Proceedings of ICEF2005 ASME Internal Combustion Engine Division 2005 September 11-14, 2005, Ottawa, Canada

ICEF2005-1221
HIGH EFFICIENCY HYBRID CYCLE ENGINE
Nikolay Shkolnik, Ph.D. LiquidPiston, Inc. 77 Kirkwood Rd. West Hartford, CT 06117 Tel. (860) 236-9969 Fax. (413) 751-6070 Email: NShkolnik@LiquidPiston.com ABSTRACT A "High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle" (HEHC) thermodynamic cycle is explored. This four-stroke cycle borrows elements from Otto, Diesel, Atkinson, and Rankine cycles. Air is compressed into an isolated combustion chamber, allowing for true isochoric combustion, and extended duration for combustion to proceed until completion. Combustion products expand into a chamber with greater volume than intake. We provide details of a compact HEHC design implementation using rotary pistons and isolated rotating combustion chambers. Two Pistons simultaneously rotate and reciprocate and are held in position by two roller bearings. One Piston performs intake and compression, while the other performs exhaust and expansion. We predict a reduction of energy losses, moving part counts, weight and size over conventional engines. KEYWORDS: ENGINE, EFFICIENCY, HYBRID, THERMODYNAMIC CYCLE, ROTARY INTRODUCTION The internal combustion engine suffers from fairly low efficiency due to theoretical thermodynamic limitations of ideal cycles as well as additional energy losses due to deviations from ideal cycles and friction between moving parts. Typically, only ~30% of the chemical energy of fuel is converted into useful work; ~40% is removed as heat by cooling water, and another 30% is lost with exhaust gases. There are many different types of engines, operating on various thermodynamic cycles, and an even greater number of modifications within each type. These different types exist because each offers certain advantages over others. At the same compression ratio, Diesel cycle engines are slightly less Alexander C. Shkolnik LiquidPiston, Inc. 77 Kirkwood Rd. West Hartford, CT 06117 Tel. (617) 939-4363 Fax. (413) 751-6070 Email: Shkolnik@mit.edu efficient than Otto cycle engines, however the Diesel engine is capable of operating at higher compression ratios at which it becomes more efficient than the Otto engine. Stirling cycle engines are superior to both Otto and Diesel cycle engines because they allow part of the exhaust energy to be recuperated, but these engines are very cumbersome (and therefore expensive) to build and maintain. At the same time, Rankine cycle steam engines offer some advantages over internal combustions engines, but are very large and slow. The development of the patent pending High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle engine aims to combine the benefits of several thermodynamic cycles. In this paper we present the HEHC cycle, followed by a discussion of the thermodynamic model of the cycle, and conclude with a sample compact design implementing the HEHC cycle. NOMENCLATURE cv cp k Mair N = = = = = specific heat at constant volume specific heat at constant pressure cp/cv Mass of air intake volume ratio of final expansion volume to intake volume pressure heat rejected at constant pressure from state 4 to state 1 heat input due to fuel combustion per amount of air intake compression ratio (V1/V2) expansion ratio (V4/V3) universal gas constant temperature volume thermal efficiency

p = qout = Qin = r = rC rE R T V th = = = = = =

Copyright 2005 by ASME

th = work performed during one cycle (one Piston swing) HEHC = High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle LPE = LiquidPiston Engine (which implements the HEHC cycle) Subscripts and superscripts (Figure 1) 1 to 5 = point of a thermodynamic cycle (see Fig. 1) D = Diesel H = HEHC O = Otto Engine Components (as shown in Figure 7) CP = Compressor Piston EP = Expander Piston: L-CC = Left Combustion Chamber R-CC = Right Combustion Chamber CC = Combustion Chamber (either left or right) CC-1 CC-2 EC-1 EC-2 = = = = Compression Chamber #1 Compression Chamber #2 Expansion Chamber #1 Expansion Chamber #2

