The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

On the Future of the Piston Engine

with Internal Combustion
An Overview
Dr. F. Atzler, Research and Development, IVECO Motorenforschung AG,
CH-9320 Arbon

Marie Curie Fellowship Conference Wednesday, 16th to Saturday, 19th

of May 2001, at Profactor GmbH, Steyr, Austria

1 Abstract

The piston engine with internal combustion has developed from a simple concept with few
moving parts into a sophisticated device, which allows the tuning of virtually every component,
relevant for intake, combustion and discharge of the working media, air and fuel. This
technological progress will ascertain, that piston engines will be a prime source of motive power
for some time to come. Additionally, alternative fuels and new methods of exhaust gas after
treatment will be used to ensure clean and efficient utilisation of the fuel.
The most prominent recent technological developments will be presented in the following
Sections, to give an overview over the potential that is left in an invention which is now over 100
years old.

2 Introduction

Not long ago the 100th birthday of the piston engine with internal combustion, here abbreviated
ICE, was celebrated. Its basic concept is simple and it offers many advantages in comparison to
other sources of mechanical power. Due to the possibility to generate energy from combustion
in exactly the quantity needed, no storage or buffer is necessary, like e.g. in electrical systems.
Furthermore it has a much higher flexibility with respect to transient power demand than the gas
turbine, combined with reasonable efficiency. Because of the possibility to operate the ICE on
fossil fuels, it is fairly independent of the location where one might want to use it. Here, liquid
fuels are particularly attractive, since the logistics of Diesel or petrol are much simpler than
those of e.g. natural gas or hydrogen and the because the energy density also is much higher.
However, the combustion of fossil fuels causes harmful emissions and consumes a natural
resource which also provides the raw material for many important products of daily life.
The future of the piston engine will to a large extent depend on the possibilities to adapt it to the
new requirements. These essentially are to reduce emissions and consumption.
To this end the simplicity of the piston engine is slowly replaced by refined technical systems for
the control of most engine components involved in the intake and exhaust of the working media,
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

air and fuel. Due to the intermittent nature of combustion and gas exchange, fluid oscillations
play a big role in the filling and scavenging of the cylinder. Moreover, mixture formation and the
consistency of the appropriate air fuel ratio are also affected. The pipe lengths of the intake, the
timing of a mechanical valve gear, the in-cylinder flow and other processes mostly work
efficiently only for a limited range of operational conditions covered by the engine. Therefore
fixed geometries and mechanics are substituted by variable solutions, some of which will be
presented in the following sections.
It is interesting to note that many of these modern solutions are not new at all. Many of them
have been described in old patents, but only now it is possible to realise these concepts
because at the time suitable materials and control mechanisms were not available.

3 Technological Developments

3.1 Electronic Engine Management

Computer control of engine processes by

itself is not a primary source improvement of
the engine thermodynamics. But without it
most technologies nowadays implemented in
combustion engines could not be used at all,
owing to the complexity of the control
processes and the multitude of variables.
The advent of engine managements was in
the late 70ies when the Motronic was
pioneered by Bosch [1]. Since the advent of
electrically controlled injectors for high
pressure systems, complete engine
management is not only available for petrol
but also for Diesel engines.
One of many modern examples is the IVECO
Cursor 8, a 7.8 litre Diesel engine with
complete electronic engine management [2].
The system processes inputs from a number
of engine sensors, e.g. engine speed, intake
air temperature and pressure, engine
Figure 1: Schematic of inputs and outputs of
temperature, and driver commands
an electronic engine management [2]
(accelerator pedal, service and engine
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

brakes), to yield the appropriate fuelling, to protect the engine from overload and to coordinate
different braking systems. It is also possible to link semi or fully automated gearboxes to the
engine control unit, which further enhances the potential for fuel saving and emission reduction.
Latest developments comprise self learning systems, that adapt e.g. to individual driving styles
or fuel saving strategies.

3.2 Direct Injection

3.2.1 Diesel Engines

Although direct injection in Truck Diesel engines has been in use for a very long time now, it
only has been about 10 years since it was successfully implemented in passenger car engines
[3]. Up to then the pre-chamber combustion system was widely used, which offered a relatively
quiet combustion process. Yet, the pumping losses originating from the small passage between
the pre-chamber and the cylinder caused a loss in efficiency of approximately 15%. Cylinder
pressures on the other hand where lower, leading to lower emissions of NOx.
Noise and emissions problems were overcome by the advent of new electronic high pressure
injection systems. A key role was played by the electrically controlled injectors, which, among
others, made so-called pilot injections possible. These serve preheat the combustion chamber
before the injection of the main quantity of fuel, leading to a more controlled ignition and
combustion. Electric control also allows the engineer to vary the injection timing according to
emission or power requirements. This is particularly true for common rail systems which do not
rely on a fixed cam shape to provide fuel pressure for a set time window. Common rail uses a
continuous high pressure pump to feed a reservoir, from which the injector draws fuel at any
time. The development of new fast acting injectors will allow for the “shaping” of the injection
rate to further reduce emissions [4].

