Scuderi Group split cycle engine

[Daox]

Interesting engine design. Their website has quite a bit of info on it. I'm still looking through it all.

http://www.scuderigroup.com/

[LostCause]

Interesting adaptation, but I'm always wary of unique engine designs. I think engines are validated once an OEM latches on to the technology.

The website claims a engine efficiency increase from 33% to 40%.

Cummins claims an engine efficiency increase through turbocompounding a diesel from 42% to 46%. Cummin's (Holset's) technology has also been applied by an OEM: Scania.

These designs are always inspiring for me to develop my own crackpot adaptations.

- LostCause

[Peter Hill]

Where to start?

Lets start with Patent US7121236 by Mr Salvatore C. Scuderi (B.S., J.D) and Mr David P. Branyon. How to describe this? Well it can be summed up by one word.

CRACKPOT

Yes it's a crackpot crank. Mr Scuderi is supposed to be an Engineer. They can produce a displacement diagram in Fig 15 on sheet 14 and then demonstrate they can produce a Velocity diagram for this cam in Fig 16 on sheet 15. A layman would have left it at the displacement diagram, only an engineer would take the step of producing a velocity diagram. Anyone worthy of the title "Engineer" would then use the same method to obtain Acceleration diagrams. Mr Scuderi and Mr Branyon have for some reason chosen not to.

No matter, the destruction of this device is readily apparent from the Velocity diagram in Fig 16. There are sudden changes in velocity, labeled 254, 255, 257 and 258. These apparently instant changes in velocity require infinite acceleration. Force = mass x acceleration so infinite forces will be produced that hammer the cams guiding the big end pin to bits in a very few revolutions of the crank - possibly while dry cranking. (It will be the fault of the people that made the test engine, law suits will fly or it will demonstrate the huge uncontainable excess of power the engine made)

Primer on cam design from Western Michigan University and why the work presented in US7121236 is not a viable design.
http://www.mae.wmich.edu/faculty/Nag...8_F04/Cams.pdf
Fundamental Law of Cam Design
1 The cam function MUST be continuous through the first and second derivatives of displacement across the entire 360° interval
2 The jerk function MUST be finite across the entire 360° interval

Analysis of the REAL thermodynamic cycle that the Scuderi Air Hybrid engine can achieve will show large departures from the ideal Brayton cycle, resulting in losses that render it completely unworkable.

I can only suspect that the staff of The Scuderi Group are well aware of this deficiency or they wouldn't be engaged in the wild and desperate measures seen in US7121236 to extend the duration of the transfer phase to the power cylinder.

[order99]

Now this is why I visit this site-the chance to get in touch with folk who can tear apart an engine design in their HEAD...that is incredibly cool. I have the engineering expertise of Java Man(FIRE GOOD!) so seeing an Analysis like this makes me feel like i'm rubbing shoulders with the Olympians.

Okay, I actually visit to steal Ecomodding ideas-but this is a nice bonus! Oh, if only Da Vinci, Ford, the Wright Brothers and others had an information source like the Net! I can find anything here...

....until I get distracted by the shiny Webcomics.