THERMODYNAMIC MODEL The thermodynamic model presented in this paper is limited to discussion of an ideal air-standard HEHC engine only, and is presented for the purpose of comparison with ideal air-standard Otto and Diesel engines. Analysis of air-standard Otto and Diesel engines is useful for theoretical analysis, and is common discussion in most internal combustion engine textbooks. Actual engine efficiency is significantly lower for a number of reasons, but analysis becomes increasingly complex. However, some of the differences in the HEHC engine become apparent through such ideal cycle analysis. The air-standard theoretical cycle makes a number of simplifying assumptions: o Gas in the cylinder obeys the ideal gas law and has constant specific heat o Physical constants of the gas are the same as those at moderate temperature o The compression process (2) and expansion process (4) are adiabatic and frictionless o Heat addition occurs at either constant volume (Otto, HEHC) or constant pressure (Diesel) o Frictionless intake and exhaust processes Below we compare the equations for calculating the pressure, temperature and volume at each point in the cycle. Refer to Fig. 1 as well as Tables 1 to 3 for quantitative comparison of the cycles. In Fig. 1, line (2) corresponds to compression; (3) to combustion; (4) to expansion; (5) / (1) to exhaust / intake. For the comparison in Tables 1 to 3, we choose r = 9.5 for Otto, and r = 18.5 for HEHC / Diesel. We use k = 1.3, p1 = 101.3 kPa, T1 = 300K. Referring to Fig. 1, the initial specific volume (point 1) for all three engines is:

HIGH EFFICIENCY HYBRID CYCLE As the name implies, the High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle (HEHC) attempts to combine the best features of numerous thermodynamic cycles including Otto, Diesel, Rankine, and Atkinson to create a highly efficient engine. In a later section we explore a compact design to implement this cycle. Referring to Fig. 1, HEHC can be described as follows: Air (with no fuel) is compressed to a high ratio (> 18) in a compressor cylinder of the engine. The air is directed into an isolated combustion chamber. Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber and auto ignites. Combustion occurs under truly isochoric conditions and is allowed to complete until all fuel is fully combusted. The combustion products expand into an expander cylinder, which has larger volume than the intake volume. A small amount of water (an optional component) may be used in the system. Water may facilitate the cooling, lubricating, and sealing of combustion chamber and pistons. The combination of high compression ratio, true constant volume combustion, expansion into a larger volume than intake, and (optionally) water turning to high pressure steam cumulatively add to the efficiency of the engine, allowing in a first approximation an overall thermodynamic efficiency of 75% and higher.

1 = V1 / M air = RT1 / M air p1 =.85m3/kg

(1)

With frictionless adiabatic compression (1-2) we obtain the following for point 2:

2 = 1 / r
HEHC Cycle
Combustion (3)

(2)

Otto Cycle Diesel Cycle

Exp ans ion (4)

Pressure

Co mp res sio n
Exhaust (5)

(2)

Intake (1)

V2D = V2H V2O Volume

V1O,D,H = V4O = V4D

V4H

Figure 1. Qualitative P-V diagrams comparing the actual thermodynamic cycles of Otto, Diesel and HEHC engines. 2 Copyright 2005 by ASME

p 2 = p1 (r ) T2 = T1 r k 1

(3) (4)

The work performed during one cycle is:

th = qin qout
And thermal efficiency of the cycle is:

(14)

At this point, V, P, T are the same for HEHC / Diesel; in Otto, V is greater (since compression ratio r is lower), and therefore P and T are significantly higher in HEHC / Diesel. Heat is then added under constant volume for HEHC / Otto, or under constant pressure for Diesel:

th = th q

(15)
in

3HEHC ,Otto = 2HEHC ,Otto

T
Diesel 3

As shown in Tables 1 to 3, the efficiencies come to: (5a)

HEHC th = 66% Diesel th = 48% Otto th = 49%

RT = p

Diesel 3 Diesel 2

(16a) (16b) (16c)

(5b) (6a) (6b)

HEHC ,Otto 3

=T

HEHC ,Otto 2

+ qin / c

T
HEHC p3 ,Otto

Diesel 3

=T

Diesel 2

+ qin / c p

Note, efficiency can also be written:

HEHC th = 1 k

T HEHC ,Otto HEHC = p2 ,Otto 3 HEHC ,Otto T2 (7a) Diesel Diesel p3 = p2 (7b) qin = Qin M air

T4 T1 T3 T2

= 1 k

rE rC k k rE rC
k k

(17a)

Diesel th

Where: (8)

Otto th

1 T T1 1 r rC = 1 4 = 1 E 1 1 k T3 T2 k rE rC T T1 1 = 1 4 = 1 k 1 T3 T2 rC

(17b) (17c)

qin is assumed to be 1816 kJ/kg in Tables 1-3. HEHC allows larger volume during expansion than intake volume (typical for Atkinson cycle). Assuming frictionless adiabatic expansion, point 4 parameters are:

These equations can be further simplified so that the expansion ratio (rE) is a function of compression ratio (rC). In the Diesel cycle, heat is added under constant pressure conditions, so that P3 = P2. Thus, V3 is a function of P2, which itself is a function only of rC and P1. Similarly, in HEHC, the exhaust pressure (P4) is constrained to equal the intake pressure (P1). This allows us to calculate V4 as a function of compression ratio.

