centigrade. 
   Heat Pipe Channel 
   Referring to  FIGS. 18 to 27 , each of the sliding vanes  116  contains an inner heat pipe channel  127  that is inverted U-shaped and similar to the sliding vane&#39;s perimeter  350  and located just under the vane seal groove  117 . The vane inner heat pipe channel  127  is slightly filled with water as the working fluid that transfers heat from the vane heat pipe evaporator area  129  from around the sliding vane&#39;s perimeter  350  to the vane heat pipe inner condenser  130 . By allowing the working fluid water to continuously change from a liquid to a gas and then back into a liquid again allows large amounts of heat to be transferred at sonic speeds. The vane heat pipe channel  127  operates between 24 and 202 degrees Centigrade, or 75 and 397 degrees Fahrenheit, and the larger the temperature difference between the vane heat pipe evaporator area  129  and the inner condenser  130  the faster the rate of heat transfer. 
   The heat pipe evaporator area helps absorb and transfer heat from the combustion chamber  34  that impacts the sliding vane perimeter  350  of the sliding vane  116 , the vane seals  80  of split vane seals  79 , vane seal ridges  118 , and vane split seal groove  117 . It also helps transfer heat that passes through the TBC  36  along the front and back face surfaces  349  of sliding vanes  116 . Transferring heat away from these components helps prevent thermal damage and deformations that can damage the sliding vane  116  and split vane seals  78 , inner housing stator surface  37 , and result in sealing and component failure. 
   During operation of the vane heat pipe channel  127 , heat from the combustion chamber  34  is absorbed by the heat pipe chamber evaporator area  129  along the top of the curved vane perimeter  350  section of the sliding vane  116  where heat from the sliding vane  116  front and back face surface  349 , split vane seals  79 , vane support ridges  118 , and split vane seal groove  117  is transferred into the heat pipe channel  127  so that the water working fluid changes phase from a liquid to a gas along the surface of the vane heat pipe evaporator area  129 . The heated gas vapor is transferred through the vane heat pipe channel to one of the two inner condensers  126  located at the bottom corners of the sliding vane  116  were the heat from the gas is transferred into the inner heat pipe condenser and the gas changes phase back into water and circulated back to the heat pipe evaporator area  129 . The heat in the inner vane heat pipe condenser is transferred by conduction to an outer vane heat pipe condenser where it transfers the heat by conduction to deionized water  320  that is spayed into the inner rotor and vane area  361  from the active cooling system  362 . The heated water  320  is collected in a inner housing water return channel  44  and circulated through inner rotor and vane return tubing  326  and into hot water storage tank (not shown). 
   Deionized water  320  is the preferred working material for inside the vane heat pipe channel  127 . Heat pipes are typically operated by using gravity or a wicking system. In the gravity system, heat is absorbed in the bottom vane heat pipe channel evaporator, causing the internal working material to turn from a solid or liquid into a gas vapor that rises to the top vane heat pipe channel condenser by convection to thereby transfer and release its heat. However, in the sliding vane  116  of the present invention, the vane heat pipe channel  127  is rotating in the rotor  183  which generates strong centrifugal forces creating high G-forces that reverse the gravity operating direction of heat transfer in the vane heat pipe channel  127  so that the ideal heat transfer direction can occur from the outer perimeter or top surfaces  350  of the sliding vane  116  along vane heat pipe evaporator area  129  and towards the inner side bottom ends of the sliding vane  116  towards the vane heat pipe channel inner condensers  130  that is also towards the center of the rotor  183  above the driveshaft  18 . 
   The vane heat pipe channel  127  wraps around the perimeter surface  349  of sliding vane  116  where strong forces from combustion and surface contact with the inner stator surface  37  can result in thermal and mechanical stresses along this perimeter surface  349 . The vane heat pipe channel helps to control the thermal stresses by cooling the sliding vane  116 , but it also pressurizes the vane heat pipe channel  127  to add structural strength to the sliding vane  116 . As the water inside the vane heat pipe is heated, it changes its phase state to higher pressure gas, which raises the internal pressure of the vane heat pipe channel  127  to better match the exterior combustion chamber pressures  34 . This allows additional mass to be further reduced from the sliding vane  116  by the inclusion of the vane heat pipe channel without loosing any structural integrity. 
   Inner and Outer Vane Heat Pipe Channel Condensers 
   Referring to  FIG. 27 , the inner vane channel condenser  130  is preferably constructed of highly heat conductive materials, like aluminum, that is also resistant to water and hydrogen oxidation and is braised in the ends of the vane heat pipe channels to completely seal and enclose the vane heat pipe channel system  127 . The inner vane channel condenser  130  transfers the heat to the outer vane heat pipe condenser  132  by conduction. The front face surface of the outer vane heat pipe channel condenser  132  is covered with angled ridges and grooves  134 . The heat is then transferred into the deionized water  320  of the active cooling system  362 . 
   The outer vane heat pipe channel condenser is also preferably constructed of highly conductive material, such as aluminum, that is braised to the ridge and groove section  131  of the inner vane heat pipe condenser. The bottom surface of the outer vane condenser  132  is angled or sloped outward towards the sides of the inner housing stators  2  and  4 . This helps divert deionized water  320  from active cooling system  362  that is inside the inner center section of the rotor  183  to be diverted towards both sides of the inner stators  2  and  4  to be collected by the housing water return recesses  44  located on the lower inner housing stators  2 . This bottom angled surface of the vane heat pipe outer condenser matches the bottom angled surface  126  of the sliding vane  116  so that the deionized water  320  can be diverted smoothly across both surfaces contiguously to the two side inner housing stators  2  and  4 . 
   Vane Heat Pipe Channel Porous Wick/Freeze Tube 
   Referring again to  FIG. 27 , placed inside the vane heat pipe channel  127  is a porous wick/freeze tube  128  that wraps around the entire length for the vane heat pipe channel  127  from one inner heat pipe condenser  130  to the other heat pipe condenser  130 . The porous wick/freeze tube  128  is made from stainless steel mesh or preferably shape metal alloys (SMA) made from copper zinc aluminum (CuZnAl) alloy that are woven together and braised or spot welded into a tube shape. Since the vane heat pipe channel  127  is completely sealed with working fluid water inside it, it is prone to cold weather water freezing expansion damage when the engine  1  is exposed to temperatures of 32 degrees F and lower. To counter the water freezing expansion, the porous tube insulates some of the water working fluid inside the center of the porous wick/freeze tube  128 . As the working fluid begins to freeze and expand, the unfrozen water working fluid in the center of the porous wick/freeze tube is wicked up along the porous wick/freeze tube  128 . This allows the water working fluid to expand by imploding inward rather than exploding outward, and eliminates expansion pressures that could result in damage to the vane heat pipe channel  127  or sliding vane  116 . By using an SMA for the porous wick/freeze tube  128  the lower section of the porous wick/freeze tube  128  can be deformed as the water working fluid expands and implodes the porous wick/freeze tube  127 . Once the vane heat pipe chamber&#39;s  127  temperature rises to about 32 degrees F., and the working fluid changes phase from ice back to a liquid, the porous wick/freeze tube reforms back into its original shape. 
   When the rotor  183  is in a stopped position the sliding vanes  116  are oriented in various angles that pool the water working fluid in one of two locations. The first is along the bottom two vane inner heat pipe condensers  130  and the other is along the surface of the heat pipe evaporator area  129 . By having the porous wick/freeze tube  129  wrap around the entire length of the vane heat pipe channel  127 , the ends of the porous wick/freeze tube control any freezing working fluid that pools by the two inner vane heat pipe condensers. As the porous wick wraps around the vane heat pipe channel  127 , it makes direct contact with the top or outer surface of the middle of the heat pipe evaporator area  129 . This controls any freezing working fluid that pools along the heat pipe evaporator area  129  to be wicked way in two directions from the center of the porous wick/freeze tube  128  towards the two porous wick/freeze  128  tube ends. This allows freezing working fluid water that pools in any orientation angle on the rotor  183  to be controlled by the porous wick/freeze tube  128 . 
