The Le Rhone 9C

[steamer]

That looks Great Craig!...  45 years huh, I'm just a youngin!.

My cylinders have flats on the sides.....parting blades REALLY don't like that so saw it is

Dave

[bent]

I had originally written the name as a typical American mashup of the names - the LeChrone...but she may be an old engine, but far to pretty for that epithet.    

I'll go sit in the corner now.

[Craig DeShong]

- the LeChrone...but she may be an old engine, but far to pretty for that epithet.    

I'll go sit in the corner now.

Ha!  The LeChrone… just in time for Halloween

[steamer]

 

[Art K]

Wait I thought Leckrone was the UW band director?
Art

[bent]

No, Art, that's Brad McDavid...

https://music.washington.edu/people/brad-mcdavid

 

[ddmckee54]

Bent - Art's right too.  Leckrone was the UW (University of Wisconsin, Madison) Marching Band Director from 1969-2019.

It's them cheese-heads fault, there's just too many UW's to keep straight.  There's 13 different UW's and a total of 26 UW campuses.


Don

[Bjorn_B]

OH man  that's a cool animation!

The rod bearings have always puzzled me.....waiting for the long awaited clarification!!!

Good onya man!

Dave

Me too, I can't get my head around this. I'm double-puzzled.. 

[crueby]

Hi Craig,

I was looking again at the second half of that animation, seeing more every time I look at it. Am I right that this engine didn't use the one 'master' connection to the central bearing disc like a lot of others did? Looks like the slots/arcs keep things lined up as it goes round rather than the one non-pivoting one I am used to. Very very clever setup - whoever invented that was a mechanical marvel!
Chris

[Craig DeShong]

Hi Chris

There seems to be conflicting information regarding the rods.  I thought I had first read where the engine had a ‘master rod’ that attached solidly to the disk where the other eight rods had slippers.  In researching further I found many references that led to believe that all nine were slipper rods with none of them a ‘master’.  It seems to me that either would work, and the ‘final’ version in my design uses nine slipper rods with none a master and I’ll probably go with that unless someone posts and clears up this mystery, showing that the Le Rhône had a master rod after all.

I have some detail photos of the disk that attaches to the crankshaft and it uses ball bearings between the disk and the crankshaft so obviously, the slipper disk is no meant to rotate with the crankshaft but rather remain in a somewhat stationary orientation with regards to the slipper bearings on the rods.

[Vixen]

Hello Craig LeRhone,

Have a look at this. There may be a job vacancy for you.

Unfortunately you may have left it a bit late to apply.   



Keep up the good work

Mike

[Craig DeShong]

Well Dang Mike, another opportunity missed.   Although, at the rate this engine is going together, the Allies might have been woefully short of aircraft engines.

[Art K]

Don,
Thanks for coming to my defense. Been away doing fun anniversary sorts of things. Only just now found someone mistake the Wisconsin UW for the other UW, the one without Mike Leckrone.
Craig it will be interesting to see how slipper rods work.
Art

[Laurentic]

Craig - re your Reply#129.  I think you are on the right path with all nine slipper rods going into slots; I seem to remember watching a Youtube vid a while back showing how a Le Rhône was but and I'm pretty sure all nine rods were just slotted in, the slippers had slots built in to overlap adjacent rods and the slippers had a pointy end on one end and a corresponding vee cut out the other. 

Nice work so far on this build if I may say so.

Chris

[Twizseven]

Craig,
The Modern Aviation Engines books I picked up a few weeks ago describe the Le Rhone Connecting Rod arrangement as follows:

"The connecting rods are provided with "feet" or shoes on the end which fit into grooves lined with bearing metal which are machined into crank discs revolving on ball bearings which are held together so that the connecting rod big ends are sandwiched between them by clamping screws.  This construction is a modification of that used on the Anzani six-cylinder radial engine.  There are three grooves machined in each crank disc and three connecting rod big ends run in each pair of grooves  The detoils of this construction can be readily ascertained by reference to explanatory diagrams at Figs 393 and 394A.  Three of the rods which work in the groove nearest the crankpin are provided with short shoes as shown at Fig.394B  The short shoes are used on the rods employed in cylinders number 1, 4 and 7.  The set of connecting rods that work in the central grooves are provided with medium length shoes and actuate the pistons in cylinders numbers 3, 6 and 9.  The three rods that work in the outside grooves have still longer shoes and are employed in cylinders numbers 2, 5 and 8."

Hope this is off some use.

Best Regards,

Colin

Just had a further look in book and Figs 391 and 392 give a very good view of how the connecting rods are connected into the grooves.

There are short paragraphs and drawings on the following topics:
Le Rhone Valve Actuation
Le Rhone Carburetor
Le Rhone Engine Action
The valve timing, cylinder positions, firing order ere detailed in these drawings