Scientists Claim Major Leap in Engine Design 775
An anonymous reader writes "Purdue researchers say they have made a major advance in the design of the internal combustion engine, one that could seriously boost fuel efficiency and cut emissions. A key portion involves building intake and exhaust valves that are no longer driven by mechanisms connected to the pistons, a departure from the way car engines have worked since they were commercialized more than a century ago. 'The concept, known as variable valve actuation, would enable significant improvements in conventional gasoline and diesel engines used in cars and trucks and for applications such as generators, he said. The technique also enables the introduction of an advanced method called homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI, which would allow the United States to drastically reduce its dependence on foreign oil and the production of harmful exhaust emissions. The homogeneous charge compression ignition technique would make it possible to improve the efficiency of gasoline engines by 15 percent to 20 percent, making them as efficient as diesel engines while nearly eliminating smog-generating nitrogen oxides, Shaver said.'"
What will they do with this efficiency, though? (Score:4, Interesting)
I RTFA yesterday when I saw it on the Firehose (Score:5, Interesting)
The Bandwagon Seems the Obvious Choice (Score:2, Interesting)
2. New efficient engines are developed and promoted
3. Next generation of cars have negligible improvement in fuel economy
4. ???
5. Profit!!
Nice, but go renewable... (Score:2, Interesting)
um.... (Score:1, Interesting)
IIRC Toyota and BMW have current vehicles that have this technology. Vehicles I remember in particular are the 2007 mini cooper(not the turbo) which is really BMW, and that new Toyota hatchback who's name I've forgotten that looks like a jelly bean. The Mini has an engine made by Renault, so they probably do it too.
Journal Article is from Sep. 2005 (Score:1, Interesting)
Doesn't Sound That New (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah, mechanical valve actuation has its problems. It makes for either non-optimal valve placement (standard wedge heads) or overly complicated mechanical actuation trains (see Chrysler original Hemi engine design). So a better method to actuate valves than driving it from a fixed, or fixed-variable, design could make for better engine performance overall. That's hardly new. As best I've seen, this has been merely an engineering problem to determine a better way to actuate valves that meets the requirements of cost, durability, cost, performance, and cost -- when it comes to consumer engines. While such an actuator method is certainly significant news in and of itself, it's not like someone has redone the whole engine.
Re:Nice, but go renewable... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What will they do with this efficiency, though? (Score:3, Interesting)
Pointless (Score:4, Interesting)
Such as the Quasiturbine engine [promci.qc.ca]
Or the wankel, or Rotary, engine which is even used today. While the rotary might not get better gas mileage than a piston engine, it certain produces more power per displacement than a piston engine. Furthermore, the newest rendetion of the wankel, the Renesis, developed by Mazda already uses some of the benefits that this engine supposedly does. Namely with the exhaust ports.
The design of the piston engine is flawed. Moving up and down robs your engine of momentum and is just plain silly. Going around in circles produces much more power. If only the Wankel engine, or better yet, the quasiturbine engine had as much R/D put into them as piston engines, we'd have a lot better combustion based engines.
Prior Art (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Killed in "development"? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I RTFA yesterday when I saw it on the Firehose (Score:3, Interesting)
One of the biggest problems with newer cars is that one needs to hook up the computer to fix them. And the computer is not always correct. I had an intermittent problem with the car almost stalling out. I would be driving at 55 mph for a while (30 min, 2 hours+) slow down for a toll (didn't have to stop easy pass) hit the gas to go again. The engine rpms would drop to under 100. I usually took my foot off the gas then hit it again. Take it to the shop/dealer no error code == nothing wrong. I finally got an error code. The code was spark plug #4. They wanted to due a tune up. I just had a tune up ( a freaking good one with better stuff then stock). A second tune up later. It does it again. Again with spark plug number 4. Now they say the lower O rings are bad and need changing. These have been changed already (20k ago for a different issue ethanol gas killed the original ones). I asked that they make sure all the o rings are ethanol gas proof. A year later guess what the error code is, spark plug number 4. And they say it is the lower o rings again. I tell them the o rings have been changed twice now. They tried to talk me into yet another lower o ring replacement (they had started without my approval already) when I told them that they had done the repair last year they decided to check other thing besides the error code. The whole time the air mass sensor was going bad. One $200 repair cost me $3500 because the thing that was broken didn't throw a code. And the first spark plug in the firing order, number 4. Which was not getting the correct air-fuel mix and throwing the code.