   Vane Belt Toggle System 
   Referring to  FIGS. 18 ,  25 ,  27 , and  29 , the bottom section on the sliding vane  116  U-shaped opening contains a vane belt toggle bar system  363  that can be either a single belt toggle bar system  142  for a single center vane belt  137  of vane belting system  136 , or a double belt toggle bar system  143  for two outer vane belts  138  of vane belting system  136 . The single  142  and double  143  toggle bar systems connect the single  137  and double  138  vane belts of the vane belt system  136  to the sliding vanes. The toggling action of the single  142  and double  143  toggle bar system provide the vane belting system  136  with a wider range of single  142  and double  143  belt extension and retraction to better match the inner geometric distorted oval shape of the inner housing surface profile  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 . The vane belt toggle bar system  363  is comprised of a center support belt rod  145 , which holds either a single set or double set of belt toggle links  147  through center toggle bar holes  144 . The toggle links hold two smaller vane belt bars  146  attached to the toggle links  147  through vane belt bar holes  148  located at the ends of each of the toggle bar links  147 . A toggle bar bushing  149  slides over vane belt bars  146 . The metal bar bushing  149 , rather than the belt loop interfaces  367  of the single  137  and double  138  vane belts, takes most of the toggling motion wear. The center toggle bar holes  144  and smaller vane belt bars  146  are coated with a solid lubricant, preferably which is comprised of near frictionless carbon or diamond like carbon lubricant to further improve the high speed toggling action and to reduce wear of the vane belt links  147  and rotating motion of the metal vane bar bushings  148 . 
   Attaching single  140  and double  141  vane belts segments to the vane belt bar bushings  148  of alternating sliding vanes  116  links them together to create either a single  137  or double  138  vane belt closed loop belt system to help control the sliding vanes&#39;  116  positions as they rotate with the rotor  183  within the inner stator surface  37 . The single  142  and double  143  vane belts toggle systems allow the ends of the vane belt segments to be connected as a continuous belt system without requiring the belt to be constructed as just one belt segment. This would require that the single  137  and double  138  vane belts make a very tight bend underneath each sliding vane  116  inside the narrow rotor vane passage  184  which could result in belt stress and breakage. 
   Vane Belt Tension Adjustment System 
   Referring again to  FIGS. 18 ,  27  and  29 , to maintain the proper tension in either of the single  137  or double  138  vane belts of the vane belt system  136 , the bottom side sections on the sliding vane  116  inner inverted U-shaped opening  360  contain a vane belt tension adjustment system  150  that can adjust the position of the main belt rod, and thus the tension of the connected single  136  or double  138  vane belts. The main vane belt rod  145  is connected to two end support vane belt rod holders  151  through support vane belt rod holes  152 . The two vane belt rod holders  151  are seated into the bottom of the vane belt tension adjustment channels located at both sides of the inner bottom center inverted U-opening  360  of the sliding vane  116 . Two tension adjustment screws  153  are inserted through tension adjustment screw holes  154  in the bottom of the sliding vane  116 , vane belt rod, and end vane belt rod holders  151 . The vane tension adjustment screws  155  turn freely in unthreaded sliding vane  116  screw holes  154 , but use threaded screw holes  154  in the vane belt rod  145  and end vane belt rod holders  151  to adjust their position up and down inside the vane belt tension adjustment channel  124 . Once the proper belt tension has been set, the tension adjustment screw  153  are locked in place with a tension screw lock nut  155 . An alternative vane belt tension adjustment system would be the use of different sets of end vane belt rod holders  151  that have different set vane belt rod  145  tension positions. Small shims can be put under the belt rod holder  151  to further lock the tension in place. 
   Vane Anti-Centrifugal Systems 
   Vane Belt System 
   Referring to  FIG. 29 , the anti-centrifugal vane belting system  136  provides the ability to rotate around an asymmetrical or distorted oval geometry profile of the inner housing stator surface  37  and minimize excessive sliding vane  116  sealing centrifugal forces. Regardless of the rpm speed of engine  1 , the sliding vane  116  sealing force against the inner housing stator surface  37  remain relatively constant around the entire perimeter. 
   This vane belt system  136  is comprised of a single center belt  137 , double outer belts  138 , and profile belt  139  systems. Referring to  FIG. 44 , the single center vane belt  137  is connected to the vane belt bar bushings  148  of the single belt toggle systems  142  of four alternating sliding vanes  116 . Referring to  FIG. 46 , the double outer vane belts  138  are half as wide as the single center vane belt  137  and are connected to the vane belt bar bushings  148  of the vane double belt toggle systems  143  of the other four alternating sliding vanes  116 . During operation of the vane belt system  136 , the single center vane belt  137  runs in the center of the rotor  183  radial rotation and the outer two vane belts  138  are operate outside both sides of the inner center vane belt  137  so that the single center vane belt  137  and the double outer vane belts  138  do not interfere with each other and maintain proper balance. 
   The vane belt system  136  is extremely dynamic in matching the inner housing stator surface  37  geometry rotation distorted oval profile. The vane single belt toggle  142  and vane double belt toggle  143  allow the single vane belt  137  and double vane belts  138 , respectively, a wider operation range of belt extension from the rotor and help retract the vanes back into the rotor, reducing sliding vane  116  stress. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 29 to 36 , during operation of the single center belting  137  or outer double belting  138  system, as one or more of the four belt connected sliding vanes  116  extend outward from the rotor  183  center, other belt connected sliding vanes  116  are pulled back inward toward the rotor  183  center, balancing the outward centrifugal forces with inward centripetal forces of the sliding vanes  116  to obtain a relatively constant outward sealing force against the inner housing stator surface  37 . However, high peak centrifugal forces may still result at the point where the siding vanes  116  are extended the furthest from the rotor  183 , which occurs at the maximum expansion location  33 . To help minimize this peak force point, two small profile belts  139  are attached to profile belt bearings  175  that are attached on the outer side ends of both alternating single  137  and double  138  vane belts&#39; arch support bars  159 , as shown in  FIGS. 41 and 48 . The two profile belts  139  link the motion of both the single vane belt  137  and double vane belt  138  system together as one unified vane belting system  136 . It still allows both belts to operate independently by extending and retracting the sliding vanes  116  to match the inner housing stator surface  37 , but in a more restricted or averaged way that more smoothly matches the distorted oval of the inner housing stator surface  37  profile. Instead of using just four alternating sliding vanes  116  to match the inner housing stator surface  37 , the profile belts  139  are able to link and use all eight sliding vanes  116  of both the single  137  and double  138  belting systems together to better match the inner housing stator surface  37  profile. This greatly reduces the peak centrifugal force at the furthest extension location. However, the peak centrifugal forces may still be strong enough to pull and distort the entire belting system  136  into this furthest extension point. Referring to  FIG. 29 , to control this, belt arch limit springs  212  are embedded in the inner rotor cavity  363  that line up with the profile belt side arch  176  that is attached the ends of each of the belt arch support bars  159 . The belt arch limit springs  169  are in a fixed position that corresponds to the maximum extension point of the sliding vanes  116  as they revolve and slide across the inner housing stator surface  37 . Each profile belt side arch  176  has two belt arch limit springs  212  at each belt arch support bar  159  for a total of four belt arch limit springs  212  for each belt arch support bar  159 . There is one belt arch support bar  159  that is oriented underneath each of the sliding vanes  116 . As the rotating sliding vanes  116  reach the furthest extended point in the expansion zone  33 , the two profile belt side arches  176  compress the matching four belt arch limit springs  212  to limit extension of the belt arch support bars  159  and the corresponding sliding vane  116 . This keeps all of the sliding vanes  116  in balance with a constant centrifugal force that is applied evenly along the inner housing stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4  throughout the entire rotor  183  rotation regardless of engine rpm speed. This constant centrifugal force significantly reduces the overall sliding friction of the siding vanes  116  with respect to the inner housing stator surface  37 , which is especially useful during the later stages of combustion expansion when the gas pressures are dropping and the sliding vanes  116  are extended the furthest outward from the rotor  183  where the centrifugal forces are at their highest level. 
