efficient engine design
 

By now most people who frequent this forum are familiar with my hydraulic hybrid design, which has recently seen a patent application approval, hopefully with a patent issued sometime in March or April 2010.

It did not start out that way. The IVT in wheel drive (covered in the approved patent application) was an evolution of the original design that was intended as an engine that had some unique characteristics.

The capability to act as its own energy storage system by utilizing the mass of the engine itself as a flywheel to provide short term energy storage and allow the fuel consuming burn cycle to be at highest BSFC while any excess energy was stored in increased speed (RPM) of the mass of the engine to be used during the non fuel consuming "glide" portion of power application.

Consider a flywheel of 200 pounds mass spinning at 4k RPM with a continuously variable transmission that would allow consistent power application as the stored energy of the flywheel was applied to the wheels in a car.

When a predetermined lower RPM threshold was reached the engine would be switched (by changing the stroke from the (0=flywheel) position to a stroke position that would create compression and displacement with fuel consumed and power created.

The created power would be applied to the vehicle power train, while any excess power would result in increased RPM of the "engine" until the upper threshold of RPM was reached, when the stroke would go back to "0" and the engine would again become a flywheel.

The system requires a continuously variable or an infinitely variable transmission to make the transition from "engine" mode to "flywheel" mode imperceptible to the vehicle operator.

The model illustrated at the bottom of this post is a good representation of the design. It would be 2 cycle and have no valve train, no connecting rods, and no reciprocating parts. It's kind of a combination of the best aspects of piston in cylinder engines and turbines. Pressure from combustion acts directly on the outer rim of the housing. It is a low speed super high torque design.

Through the single intake port comes all the air for combustion and a single injector does all the work. All exhaust gasses exit through another single port and a heat exchanger transfers a significant amount of exhaust heat energy to the incoming air. Ultra high injection pressures would give excellent atomization and low pressure supercharging would be utilized to control cylinder scavenging with a significant amount of natural EGR to minimize NOX production under ultra lean burn conditions.

Variable displacement would allow compression ratios as high as 50 to 1 for diesel applications, and timing of ignition of fuel and air would be controlled through changes in compression ratio, by adjusting stroke distances while the engine was running.

Lubrication and cooling would be through a "dry sump" system where the lubrication fluid was allowed to accumulate in the "crankcase" and be recirculated to a collection sump outside of the engine itself. Thermostatically actuated additional cooling of the lubricating fluid would occur when sustained demands for power required additional cooling of the lubricating fluid. No other cooling system would be necessary.

There would be no induction system throttle control of any kind. Idling would be unnecessary. All the incoming air would need would be a filter and an induction tube, surrounded by the exhaust heat exchanger.

The sole purpose of the engine would be to create energy to be stored in the flywheel. Accelerator pedal inputs would be to the transmission, changing the effective "gear" ratios to increase or decrease the rate of acceleration. Engine on-off operation would be independent of any accelerator pedal position.

This concept dates back to 2003 and 42 pages of original drawings.

The basis of the concept was to allow "pulse and glide" of the engine while maintaining a constant vehicle speed.

Elimination of any idling.

Regeneration of any deceleration forces.

Coasting without engine engagement.

All of this without the necessity for separate systems to store and recover energy. The engine itself was the storage and recovery system.

regards
Mech

The attached photos show the 0 stroke and stroked positions.

Thanks for sharing, it is curious, could be made to turn probably, lots of details remain though. Just general observations here, I'm sure you are aware. If I understand it right, it looks like where the pistons meet is a busy place.

That bearing has to function as both crank and piston port. So it is hollow with intake and exhaust portings, yet strong enough to be a crank pin, and be articulated (which will change the port timing slightly) .

Also note that model will be out of balance when in engine mode.

The cooling fins on the model are not part of the final design I assume.

How efficient is a CVT for a high torque flywheel?

I must have missed that thread. Do you have a link to some info on it?

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ted-10330.html

dcb;

here is a similar design dating back 130 years that was reported to be almost vibration free at 600 RPM

Check out the Arthur Rigg Water Engine:

Water Engines: Page 3

Of course assuming your belief in the imbalance is correct then the whole mass of the engine serves to control that imbalance in much the same way a flywheel does on other IC engines. There is no reciprocation in this engine (much like a rotary vane pump used in high speed air tools), which is a major factor in balance issues. In the same way a car wheel is imbalanced, the closer the difference in mass is to the center axis of rotation the less effect the imbalance will have.

With the pistons centrifugal force concentrated on the locating pin at the perimeter of the housing, I believe that the balance issues would be minimal.

The WW1 rotary aircraft engines were supposed to be virtually vibration free in operation.

Animated Engines, Gnome Rotary

This technology is ancient as you can see, going back over 100 years. There was supposed to be an Australian who flew a compressed air airplane many years before the Wrights.

I decided to abandon the patent on the engine design and pursue the IVT hydraulic configuration, because the Patent Office refused to acknowledge "novelty" in the design.

The central journal would be about 4 inches in diameter, while the support hub of the rotating block would be 10-12 inches in diameter. Bearings available in those diameters are rated for weights of 40,000 pounds per axle, so I don't think structural integrity is an issue, and research by Virginia Tech with stress analysis actually found the stress issues to be very minor in the hydraulic pump configuration.

The whole idea is based on a low speed, super high torque operation. To accomplish a 60-0 and back to 60 acceleration in a car would only require a change of 1800 RPM in the flywheel mode without any fuel consumption other than that necessary to cover the small percentage of losses.

regards
Mech

ok, got it on the balance part,
any comments on the other observations?

The model is a 73 Datsun fan clutch, so the cooling fins are there because it was something that was available and easy to make into the model.

Port timing does change as stroke position is increased, but the TDC point movement is relatively small in relation to port alignment. This could be corrected (if it was needed) with an articulated collar over the hub to maintain port alignment. It is also a function of the length of the journal arm, with a longer arm creating less change. It may be that we will find that the change could actually provide a benefit in dynamic operation.

Just noticing that (dcb) means you have spent some time looking at the design, and I thank you for the effort. The engineering students at Tech told me it was very difficult to understand without the model to demonstrate the principle.

The Basic concept is to address the issues of reciprocation and connecting rod side loads that are a part of any conventional reciprocating engine.

Also to allow the mass of the engine itself to serve as short term storage of energy created when running at BSFC, above any beyond the amount of power required to maintain vehicle speed.

Simplicity is also a benefit. No valve train and a single port for all induction and exhaust functions. Supercharging would allow relatively small intake passageways and high turbulence. Warm up time would be very minimal, with all intake and exhaust passing through the same passageway, you only need a single spark plug and injector (assuming spark ignition-I prefer compression ignition).

Constant load operation without restrictive throttle control would make HCCI operation potentially less difficult to utilize if spark ignition was used as well.

The CVT transmission was my original configuration when I conceived this design over 5 years ago. Now I would use the engine to charge an accumulator for my IVT power train design (see the hydraulic hybrid link). The system requires step less "gear" changes so the energy stored in the flywheel mode can be applied at a constant power level at any flywheel speed within the limitations of the available CVT ratios.

Think of this as a low speed super high torque mechanical capacitor, that can store energy in its own mass, in addition to having an accumulator for additional storage.

http://video.aol.co.uk/video-detail/...ing/2480741041

Notice how long it keeps spinning after the kill the ignition at the end, even with a prop!

Just found this video. Notice the fuel control, or lack of control, the ignition is cut off to stop the engine.

In 1913 a rotary engine was made that produced 160 HP out of 700 cubic inches at 1300RPM. In that same year a Mercedes grand prix engine produced 200 HP at 2200 rpm but it was twice that displacement, and almost 1000 RPM greater speed.

If they could do that in 1913 imagine what could be done today with modern control and construction technology.

regards
Mech

Man I'm still trying to grasp how this thing works??? I feel like a fool.LOL

Is there cylinders and pistons that aren't part of the models that you have shown us???