4HEHC = N 1
Otto , Diesel 4

(9a) (9b)

= 1
k 1

T4 = T3 3 4

(10)
k

p 4 = p3 3 4
Efficiency Calculations

(11)

Heat, qout, rejected from state 4 to state 1 occurs under constant volume in Diesel and Otto engines, and occurs at constant pressure in the HEHC engine:
HEHC qout = c p T4HEHC T1HEHC

Diesel qout ,Otto = cv T4Diesel ,Otto T1Diesel ,Otto

(12a) (12b) 3

Figure 2. Thermodynamic efficiency of ideal HEHC, Otto, and Diesel cycles as a function of compression ratio, with k = 1.3; Otto cycle is assumed not to operate at a compression ratio above ~ 10. Copyright 2005 by ASME

Thus, we can replace rE with:

V1 * P rC 1 rE_diesel = k 1 R * (T1rC + qin / c p )

q k k k 1 rC (T1 rC + in ) cv rE_HEHC = k 1 T1 rC
1

(18a)

(18b)

From the above analysis, we can see that for the compression ratios selected for each cycle, the ideal thermodynamic efficiency of the HEHC cycle is 38% greater than Diesel, and 35% greater than Otto engines. Actual efficiency for all of these engines will be lower than their ideal cycles. However, combustion in HEHC occurs in an isolated chamber under Table 1: Ideal HEHC cycle: Pressure, volume and temperature at various points of the cycle for N = 2.75, r = 18.5, k = 1.3 Parameter Pressure Specific Volume Temp. Units (p, kPa) (T, K)
HEHC th

truly constant-volume conditions, and is allowed to proceed for significantly longer than in conventional engines. One of the reasons actual Otto engine efficiency is significantly lower than ideal is because combustion does not occur under truly constant volume (which is an assumption of the ideal cycle analysis). The difference between actual efficiency and ideal efficiency may be less for HEHC than Otto cycle because combustion happens at a truly constant volume, while in Otto engine the pressure curve slopes down as piston moves out from top dead center. Thus, it may be reasonable to suggest that actual HEHC engine efficiency will be closer to its ideal, though pumping losses, heat transfer and other irreversible processes, have yet to be accounted for. HEHC IMPLEMENTATION: LIQUIDPISTON ENGINE The HEHC cycle can be implemented in various ways, as outlined in [1, 2]. As an example we have selected one specific implementation, which we refer to as the LiquidPiston Engine (LPE). In this section we describe the components of the engine, and then walk through the fourstroke operation. LPE consists of four sub-assemblies (see Fig. 3): 1. Compressor 2. Expander 3. Combustion Chambers 4. Combustion Chambers Drive Mechanism 1. Compressor (see Figs. 4, 5, 7)

1 100 300

Point of Cycle 2 3 4439 20247 0.047 3284 720

4 100 2.769 964

(, m3/kg) 0.861 0.047

T T = 1 k 4 1 =66% T3 T2

Table 2: Ideal Diesel Cycle: Pressure, volume and temperature at various points of the cycle for r = 18.5, k = 1.3 Parameter Pressure Specific Volume Temp. Units (p, kPa) (T, K) 1 100 300 Point of Cycle 2 3 4439 4439 0.174 2692 720 4 555 .861 1667

The Compressor Housing is an envelope that houses the compressor components. The housing contains a large cavity in which the Compressor Piston (described below) operates. The Housing has two fixed intake ports that allow fresh air to flow between the compressor cavity and the environment, two cylindrical holes to hold Combustion Chambers, and two Guide Rollers, which are rotationally fixed within the housing (described below). The Compressor Piston (CP), is a curved triangular rotor. The external contour of this rotary piston has the shape of a modified Reuleaux Triangle (modified to have circular arcs at the apexes). The outside curved surfaces are all smooth cylindrical segments. The inside of CP is hollowed out in two layers. The first layer (Fig. 5-B) is geometrically similar to the external geometry, just smaller in dimension. This layer interfaces with two guide rollers held in the compressor housing. These two guide rollers, which are in a fixed position relative to the housing, are in constant contact with CP and constrict the rotors motion. The remaining inner volume of CP (Fig. 5-A) is used to support three Cam Follower Rollers, one at each of the apexes. The compressor piston divides the Compressor Housing internal cavity into two chambers (cylinders), CC-1 and CC-2 (Fig 7-A). The Compressor Piston Cam interfaces with the set of cam followers within the piston. The cam is driven by the outer shaft, and in turn drives the piston with smooth acceleration/deceleration and dwell (if required). 4 Copyright 2005 by ASME

(, m3/kg) 0.861 0.047

Diesel th = 1

1 T4 T1 = 48% k T3 T2

Table 3: Ideal Otto Cycle: Pressure, volume and temperature at various points of the cycle for r = 9.5, k = 1.3 Parameter Pressure Specific Volume Temp. Units (p, kPa) (T, K)
Otto th

1 101 300

Point of Cycle 2 3 1867 9987 .091 3154 589

4 535 .861 1605

(, m3/kg) 0.861 0.091

T T = 1 4 1 = 49% T3 T2

2.

Expander (see Figs. 4, 7)

Expander

Compressor

The Expander is very similar to the Compressor, in that it consists of similarly shaped housing, rotor, cam and guide rollers. The major difference is that the expander is significantly wider (thicker) than the compressor, and so all components within are also wider. The Expander Housing, as shown in Fig. 4, is similar to the Compressor Housing except that it is wider, and has two fuel injector ports, into which high pressure commercial fuel injectors will be inserted (not shown). The injected fuel will interact with the combustion chamber, described below. Instead of air intake ports, the expander has two exhaust ports which allow combustion products to be exhausted. The Expander Piston (EP) is similar to CP, except that it is wider. The wider EP and expander housing allow for a larger expansion volume than intake volume. The angular position of EP is phase shifted with respect to angular position of CP by 30 (Fig. 8). EP divides the Expander Housing into two expansion chambers/cylinders, referred to as EC-1, EC-2 (Fig 7-B). The Expander Piston Cam, as shown in Fig. 4, is driven by the EP cam followers. This cam in turn drives the output shaft, which is coupled rigidly to both compressor and expander cams. 3. Combustion Chambers (see Figs. 4, 6)

A)

Combustion Chambers Drive Mechanism

Compressor Piston

B)

Expander Piston Combustion Chamber

The two Combustion Chambers, LCC and RCC, are cylindrical bodies which interface with both the compressor

Figure 3. General view: HEHC Internal Combustion Engine: A) Full assembly B) Transparent housing showing principle components

Compressor Housing Compressor Piston Compressor Piston Cam Expander Piston Cam Expander Piston Expander Housing Combustion Chamber Housing Combustion Cavity Bearings

CC Drive Mechanism Fuel Port

Guide Rollers Injector

Figure 4. Exploded view of HEHC Internal Combustion Engine 5 Copyright 2005 by ASME

and expander. Each combustion chamber has a semi-spherical combustion cavity and passage (transfer path) leading to it. The passage interfaces the combustion cavity with the compression chambers at specific times, and also allows for fuel injection, and (optional) water injection mechanisms. The volume limited by the combustion cavity together with the passage forms the combustion volume i.e. constant volume space where combustion will occur. Referring to Fig. 1, this volume is denoted as V2. The combustion chambers are constructed out of heat resistant material (steel alloys, titanium, ceramics, etc.). 4. Combustion Chambers Drive Mechanism (Fig. 3, 4)

