Six-stroke engine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term six-stroke engine has been applied to a number of alternative internal combustion
engine designs that attempt to improve on traditional two-stroke and four-stroke engines.
Claimed advantages may include increased fuel-efficiency, reduced mechanical complexity
and/or reduced emissions. These engines can be divided into two groups based on the number
of pistons that contribute to the six strokes.
In the single-piston designs, the engine captures the heat lost from the four-stroke Otto cycle
or Diesel cycle and uses it to drive an additional power and exhaust stroke of the piston in the
same cylinder in an attempt to improve fuel-efficiency and/or assist with engine cooling. The
pistons in this type of six-stroke engine go up and down three times for each injection of fuel.
These designs use either steam or air as the working fluid for the additional power stroke.[1]
The designs in which the six strokes are determined by the interactions between two pistons
are more diverse. The pistons may be opposed in a single cylinder or may reside in separate
cylinders. Usually one cylinder makes two strokes while the other makes four strokes giving
six piston movements per cycle. The second piston may be used to replace the valve
mechanism of a conventional engine, which may reduce mechanical complexity and enable
an increased compression ratio by eliminating hotspots that would otherwise limit
compression. The second piston may also be used to increase the expansion ratio, decoupling
it from the compression ratio. Increasing the expansion ratio in this way can increase
thermodynamic efficiency in a similar manner to the Miller or Atkinson cycle.

Contents

1 Engine types
o 1.1 Single-piston designs

1.1.1 Griffin six-stroke engine

1.1.2 Dyer six-stroke engine

1.1.3 Bajulaz six-stroke engine

1.1.4 Velozeta six-stroke engine

1.1.5 NIYKADO six-stroke engine

1.1.6 Crower six-stroke engine

o 1.2 Opposed-piston designs

1.2.1 Beare head

1.2.2 M4+2

o 1.3 Other two-piston designs

1.3.1 Piston-charger engine

1.3.2 Ilmor/Schmitz Five-Stroke

2 Related patents
o 2.1 Related U.S. patents
o 2.2 Related Indian patents
o 2.3 Related Polish patents

3 References

4 External links

Engine types
Single-piston designs
These designs use a single piston per cylinder, like a conventional two- or four-stroke engine.
A secondary, non-detonating fluid is injected into the chamber, and the leftover heat from
combustion causes it to expand for a second power stroke followed by a second exhaust
stroke.
Griffin six-stroke engine

The Kerr engine at the Anson Engine Museum

In 1883, the Bath-based engineer Samuel Griffin was an established maker of steam and gas
engines. He wished to produce an internal combustion engine, but without paying the
licensing costs of the Otto patents. His solution was to develop a "patent slide valve" and a
single-acting six-stroke engine using it. By 1886, Scottish steam locomotive maker Dick,
Kerr & Co. saw a future in large oil engines and licensed the Griffin patents. These were
double-acting, tandem engines and sold under the name "Kilmarnock".[2] A major market for
the Griffin engine was in electricity generation, where they developed a reputation for
happily running light for long periods, then suddenly being able to take up a large demand for
power. Their large heavy construction didn't suit them to mobile use, but they were capable of
burning heavier and cheaper grades of oil. The key principle of the "Griffin Simplex" was a
heated exhaust-jacketed external vapouriser, into which the fuel was sprayed. The
temperature was held around 550 F (288 C), sufficient to physically vapourise the oil but
not to break it down chemically. This fractional distillation supported the use of heavy oil
fuels, the unusable tars and asphalts separating out in the vapouriser. Hot-bulb ignition was
used, which Griffin termed the "catathermic igniter", a small isolated cavity connected to the
combustion chamber. The spray injector had an adjustable inner nozzle for the air supply,
surrounded by an annular casing for the oil, both oil and air entering at 20 psi (140 kPa)
pressure, and being regulated by a governor.[3][4] Griffin went out of business in 1923. Only
two known examples of a Griffin six-stroke engine survive. One is in the Anson Engine
Museum. The other was built in 1885 and for some years was in the Birmingham Museum of
Science and Technology, but in 2007 it returned to Bath and the Museum of Bath at Work.[5]
Dyer six-stroke engine
Leonard Dyer invented a six-stroke internal combustion water-injection engine in 1915, very
similar to Crower's design (see below). A dozen more similar patents have been issued since.
Dyer's six-stroke engine features:

No cooling system required

Improves a typical engines fuel consumption

Requires a supply of pure water to act as the medium for the second power stroke.