3.2.2 Petrol Engines

Direct injection has, amongst others, been used in the 60ies by Daimler Benz in their legendary
model 300SL. However, then it was applied, like all other petrol mixture formation systems, to
produce a stoichiometric and homogeneous mixture. Today direct injection is used to eliminate
an engine component, hitherto imperative in petrol engines, the throttle or butterfly valve. In a
conventional petrol engine power output is controlled by the quantity of mixture allowed into the
cylinder by means of the throttle. This is necessary because the mixture is formed outside the
cylinder. The Diesel engine, by comparison, always takes in the same amount of air and the
combustible mixture is formed in-cylinder by direct injection. There is no need to throttle the
amount of air flowing into the cylinder and, hence, the amount of work done to exchange the
gases is considerably lower. This significantly improves the overall engine efficiency. Unlike in a
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

petrol engine, the diesel engine is based on self-ignition of the fuel upon injection,

Figure 2: Different direct injection combustion strategies [5]

irrespective of where the fuel is located in the cylinder. However, to combust petrol in a
controlled manner in a self-ignition process is not yet possible. Therefore the direct injection
petrol engine needs a spark plug and injection has to be managed in such a way, that a cloud of
reliably ignitable mixture is present at the spark plug at the required time of

Figure 3: Tumble air motion

and particularly shaped piston
crown for petrol DI, here a
system by FEV Aachen [6]
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

discharge. In order to facilitate this fairly complex combination of processes there are several
methods, shown in Fig. 2. One uses a particularly shaped piston crown to direct the fuel rich
cloud to the spark, the other one relies on the generation of a tumbling charge motion in the
cylinder for this purpose (Fig.3). A third method uses air assisted atomisation to provide the
appropriate mixture at the spark plug. There are several examples of production engines,
notably the Mitsubishi GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) and the VW Lupo FSI [7].

3.3 Variable Geometry Turbo Chargers and After Cooling

Turbo charging has been used to forcibly increase the quantity of working gas in the cylinder
since the 1920ies, particularly for truck diesel engines. Petrol engines in these days were mostly
supercharged due to the thermal problems caused by high exhaust temperatures. Today turbo
charging often is mentioned in connection with “downsizing”, i.e. to use a small turbo charged
engine instead of a big naturally aspirated one for the same power output. A smaller engine
offers essentially two fuel saving advantages: less weight and less friction. This is particularly
important at part load. It is important to note that, unlike truck engines, passenger car engines
run at part load for most of their lives! After cooling of the compressed and therefore heated
charging air has several positive effects: the air density increases, which further improves
cylinder filling, and the thermal load on the engine decreases. It also leads to lower peak
combustion temperature producing less NOx.
Turbo machinery is prone to changes in efficiency with changes in throughput as well as
rotational speed. This mainly affects the inlet side of the turbine which, subject to geometry,
determines the best operational point of the turbine as well as the back pressure on the exhaust
side of the engine. This can, at least partly, be overcome by turbine inlets with adjustable vanes
or nozzles. Variable geometry turbine inlets provide good turbine efficiency over a wide range of
intake conditions. This improves boost pressure at low engine speeds and prevents excessive
back pressures at high revs. High back pressure increases the work needed for scavenging the
cylinder and hence spoils engine efficiency.
Two mechanisms are shown in Figure 4, 5 and 6. At differences in exhaust gas temperature of
more than 500ºC, peak temperatures beyond 700ºC and in the presence of highly aggressive
gases, these mechanisms need to be very robust and sophisticated to guarantee proper
functioning at all times. The control of variable vane mechanisms to satisfy transient power
requirements and also engine braking (IVECO Turbo Brake) is only possible by means of
engine management systems [2].
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

Figure 4 and 5: Variable turbine geometry, a slider opens and closes the turbine entry cross
section.

Figure 6: Variable turbine geometry, pivoting

vanes control the entry cross section and
angle.

