Design and analysis of a rotary motion controller

This paper presents the design of a rotary motion controller based on the peritrochoid geometry of the rotary (Wankle) engine. It uses an orifice limited flow of incompressible fluid between the chambers of the Wankle-type geometry to control the rotation of the rotor. The paper develops the theory of operation and then implements the design as a Matlab model to simulate the motion control under various conditions. It is found that the time to reach stabilised motion is determined by the orifice size and fluid density. When stabilised motion is achieved, the motion dependence on material and geometry factors is determined by the orifice flow equation. The angular velocity is also found to have a square root dependence on the applied torque when in the stabilised regime.