So letting a computer control more of the car? Not until I have been convinced it works without failing. Which may be why we have yet to see these in regular cars.
Re:Related story (Score:2, Interesting)
Bullshit! A timing light and feeler guage costs what? 20$ maybe? What's a laptop, cables, and software cost....? Forgot to mention keeping the OS up to date, keeping the dirt/rust/dust out of it, running an extension cord when the batt dies...
Open the hood on a any 68 model year with a v8 in it (ok, except for the Boss 427's
Take a wild guess how many vehicles out there right now have a broken sensor(s) and are running with the default value tables in ROM because the owner is ignoring the idiot light... More than likely 70+ percent.
Which type of vehicle would you want to have to fix in the middle of nowhere if your life absolutely depended on it? "Shit, my laptop battery is dead...", "I can't reach the hose to get some duct tape around it", "WTF are all of these wires melted into a ball?"
Efficiency, higher mileage, reduced emissions, etc are to be applauded, but I think that the auto industry absolutely sucks when it comes to building vehicles. "Lets cover up the oil filter by bolting this onto that, then cover it with this, then route 20 wiring harnesses over/under it. Oh yeah, don't forget to design in a bunch of nooks and crannies for the salt and mud to hide in." "Lets design a $500 part with 10 stepper motors and 3 micro controllers to control the environmental controls too...."
After all, they want you back in the showroom before the current one is paid off, and would rather have you come into the dealership for pricey profitable service.
Re:Nah (Score:5, Interesting)
Kudos on the bike anyway, though...
hype; need full-hydrocarbon fuel cell (Score:4, Interesting)
Non-crankshaft-linked valve timing, whether through variation mechanisms that are in current street car use, or electric/pneumatic/hydraulic actuators, such as the F1 engines have used for years do not solve the problem of heat control. Burning fuel (which is why some parts of the combustion chamber are hotter than others; get a clue) generates heat. Some of that heat expands gases to push pistons (or rotors) and a lot of heat raises the temperature of the engine components. Without cooling the engine, the accumulated heat destroys the materials. This is why my air-cooled Ducati engine has a lower power output than the water-cooled Ducati engine of the same (roughly) displacement. The water-cooled engines can keep the components at a lower (and more consistent, I know) temperature, so they can use more air and fuel to generate more power (the extra valves are only usable because the additional heat can be managed).
The real solution is to use more of the chemical energy to provide power for moving the vehicle and less of it to heat the components. Trying to store the energy in rechargeable batteries will result in mostly short-range urban and novelty vehicles for a very long time, since the energy density of the storage, both in mass and volume, and recharge rate are pathetic compared to diesel, gasoline, or compressed propane/methane.
The "hydrogen solution", applied as an internal combustion fuel, has the same problems, plus the additional headaches of generating the hydrogen ("but solar is cheap" - and it will compete directly for surface area with homes, farms, and the large-scale installations needed to power your iPod's recharger since we'll be trading power between sunlit and darkened regions) and transferring it between fuel station storage and vehicle storage. Hydrogen fuel cells, still with the generating, storage, and transfer problems, are pretty good at converting between chemical and electrical energy, and electric motors are usably efficient at converting electrical energy into motion.
What we need are fuel cells that can handle ALL of the chemical energy in a hydrocarbon fuel, converting not just the stored hydrogen and oxygen from the air into water (2 H2 + O2 = 2 H2O; put energy in to break up the hydrogen and oxygen molecules then get energy back by combining the hydrogen and oxygen atoms into water), but also using the carbon atoms in the fuel molecules to make CO2 which gives a larger net energy output by mass of fuel.
As for "CO2 is a greenhouse gas": So what? We're already too far down the path. The paleohistoric record of ice-age cycles shows that we have already passed the inflection point to cooling while we're accelerating the heating. If you want to reduce the CO2 footprint of humans, along with ending overfishing of the oceans, sucking the deep aquifers dry, destruction of the rain forests for farmland, habitat destruction for either human use or by diversion of fresh water resources, pollution by agricultural runoff,
Variable valve actuation a "major leap"?!? (Score:3, Interesting)
Indeed, Renault had been actively researching electromagnetic valve actuation and infinitely variable lift and timing systems for their F1 engines since at least the mid 90's. I believe that at least some of their engines have used such electromagnetic actuators in the past, in combination with pneumatic springs (which are not really "springs" in the traditional sense, but function in a similar way) although I can't find a specific reference to that effect.