   The belt arch limit springs  212  also help absorb and dampen harsh vibration forces in the vane sliding vanes  116  and vane belting system  136 . 
   Arched Vane Belt Support 
   Referring to  FIGS. 32 and 34 , in connecting alternating sliding vanes  116  together, the single  137  and double  138  vane belts must bend 90 degrees between two adjacent connected sliding vanes  116 . One of the problems associated with the vane belting concept is that belting material needs to bend around corners at high speeds. To accomplish this single  156  and double  157  arch bearing systems are used for the single  137  and double  138  vane belting systems respectively. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 38 and 39 , the single  137  and double  138  arched vane belts bearing systems preferably comprises center arched vane belt support  158 , a series of multiple vane belt roller bearings  178  and sliding ridges  161 . 
   Center Arch Support 
   Each of the single and double vane belt arch support&#39;s  158  top surface is curved with a large arc that minimizes the sharp bending angle of the single  137  and double  138  vane belts across the 90 degree angle between the alternating sliding vanes  116 . Each of the arch supports also contains three roller bearing recesses  160  that hold belt roller bearings  178  and four vane belt sliding ridges  161  between each of the roller bearings  178 , and water drainage holes to drain deionized water  320  from the inner rotor cavity  363  from the active cooling system  362  to prevent the water from building up in the roller bearing recess  160 . The deionized water  320  provides some lubrication and cooling to the vane belting system  136  and vane belt roller bearings. This helps reduce belt friction and increase the belts durability and strength. 
   Side Arch Lock Plates 
   Each vane belt arch support  158  has two side arch lock plates  163  that are secured to the vane belt arch support  158  by four rivets  166  running through the vane belt arch support  158 . The side arch lock plates  163  and rivets  166  add structural strength to the support arch  158 . The top edges of the side arch lock plates  163  are extended higher than the vane belt arch support surface  158  to form rounded vane belt prongs  164  to help keep the moving single  137  and double  138  vane belts in proper alignment position as they move across the vane belt support arches  158 . 
   Vane Belt Arch Roller Bearings 
   The use of vane belt roller bearings  178  on top of the belt arch support  158  will improve the vane belts  136  motion. The vane belt roller bearings  178  are comprised of an roller bearing  180  that has small diameter that reduce mass acceleration and deceleration inertia forces to help improve the belt motion across the belt arch support  158 . The outer roller bearings  180  have small holes  181  drilled through the bearing to allow deionized water  320  to help lubricate and cool the vane belt roller bearing  180  and roller bearing spindle  179 . The spindle  179  is also coated with a solid lubricant  35  like near frictionless carbon or diamond like carbon lubricant. The spindle  179  ends are screwed into roller bearing spring supports  182  that are seated in bearing spring support openings  165  on side arch lock plates  163  located on each side of the vane belt arch support  158 . The bearing spring support openings  165  are positioned on the side arch lock plates  163  to properly orient the roller bearings  180  properly inside the roller bearing recess  160  and to make good contact with the single  137  and double  138  vane belts. 
   During engine operation, at low rpm speeds of less than or equal to about 1,000 rpm, the single  137  and double  138  vane belts of the vane belting system  136  make contact with the surface of the vane belt roller bearings  180  to help improve the motion speed and reduce motion friction of single  137  and double  138  vane belts back and forth across the vane belt arch bearing supports  158 . The vane belt bearing spindle spring supports  182  also help dampen any vibrations in the single  137  or double  138  vane belts for smooth operation motion. 
   At higher operating speeds greater than about 1,000 rpm, the roller bearing mass results in large acceleration and inertia forces that restrict the single  137  and double  138  vane belts motion. However, during higher engine operations speeds the vane belt roller bearing spindle spring supports compress due to higher centrifugal rotor  183  rotation forces and allow the single  137  and double  138  vane belts to move across the vane belt arch support  158  without making any contact with the roller bearings  180 . During the high speed operation, the vane belt roller bearings  180  remain compressed inside the arch support  158  roller bearing recess  160  until the engine&#39;s operation speed slows to less than or equal to about 1,000 rpm, where the vane belt roller bearings regain dominant contact with the moving single  137  and double  138  vane belt of the vane belting system  136 . To continue to improve the single  137  and double  138  vane belts&#39; motion and reduce the friction across the vane belt arch support  158 , vane belt sliding ridges  161  are used. 
   Vane Belt Sliding Ridges 
   Referring to  FIGS. 38 and 39 , as the single  137  and double vane belts travel at high speed over the top of the vane belt arched support  158 , the vane belt roller bearings  80  are compressed in the roller bearing recesses  160  and the single  137  and double  138  vane belts move across sliding ridges  161 . The sliding ridges  161  are coated with a solid lubricant  35  comprised of near frictionless carbon or diamond like carbon for lubrication, or preferably a Superhard Nanocomposite (SHNC) lubricant coating being developed at Argonne National Laboratory could be used. The sliding ridges  161  and roller bearing recesses create a turbulent air flow that, in turn, creates a cushion of air between the single  137  and double  138  vane belts and the top surface of the arched support  158 . This allows the vane single  137  and double  138  vane belts to move at even higher speeds with very low contact friction across the vane belt sliding ridges  161 . 
   Dynamic Arch Support Bar 
   The arch support bar  159  holds either the single  156  or double  157  vane belt arch bearings. The single  156  and double  157  vane belt arch bearings are held in proper position on the arch support bar  159  by a arch support clip  172  that is in a arch clip recess  173  located on both sides of the single  156  or double  157  vane belt arch bearing supports. 
   The ends of each of the arch support bars  159  hold a profile belt washer  174  to help hold the profile belts  139  in position along the inner edge of profile belt bearing  175  that allows the profile belts  139  to freely move radially over the profile belt bearing surfaces  175 . A profile belt arch  176  holds the profile belts  139  in position along the outer edge of the profile belt bearing  175 . 
   During high speed operation of engine  1 , where rotor 183 rpm is equal or greater than about 1,000 rpm, the belt arch support springs  169  compresses and the arch support bar  158  moves downward in arch support bar opening  168  in the side arch support plates  163  and in arch support bar channel  368 , allowing the single  156  and double  157  vane belt arch supports to extend outward to allow the vane belt siding ridges  161  to maintain proper contact with the single  137  and double  138  vane belts. When engine  1  operating speed slows to about 1,000 rpm or less, the belt arch support springs  169  expands, as well as the vane belt roller bearing support springs  182 , and the arch support bar  159  moves upward in the arch support bar opening  168  in the side arch support plates  163  and in arch support bar channel  368 , allowing the vane belt roller bearings  180  to make primary contact with the single  137  and double  138  vane belts. The belt arch support springs  169  also help dampen harsh operation vibration and help provide a smooth operation of the vane belting system  136 . 
   Vane Belt Materials 
   Referring to  FIG. 36 , the vane belts  137  and  138  are preferably made of fine of high tensile strength fibers that are woven into a belt. Nextel 610 and AGY&#39;s 933-S2 glass are potential fibers that could be used. Fibers are woven into flat smooth surface belts with two loops at each ends  367  to interface with the split vane  116  toggle vane belt bushing  148  of the single belt  142  and double belt  143  toggle system. With the active cooling system  262  circulating deionized water  320  into the inner rotor cavity  363 , the vane belting system  136  has a peak operating temperature is about 250 degrees F. This helps maintain fiber strength and minimize fiber thermal expansion. Alternatively, fiberglass or Kevlar fibers can be woven into belts for the vane belting system  136 . These materials are lightweight and have a high tensile strength, low elongation, with a maximum continuous operating temperature of 450 degrees F. 