I'm really trying to understand but I just don't get it:o

the model probably isn't to scale, but if I understand it:
the red things are the cylinders

the silver things inside the red things are connecting rods/pistons

the combustion chambers are in the middle

it is a two stroke, so each piston fires once per rev

the lever in the middle provides offset/variable displacement

when the lever is centered the engine is not firing, but is able to act as a flywheel alone.

the porting is like piston porting in a "normal" two stroke, except it has to happen on that center bearing that connects the cylinders, and through the pivot arm and bearing, somehow.

only the outside part rotates (and the pistons/cylinders), the inside hub is stationary

The main question IMHO is after overcoming the technical challenges remaining, will it weigh less than an optimized engine of the same base fuel consumption with an external energy recovery system, like in F1 Regenerative brake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia or a standard issue hybrid. packaging size is also a concern though secondary.

The engine would weigh about 200 pounds total for a compact car (2200 pounds), and it would be positioned within the front cross member that locates the suspension. Like it was enclosed in a very strong "cake pan" that served as the structural component of the front suspension, where the suspension parts were anchored.

This provides a scatter shield in case of a catastrophic failure. The bottom of the cross member would be bolted on to provide access for removal.

In less than 1 hour it could removed and totally disassembled, from the bottom, without having to take anything else apart.

The weight of the engine would be determined by the amount of energy you wanted to store and the weight of the vehicle itself. With no cylinder head, or induction system, a single injector, and no valve train, or cooling system other than the lubrication system with thermostatically controlled cooling for the lubricating oil.

If increased weight was desired (for more energy storage) it could be done by simply adding bands of steel to the outside perimeter of the rotating portion of the engine "block" since the greatest mass at the perimeter is the most efficient flywheel. Not a high speed flywheel, max combustion RPM would be about 4000, max regenerate (no fuel consumption) would be 6-7000 RPM.

In the INNAS (previously linked design) the engine only operated 12% ( fuel consuming stroked mode) of the time, so cooling requirements would be minimal. The bypass for the recycled lubricant-coolant fluid would be used to provide passenger compartment heat in cold weather.

The rest of the power train would be CVT and conventional differential to the front wheels, unless you used the IVT power train design. Then the engine would drive a pump which would charge an accumulator with individual IVT units located in each wheel, replacing the conventional brakes on an equal weight exchange.

Accumulator sizes would vary depending on total vehicle weight, probably about 5 gallons for a small car and 10-20 gallons as the cars weight progressed beyond 3000 pounds. Accumulator storage would be sufficient for one 0-70 rapid acceleration event with no help from the engine. Horsepower seconds of storage would range from 500 to 1500 depending on vehicle weight.

On sustained climbs of significant distance where accumulator or flywheel storage was depleted the engine could bypass the accumulator and drive the vehicle directly.

regards
Mech

It doesn't necessarily have to be 2 stroke, could be configured as a 4 stroke.

I prefer 2 stroke as long as you understand there is no oil mixed with the fuel, and the incoming air has no fuel added until it is just outside the combustion chamber, or actually inside the combustion chamber.

This would depend on whether you are using very high pressure direct injection, or premixing the fuel and air in the single intake port with a heat exchanger from the exhaust port to preheat the mixture for HCCI operation, which should be much easier to accomplish with specific ranges of RPM and loads, with not WOT enrichment or idling necessary, and no manifold vacuum due to elimination of any throttle plate.

regards
Mech

Obviously I am not in a position to validate any of this, but I do have a question or two I would like to ask:

The center bearing block, where the cylinders meet, when the cylinder is expanding it will want to rotate the bearing block itself I think. And all the cylinders need some articulation at that point since they are not always meeting at right angles.

So how do the cylinders articulate and pass gasses back and forth?

And how does the assembly resist the torque of the power stroke?

Also it is worth noting that this valving needs to handle peak combustion pressures.

OK That helps a lot, now I can wrap my little brain around this thing.LOL

Here is a drawing of the journal cylinder interface. There is one master cylinder that completely surrounds the journal. The other two are "slipper journals" that can oscillate on the surface of the master journal collar. They are locked in place by circular rings to maintain tolerances while allowing movement.

I just lost a fairly long description through a timeout, so I will post more later.

regards
Mech

The principle in its most basic form is to combine the non reciprocating advantages of turbines and true rotary engines, with the piston in cylinder efficiency of a sealed combustion chamber.