Compressor Piston

Compressor Piston Cam

The drive mechanism consists of pulleys (or sprockets or gears), and a timing belt (or chain). It is driven by the output shaft, and in turn drives the Combustion Chambers with constant speed. Each Combustion Chamber completes one revolution per revolution of the output shaft (which corresponds to two swings or 1/3 of a revolution of the piston). An optional flywheel on the output shaft (not shown), may be used to smooth the speed variations and supply energy to the CP cam during initial phases of its motion, before expansion process begins in corresponding expansion cylinder. ENGINE OPERATION In this section we walk through the operation of the proposed LPE engine. Since one of the most important aspects of the new engines is the isolated constant volume combustions, we begin our description from the operation of Combustion Chambers. Operation of Combustion Chambers Each Combustion Chamber (LCC / RCC, or just CC when referring to either one indiscriminately), as described above, is rotated with constant speed by the combustion chamber drive mechanism. The rotating CC simultaneously acts like two valves, one of which regulates flow between the compression chamber and the combustion cavity (through the Compressed Air Port), and the other valve which regulates flow between the combustion cavity and the expansion chamber. Depending on its angular position, the CC is in one of three possible states: Compression, Combustion, or Expansion. We will describe these states sequentially. Compression State: The Combustion Chamber LCC begins in a position where the Compressed Air Port (Fig. 6), is aligned with the opening of the compression chamber CC-1 (Figs. 7, 8). In this position, the Compressed Air Port, which is a passageway from CC-1 to the combustion cavity, allows air to flow from CC-1 to the combustion cavity. The Combustion Cavity, Fig. 6, is a similar passageway in the combustion chamber which interfaces the combustion cavity with the expansion chamber EC-1. While the Compressed Air Port is aligned with CC-1, the Combustion Cavity is facing the housing wall, and is therefore sealed off. Thus, during the compression state, air is only allowed to flow between the 6

Compressor Cam Follower Rollers

A)

Guide Rollers

B) Figure 5. Compressor Piston with Cam, Cam Followers and Guide Rollers. A) front view. B) back view

Plug

Compressed Air Port Transfer Path Combustion Cavity

Figure 6. Combustion Chamber Copyright 2005 by ASME

compression chamber CC-1, and the combustion cavity. LCC is in the compression state for 90 of its rotation, during which time the CP is displacing all of the air from CC-1. The air which is displaced flows into the combustion cavity through the Compressed Air Port, while it is being further compressed by CP. The air is fully displaced from CC-1 after 90 of LCC rotation. Figure 9-A shows a qualitative representation of the pressure within the combustion cavity as a function of CC angular position. The region from 0 - 90 represents the CC in the Compression State. Combustion State: After 90 of rotation during which LCC is in the Compression State, the Compressed Air Port is no longer aligned with the opening to CC-1. Instead the Compressed Air Port now faces the wall of the housing, so air flow between the combustion cavity and CC-1 is prohibited. The compressed air is now trapped within the combustion cavity. Both the Compressed Air Port and the Combustion Cavity remain sealed for another 90 of LCC rotation (as they are both facing the housing wall during this time). The volume of compressed air within the combustion chamber is completely isolated, with no flow between the combustion chamber and EC-1 / CC-1. The isolated volume consists of the volume of the Combustion Cavity, plus the volumes of additional passageway including the Compressed Air Port. This total volume is the combustion volume, which is referred to as V2 in Fig. 1. Shortly after LCC enters the combustion state, fuel is injected into the combustion cavity by conventional high pressure injectors. The high pressure, high temperature compressed air (P ~ 5900 kPa, T ~ 960K, compression ratios of 18:1 or above) causes fuel to auto-ignite. Combustion continues through the remainder of the Combustion State (90 of LCC rotation). The process is very similar to the Diesel engine, except combustion occurs within isolated combustion volume, i.e. under isochoric conditions. Looking at Fig. 9-A, the region from 90 - 180 is a qualitative representation of the pressure in LCC during the Combustion State. With an operating speed of 2000 RPM of the rotor (comparable to Wankel engine, with which our piston shares similar geometry and mass characteristics), the 90 degrees of CC rotation during which combustion occurs corresponds to 2.5 ms, which is sufficient time for complete combustion [3]. Expansion State: Following 180 of rotation during which LCC is in the Compression / Combustion states, the Compressor Air Port remains closed, but now the Combustion Cavity aligns with the opening in the EC-1 housing, which allows gas flow between the combustion cavity volume and EC-1. This allows the combustion cavity, full of hot, high pressure combustion products, to communicate with the expansion chamber EC-1. The Combustion Cavity remains open for 180 of CC rotation. During this time, combustion products expand into the expansion cylinder delivering work through the EP to the shaft. At the start of the expansion state, the volume of EC-1 is near zero, so flow losses will be minimal. Looking at Fig. 9-A, the region from 180 - 360 is a qualitative representation of the pressure in CC during the Expansion State. After expansion state is completed, the CC