   To improve the belts&#39; performance and durability, the vane belts  137  and  138  are preferably constructed with multiple layers of fibers and then sown together. The main top layer is the strength layer  169  that contains larger sized fibers, and as a result, has a coarser fill and wrap woven texture. This texture generates larger amounts of friction, vibration and wear as it slides across the support arch ridge structure  161 . To improve the sliding performance a bottom sheer layer  171  of material is preferably sown together with the top strength layer. This bottom sheer layer preferably has a finer fiber size and resulting finer fill and wrap woven texture. 
   The belt fibers can also be coated with a solid lubricant such as Teflon or near frictionless carbon to further reduce their friction and wear. The Teflon PTFE coating has a coefficient of friction of 0.06. Near frictionless carbon has a coefficient of friction of 0.02. 
   Vane Belt Pin Hinge Seams 
   Referring to  FIGS. 32 to 36 , the arched vane belt bearing  158  creates a large flat arcing surface for the single  137  or double  138  vane belts to travel on. This greatly reduces bending stresses on the vane belt belting material. To further improve the single  137  and double  138  vane belts&#39; and also the profile belt&#39;s flexibility, link pins  365  with hinge seams  366  can be placed in the single  140  and double  141 , and profile  364  vane belts&#39; segments. The joining pins  365  can be stainless steel or non-metallic materials. The pins can be coated with a solid lubricant of Teflon, near frictionless carbon, or diamond like carbon to reduce pin  365  wear and improve the hinges&#39;  366  movement speed and reduce wear. To provide extra durability, the pin hinges  366  could preferably be made from stainless steel. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 33 ,  35 , and  37  when the pin hinges  366  are included on the belts, they add a small interface surface that is not flush with the belt. This interface surface can result in rough belt operation. To account for this offset, another sheer fill layer  170  can be added that matches the thickness of pin hinge  366 . This can be located between the top strength layer  169  and bottom sheer layer  171  and all three layers can be sown together. This allows the bottom sheer layer to operate very smoothly across the arch support ridges  161 . 
   Belt and Toggle Bushing Connection 
   To attach the single  137  and double  138  vane belts to the single  142  and double  143  toggles, the composite belts wrap around the metal roller bushing  149 , and are held in place by a belt bushing lock cover  369 . To minimize belt bending around the belt bushing  149 , a small triangular belt bushing wedge (not shown) is inserted to make the belt attachment angle more gradual with less stress on the belts. 
   Rotor Structure 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , the rotor assembly  183  is comprised of six or eight rotor segment assemblies  310 , depending on the engine  1  configuration. The preferred embodiment of engine  1  is to use eight rotor segment assemblies  310 . The sliding vanes  116  are positioned in between each rotor segment assembly  310  and forming a vane passage  184  for the sliding vanes  116  to move in. All the rotor segment assemblies  310  are held together by side lock plates  215  to form the rotor  183 . 
   Rotor Segment Assembly 
   Referring to  FIG. 40 , each rotor segment assemble  310  is comprised of a top rotor combustion segment  311 , a rotor thermal control system, rotor side plates  209 , lock tabs  208 , inner plate cover  210 , sliding vane  116  tangential bearings  223 , vane face seals  111 , rotor axial seals  102 , and vane profile belt limit springs  212 . 
   Rotor Combustion Segment 
   The outer surface of the rotor  185  and rotor combustion recesses  186  are also coated with a thermal barrier coating. The thermal barrier coating helps prevent the heat from combustion from penetrating into the rotor combustion segment  311 , rotor water vapor chamber  190 , and inner rotor cavity  363 , resulting in thermal damage and deformation to the rotor  183 , siding vanes  116 , or sliding vane belting system  136 . 
   Rotor Axial and Vane Face Seals 
   Referring to  FIGS. 40 and 50 , the rotor combustion segment  311  also contains an axial vane seal recess  187  and axial spring recess  378  that curves along the side surface of the rotor combustion segment  311  to hold the axial seal  102  and axial seal spring  110 . A vane face seal recess  188  and vane seal spring recess  189  located on both the front and back rotor sliding vane faces  220  of the rotor combustion segment  311 , hold the vane face seals  111  and vane face seal springs  114 . 
   Sliding Vane Tangential Bearing System 
   Referring to  FIGS. 40 and 47 , to improve the “in and out” movement of the sliding vanes  116  from the rotor  183 , small roller bearings  223  are embedded throughout the front and back rotor sliding vane faces  220  of the rotor combustion segments  311  that form the rotor sliding vane slots  184 . Each roller bearing  223  is comprised of a roller bearing spindle  227  that is coated with a solid lubricant made from oxides for high temperature lubrication and durability. An outer roller bearing  225  is hollow and placed over the bearing spindle  227  to make direct contact and rotate with the moving front and back face surfaces  349  of the sliding vanes  116 . The outer roller bearing also has small holes  226  throughout its surface so that water/steam  320  from the active cooling system  362  can help lubricate and cool the outer tangential bearing  225  and inner bearing spindle  227 . The spindle  227  is preferably made from a high strength alloy and coated with an oxide lubricant. Roller bearing spindle spring supports  228  are attached to each end of the roller bearing spindle  227 . 
   The roller bearings  223  are oriented between forty five and ninety degrees to the rotor  183  rotation, but preferably 45 degrees and can be used to help the sliding vanes  116  move back and forth in the sliding vane passage  184  of the rotor  183 . During engine operation, when the rotor 183 rpm is less than or equal to about 1,000 rpm, the outer roller bearings  225  will make direct contact with the front and back face surfaces  349  of the sliding vanes  116  to reduce their sliding friction and wear as they move back and forth inside the rotor vane passage  184 . During engine high speed operation, when rotor 183 rpm is greater than about 1,000 rpm, the acceleration and rotating inertia forces of the roller bearing  225  are much more significant and add more friction to the moving sliding vanes  116 . However, at this point vane tangential roller bearing spring supports compress and retract the vane tangential roller bearings  223  into the vane tangential roller bearing recesses  224 , breaking the outer vane tangential roller bearing  225  surface contact with the sliding vane&#39;s  116  moving face surface  349 . This allows the sliding vanes  116  to move along the raised zigzag vane sliding ridges  221  in the rotor vane passage  184  at much higher speeds and with lower friction. 
   Zigzag Vane Sliding Ridges 
   Referring again to  FIG. 40 , to further improve the sliding vanes&#39;  116  “in and out” motion within the vane slots  184 , there are zigzag ridges  221  running vertically throughout the front and back rotor vane sliding face surfaces  220 . The tops of these zigzag ridges are coated with a solid lubricant comprised of oxides for high temperature lubrication and durability. Alternatively, a Superhard Nanocomposite (SHNC) lubricant coating could be used. The oxide lubricant creates a coefficient of friction that is less than or equal to 0.2 with a very low wear rate. 
   Water/Steam Channels 
   Referring further to  FIG. 40 , in between the zigzag ridges are water/steam channels  222 . As the sliding vane  116  moves in and out in the sliding vane passage  184  of the rotor  183 , the zigzag shaped ridges  221  create high turbulence inside the water/steam channels  222  that in turn creates a cushion of air between the contact surfaces. This further enhances the sliding vanes&#39;  116  motion and reduces their fiction. As deionized water  320  from the inner rotor and sliding vane area  361  of the active cooling system  362  enters and flows through the water/steam channels  222 , it also flows against the front and back face surfaces  349  of the sliding vanes  116  that have been heated due to exposure to combustion in the combustion chamber  34 , turning the deionized water  320  into steam. As the deionized water  320  helps cool the hot front and back face surfaces  349  of the sliding vanes  116 , the deionized water  320  changes phase into high pressure steam. This high pressure steam further expands in the water/steam channels  222  to slightly lift up the front and back face surfaces  349  of the sliding vanes  116  off of the zigzag sliding ridges  221 , allowing them to move more freely inside the sliding vane passage  184  with reduced friction and wear. The water steam  320  also helps to absorb harsh vibrations to further reduce damage and wear, providing a smoother operation of engine  1 . The heated steam and or condensed steam water will be circulated to the outer sides of the rotor  183 , along the inner housing stator sides  2  and  4 , and forced through water/steam return recess  44  and into the hot water storage tank of the active cooling system  362 . 
