Duke Engines : Advancement in Engine Technology

Mr. Suyash Satyen Kandi Mr. Siddique Faraooque Mursal

B.E. Mechanial B.E. Mechanial
Dr.J.J. Magdum College of Engineering Jaysingpur. Dr.J.J. Magdum College of Engineering Jaysingpur
suyashkandi@gmail.com siddiquemursal@gmail.com
Contact:9403334319 Contact:7709903077

Abstract—IC engines has been serving the automotive industry

for past 150 years. There have been some major improvements in
gas engine technology over the years. The Duke engine is an
advanced Internal combustion engine. Duke engines are the
axially reciprocating engines. The axial reciprocating motion of
the pistons is converted in to rotary motion by sinusoidal cam or
reciprocator. The uniqueness of the Duke Engine is the combining
of these two motions in a counter-rotating configuration which
results in a myriad of mechanical and performance advantages.

Keywords—Axially reciprocating engines, sinusoidal cam,

counter-rotating.

I. INTRODUCTION
New Zealand company Duke Engines started in 1993 has Fig 1: Concept of Duke engine
created several different engines and installed one in a car in
1999. The engine runs a 5-cylinder, 3 litre, 4-stroke internal
combustion engine platform with its unique axial arrangement,
which is in its third generation. Due to a valveless design, Duke
engine loses less energy between the power strokes. Current
prototypes of Duke's engines claim to match characteristics of
conventional internal combustion engines but with fewer parts
and 30% lighter. This goes in the direction of developing a more
efficient engine. It is being stated that this design for engines
could be ideal for motorcycles in future. The duke engines have
been tested for multi fuel capabilities.

II. CONCEPT OF DUKE ENGINES

Duke engine is a four stroke "axial" reciprocating engine.
"Axial" because the axis of each cylinder is aligned with the axis
of the output/crank shaft. Axial engines are sometimes called
'barrel' and 'Z-crank' engines. It has 5 valve less cylinders and 3
sparkplugs/fuel injectors. The power obtained is same as that of
6-cylinder conventional IC engine. The Barrel shape is a result
of the pistons being spaced evenly around the central Crankshaft
and aligned parallel to the Crankshaft axis. The 'Z' in the crank
provides the journal surfaces upon which the combustion loads
(via conrods and then a swashplate, or the case of the Duke
engine a 'Reciprocator') act to provide the driving torque of the
engine. The duke engine offers wide fuel flexibility. Also
contributes to the huge weight and size reduction Even at the
current non-optimized stage in the engine's development, the
Duke Engine is delivering superior torque to the comparison
engines
Fig 2: CAD model of duke engine.
III. WORKING OF DUKE ENGINES
Duke engine reforms the linear arrangement in to sinusoidal
arrangement which creates the axial engine.
The standard piston and cylinders are mounted on single
casted mono block which revolves slowly around and in line
with the crankshaft. The pistons drive star shaped element called
as reciprocator allowing all moving parts to operate in a purely
sinusoidal or wave live motion. The reciprocator drives central
shaft in the opposite direction which has many advantages.
Duke engine is four stroke engines the order of the strokes is
same as that of conventional IC engine, but these engines do not
have the traditional valve system.
 The cylinder slides and pass the ports for inlet of charge for
ignition/injection and for exhaust gases. The sparkplugs or fuel
injectors are mounted stationary on the head rings. During the
inlet stroke the piston moves from TDC to BDC which allows
the inlet of the charge. During the compression stroke the piston
moves from BDC to TDC compressing the charge and before
reaching the top of the cylinder head and the spark plug ignites
the spark. The third stroke is power stroke where the piston
moves from TDC to BDC in a sinusoidal manner. And then for
exhaust stroke the piston moves from BDC to TDC again. Thus,
working of duke engines have axial reciprocating motion in a
sinusoidal manner.
Fig 3: Working strokes of Duke engine.
IV. ADVANTGES AND APPLICATIONS
The advantages of the duke engines are as follows:
• REDUCTION IN SIZE AND WEIGHT:
The current duke 3-litre engine is 19% lighter and 36% smaller
than the conventional ICE engine
• HIGH THERMODYNAMIC EFFICIENY:
Duke engines have a high compression ratio resulting in good
efficiency of engines With only 3 exhaust headers for 5-
cylinders there is low surface for heat loss which increases the
efficiency.
• VERY LESS VIBRATIONS:
Due to reciprocator there is sinusoidal motion of the pistons and
the crank shaft. This motion combined with the counter
balancing crankshaft gives the perfect balancing of engine.
• OTHER FUELS FLEXIBILITY:
The engine have run on petrol of various octane levels from 91-
98.The duke engine has also been tested on kerosene based jet
fuel. Also engines can operate on Bio-fuel,LPG,CNG without
modification in engine.
Duke engine have various advantages like marine applications.
It can be used in light aircraft applications. Also, can be used in
generator and pumps and for military applications
V. CONCLUSION
Duke engines are advanced internal combustion engines which
has many advantages. By using these engines, we can generate
more power with huge size and weight reduction. These
engines will have wide scope in future.
VI. REFERENCES
[1] http://www.dukeengines.com/
[2] “Internal Combustion Engines” by Ganesan V.
[3] “Internal Combustion Engines” by Mathur M L &
Sharma