And then, of course, there is Valeo. You see, in 2005, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, it introduced a system that replaced camshafts with electromagnetically actuated valves and it claims that it will be available to manufacturers in volume in 2009. More details, including a pretty image, can be found here [valeo.com].
Now, coming up with smarter management software (which seems to be implied by the article), that can take advantage of per-cylinder (and per-valve) actuation by using such tricks as re-introduction of exhaust gases from previous cycles into the cylinder sounds very promising, and could help increase power, improve mileage, reduce emissions and lengthen the life of catalytic converters.
Damn right (Score:5, Interesting)
I remember when the heater core went -- no sweat, pull the hose off the heater core input, plug it back into the block, done deal. Six months later when I had the money I pulled the heater core and replaced it.
Front bearings need to be repacked? Piece of cake. Just don't forget the cotter pin that holds the whole damn wheel on, and you're good to go.
Car was unbeatable in a straight line. Handled like crap otherwise, though, but who cared. Nothing like a 350 with a racing transmission and a 4 barrel off the line, baby.
Nowadays, I open the hood and it's a sea of hose assemblies and pipes, can't even see the block. If you buy the shop manual, you find out the first thing you need is a zillion-dollar set of metric torque wrenches before you even start. Screw that.
Then the solenoid went on my Honda Accord, and I found out you can't buy a solenoid any more. You have to buy the whole "alternator assembly" which includes alternator, solenoid, voltage regulator, and God knows what else -- to the tune of $400. I came THIS CLOSE to ripping the goddamn "alternator assembly" apart and fixing the solenoid myself, except I actually have to work for a living. So frustrating.
Re:repairng your own vehicle (Score:5, Interesting)
Take for example my friend's VW Bug... Engine was running rather roughly, and showing the "check engine light". Plugged in my laptop, dumped the codes, and one of the diagnostic codes was showing a vacuum line failure. Sure enough, we replace the appropriate vacuum line, engine runs fine after that. Sure, a seasoned mechanic would probably have figured that one out immediately, but to an office geek like me, the electronic diagnostics were a godsend.
The primary difference between modern vehicles and the ones from the days of yore is that there is a different skill set required to work on them. Now, on top of being able to turn a wrench, you need electronics and computing experience.
Re:Nah (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I RTFA yesterday when I saw it on the Firehose (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course, when you find that one, send him or her my way - I've not found anyone like that yet. I'm trying to learn though...
Re:Nah (Score:4, Interesting)
Because it endangers me more, it frustrates me more, and pisses me off more.
(note: I mentioned women because this is a recent, real-life experience for me. I am in no way implying that men don't do the same thing...)
this is news how? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's nothing new, and hardly something applicable in the short term.
If it's pneumatic valves, wouldn't last near long enough and prohibitively expensive ala certain Formula engines.
Electric valves, 24V or any other, do not have the capability to survive in a reliable and flawless manner in a stressful life, i.e. high rpm, high heat, long term capability, all at the same time. When I don't have to fear a solenoid fritzing and nuking a $30K SBC, then I'll make that jump.
Rotary valves, while nifty, are likewise prohibitively expensive in the short term outside of nicely lined sponsored rides. I'm not looking to blow an easy 60K on a perfectly balanced durable big block to reel 10K. While it'd be cool, theres a hell of a lot cheaper and easier ways to get ridiculous power out of current solutions.
How about more development into the cerametallic blocks, bore liners, pistons, heads etc. ? It'd be nice to have a ridiculous low thermal expansion rate, so that way you can have a far better seal, higher efficiency, you know... useful things.
BMW beat them to the punch.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Nah (Score:2, Interesting)
4wds are good for rallying. That's about it.
Re:you're right..... freakin tax loophole (Score:4, Interesting)
If you really need an SUV, then you should be free to buy one, or if you are rich enough and can afford the vehicle with the same rate of tax that would be applied to a normal vehicle. Giving tax breaks on SUVs promotes the use of them independent of the reason for getting one, and a good reason to not encourage that is that the resources that the SUV munches through are constrained. One day the oil will run out and the unnecessary use of SUVs is just making that day arrive sooner.
Prior art (Score:3, Interesting)
variable valve actuation vs. variable valve timing (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Nah (Score:4, Interesting)
Smart FourTwo is an oddball and it is mostly Swatch design anyway. Swiss, not German origin. The Roadster is no longer manufactured. FourFour is actually a Mitsubishi design and reuses the chassis of the new Colt. So does the new A-Class and neither one of them is small in the sense of C1/Aygo/107/Cuore/Modus small. Same for BMW1, A3. They are small family cars by class, not superminis.