   Rotor Thermal Control Systems 
   During the combustion process, heat passes through the rotor surface  183  and penetrates into the rotor&#39;s combustion segment  311  and into the rotor center cavity  363 , which can result in thermal damage to the vane belting system  136  and rotor assembly segment  310  components. To actively remove the excess heat from the combustion rotor segment  311  and inner rotor cavity  363 , a rotor vapor chamber system  190  in conjunction with the active water cooling system  362  is used. 
   Rotor High Temperature Alloys 
   High temperature resistant alloy materials, like Haynes  230  or  188 , are preferably used in the construction of the combustion rotor segment  311 . These materials retain their strength properties at high temperatures and long exposure to combustion conditions over 35,000 hours at 600 degrees Centigrade. These alloys have a low coefficient of thermal expansion of around 8.2*10−6 per degree Fahrenheit. This helps minimize thermal deformations and thermal fatigue. 
   Rotor Thermal Barrier Coating 
   Thermal barrier coatings  36  also help prevent the oxidation of substrate material. Low thermal conductivity thermal barrier coatings made of YSZ doped with additional oxides that are chosen to create thermodynamically stable, highly deflective lattice structures with tailored ranges of defect-cluster sizes to reduce thermal conductivity and improve bonding adhesion with the rotor surface. 
   The Defecd cluster TBC of Yttrium Stabilized Zirconium (YSZ has a thermal conductivity of 1.55 to 1.65 watts per meter degree Centigrade between 400 and 1400 degrees Centigrade. 
   Rotor Vapor Chamber Systems 
   Referring to  FIGS. 43 ,  44 ,  45 ,  47 ,  48 ,  49 ,  50  and  51 , constructing the engine  1  components that are directly exposed to high combustion temperatures, like the rotor combustion segment  311 , with high temperature alloys and coating them with thermal barrier coatings  36  greatly reduces thermal damage and slows heat from penetrating into the inner rotor cavity  363 . However, it is still necessary to remove excess heat that eventually penetrates the rotor surface  183  and conducts into the inner rotor cavity  363  of the rotor segment assembly  310 . A rotor water vapor chamber  190  is used within each rotor segment  310  of rotor  183 . The rotor water vapor chambers  190  are located just under the top rotor surface  185  and combustion cavity recess  186  of the rotor combustion segment  311 . Heat that penetrates these surfaces heats water inside the rotor water vapor chambers  190  along top or outer evaporator surface  191 , which matches the shape of the top rotor surface  183  profile curves radially and axially. As the water is heated along the rotor vapor chamber evaporator surface  191 , it changes phase from a liquid to a gas, absorbing large amounts of heat from the evaporator surface  191  and transferring it into the water vapor gas. Internal chamber pressures circulates the heated water vapor to inner rotor condensers located at both axial sides of the rotor segment assembly  310 , where the heated water vapor transfers the heat to the inner condenser  200  and phase changes back into a liquid and circulates back to the rotor vapor chamber evaporator surface  191 . 
   Deionized water  320  is the preferred working material for inside the rotor vapor chamber  190 . By allowing the working fluid water to continuously change phase from a liquid to a gas, and then back into a liquid again, allows large amounts of heat to be transferred at sonic speeds. The rotor water vapor chamber  190  operates between 24 and 202 degrees Centigrade, or 75 and 397 degrees Fahrenheit, and the larger the temperature difference between the rotor vapor chamber evaporator area  191  and the rotor inner condenser  200 , the faster the rate of heat transfer. 
   The rotor water vapor chamber operates just like a heat pipe where gravity or a wicking system is used to circulate the working fluid. In a gravity system, heat is absorbed along the bottom evaporator surface of the vapor chamber, causing the internal working material to turn from a solid or liquid into a gas vapor that rise to the top vapor chamber condenser by convection to transfer and release its heat. However in the rotor  183  of the present invention, the rotor vapor chamber  190  is rotating inside the rotor  183  which generates strong centrifugal forces creating high G-forces that reverse the gravity operating direction of heat transfer in the water vapor chamber  190 . This heat transfer reversed direction is ideal for the engine  1  of the present invention, allowing ideal heat transfer to occur from the rotor vapor chamber&#39;s  190  top evaporator surface  191  just underneath the rotor&#39;s outer surface  185  and transfer the absorbed heat towards the lower side bottom ends of the of the rotor vapor chamber  190  to the rotor inner condenser  200 . At the rotor vapor chamber inner condenser  200 , the internal working water vapor changes phase from gas to a liquid as it transfers the heat into the rotor inner condenser  200 . The water liquid then circulates back outward toward the rotor vapor chamber evaporator surface  191  to re-circulate again. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 44 and 50 , to improve the capillary flow of the water working fluids near the outer evaporator surface areas  191  of the rotor water vapor chamber  190 , a layer of fine wicking mesh  192  is preferably used. This allows the high pressure small liquid water drops to flow easily along the outer rotor evaporator surface  191  and change phase from a liquid to a gas. A coarse wicking capillary mesh layer  193  will be used from the end rotor inner condensers  200  along the sides of the rotor vapor chamber  190  to interface with the fine mesh layer  193 . This allows low pressure larger liquid water drops to easily flow to the outer fine wicking capillary mesh layer  193  of the working liquid to any location in the rotor vapor chamber  190  along the outer evaporator surface area  191 . The coarse wicking mesh  193  extends slightly underneath the fine wicking mesh  192  at mesh interface  369 . This allows the larger water droplets to move closer to the rotor vapor chamber evaporator surface  191 . It also allows the smaller water droplets to be wicked back up closer to the rotor vapor chamber inner condenser  200 . Both the fine  192  and coarse  193  wicking meshes are surrounded by a fine perimeter mesh  194 . The perimeter wicking mesh  194  helps distribute the working fluid around all surfaces of the rotor water vapor chamber  190 . It also helps keep working fluid along the front and back face surfaces of the rotor segment assembly  310  to help cool the heat transferred in the sliding vane passage  184  and from the vane face seals  111 . 
   To improve the working fluid gas circulation, vapor chamber extension ridges  196  in the inner surface side of the bottom rotor vapor chamber cover  195  hold and press together the fine  192  and coarse  193  wicking mesh layers. They also create large rotor vapor chamber voids or channels  197  between the extension ridges  196  for the working fluid gases to easily flow. 
   The rotor water vapor chamber helps keep the rotor surface  183  and combustion cavity  184  at good operating temperatures. It also helps to isothermalize these surfaces temperature to minimize any thermal hotspots, minimizing thermal damage and stabilizing combustion reaction conditions inside the combustion chamber  34 . 
   Inner and Outer Rotor Vapor Chamber Condensers 
   Referring to  FIGS. 41 ,  43 , and  50 , the inner rotor vapor chamber condenser  200  is preferably constructed from highly heat conductive materials like aluminum and braised in the ends of the rotor combustion segment  311  to completely seal and enclose the rotor water vapor chamber system  190 . The outer surface of the inner rotor vapor chamber condenser  200  is also preferably constructed from highly conductive material such as aluminum, and contains vertical ridges and grooves  201  that are used to interface with ridges and grooves  203  of the outer rotor vapor chamber condenser  202 . The front face surface of the outer rotor vapor chamber condenser  202  is also covered with a combination of curved ridges and grooves  204  and radial straight ridges and grooves  205 . Both the curved  204  and radial straight  205  ridges and grooves increase the contact surface area for heat transfer with the deionized water  320  to absorb heat from the outer rotor vapor chamber condenser  202 . 