Air Intake Port CC-1 LCC

Direction of Rotation of All CC-2 RCC

CP A)

Air Intake Port Fresh Air

EC-1 EP LCC

Exhaust Port EC-2

RCC B)

Exhaust

Exhaust Port

Figure 7. Nomenclature Diagram for Engine Operation Discussion. A) Front view of Compressor, and all relevant components and cylinders. B) Front view of Expander, and all relevant components and cylinders. has completed 360 of rotation, and thus enters the compression state again, and the whole cycle repeats. Operation of Compressor: Compression and Intake The modified Reuleaux geometry of the piston is of constant width, meaning that, like a circle, it can rotate smoothly between two planar surfaces. Because of this, we can guide the rotor on two bearings located in constant position. The rotor position is fully defined by the cam and cam followers attached to the CP (Fig. 5-A). We begin examining the operation of the Compressor with the CP at the right most position (we label this angular position of the CP as 0). The CP is driven in the counterclockwise direction by the CP Cam. The rotation is a simple circular motion, with center of rotation around the Lower Guide Bearing. The lower apex of CP remains in constant contact with the Lower Guide Bearing, while the upper surface of the CP travels along the Upper Guide Bearing as the piston rotates. CP rotates with a non-uniform velocity: at the 0 position, the piston has zero velocity; at 30 the rotor achieves maximal velocity, and by 60, which is when CP is in the left most position, the rotor has slowed down again to zero velocity. This arrangement precludes contact of CP with the housing walls and if gap between these two is made very small, it may be possible to 7 Copyright 2005 by ASME

Compressor

Expander

the 270 position. Since LCC is in Expansion State from 180 - 360, air is not allowed to flow from CC-1 to LCC, and so the air within CC-1 is being compressed, and pressure as shown in Fig. 9-B is rising. Note the combustion chambers are rotating three times as fast as the average piston rotational speed, so 30 in CP rotation corresponds to 90 of LCC rotation. When CP passes 30, the LCC is in the 360/0 position, so LCC enters the Compression State, and opens up its Compressed Air Port to CC-1. Air is allowed to flow from CC-1 to LCC, so pressure in CC-1 momentarily drops, but increases again as CP continues to displace the CC-1 volume (Fig. 9-B). CP continues to rotate until it is in the 60 position, which is the left-most position. All of the air in CC-1 has been displaced by CP, and is thus compressed within LCC. LCC, which is now in the 90 position, enters the Combustion Phase. While CC-1 undergoes the Compression Stroke during the first 60 of CP rotation, CC-2 undergoes the Intake Stroke. As shown in Fig. 7-A, the CP is moving away from the lower right side of the housing, and so the lower-right Air Intake Port is open. CC-2 has zero volume when CP is at 0, but this volume is monotonically increasing as CP rotates. Fresh air is inducted into CC-2 through the Air Intake Port. When CP comes to the 60 position, CC-2 is at maximal volume, and it is filled with fresh air at ambient pressure. The CP Cam controls the speed of the CP, and ensures that the rotor comes to a stop at the 60 position. At this time, the cam disengages from (no longer exerts force on) the camfollower in the left apex of the CP rotor. At the same time, the cam engages the lower cam-follower bearing within the CP rotor. This induces a switch in axis around which the CP rotates. CP continues its counter-clockwise circular rotation, but the center of rotation switches to the Upper Guide Bearing. The process described above continues symmetrically, whereby the roles of CC-1 / CC-2, and LCC / RCC are reversed. To summarize, for the first 60 of CP rotation, CP is moving counterclockwise, with the center of rotation at the Lower Guide Bearing, and the air cavity to the left of the CP is undergoing compression, while the air cavity to the right of the CP is undergoing the intake stroke. Then, the axis of CP rotation switches to the Upper Guide Bearing, and for the next 60 of CP rotation, the air cavity to the right of the CP is undergoing compression, while the air cavity to the left of the CP is undergoing the intake stroke. At this point, the CP is in the 120/0 position and the process is repeated. Operation of Expander: Expansion and Exhaust From the front view, the EP is congruent to the CP. The only geometric difference is that it is 2.75 times wider. The movement of EP is very similar to CP, but it lags behind the CP by a phase-shift of 30 of piston rotation (We choose a phase shift of 30, but the actual value may vary in implementation). The position of the EP in comparison to CP is illustrated in Fig. 8. The EP divides the Expander Housing into two cylinders, EC-1, EC-2. 8 Copyright 2005 by ASME