3.4 Variable Intake Lengths and Variable Valve Trains

On naturally aspirated engines the length of the intake tube has a profound effect on cylinder
charging. A well tuned intake system can offer a degree of charging of more than 100% cylinder
volume. However, this only works for a certain band of engine speeds. In conventional engines
a compromise of intake length and valve timing is necessary to produce a smooth torque curve.
Several engine manufacturers now use intake manifolds with switchable intake lengths [8]. In
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

series production engines these intake mechanisms usually are facilitated by fairly complicated
injection moulded plastic parts. The principle and the intake manifold of one such system are
shown in Figure 7. The movement of the actuators is controlled by the engine management,
mostly in conjunction with the valve timing, since this also has a profound effect on the
oscillation in the intake.

Figure 7 Schematic of a switchable intake

manifold and its realisation on the engine [8].

Optimum valve timing is a function of engine

speed. At low engine speeds the gas column
moving into the cylinder does not have much
momentum and the intake valve needs to
close early to prevent the fresh charge from
being pushed back out of the cylinder. At high
engine speeds the momentum of the gas
column can be used to achieve good cylinder
filling, since it moves on into the cylinder even
when the piston has moved beyond bottom
dead centre. Therefore the intake valve
should close late. Analogous there are
different requirements for the exhaust timing
and for turbo charged engines. A good
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

example for variable valve timing is the so-called BMW double VANOS system, that adjusts
both, intake and exhaust camshafts via the engine management.
Apart from valve opening and closing timing valve lift also is important. Small valve lift is
favourable at part load to improve drivability and emissions, because the charge is intensively
mixed when is flows through the narrow gap. High valve lift is needed for maximum filling, i.e.
power output. A system with two lift levels was devised by Porsche and INA [9]. This is shown in
Fig. 8.

Figure 8: Valve tappet with 2

stages of valve lift and
hydraulic actuation [9] Figure 9: Electromagnetic valve train, by
FEV Aachen [11]

The next step is to loose the throttle valve and control the cylinder charge by the lift and timing
of the intake valve. A review of methods and strategies as well as a fully variable mechanical
system, which recently went into production, is presented in [10]. However, this system still
depends on a fixed cam shape to provide the mechanical movement. Full freedom of timing and
lift will be possible only with electro-magnetic or electro-hydraulic systems, which at the moment
only exist in prototypes (Fig. 9). The weight and cost of these systems are still prohibitive, but it
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

is to be expected that they will be available in some years. The fuel saving potential is estimated
to be equally high than that of unthrottled engine operation with direct injection.

3.5 Variable Compression

Within certain limits engine efficiency increases with compression ratio. For petrol engines the
limit is knock. Variable compression on its own only offers a limited potential, 4-5% [12] for
improvements in thermodynamic efficiency. But, combined with supercharging the
improvements are considerable. Such an engine was devised by SAAB and was presented
in [13]. A schematic is shown in Fig. 10. The use of a supercharger allows the engine to be
small, yielding the improvements of “downsizing” discussed in Section 3.3. However, super
charged petrol engines usually need to run at low geometric compression ratios to prevent
knock under conditions of full boost. Subsequently, when the engine runs at part load and low
boost pressures the efficiency inherently is low. The SAAB engine also runs at a geometric
compression ratio of only 8:1 for full load, developing some 140 BHP and 190 Nm Torque per
litre displacement volume. At part load the compression ratio is increased to 14:1 to keep the
efficiency high. Although the mechanism, a tilting engine block, requires considerable
machining, the cost of the complete 5 cylinder engine is quoted to be midway between a
conventional in-line 4 and a V6 [12].

Figure 10: SAAB variable compression engine

 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

3.6 Emissions After Treatment

All emissions, that cannot be avoided by optimised combustion, have to be post processed. The
currently used 3 way catalyst relies on a stoichiometric mixture being burnt in the engine, since
it cannot cope with excess oxygen in the exhaust gas. This, however, is unsuitable for Diesel
engines as well as unthrottled direct injection petrol engines. To achieve the very low NOx and
particulate levels prescribed by Euro IV and V emissions standards, new after treatments will be
necessary, like the urea catalyst and possible particulate filters. These technologies have been
described e.g. in [14].