Add to that the capability of utilizing the mass of the engine itself for storage.

The overlapping intake pulses would also create a constant flow of incoming air, compared to the pulse of intake air then three periods of static in a conventional 4 stroke engine.

With a diameter of about 3 feet and a height of less than 9 inches, and a weight of somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-250 pounds, the mass of the engine itself could absorb the energy of a 60-0 stop and reapply that energy with a change in RPM of about 1800.

Some here may remember the flywheel toys of our childhood. This would operate under the same basic principle, but be capable of variable "gear" ratios in power application and recovery as well as re-energizing of the flywheel.

This allows you to pulse the engine, without having to pulse the vehicle. The engine would never be at any constant RPM and the transmission would never be at the same ratio. As engine-flywheel speed increased under fuel consuming power, the "gear" ratio would be increased. Then when the fuel consuming mode was switched to flywheel, the "gear" ratio would be reduced as the flywheel speed decreased as energy in the flywheel was applied to the vehicle.

The self hypermiling car, using pulse and glide operational tactic, while maintaining a constant speed, with no reciprocating losses, no idling, no wot operation, super high torque, and a reserve of close to a 1000 horsepower seconds of energy instantly available for acceleration that would make most high performance cars pale in comparison.

Also a heck of a lot fewer parts required to produce a functional vehicle.

Combine this engine with the hydraulic hybrid power train that was the second evolution of the design, and you have the power to break traction at all 4 wheels from a dead stop. 0-60 times would be limited only by the traction capability of your tires at all 4 wheels and regenerative braking would be available all the way to 0 vehicle speed.

No batteries, or electric motor necessary.

Now if you wanted to go electric, make the engine the armature in an electric motor. The hub is a hydraulic pump while the outer rim holds the magnets of the motor. Spin the motor up to several thousand RPM, and throw the stroke to full, and you have the same 4 wheel tire shredding acceleration.

The power train patent is the one that was approved. The engine patent was a 4 year battle, that I eventually abandoned and pursued the power train development, because the engine concept was extraordinarily difficult to understand and the capital commitment would be astronomical.

This system could be installed in any vehicle, even a lightweight motorcycle, or a human powered vehicle like a bicycle.

Using hydraulic energy storage via an accumulator you could charge the accumulator using household current or just used the vehicle stationary as an exercise machine.

After years of fighting to get the design patented, the real fight starts in the beginning of 2010 to get the design built into something that proves the concept, even to people who do not understand the principles of operation.

regards
Mech

Very nice write up!!!

Now that I finally understand your engine design I can see some major advantages to it. Keep up the good work.:thumbup:

Pgfpro;

The work you have done in your engine efficiency thread is equally amazing to me. I always considered performance and economy to be in opposition to each other, and I was wrong.

You see, the ability to say I am wrong and learn something new, to change your preconceived notions about a certain technological pathway, is what keeps us in a state of advancement.

Indeed almost everything you have done could also be incorporated into my design, and the synthesis of both efforts could possible be the creation of something that is significantly greater than the sum of the components.

In the next decade, I think we will see this come to the point where engine efficiencies of over 50% and Intelligent power trains with energy recovery at high efficiencies will produce a 5 passenger 2500 pound car that does average over 100 MPG.

Not under ideal circumstances or at speeds that bicycles can match, but under normal circumstances driven by normal people.

As cars become more efficient mechanically, then aerodynamics and low rolling resistance tires will become even more significant and the cumulative effects of every improvement will be amplified by a system that responds to each small improvement.

regards
Mech

the thing that made me realize it was not really out of static balance is that if it were you could put it on its side and it would turn forever :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acw_p...&feature=email

You can view the first revolutions of the functional prototype. It does not have an adjustable journal. I had it built last summer when I was not sure if I would get a patent and did not really want to reveal the details of the journal adjustment or have an adjustable journal prototype built.

It was running on the air in a small pancake compressor without the compressor itself running.

Going to run it on some shop air tomorrow which is about 130 PSI with an 80 gallon tank. It should get to close to 1500 plus RPM then.

The voice is my son in law.

regards
Mech

I must say that is pretty damn cool :) I can't say if it will pan out, but still pretty cool. Very unique approach.