Extracts the additional power from the expansion of steam.

Bajulaz six-stroke engine

The Bajulaz six-stroke engine is similar to a regular combustion engine in design. There are,
however, modifications to the cylinder head, with two supplementary fixed-capacity
chambers: a combustion chamber and an air-preheating chamber above each cylinder. The
combustion chamber receives a charge of heated air from the cylinder; the injection of fuel
begins an isochoric (constant-volume) burn, which increases the thermal efficiency compared
to a burn in the cylinder. The high pressure achieved is then released into the cylinder to work
the power or expansion stroke. Meanwhile, a second chamber, which blankets the combustion
chamber, has its air content heated to a high degree by heat passing through the cylinder wall.
This heated and pressurized air is then used to power an additional stroke of the piston.
The claimed advantages of the engine include reduction in fuel consumption by at least 40%,
two expansion strokes in six strokes, multi-fuel usage capability, and a dramatic reduction in
pollution.[6]
The Bajulaz six-stroke engine was invented in 1989 by Roger Bajulaz of the Bajulaz S.A.
company, based in Geneva, Switzerland; it has U.S. Patent 4,809,511 and U.S. Patent
4,513,568.
The Bajulaz six-stroke engine features claimed are:

Reduction in fuel consumption by at least 40%

Two expansion (work) strokes in six strokes

Multifuel, including liquefied petroleum gas

Dramatic reduction in air pollution

Costs comparable to those of a four-stroke engine

Velozeta six-stroke engine

In a Velozeta engine, fresh air is injected into the cylinder during the exhaust stroke, which
expands by heat and therefore forces the piston down for an additional stroke. The valve
overlaps have been removed, and the two additional strokes using air injection provide for
better gas scavenging. The engine seems to show 40% reduction in fuel consumption and
dramatic reduction in air pollution.[7] Its Power-to-weight ratio is slightly less than that of a
four-stroke gasoline engine.[7] The engine can run on a variety of fuels, ranging from gasoline
and diesel fuel to LPG. An altered engine shows a 65% reduction in carbon monoxide
pollution when compared with the four-stroke engine from which it was developed.[7] The
engine was developed in 2005 by a team of mechanical engineering students, Mr. U
Krishnaraj, Mr. Boby Sebastian, Mr. Arun Nair and Mr. Aaron Joseph of the College of
Engineering, Trivandrum.

NIYKADO six-stroke engine

This engine was designed, developed and patented by Chanayil Cleetus Anil, of Kochi, India,
in 2012.[8] He holds Indian patent number IN252642, granted by IPIndia on May 25, 2012.
The name of the engine is taken from the name of his company, NIYKADO Motors. The
engine underwent a preliminary round of full-throttle tests at the Automotive Research
Association of India (ARAI), Pune.[8] The inventor claims this engine "is 23 per cent more
fuel efficient compared to a standard four-stroke engine"[8] and that it is "very low on
pollution".[8]
Crower six-stroke engine
In a six-stroke engine prototyped in the United States by Bruce Crower, water is injected into
the cylinder after the exhaust stroke and is instantly turned to steam, which expands and
forces the piston down for an additional power stroke. Thus, waste heat that requires an air or
water cooling system to discharge in most engines is captured and put to use driving the
piston.[1] Crower estimated that his design would reduce fuel consumption by 40% by
generating the same power output at a lower rotational speed. The weight associated with a
cooling system could be eliminated, but that would be balanced by a need for a water tank in
addition to the normal fuel tank.
The Crower six-stroke engine was an experimental design that attracted media attention in
2006 because of an interview given by the 75-year-old American inventor, who has applied
for a patent on his design.[1] That patent application was subsequently abandoned.[9]

Opposed-piston designs
These designs use two pistons per cylinder operating at different rates, with combustion
occurring between the pistons.
Beare head
This design was developed by Malcolm Beare of Australia. The technology combines a fourstroke engine bottom end with an opposed piston in the cylinder head working at half the
cyclical rate of the bottom piston. Functionally, the second piston replaces the valve
mechanism of a conventional engine. Claimed benefits include a 9% increase in power, and
improved thermodynamic efficiency through an increased compression ratio enabled by the
elimination of the hot exhaust valve.[10]
M4+2
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The M4+2 engine working cycle animation

The M4+2 engines have much in common with the Beare-head engines, combining two
opposed pistons in the same cylinder. One piston works at half the cyclical rate of the other,
but while the main function of the second piston in a Beare-head engine is to replace the
valve mechanism of a conventional four-stroke engine, the M4+2 takes the principle one step
further. The double-piston combustion engine's work is based on the cooperation of both
modules. The air load change takes place in the two-stroke section of the engine. The piston
of the four-stroke section is an air load exchange aiding system, working as a system of
valves. The cylinder is filled with air or with an air-fuel mixture. The filling process takes
place at overpressure by the slide inlet system. The exhaust gases are removed as in the
classical two-stroke engine, by exhaust windows in the cylinder. The fuel is supplied into the
cylinder by a fuel-injection system. Ignition is realized by two spark plugs. The effective
power output of the double-piston engine is transferred by two crankshafts. The characteristic
feature of this engine is an opportunity of continuous change of cylinder capacity and
compression rate during engine work by changing the piston's location. The mechanical and
thermodynamical models were meant for double-piston engines, which enable to draw up
new theoretical thermodynamic cycle for internal combustion double-pistons engine.[11]
The working principle of the engine is explained in the two- and four-stroke engines article.

Other two-piston designs

Piston-charger engine
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In this engine, similar in design to the Beare head, a "piston charger" replaces the valve
system. The piston charger charges the main cylinder and simultaneously regulates the inlet
and the outlet aperture, leading to no loss of air and fuel in the exhaust.[12] In the main
cylinder, combustion takes place every turn as in a two-stroke engine and lubrication as in a
four-stroke. Fuel injection can take place in the piston charger, in the gas-transfer channel or
in the combustion chamber. It is also possible to charge two working cylinders with one
piston charger. The combination of compact design for the combustion chamber together with
no loss of air and fuel is claimed to give the engine more torque, more power and better fuel
consumption. The benefit of fewer moving parts and design is claimed to lead to lower
manufacturing costs. Good for hybrid technology and stationary engines. The engine is
claimed to be suited to alternative, fuels since there is no corrosion or deposits left on valves.
The six strokes are:
1. Aspiration

2. Precompression
3. Gas transfer
4. Compression
5. Ignition
6. Ejection.
This is an invention of Helmut Kottmann from Germany, while working 25 years at MAHLE
GmbH piston and cylinder construction. Kottman's US patents 3921608 and 5755191 are
listed below.
Ilmor/Schmitz Five-Stroke
This design was invented by Belgian engineer Gerhard Schmitz, and has been prototyped by
Ilmor Engineering.[13]
These designs use two (or 4, 6, 8) cylinders with a conventional Otto four-stroke cycle. An
additional piston (in its own cylinder) is shared by the two Otto cycle cylinders. The exhaust
from the Otto cycle cylinder is directed into the shared cylinder, where it is expanded
generating additional work. This is in some respects similar to the operation of a compound
steam engine, with the Otto cycle cylinders being the high-pressure stage and the shared
cylinder the low pressure stage. The operation of the engine is thus:
HP1 (Otto)
exhaust
intake
compression
power

LP (shared)
expansion (power)
exhaust
expansion (power)
exhaust

HP2 (Otto)
compression
power
exhaust
intake

The designers consider this to be a five-stroke design, regarding the simultaneous HP exhaust
stroke and LP expansion stroke as a single stroke. This design provides higher fuel efficiency
due to the higher overall expansion ratio of the combined cylinders. Expansion ratios
comparable to diesel engines can be achieved, while still using gasoline (petrol) fuel. Fivestroke engines are lighter and have higher power density than diesel engines