Figure 8. Operational Time Sequence. Each row ( a f ) depicts a consecutive position of the front view of the Compressor (Left) compared to a front view of the Expander (Right)
implement dynamic sealing. Recall that the CP divides the Compressor Housing Cavity into two cylinders CC-1 and CC-2. We refer to Fig. 9-B to illustrate the pressure within CC-1 as a function of CP angular position. Shortly after CP begins its motion (starting at 0), the upper-left Air Intake Port is sealed off by the passing CP (See Fig. 7-A). Air in CC-1 is thus not allowed to escape to the atmosphere. Additionally, when CP is at 0, LCC is in

Recall that when CP reaches its 60 angular position, compression of CC-1 has completed, and LCC enters the Combustion State, where it remains while the LCC position is 90 - 180. When combustion completes (at a LCC position of 180), the Expander Piston is in the left-most position, which we label as 0. In this position, the volume of EC-1 is zero. LCC opens the Combustion Cavity to EC-1, so high-pressure combustion products are now free to interact with the EP. Figure 9-C illustrates the pressure within EC-1 as a function of its angular position. At 0, as the Combustion Cavity opens, the pressure in EC-1 is very high. The high pressure combustion products drive the Expander Piston, which in turn drives the Expander Piston Cam, and therefore the output shaft as well. Just as with the compression Piston, the motion of the expansion Piston is circular, and the center of rotation is around one of the bearings (which corresponds to one of the Pistons apexes), in this case the upper bearing. The expansion side of the engine also has two air ports, called exhaust ports (Fig. 7-b), one on the left and one on the right. When the Piston is on the left side, the left exhaust port is closed off, so this cavity is sealed. The left cavity (EC1) undergoes expansion, or the power stroke from 0 - 60. Meanwhile, the right exhaust port is open, as it is not blocked by the Piston. As EP rotates, EC-2 is decreasing in size, and

air is exhausted through the open exhaust port. Just as in the case of the CP, as EC-1 reaches 60, the velocity of EP slows to zero. The rotation switches center of rotation to the Lower Guide Bearing, and all cavities undergo symmetric process with roles reversed. Thus, from 60 - 120, EC-2 is undergoing expansion stroke, EC-1 is undergoing exhaust, and RCC is the driving combustion chamber. Summary of Operation: Completing the cycle We have shown that all four strokes occur simultaneously among the four cylinders within the engine. The compressor begins on the right side, and moves counterclockwise, with center of rotation around the lower bearing. This motion induces the compression stroke in the left compression cavity (CC-1), and intake stroke in the right compression cavity (CC2). This is followed by combustion in the left combustion chamber (LCC), which occurs in complete isolation from both the compression and expansion cavities. After combustion completes, combustion products meet the Expander Piston. The EP is in the left most position, and moves counterclockwise, with center of rotation around the upper bearing. Combustion products from the left combustion

A)

B)

C)

Figure 9. Qualitative Pressure Diagram for Left Combustion Chamber, LCC (A), Compression Chamber #1, CC-1 (B) and Expansion Chamber #1, EC-1 (C). The system is symmetrical, so similar

diagrams can be made for RCC, CC-2, EC-2, which will be phase-shifted with respect to the above. 9 Copyright 2005 by ASME

chamber drive the EP, which induces the power stroke in the left expansion cavity (EC-1), and exhaust in the right expansion cavity (EC-2).