It's very heavy, should be able to handle 1000 plus PSI hydraulic pressure. My intention is to make it work with a small cart of 3 wheels, so you can push it one way and store pressure then let it got the other way to demonstrate its wheel to wheel efficiency.

Kind of like wind up the spring and see how much you get back.

regards
Mech

Nice!!!! I like it!!!!!:thumbup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BQwBGKxShk

This time it is running on a good supply of air at my friends body shop.

regards
Mech

Here is another thought, use one for a compressor, with a separate combustion chamber, and another one driven by the hot high pressure gasses from the combustion chamber.

Similar to the way a jet engine works.

No comments from Frank or Christ?

I can hardly believe it!!!!!!!

;).

regards
Mech

I just wanted to bring this to the top again. Its been sometime since it's been at the top and thought some people haven't seen it?

I love this concept and find myself watching the video over and over again, usually in the morning after my second cup of coffee.:thumbup:

OK Mech device has got me thinking a lot!!!;)

I was at SEMA this year and got to talk to a few of the OEM car manufactures representatives.:rolleyes:

I brought up this forum and told them about the average Joe on here adding aero mods to their car and getting great results.

I then ask why is it taking so long for the Auto industry to make the needed aero changes to the body's of car's today? I told them this has to be a very low hanging fruit for the Manufacture? The response was the consumer isn't ready for it? I then called BS.

Then I ask what's the deal with the snail rate of changes to the ICE?????????????????????????????????????????????
They then said we have made large changes to the ICE, like DI, down sized turbo engines, VVT, etc. I told them these are just band adds to a design that hasn't change much since it was invented. I said look at the phone today? Imagine if the only changes were made to the phone since it was invented were like what you have accomplished when it comes to the Auto mobile ICE of today? If you... the OEM Auto Manufacture were in charged of phone advancement since it was invented, what do you think it would look like? He said I have no idea? I then said IMO it would be bigger and heavier, come in more colors other then black, maybe use less then 2% electricity then the original phone, have cool cup holders and now have a twenty foot self extracting power cord. Oh and one more thing a safety bag in case you trip on the power cord you won't get to injured.

At that point he didn't want to talk anymore.:(

I don't understand why is it so hard for the manufactures to make much bigger changes to the ICE???????????????????

OK I'm done with my rant. LOL

I just think we need to make more changes in the ICE and stop dicking with the four stroke piston ICE. Just think if Henry Ford was alive today and saw all the advancements in technology then tore apart a engine of today? I think he would say "why are we still use pistons and valves"???

I have found that dealing with manufacturers and government both result in the attitude that I am just another dreamer who is not smart enough to actually come up with a true innovation.

Ever argue with an engineer who tried to convince you that there is no energy lost in accelerating and decelerating the mass of the piston and the top portion of the connecting rod 8 times for every power stroke. The engineer told me since there was another piston and rod opposing the first one, the energy cost was insignificant. No thought given to single cylinder or odd cylinder configurations.

Isaac Newton knew better several centuries ago. The laws of inertia do not change dependent on an engine having an even number of cylinders. I was astonished that he would maintain that position.

I was driving 30k miles a year (2006-2009) to show the design to people who I thought would jump at the chance to work with me on development, only to not even hear a word or response. Their ignorance will cost them when it is developed overseas, where they are free to develop and sell it without any compensation to me. I can imagine the predictable respose by the same people who had a much better chance to get into the initial stages of implementation.

regards
mech

A supplemental heart pump that could be implanted below the surface of the skin and driven by electrical energy creating magnetic forces above the surface of the skin.

A pump efficient enough to allow elelctrical energy to be stored by pumping water INTO a reservoir during off peak demand periods, to be used during peak demand periods, thus eliminating the necessity for whole power plants.

They will just wait for the patent to expire in another 14 years, which seems astoundingly short sighted considering the energy we will waste in that time period.

I'm in no hurry to file for additional patents for the improvements conceptualized over the last 4.5 years. They will just have to wait longer and by them I probably have dementia and have forgotten how to drive a car.

regards
mech

Hang in there my friend. You are a Innovator!!! Sorry to say our Automobile Manufactures are not!!!