IMPROVE- MENTS IN GAS ENGINES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Eduard Quack at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 20th August 1883.
EDUARD QUACK of Cologne on the Rhine, Prussia, German Empire "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN GAS ENGINES
"
This invention relates to gas engines or motors. The loss of power generally
observed in gas-engines is mainly due to the fact that a large portion of the
heat generated by the explosion of the charge escapes through the walls of the
cylinder.
This cooling of the cylinder however has an advantage, that is to say, it enables
the piston to be kept in a proper state of lubrication which would not be possible
if the said cylinder were very hot.
On account of this cooling it is necessary to compress the charge in order to
increase the effect of the explosion and to be able to reduce the dimensions of the
engine.
The useful effects of a gas engine are considerably increased when the explosions,
instead of taking place in a cylinder made of metal which is a good conductor of
heat, take place in a cylinder made of bad conducting material which becomes
quickly heated and then acts as a regenerator to heat the charge previous to its
explosion so that the combustion is more thorough and its effects are greater,
whereas the cooling by water of the walls of the cylinder as well as the loss of
power resulting therefrom are entirely avoided. As in a highly heated cylinder
the piston cannot he properly lubricated I attach to the end of the ordinary.
metal cylinder within which works a metal piston a second cylinder covered
internally with bad conducting material. The said piston is also provided with a
prolongation likewise made of bad conducting material. It is obvious that this
arrangement is applicable to gas-engines in general.
In carrying the said. invention into practice I provide a cylinder entirely covered
internally with bad conducting material in which cylinder the explosions take
place. The said cylinder forms a prolongation of a second cylinder made of metal
in which a piston moves, the same being provided with a prolongation which
enters the first cylinder. The said prolongation of the piston is likewise of bad
conducting material. The said piston may also be filled with bad conducting
material

page_text: The second cylinder is filled in the usual manner with a mixture of gas and air
which is exploded at the proper time.
If the first cylinder and the prolongation of the piston are brought to a high
state of heat, these parts will cause the charges to be highly liented previous to
their explosion so that a compression of the said charges will not be absolutely
necessary. After the charge has been exploded and the piston has moved forward,
the products of combustion escape from the engine in a still highly heated state in
which they may be further utilized for heating or other purposes.
In this engine the lining of the first cylinder and the prolongation of the piston
form a kind of regenerator, also any escape of heat produced, into the atmosphero
is prevented, and the use of water for cooling is rendered unnecessary. The engine
works at a temperature which generally corresponds to that caused by the
explosion of the charge and which is higher than in engines in ordinary use. It is
obvious that in consequence, the consumption of gas will be considerably less.
The lining or covering of the cylinder may be made of materials which do not
alter at the temperatures produced, or at least altor very slightly, such as ground
fossil earth, asbestos, slag-linir or the like.
A material which I have found highly suitable for this purpose consists of fino
grained coal mixed with a solution of soluble glass so as to form a plastic paste
which is pressed into moulds, dried. in the air, and heated in an oven to a tempe-
rature of about 300°. With this material the prolongation of the piston may be
covered.
: