Engine assembly

A method for starting an expander via an engine assembly, comprising:

• rotatably mounting a pulley on a shaft of an expander, the pulley including a first driver plate non-rotatably connected thereto, the shaft including a second driver plate non-rotatably connected thereto and arranged adjacent the first driver plate;
• coupling the pulley in a force-transmitting manner to an internal combustion engine via a belt drive;
• and
• adjusting a coupling wheel of a clutch device into contact with the first driver plate and the second driver plate such that the pulley connects with the shaft of the expander in a driving manner.

An engine assembly, comprising:

• an internal combustion engine;
• an expander couplable to the internal combustion engine in a force transmitting manner;
• a pulley mounted rotatably on a shaft of the expander, the pulley coupled to the internal combustion engine in a force-transmitting manner via a belt drive;
• a first driver plate connected non-rotatably to the pulley and a second driver plate arranged adjacent thereto and connected non-rotatably to the shaft;
• and
• a clutch device including at least one actuating device and a coupling wheel, the coupling wheel contacting the first driver plate and the second driver plate when the clutch device is closed such that the pulley is connected with the shaft of the expander in a driving manner, the coupling wheel including a coating facilitating friction between the coupling wheel and the first driver plate and the second driver plate;
• wherein the first driver plate is a first conical pulley and the second driver plate is a second conical pulley, the first conical pulley and the second conical pulley defining an outwardly open circumferential channel.