1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rotary engines and in particular to housing constructions for use in rotary engines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a rotary engine, the piston rotates within a chamber defined by a housing. The housing may be selectively a center housing, an end housing, etc., and may be of the trochoidal type, slant axis type, or other conventional rotary engine type, as desired. Such housings conventionally comprise a wall having an inner surface which is engaged by the sealing means of the piston. Examples of such rotary engine construction are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,289,649 of Heinz Lamm for a Rotary Piston Engine and 3,318,515 of Charles Jones for a Wear Resistant Construction For Rotary Mechanisms.
In such rotary engines as shown in said patents, scuffing may occur as a result of the roughness of the inner surface of the center housing wall. The Lamm patent is directed to providing a resin material in the pores of the housing inner surface for extending the useful life of the engine. More specifically, Lamm teaches the use of a phenolic resin and suggests the inclusion in the resin of lubricating material, such as graphite, molybdenum, etc.
Jones attempts to increase the useful life of the engine by providing on the inner surface of the center housing wall a relatively thin layer of a carbide composition which is preferably flame-sprayed thereonto. The preferred compounds are tungsten carbide and titanium carbide, and the spray technique preferably comprises a detonation-gun flame-spraying operation. The seal member in Jones is preferably primarily iron.