Electrical valve engine. 1

[berkshire]

This if successful looks like it could be a game changer.

https://newatlas.com/camcon-digital...44 Worlds first fully digital valves open up%

"World's first fully digital valves open up engine possibilities

British company Camcon Automotive has built the first fully electronic engine valve system, uncoupled from the crankshaft, that offers unprecedented control over the combustion cycle. On top of power and emissions improvements, it also opens up some weird and wonderful capabilities we've never seen before, such as giving 4-stroke engines brief 2-stroke power boosts...."


B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[GregLocock]

Good stuff, although the article might be playing fast and loose with terminology. Electrically operated valves have been around for 20 years. They aren't feasible for production, but you can certainly buy them.

http://www.lotuscars.com.au/engineering/active-valve-train

for example

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[gruntguru]

yes, a lot of "firsts" claimed by Camcon but Freevalve seem to have previously achieved most of them. The Freevalve concept looks a lot more compact and simple.

je suis charlie

 

[TugboatEng]

International dabbled with a camless engine back in the 90's. It used the same hydraulic actuator in their HEUI fuel injectors. The system worked but International underestimated how much energy gets put back into the cam by valve closing. With hydraulic actuation all of that energy is lost and any gains from highly variable valve timing were offset. This is all in diesel engines with a narrow range of operating speeds and no throttle so highly variable valve timing may not be as beneficial. This system also utilized a valve spring. Newer systems may do away with the spring which minimizes the amount of work required to open the valve.

 

[MikeHalloran]

The article linked in the OP mentions 'desmodromic', which means no valve springs, or at least not really big ones.
It sounds like the basic mechanism is a 'simple' desmo, driven by an electric motor to 'open' or 'closed', under computer control.
A smallish motor could be fast enough to run the valves for a moderate speed engine that way.





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[VEBill]

I'll second the mention of Koenigsegg's spin-off Freevalve.

 

[LionelHutz]

This sounds like they have full control over the valve, both position and speed. It will be interesting to see if it survives the durability tests and if it actually produces enough savings to justify.

Last I saw of Freevalve a few years ago the valve was being controlled to be open or closed. But Freevalve also had test cars on the roads with significant operating time so the durability looked very good.

 

[gruntguru]

I had to laugh at the repeated use of the phrase "digital camshaft". Using an electric motor to operate a mini cam seems very analog to me.

The Freevalve system seems slightly less "analog" - the control input is basically three instructions - "open", "hold" and "close". (There is also air pressure regulation to control acceleration according to needs.)

je suis charlie

 

[BigClive]

The Camcon system looks like a complete bloody nightmare to me. If any private inventor came up with a idea like this they would be laughed at or ignored.

 

[CWB1]

Some of the combustion research I've done has been on engines using various Lotus electrical and pneumatic actuators. They're interesting systems but IMHO quite a number of years away from production due to durability and packaging. The "on-the-fly" control over valve lift, duration, and number of strokes poses some interesting possibilities and seemingly endless rabbit holes.

As to Camcon, I suspect they'll be stuck in development for quite some time, possibly too long to actually see production. From an overall energy balance perspective, I would not be surprised in the least if they were significantly less efficient than even modern production engines.

 

[waross]

International unveils camless engine Link
With a built in compression brake they must be ahead of Camcon in controlling exhaust valves.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[dgallup]

Only 18 years old posting, me thinks it didn't pan out.

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