4 Conclusions

There are still many possibilities for improvement and refinement, that will keep the piston
engine with internal combustion alive. The availability of cheap and fast electronic chips made
the realisation of many concepts possible that turn the formerly simple Otto or Diesel engine into
a high tech device of the 21st century. Before fuel cell driven vehicles will be sold in big
numbers, hybrids will probably use small piston engines in combination with electric
motors/generators for highly flexible drive trains using small battery packs for city driving and
transient power peaks, thus giving the piston engine an even longer life. Also, alternative fuels
might be used in the future for cleaner more efficient engines.

5 Personal Comment

The future of the piston engine appears to be bright for some time to come. There is still enough
room for improvement and refinement if legislation requires it or the industry wants to sell it.
There is an ever ongoing spiral of more power in ever smaller cars. More comfort and safety
features make cars heavier and heavier, compensating the improvements in fuel consumption.
At this point the question needs to be asked how much power, comfort and safety one needs in
a vehicle? A VW Golf S in the 70ies weighed 900kg, had a 1.6 litre engine with 75 BHP, no
fancy technology and consumed approximately 7 l of petrol for 100km. It was reasonably fast,
reliable and probably safe and its torque curve was good. Today a Golf is a middle class car
and weighs in at 1400 kg, has a 110 or 150 BHP but still a similar specific power and
consumption. Where has all the technological progress gone? Is it the public that asks for more
of everything or is it the marketing that easily convinces us that we need it? The above
presented technical features are excellent tools and they should be put to good use in a car with
maybe a bit less power but in exchange for drastically less consumption and emissions.
 The Future of the Piston Engine, An Overview

6 References

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[2] G.Biaggini, V.Buzio, R.Ellensohn, W.Knecht; DER NEUE DIESELMOTOR CURSOR 8 VON
IVECO; MTZ Motortechnische Zeitschrift, Vol. 10/1999 (this article is available in English in
“MTZ worldwide”)
[3] Sonderausgabe „ 10 Jahre TDI-Motor von Audi, MTZ Motortechnische Zeitschrift, Vol.
09/2000
[4] L.Bürgler, T.Kammerdiener; EIN COMMON-RAIL-KONZEPT MIT DRUCKMODULIERTER
EINSPRITZUNG, MTZ Motortechnische Zeitschrift, pp 230, Vol. 04/2000 (this article is available
in English in “MTZ worldwide”)
[5] H.Eichelseder et al.; CHANCEN UND RISIKEN VON OTTOMOTOREN MIT
DIREKTEINSPRITZUNG; MTZ Motortechnische Zeitschrift, pp 144, Vol. 10/1999 (this article is
available in English in “MTZ worldwide”)
[6] P.Wolters et al.; TUMBLE-BRENNVERFAHREN FÜR DI-OTTOMOTOREN ; MTZ
Motortechnische Zeitschrift, pp 758, Vol. 11/2000 (this article is available in English in “MTZ
worldwide”)
[7] M.Winterkorn et al.; DER LUPO FSI VON VOLKSWAGEN ; ATZ Automobiltechnische
Zeitschrift, pp 832, Vol. 10/2000 (this article is available in English in “ATZ worldwide”)
[8] F.Albrecht et al.; DIE TECHNIK DER NEUEN BMW SECHSZYLINDERMOTOREN, MTZ
Motortechnische Zeitschrift, pp 536, Vol. 09/2000 (this article is available in English in “MTZ
worldwide”)
[9] M.Beer, W.Held, M.Kerkau, A.Rehr; DER NEUE MOTOR DES PORSCHE 911 TURBO ;
MTZ Motortechnische Zeitschrift, pp 730, Vol. 11/2000 (this article is available in English in
“MTZ worldwide”)
[10] M.Klüting, A.Grudno, R.Flierl, C.Luttermann; DROSSELFREIE LASTSTEUERUNG MIT
VOLLVARIABLEN VENTILTRIEBEN; MTZ Motortechnische Zeitschrift, pp 476, Vol. 7-8/1999
(this article is available in English in “MTZ worldwide”)
[11] W.Salber et al.; DER ELEKTROMECHANISCHE VENTILTRIEB, PART 1 ; MTZ
Motortechnische Zeitschrift, pp 826, Vol. 12/2000
[12] S.Birch; VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY SAAB; Automotive Engineering (SAE), PP 54,
04/2001
[13] J.Crosse ; FOCUS ON…SAAB SVC ; Engine Technology International, pp 27, June 2000
[14] M.Koebel, M.Elsner, G.Madia.; NOx VERMINDERUNG IN DIESELABGASEN MIT
HARNSTOFF-SCR BEI TIEFEN TEMPERATUREN; MTZ Motortechnische Zeitschrift, pp 166,
Vol. 2/2001