biography
pronunciation:
[vangkl]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1902–88)
|
| biography:
| Mechanical engineer, the designer of a rotary engine, born in Lahr, SW Germany. He was employed in various engineering works before opening his own research establishment in 1930. While carrying out work for German motor manufacturers, he devoted himself to the development of an alternative configuration to the conventional piston-and-cylinder internal combustion engine. After many trials he produced a successful prototype engine in 1956, with a curved equilateral triangular rotor in a figure-of-eight-shaped chamber. Various applications of the engine have been tried, including cars, but continuing problems with the sealing of the rotor have prevented its large-scale adoption. |
|
|
