Cubewano R&D is at the forefront of rotary engine design achieving high power to weight ratios and have very low vibrations. Alex Clarke of the Photonics Cluster (UK) met with Cubewano Managing Director, Craig Fletcher to flesh out the options for an R&D project to include technical partners through the Collaborative Partner Programme.

The Photonics Cluster (UK) recognised that the development team at Cubewano, required a special technique in order to map out the engine and gain valuable data, which allowed the engineers to make vital decisions in order to increase the efficiency and performance of the design.

The team at the Photonics Cluster (UK) had already been working on similar themes to improve engine design and knew that the researchers led by Professor Bryanston Cross at The University of Warwick had already overcome major measurement problems and now lead in the field.

Warwick have had a great deal of success creating 'glass' engine components so that there was an optical viewing process developed for high speed imaging, whilst the engine is running and in use.

Warwick University have a reputation for collaborating with industrial partners of all sizes. Upon introduction to Warwick we soon realised that there was the possibility for a ground breaking project to actually visualise the flame front and burn within the combustion region of a rotary engine.

The Photonics Cluster (UK) continues to support research and development by bringing the proper resources to those developing the products that benefit us all.