The Wankel Rotary Engine Is Back In Production Thanks To Mazda!”With the discontinuation of the RX-8, Mazda ended mass-production of the rotary engine in June 2012. Today, some 10 years later, the rotary engine is making a comeback. This new rotary engine has been adapted to meet the needs of our times and is now being used to generate power rather than as a drive unit.
source/image: Engineering Explained
While the 13B Renesis engine used on the RX-8 was a 654 cm3 two-rotor engine, the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV uses an 830 cm3 single rotor format for the rotary engine generator. With a 120 mm generating radius (R) and 76 mm rotor width, its compact size enables coaxial placement and integration with the electric motor, decelerator and generator to achieve a unit with an overall width of less than 840 mm that fits on the same body frame as the MX-30 BEV.
We also successfully reduced the weight of the engine by over 15 kg by using aluminium for the side housing section of the engine structure instead of the iron used on the Renesis engine.The main contributor to increasing fuel economy and reducing emissions on the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV rotary engine was the use of direct fuel injection.
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The rotary engine on the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV uses direct fuel injection, making it possible to distribute the air-fuel mixture to the main combustion area and achieve more efficient combustion. Additionally, direct fuel injection atomises the fuel at the time of injection making it possible to sufficiently vaporise fuel even at lower temperatures. This also helps prevent the injection of excess fuel.via: Engineering Explained