   Rotor Water Vapor Chamber Porous Wick/Freeze Tube 
   Referring to  FIGS. 43 and 45 , an axial  198  and radial  199  oriented porous wick/freeze tubes will be placed inside the rotor water vapor chamber  190 . The axial porous wick/freeze tube wraps across the entire length for the rotor water vapor chamber  190  from one inner rotor vapor chamber condenser  200  to the other side inner rotor vapor chamber condenser  200 . The radial porous wick/freeze tube  199  runs across the top center section of the inner rotor water vapor chamber  190  radially. The axial  198  and radial  199  porous wick/freeze tubes are made from stainless steel wire mesh or preferably shape metal alloys (SMA) made from copper zinc aluminum (CuZnAl) alloy that are woven together and braised or spot welded into a tube shape. The radial porous tube  199  helps wick water radially across the top surface of the rotor water vapor chamber  190 . More importantly, since the rotor water vapor chamber  190  is completely sealed with working fluid water inside, it is prone to water freezing expansion damage when engine  1  is exposed to temperatures of 32 degrees F. and lower. To counter the water freezing expansion, the porous tube insulates some of the water working fluid inside the axial  198  and radial  199  porous wick/freeze tubes. As the working fluid begins to freeze and expand, the unfrozen water working fluid in the center of the porous wick/freeze tubes is wicked up along the axial  198  and radial  199  porous wick/freeze tubes. This allows the water working fluid to expand by imploding inward on the porous wick/freeze tubes rather than exploding outward, generating expansion pressures that could result in damage to the rotor water vapor chamber  190  or rotor assembly  310  of rotor  183 . By using a SMA for the axial  198  and radial  199  porous wick/freeze tubes, their lower sections can be deformed as the water working fluid freezes and expands imploding the axial  198  and radial  199  porous wick/freeze tubes. Once the rotor water vapor chamber&#39;s temperature rises to about 32 degrees F., and the working fluid changes phase from ice back to a liquid, the axial  198  and radial  199  porous wick/freeze tubes reform back into their original shapes. 
   The axial  198  and radial  199  porous wicking/freeze tubes are placed in channel axial  264  and radial  265  openings and perforations in the fine  192 , coarse  193 , and perimeter  194  wicking meshes. This helps hold all the different wicking materials and tubes in their proper positions during the operation of engine  1 . It also allows the axial  198  and radial  199  tubes to get all the way into the bottom corners and surfaces where the water working fluid will pool. 
   Rotor Water Vapor Chamber Cover 
   Referring to  FIG. 50 , the rotor water vapor chamber cover  195  fit into the bottom of the rotor combustion segment  311 . The inner surface of the rotor contains ridge extensions  196  that form rotor water vapor chamber voids  197  that allow the rapid movement of water gas vapor inside the rotor water vapor chamber  190 . The inner surface ridges also help hold the inner fine  192  and coarse  193  wicking meshes in place during operation of engine  1 . 
   The inner surface of both the rotor water vapor chamber ridges  196  and channels  197  of the rotor water vapor chamber cover  195  are coated with a thermal barrier coating  36 . The thermal barrier coating  36  helps keep heat inside the rotor water vapor chamber  190  and restrict heat from being transferred through the water vapor chamber cover  195  and into the inner rotor cavity area  363 . 
   Inner Rotor Cover Plate 
   Referring to  FIGS. 42 ,  45 , and  69 , an inner rotor cover plate  210  is welded to the bottom of the combustion cavity segment  311  that goes over the cover of the rotor water vapor chamber  197  over the lock tab  208  and is welded along the inner surfaces of the rotor side plates  209 . The rotor cover  210  adds some structural strength to the rotor segment assembly  310 . It is also used to create a thermal insulation void to prevent eat from the rotor surface  185  and rotor water vapor chamber  190  from penetrating into the inner rotor cavity  363 . It is also used to close off large open areas inside the inner rotor cavity  363 . This helps restrict the deionized water  320  from the active cooling system  362  to key areas of the water/steam channels  222  along the front and back rotor sliding vane faces  220  of the sliding vane passages  184 . It also creates strong turbulence channels inside the rotor cavity  363  from the motion of the moving sliding vanes  116  and vane belt system  136 . This strong turbulence helps distribute the deionized water  320  and steam from the active cooling system  362  evenly throughout the inside of the rotor cavity  363 . 
   The outer surfaces  211  of the inner rotor cover plate  210  will be angled from the inner rotor cavity  363  center to the outer rotor  183  sides. 
   Vane Profile Belt Limit Springs 
   Referring to  FIGS. 42 ,  48 , and  46 , vane profile belt limit springs  212  have keystone extensions  213  that fit into a keystone recess  214  located on the inner rotor side plate  209  surface in the inner rotor cavity  363  area. The vane profile belt limit spring keystone extensions  213  are tack-welded in place to hold them securely in the keystone recesses  214  of the inner rotor side plates  209 . The vane belt limit springs  212  limit the maximum extension of the side profile vane belt arches  176  to help keep the profile belts  139  and the rest of the vane belting system  136  and sliding vanes  116  in proper alignment with the inner housing stator surface  37  of housing stators  2  and  4 . 
   Sodium Vapor Chamber System 
   Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  6 , and  71  engine  1  uses a sodium vapor chamber heat transfer system  229  to transfer heat from the high temperature combustion zones  32  to the middle and later stages of expansion zones  33 . The sodium vapor chamber  229  uses sodium as a working fluid and operates between 600 to 1,100 degrees Celsius, but preferably to 900 degrees Celsius. For engine  1 , the sodium vapor chamber  229  isothermalizes the temperature across the sodium vapor chamber stator  4  in the combustion  32  and expansion  33  zones to an operation temperature of about 600 degrees Celsius. During combustion, the hydrogen/water/air mixture ignites in the combustion chamber  32  and reaches a maximum temperature of about 1,800 degrees Kelvin or 1,526 degrees Celsius. A thermal barrier coating  36  is applied to a thermal barrier coating recess  277  along front inner stator surface  37  of the sodium vapor chamber stator  4  to protect the sodium vapor chamber from constant excessive heat loading temperatures. A portion of the combustion heat will passes through the thermal barrier coating  36  and sodium vapor chamber stator  4  penetrates into the sodium vapor chamber  229  along the evaporator section  379  where the sodium working fluid changes phase from a liquid to a gas. During the middle and later stages of combustion-expansion in the expansion chamber  33  zones, the expanding gas temperatures can become lower than the sodium vapor chamber&#39;s  229  temperature and the sodium working fluid changes phase from a gas to a liquid, transferring its heat from the sodium vapor chamber  229  along the condenser zone  380  through the sodium vapor chamber stator  4 , and back into the combustion chamber  34  to help maintain high late stage gas pressures. The sodium liquid is then wicked back to the evaporator zone  379  through wicks and capillary pressure. 
   Sodium Vapor Chamber Wicking Meshes 
   Referring to  FIGS. 57 to 62 , the sodium vapor chamber system  229  uses a series of wicking meshes to help move the sodium working fluid. To improve the capillary flow of the sodium working fluid near the outer evaporator surface areas  379  of the sodium vapor chamber  229 , a layer of fine wicking 200-mesh  230  is used. This allows the high pressure small liquid sodium drops to flow easily along the outer sodium vapor chamber evaporator surface  379  change phase to from a liquid to a gas. A coarse wicking capillary 100-mesh layer  232  is used at the other end of the sodium vapor chamber  229  along the condenser zone  380 . This allows low pressure larger liquid sodium drops to easily flow back towards the evaporator zone  379 . To yet further improve the wicking of the sodium working fluid, a medium wicking capillary 150-mesh  231  is placed between the fine  230  and coarse  232  sections of wicking mesh to provide a transition wicking mesh for medium sized liquid sodium droplets. 
