Posted on 04/25/2006 12:50:28 PM PDT by Neville72
DETROIT -- In the back aisles of the Society of Automotive Engineers recent convention, past the displays hawking springs and sprockets, one family's dream began to take shape. Scuderi Group of West Springfield, Mass., didn't have to look far to fill its offices. Salvatore Scuderi, company president, has engineering and law degrees. So does Stephen, his brother, the company's patent attorney. Another brother, Nick, runs marketing; sister Deborah handles accounting. Six of the eight Scuderi siblings made the trip to Detroit's Cobo Center, in service of their late father Carmelo Scuderi's invention.
The results of the years of work on his ideas were shown on screens above the company's stand: a computer image of an odd-looking engine, its pistons moving in an old-timey stutter step, with an air tank on the side.
It's the model for the Scuderi air-hybrid engine, an invention the Scuderis say breaks longstanding barriers to generating more power with less fuel. By their reckoning, a Scuderi engine could power a hybrid vehicle that doubles the fuel economy of a typical vehicle for a fraction of the cost of today's gasoline-electric systems.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
http://www.airhybridblog.com/
If it's that wonderful, they should build it, market it, and let it win or lose in the competetive marketplace. If they're not willing to do that, they should take their little models and pretty pictures and go sit over on the "Group W" bench with all the other tinkerers and dreamers who never amounted to much.
Here's the company website. There's some interesting info and animations.
http://www.scuderigroup.com/technology/the_technology.html
This infor is interesting.
Summary of Predicted Gains
Two computer studies predicted that the Scuderi Engine could potentially approach efficiency levels of 42.6% brake thermal efficiency (BTE), as compared to a baseline standard engine having an optimized efficiency of 33.2% BTE. The potential predicted gains of the Scuderi Engine are summarized as follows:
Major Parameter Involved In Effecting BTE Potential Increase In Points of BTE (Percentage Increase Over 33.2 Point Baseline)
1) Increased burn rates 5 points BTE (15% increase)
2) Use of ceramics to insulate the power piston and cylinder from heat losses due to the faster burn rates. 2 points BTE (6% increase)
3) Being able to run lean without the need for a three-way catalytic converter (TWC) 1 point BTE (3% increase)
4) Advanced piston motion features resulting from the second computer study, which allows more time for the power piston to build pressure during combustion. 1.4 points BTE (4% increase)
Total potential gains identified 9.4 points BTE (28% increase) (BTE from 33.2% to 42.6%)
The final report of the Southwest Research Institutes' computerized study is available upon request, provided the requesting party signs a non-disclosure agreement with the Scuderi Group, LLC.
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Yeah, this actually looks like a viable technology and not another in a long, long line of snake-oil variants.
Do I understand how this works?
It basically dedicates a single piston/cylinder as a compression source that feeds into another piston/cylinder just before ignition.
All the combustion takes place in the second cylinder, which alternates with combustion and exhaust.
Seems interesting, but I don't understand why just splitting combustion process is able to give these gains in power or efficiency.
Amazingly, no one has yet said it's another in a long line of brilliant inventions destined to be destroyed by "big oil."
"If it's that wonderful, they should build it, market it, and let it win or lose in the competetive marketplace."
I thought that was what they're trying to do.
I gahter the gains are essentially based on not cooling the combustion cylinder between every burn.
Is that the point?
If so, its hard to imagine this being the silver bullet for engine efficiency.
I think their projections basically bear that out too. They cite 33% efficiency for a "normal" engine, but I think that's a tad low. I know diesels (particularly larger ones) already get as high as 40% efficient.
I think the goal is thermal efficiency.
You don't inject cold air into the combustion cylinder with every charge.
The compressed air from the 1st cylinder would be somewhat heated by compression before it goes into the 2nd cylinder.
Seems to be similar to turbocharging or supercharging. It also seems like it would have more mechanical drag than turbo/supercharging.
They have had that design for some time. So where are the prototype cars, with working engines and real-world experience? Where are the engines to be installed in other cars?
They are saying they want to build it. They are raising tons of money to build it. They are trying to get somebody else to build it. They are doing everything in the World besides pouring steel into molds and building the darn thing.
Interesting design. I would like to see some preformance numbers since you're using half the number of cylinders for power, but they fire every revolution.
Eh, 33% is about right for something in the small-displacement gasoline engine arena. I suspect this is going to turn out like the Mays head design idea - not univerally applicable, but highly useful for some applications.
The downside to this engine, of course, is that you've got a LOT more moving parts, which would affect reliability.
The only thing I can think of is this is sort of a modified two cycle, so since there is a power stroke for every revolution of the crank, you have more efficiency.
A traditional two stroke is much more efficient than an Otto cycle four stroke, but because of the need for running the fresh air/fuel charge through the crank you also pollute more by burning your lubricant.
This engine would eliminate that drawback. Plus, remember the original posting said something about adding an air tank to make a hybrid engine. I can see diverting the compressed air to a tank during "regenerative braking" and using that compressed air for the first few power strokes instead of using the compression piston.
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