AFAIK, Ford Fiasco is not a German design, neither is the Ka. Both of them have the same footprint as a new Yaris or an old Sirion and show "how an idiot afraid to cannibalize his large car sales can bastardize an otherwise good idea". They offer 70% or less of the internal and luggage space compared to a Japanese or French car in the same category.
That leaves only the Corsa and the Opel clones of Suzuki designs. One bird spring does not make so I will stand by my statement - Germans do not design anything competitive in the small car sector. Because zey can't. Ze car has to look like ze Panzer...
Re:Nah (Score:2, Interesting)
Why is this modded insightful? I see front wheel drive cars with "proper tires" stuck in northern Ohio all the time. A car with a decent AWD system (Subaru, Audi) along with decent driving skills will kick the shit out of front wheel drive any day.
And, while AWD may not help you stop, it will help you maneuver when you can't stop. I went from two front wheel drive Toyotas to two AWD Subarus and will never go back.
Re:this is news how? (Score:2, Interesting)
Foamed metal composites are available, http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?WO=1991/03578 [wipo.int] and metal reinforced ceramics, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cermet [wikipedia.org] , both of which are being used to good effect in the racing world. You'd think a foamed aluminum engine block with ceramet cylinder liners on a rotary platform would kick some serious ass.
Easy for us though, eh? If it was all that easy it'd be done by now. Probably like flying cars, its harder than one would think.
Re:you're right..... freakin tax loophole (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't know the specific wording or intent of the tax breaks so I am really guessing on the why it was giving. But I do know that pickup trucks and such get pinged to death on other taxes built into the vehicle and maintenance.
First, mosts states apportion license and registration fees by weight. You will notice truck license plate registrations are $20 or so more then a car's. And the heavier the vehicle goes, the more it costs with this being really apparent when you goto commercial tags.
Next, Tires. There is a DOT tax on every tire produced and sold in America that is DOT rated. This DOT rating means it is legal to use on the road, if it isn't DOT rate or approved, if can only be used for off road driving. However there is an exception, very large truck tires that could be used on the road but sold for offroad use have a smaller tax added but you face fines and penalties if the catch you using them on the road. This tax is hidden into the costs of the tire and paid by the manufacturer when the tire is produced like they do with cigarettes. Getting a rebate on this tax because you won't be using the truck in the ways the tax was structured seems appropriate.
Third, My understanding of the tax was to encourage the purchase or newer more efficient vehicles and the more these vehicles cost, the more the break. Now before we get into efficient, you cannot judge this by what other efficient vehicle is on the market today because the intent as I understand it was to get the older less efficient and more polluting vehicles off the road Not to encourage the purchase of the most efficient vehicle in the future.
I'm not concerned with what someone else drives and I'm especially not concerned with what raw materials they use. The fact is, we will be switching away from using oil based fuels soon anyways. Although once the switch is started, it will take 25-50 years to complete because of the way people buy cars. The poorer you are, the older cars you buy it seems. I have one that is almost 40 years old now (1969).
The science and economy of the next generation fuels just hasn't materialized yet. We have a couple of hundred years before we will be out of oil and as long as we are working on it, we won't. But as long as SUVs are on the road and refining capacity limited, the demand for more efficient vehicles and other fuel types will remain high. More has been done since the gas prices started rising again in 1997 then anytime in the past century on getting more efficient cars or using other sources of energy. And it didn't take a law to accomplish this either. Of course the companies working on it get the benifit of claiming they are saving the planet and such, but don't mistake associated credit for motivation. They are doing it because there seems to be enough demand to make the risk of investment seem profitable.
Thats right, companies are developing these product and alternative fuels/hybred motors and cars in order to make a profit not to spend money that won't be regained because it is a feel good story. If the enviroment wasn't as charge politically and the people were pissed about the costs of gas, this never would have happened. T
Re:Nah (Score:2, Interesting)
Car seat inflation. In the olde days you could fit 12 kids in that station wagon. Five in the middle, two in the front, and about seven in the cargo area. The car seats are huge these days, and by law the kids need to be in them until... what? 17? So no more.
How many US vehicles fit 3+ kids in bulky car seat, has AWD/4WD, and isn't an SUV? There are not many.
Personally, I drive a medium wagon, because I don't usually drive the kids. It's just not possible to fit the entire family of 5 in there legally. We also have a small 2-row SUV and it just barely fits the three kids, and not for much longer.