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In accordance with the First Law of Thermodynamics, energy from a combustion event must become either heat or motion. Only surfaces that respond to the forces of combustion by moving produce motion. We call this "productive surface." The IRIS replaces the piston and cylinder architecture found in most engines with a revolutionary structure designed to more fully harness the energy of a combustion cycle. In traditional engines “productive surface” is limited to the piston head – only about 25 percent of the chamber’s average surface area. The IRIS chamber expands in diameter rather than length, meaning that its average productive surface ratio is over 70 percent. This improvement in productive surface ratio allows one IRIS chamber to replace several traditional cylinders. Moreover, it allows gasses to expand farther before their productive utility is overwhelmed by friction and other losses – enabling a hyper-expansive cycle.
The IRIS also breaks the compromise between efficiency and power density that has hitherto characterized the tradeoff between 2-stroke and 4-stroke designs within the ICE sector. Through improved cycling and purging, the IRIS allows for power density superior to 2-stroke engines’ and efficiency better than that achieved in 4-stroke engines at costs that should be proximate to those for current gasoline ICEs when manufactured at scale.
To see an animation of the IRIS in action, click here