   All three mesh sections the fine  230 , medium  231 , and coarse  232  wicking meshes are surrounded by a medium perimeter 150-mesh  234 . The perimeter wicking mesh  234  helps distribute the working fluid throughout all surfaces of the sodium vapor chamber  229 . It also helps to improve sodium freezing startup conditions by providing a small pool of liquid sodium in the evaporator zone  379 . Vapor chamber startup problems and damage can occur because there is not enough working fluid in the evaporator zone resulting in dry spots that can super heat. In engine  1 , the curved shape of the sodium vapor chamber  229  pools sodium working fluid near both ends of the sodium vapor chamber  229 , towards the evaporator end  379  and condenser end  380 . This allows some of the sodium to be readily available in the evaporator zone  379  during startup, and by using a medium wicking perimeter mesh allows some of the sodium working fluid to be distributed around the sodium vapor chamber evaporator zone  379  and make direct contact with the sodium vapor chamber stator  4 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 57 ,  61 , and  62 , to improve the sodium working fluid gas circulation, sodium vapor chamber ridges  252  extends from the inner surface side of the outer sodium vapor chamber cover  251 . The sodium vapor chamber ridge extensions  252  also help to hold the fine  230 , medium,  231  and coarse  232  wicking mesh sections in their proper positions inside the sodium vapor chamber  229 . The ridge extensions  252  also create large sodium vapor chamber voids or channels  253  between the ridge extensions  252  for the sodium working fluid gases to easily flow. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 52 and 59  to  64 , the outer surface of the sodium vapor chamber cover  251  has a series of axial and radial support ribs  257  that add structural reinforcement strength to the outer sodium vapor chamber cover  251 . The reinforcement ridges  257  also create void space between the sodium vapor chamber cover  251  and the outer insulation material  258  to further help create thermal heat block to prevent heat loss through the outer vapor chamber cover  251  of the sodium vapor chamber system  229 . 
   Sodium Vapor Chamber Pressure adjustment Rupture Chamber 
   Referring to  FIGS. 52 ,  57 ,  60 , and  62  to  64 , sodium is highly reactive with water, and when heated from the operation of engine  1 , it will generate high pressure inside the sodium vapor chamber  229 . To help prevent the sodium vapor chamber from rupturing from high impact from an accident, or from too much pressure inside the sodium vapor chamber  229 , the outer surface of the sodium vapor chamber cover  251  includes rupture chamber system  245 . This provides a safety system to relieve pressure inside the sodium vapor chamber and prevent the sodium vapor chamber  229  from rupturing and releasing the sodium. The sodium vapor chamber rupture system  245  is comprised of a rupture cylinder  246 , gas chamber  248 , sodium pressure adjustment disk  247 , rupture signal disk  249 , and rupture signal flag  250 . The pressure adjustment rupture cylinder  246  is screwed into the top sodium vapor chamber cover  251  where a pressure adjustment disk  247  is exposed to the inner workings sodium vapor chamber  229 . The top of the rupture cylinder  246  is closed off by a rupture signal disk  249  creating a gas space  248  between the pressure adjustment disk and the rupture signal disk  249 . The gas space  248  is filled with a compressible inert gas like argon or preferably krypton. If the outer sodium vapor chamber  229  surface has a high impact, or the inner pressure become too high, it will press the pressure adjustment disk into the gas space  248  and compressing the gas. Sodium vapor gas will also enter into the pressure adjustment chamber  248  of the rupture cylinder  246 , lowering the overall inner sodium vapor chamber  229  pressure to prevent a sodium rupture through the sodium vapor chamber&#39;s outer cover  251 . If the gas pressure becomes to great it will force the rupture signal disk  249  outward in the middle, which will force the rupture signal flag  250  through rupture signal hole  267  in the outer insulation material  258  as a signal that the rupture disk  247  has been broken and needs to be replaced. The sodium vapor chamber  229  will still operate, but at a safer lower pressure due to the sodium access to the added volume of the vacuum chamber  248  of the rupture chamber system  245 . 
   The sodium vapor chamber pressure adjustment system  245  will also help maintain ideal internal vapor chamber operating conditions by regulating the internal sodium vapor chamber pressure. As heat is transferred into the sodium vapor chamber  229  the temperature and pressure will rise. To maintain ideal vapor flows a lower pressure is beneficial. To accomplish this the pressure adjustment disk  247  will extend into the rupture cylinder  246  and compress the gas  248 , thus reducing the relative internal working pressure of the sodium vapor chamber  229   
   Alkaline Metal Thermal Electrical Converter (AMTEC) 
   Referring to  FIGS. 62 to 64 , the sodium working fluid, operation temperature, and sodium circulation profile inside the sodium vapor chamber  229  is identical for the operation needed for an alkaline metal thermal electrical converter (AMTEC)  235 . Sodium is a liquid metal that can change phase from a liquid to a gas and back into a liquid inside the sodium vapor chamber  229 . Sodium can also pass its ions through a beta alumina solid electrode (BASE)  236  to generate electricity. The BASE  236  is a potato chip U-shaped structure with a corrugated shaped surface to increase the surface area of the BASE  236  and its capacity to generate electricity. The ends of the BASE  236  are closed off along the outer surface  381  to help contain high sodium gas pressure underneath the BASE  236  to help the sodium ions to pass through the positive bottom cathode surface  237  of the BASE  236  to the top anode surface  238  of the BASE  236 . The BASE  236  is attached to the inner surface of the sodium vapor chamber cover  251  by BASE screw  241  that screws through the BASE  236  and into screw hole  241  in the sodium vapor chamber cover  251 . 
   To electrically and ionically insulate the BASE  236 , the BASE screw  241  is made of an electrical and ionic inert material like zirconium, that prevents shorting out the BASE  236 . The inner surface of the sodium vapor chamber is also covered with a TBC 36 like Yttrium Stabilized Zirconium (YSZ) that also helps electrically and ionically insulate the top anode  238  surface of the BASE  236 . To electrically and ionically insulate the bottom cathode  237  BASE  236  surface as thin wicking mesh made from silica fibers  233  is placed directly under the BASE  236  and over the top of the fine  230  and medium  231  wicking mesh sections. The outer perimeter wicking mesh  234  is also made from electrically and ionically inert material like silica fibers or felt to insulate the BASE  236 . By electrically and ionically insulating the BASE  236 , the highest amount of electrical power can be generated without loss or shorts by contact with electrical or ionic conductive material surfaces. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 53 ,  54  and  59 , an inner electrical connector  242  slides into a slot recess  244  on the outer edge  381  of the BASE  236 . The bottom cathode  238  and top anode  237  layers go into the slot recess  244  and the bottom edge of the inner electrical connector  242  will make contact with the cathode layer  238  and the upper section of the inner electrical connector  242  makes contact with the anode layer  237 , making an electrical circuit with the BASE  236 . The inner electrical connector goes through a BASE connector hole  239  in the sodium vapor chamber cover  251 , and is welded or braised in place to seal the sodium vapor chamber  229 . An outer BASE electrical connecter  244  interfaces with the inner BASE electrical connector  244 . The outer BASE electrical connector  244  then goes through a connector hole  266  in the outer sodium vapor chamber insulation  258 . Wires are then connected to the outer BASE electrical connector to an electrical power inverter (not shown) to make a circuit with the BASE and condition the electrical power generated by the BASE  236  of the alkaline metal thermal electrical converter system  235 . 
