The Scuderi Engine is a split cycle, internal combustion engine invented by Carmelo J. Scuderi (1925 - 2002).[1] Scuderi Group, an engineering and licensing company based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and founded by Carmelo Scuderi’s children, is testing a working prototype of the engine that was officially unveiled to the public on April 20, 2009. [2][3][4]
The Scuderi Engine is under development by Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. [5]. Scuderi Group released video footage of a naturally aspirated one-liter prototype of the Scuderi Engine firing on its own in the laboratory in October, 2009. [6]
According to Scuderi Group, tests indicate that the Scuderi Engine shows gains in efficiency and reduced toxic emissions over conventional four-stroke Otto cycle designs. The company also says that the Scuderi Engine could be used as part of an air hybrid system, allowing recovered braking energy to be stored as compressed air. [7] Laboratory tests of the prototype are said to match earlier predictions generated by computer models. [8]
As of Aug. 2011, Scuderi Group said its patent portfolio included more than 476 patent applications worldwide, more than 154 of which have issued as patents in more than 50 countries. [9]
The Scuderi Group has partnered with several automotive engineering companies to assist with engineering the Scuderi Engine's complementary components. German automotive supply company Mahle GmbH is working on the pistons, Swedish engine developer Cargine Engineering AB is assisting with the air-activated valves, Denver-based Gates Corporation is engineering the belts, and Germany-based Schaeffler Group is contributing to the valve train assembly. The engineering division of Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH is working on the timing mechanism of the engine. [10]
Various OEMs including Honda, Daimler AG, Fiat, and PSA Peugeot Citroën have signed non-disclosure agreements with Scuderi Group. A Daimler AG scientist familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the design has potential.[11]
In a conventional Otto cycle engine, each cylinder performs four strokes per cycle: intake, compression, power, and exhaust. This means that two revolutions of the crankshaft are required for each power stroke. The Scuderi Engine divides these four strokes between two paired cylinders: one for intake/compression and another for power/exhaust. Compressed air is transferred from the compression cylinder to the power cylinder through a crossover passage. Fuel is then injected and fired to produce the power stroke. In a standard Otto cycle engine, the pistons fire every other revolution, however, the Scuderi engine fires every revolution. The Scuderi must have at least two cylinders. In the Scuderi cycle, the power cylinder fires just after the piston has begun its downward motion (after top dead center, or ATDC). This is in contrast to Otto cycle design convention, which calls for combustion just before top dead center (BTDC) in order to allow combustion pressure to build.[12]
The Scuderi Group says a thermal efficiency shortcoming seen in previous split-cycle engine designs is eliminated in the Scuderi Engine through the process of firing after top dead center, which is an unconventional engine design practice. Firing ATDC in a split-cycle arrangement eliminates the losses resulting from recompressing the gas.[13]
|
|
||||||||||||||