Felix Wankel

Felix Wankel (1902–1988) was a German mechanical engineer who developed the rotary internal-combustion engine named after him. His design uses a rotating triangular rotor instead of reciprocating pistons.

Wankel engine: A rotary internal-combustion engine in which a triangular rotor turns inside a shaped housing. The engine is the practical realization of Wankel’s central design.
NSU Motorenwerke: A German automobile and motorcycle manufacturer that developed and produced Wankel engines. NSU gave Wankel a setting for developing and testing his engine.
Walter Froede: A German engineer who led NSU’s engine development and collaborated with Wankel on rotary-engine work. Froede’s engineering leadership helped translate Wankel’s ideas into manufacturable engines.
Mazda rotary engine: Mazda’s family of production rotary engines based on the Wankel principle. Mazda became the longest-running major developer of Wankel-type automotive engines.
Rotary engine: An engine that produces power through rotation rather than conventional reciprocating piston motion. Wankel’s design belongs to the broader family of rotary engines.
DKW: A German vehicle manufacturer whose engineering organization later became part of Auto Union. Wankel worked on rotary-engine ideas within DKW’s engineering environment.
Hiroshi Yamamoto: A Mazda engineer who led rotary-engine development and helped establish the technology in production cars. Yamamoto carried Wankel’s concept into sustained automotive development at Mazda.
Rotary engine emissions: The exhaust pollutants produced by rotary engines, including hydrocarbons from incomplete combustion and oil use. Emissions constraints contributed to the declining use of Wankel engines in cars.
Hannsheinz Lamm: A German engineer who worked with Wankel on developing the rotary engine at NSU. Lamm helped turn Wankel’s concepts into a working engine.
Auto Union: A German automotive company formed in 1932 from four manufacturers, including DKW. Wankel’s early engineering career intersected with the company that absorbed DKW.

Linked from 1 page