   Outer Sodium Vapor Chamber Cover and Insulation 
   Referring to  FIGS. 56 to 64 , to further reduce potential heat loss from the sodium vapor chamber  229  to the ambient atmosphere the inner surface of the sodium vapor chamber cover  251  along with the ridge extensions  252  and channels  253  are coated with a YSZ thermal barrier coating  35 . The Zirconium will also provide a hydrogen getting action to absorb any free hydrogen that may disassociate from or pass through the housing stator  4 . Additionally, the outside of the sodium vapor chamber cover  251  are covered with a thick thermal insulation material  258 , such as an insulation blanket, metal or ceramic foam, or insulation balls or pellets that are contained by and outer shell. The insulation material also helps to absorb any noise and vibrations that may pass through the sodium vapor chamber cover  251 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 53 to 64 , the outer sodium vapor chamber cover  251  is welded onto the sodium vapor chamber stator  4 . A small wire gasket  254  fits into a wire gasket channel  255  that runs around the outer perimeter of the sodium vapor chamber  229 . The wire gasket helps prevent any sodium leaks from the sodium vapor chamber cover  251 . 
   Outer Housing Water Vapor Chambers 
   Referring to  FIGS. 67 and 70 , due to the segmented intake-compression and combustion-expansion zones, there is a bipolar hot/cold thermal gradient throughout the engine  1  that may result in strong thermal deformations of the housing stators  2  and  4 . The upper sodium vapor chamber stator&#39;s  4  temperature operates at about 600 to 900 degrees Celsius. The lower stator housing  2  is cooled by the active cooling system and operates at a maximum temperature of 98 degrees Celsius. A thermal barrier coating is placed along the bolt up surface of the upper sodium vapor chamber stator  4  to minimize thermal heat transfer into the lower housing stator  2 . To help minimize thermal deformation of the lower housing stator  2 , two housing water vapor chamber systems  68  are placed in the lower stator housing  2  along the connecting surface with the upper sodium vapor chamber stator  4 . 
   The water vapor chambers help to isothermalize the lower housing stator  2  surface along the bolt up section with the upper sodium vapor chamber stator  4 . This helps to maintain a uniform temperature along the bolt up surface minimize any potential hot spots that can cause thermal deformations. 
   The water working fluid in the housing water vapor chamber  68  absorbs heat from along the top evaporator surface  69  that penetrates through the TBC  36  along the bolt up surface from the adjacent sodium vapor chamber stator  4  and transfers it to its bottom side condenser surface  77  that is adjacent to the intake/compression  63  and rotor bearing/expansion  66  water circulation passages of the active cooling water circulation system  262 . As the water is heated along the housing vapor chamber evaporator surface  69 , it changes phase from a liquid to a gas, absorbing large amounts of heat from the evaporator surface  69  and transferring it into the water vapor gas. Internal chamber pressures circulate the heated water vapor to housing water vapor chamber condenser surface  77 . Where the heated water vapor transfers the heat to the condenser surface area  77 , it phase changes back into a liquid and circulates back to housing water vapor chamber evaporator surface  69 . 
   The housing water vapor chambers  68  operate at a temperature between 24 and 202 degrees Centigrade, or 75 and 397 degrees Fahrenheit. The larger the temperature difference between the water vapor chamber evaporator surface  69  along the sodium vapor chamber stator  4  and the water vapor chamber condenser surface  77  along the intake/compression  63  and rotor bearing/expansion  66  water circulation passages of the active water circulation system  262 , the faster the rate of heat transfer. 
   The housing water vapor chambers  69  have a relatively long and narrow shape. Although it is important to transfer heat from the evaporator surface area  69  across the narrow housing water vapor chamber to the condenser surface area  77 , it is also important to transfer heat along the length of the housing water vapor chamber  68  to isothermalize the lower housing stator  2  to maintain a uniform lower housing stator  2  and prevent hot spots and thermal deformations. To improve the capillary flow of the water working fluid a U-shaped perimeter wicking mesh  72  encloses fine  71  and coarse  72  layers of capillary wicking meshes. The U-shaped perimeter wicking is placed in direct contact with the housing water vapor chamber evaporator surface area  69  and along both side end surfaces of the housing water vapor chamber  68 . The U-shaped perimeter wicking is made from fine mesh to allow the high pressure small liquid water drops to flow easily along the length of housing water vapor chamber evaporator surface  69  to allow the water working fluid to change phase from a liquid to a gas. A layer of fine wicking mesh  71  is used along the bottom surface of the housing water vapor chamber recess  270 . This allows the high pressure small liquid water drops to flow easily along the length of housing water vapor chamber  68  and to the outer rotor evaporator surface  69  to allow the water working fluid to change phase from a liquid to a gas. A coarse wicking capillary mesh layer  70  is placed over the top of the fine wicking mesh layer  71 . This allows low pressure larger liquid water drops to easily flow along the length of the housing water vapor chamber  68  and to the bottom fine wicking capillary mesh layer  71 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 67 , to improve the working fluid gas circulation, housing water vapor chamber extension ridges  74  in the inner surface side of the housing vapor chamber cover  73  create housing water vapor chamber voids or channels  75  between the extension ridges  74  for the working fluid gases to easily flow. The housing vapor chamber ridges  74  also hold and press together the fine  71  and coarse  70  wicking mesh layers in position. The housing extension ridges  74  have a larger ridge extension edge  382  towards the housing water vapor chamber condenser surface side, making the total ridge extension slightly L-shaped. This larger ridge extension edge  382  also creates a void area behind the fine  71  and coarse  70  wicking mesh layers and the housing water vapor chamber condenser surface  77 . This allows heated water vapor to easily make contact with the housing water vapor chamber condenser surface area  77  and release its heat and change phase from a gas vapor into a liquid. 
   Housing Water Vapor Chamber Wicking/Freeze Tubes 
   Referring to  FIGS. 65 to 67 , since the water vapor chamber  76  is completely sealed with working fluid water inside, it is prone to water freezing expansion damage when the engine  1  is exposed to temperatures  32  degrees F and lower. To counter the water freezing expansion, a porous wick/freeze tube  76  is placed inside the housing water vapor chamber  68 . The porous wick/freeze tube  76  is made from shape metal alloys (SMA) that are woven together and wrapped into a tube shape and braised or spot welded together. The porous tube insulates some of the water working fluid inside the center of the porous wick/freeze tube  76  so that, as the working fluid begins to freeze and expand, the unfrozen water working fluid in the center of the porous wick/freeze tube is wicked up along the porous wick/freeze tube  76 . This allows the water working fluid to expand by imploding inward rather than exploding outward, thus eliminates expansion pressures that could result in damage to the housing water vapor chamber  68  or lower housing stator  2 . By using a SMA for the porous wick/freeze tube  76 , the lower section of the porous wick/freeze tube  76  can be deformed as the water working fluid expands and implodes the porous wick/freeze tube  76 . Once the housing water vapor chamber  68  temperature rises to about 32 degrees F. and the water working fluid changes phase from ice back to a liquid, the porous wick/freeze tube  76  reforms back into its original shape without any damage. 
   The porous wicking/freeze tubes are held in a slot openings  268  in the coarse wicking mesh  70 . The coarse wicking mesh  70  is more likely to contain large water drops that will freeze and expand. The ends of the porous wicking/freeze tubes also penetrate the perimeter wicking mesh in hole perforations  269  to get closer to the bottom surface edges of the housing water vapor chamber  68  where the water working fluid may pool. 
   Inner Housing Thermal Barrier Coating 
   Referring again to  FIG. 67 , due to the high operating temperature inside the combustion chamber  34 , a thermal barrier coating  36  is used on the inner stator surface  37  of lower housing stator  2  along edges of the combustion zone  32  and expansion zones  33  to minimize excessive heat transfer into the lower housing stator  2  and the housing water vapor chamber system  68 . 
   The outer thermal insulation cover  258  has a small channel opening around it perimeter  260  to fit over the tops of the housing stators  2  and  4  connection bolts  13 , nuts  14 , and washers  15 . The outer thermal insulation cover  258  is secured to the engine  1  by a series of hex screws  16  that go through screw holes  262  in the outer insulation cover  258  and into screw holes  17  along the perimeter of the two lower housing stator  2  edges. Screw recesses  261  in the outer insulation cover  258  allow the hex screws  16  to be flush with the outer insulation cover surface. 
   While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.