After 60 degrees of rotation, the pistons stop their motion and switch their centers of rotation. The engine, which is symmetric in its operation, now undergoes another cycle of 4 strokes just as described above, except that all roles of the cylinders and combustion chambers reversed: CC-2 / CC-1 undergo compression / intake respectively, RCC undergoes combustion, and EC-2 / EC-1 undergo expansion / exhaust. Comparing LP to Wankel

Table 4: Sample HEHC specs (size and weight data is from SolidWorks model; assumes 66% mechanical efficiency; all steel construction) Engine Engine Specific Power Weight Volume Power Density Shaft / Power Power [kg] [L] [kW/kg] [kW/L] Rotor RPM [kW] Level 3600 / 1200 10 16.1 1.9 0.6 5.3 Nominal 6000 / 2000 16.8 16.1 1.9 1.0 8.9 Max thermodynamic properties of the working fluid under different temperatures/pressures, heat transfer, potential combustion quenching effects, and potential throttling losses may counter the predicted benefits of the HEHC engine, and can be integrated into a more realistic model of the actual cycle. . Additionally, before building the engine itself, we can enumerate several concerns that may become issues when implementing the engine: 1. Sealing of the Piston: Each Piston needs to keep two cavities separate. Thus the function of Piston seals is to do exactly that. This can be contrasted against the Wankel, which has three cavities separated by the Piston. Instead of sealing the three apexes as in the Wankel, we can instead install two stationary seals for each Piston, one at the top center, and one at the bottom center of the housing. The sides of the Piston (flat planes) will utilize side seals similar to those of a Wankel rotor. 2. Sealing of combustion chamber: This represents a challenging engineering problem, as temperatures and pressures can be very large. 3. Cooling: The engine may be cooled by direct injection of water into the spaces between pistons and housing and between combustion chamber and housing. Just enough water will be added to allow for sufficient cooling of engine components to prevent them from overheating. Otherwise, the engine will be thermally insulated from environment. The water turning into superheated steam will also aid during expansion process, enabling quasi-adiabatic expansion. Water may also be used to aid in sealing the Combustion Chambers, and both CP and EP. Finally, cooling the combustion process by adding water will also help to reduce NOx formation by 25% to 70% [5]. These benefits, however, have yet to be verified in an HEHC engine. The water injection will lower the pressure of combustion products in combustion chambers and may complicate the design of condenser unit, etc. Modeling the effects of this water injection on thermodynamic efficiency is a work in progress, and beyond the scope of this paper. Alternative, more conventional cooling means can be used as well. 4. Lubricating with water may not be sufficient: in this case we will switch to a more conventional oil lubrication system. 5. Shape of combustion chamber the majority of combustion chamber is spherical, optimally shaped, but we will have some fuel / air in passages as well, which are not optimally shaped. The hope is that by providing sufficient time for combustion (90 degrees of the cycle), we can still burn all fuel and air. Alternatively, it may help to run at a leaner than stoichiometric fuel/air ratio.

Due to the rotary design of the LP engine, it may seem natural to compare the LP engine to a Wankel. There are a few important differences, however, that should be taken into consideration. In addition to implementing a different thermodynamic cycle, the LP engine does not face some of the problems that plague the Wankel: efficiency is low, and more than 20% of fuel goes unburned in the Wankel because of sealing problems at the apexs, a high combustion surface area / combustion volume ratio, and gasses that reside within crevices of the engine that manage to escape combustion, and are exhausted [4]. In the LP engine, apexes do not contact the engine body, instead there is small (.001) gap between apex and body at all times, which is made possible because the location of the rotor is determined completely by the two guide rollers and cam. Sealing of the apexes can be thus simplified by using two stationary seals (to divide the two cylinders). To contrast Wankels combustion problems, combustion in the LP engine occurs in a semispherical cavity within an isolated chamber, for an extended period of time. Power Density Benefits The LP engine has a compact design despite the fact compression / expansion occur in different volumes. This is possible because the same piston is used to execute two strokes simultaneously (compressor intake / compression and expander expansion / exhaust) as well as absence of a crankshaft and connecting rods. As shown in Table 4, based on a SolidWorks model, and the assumption that steel is used for housing, the LP engine has a specific power output of .6 / 1.0 kW/kg (cont / max); for comparison, gasoline engines of comparable power output of < 20kW (e.g. Honda GX620 K1, Kangle FC188F, rotax 277) have specific power ranging from ~ .3 - .6 kW/kg (max power output). FUTURE DIRECTIONS The current thermodynamic model can be improved with more accurate modeling and computer simulation. Such a model can attempt to account for irreversible processes, which the present air-standard model does not account for. Changing

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CONCLUSION In this paper, the High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle (HEHC) thermo-dynamic cycle was presented. This cycle incorporates high compression ratio of air only, as in the Diesel cycle; constant volume combustion, as in the Otto cycle; and expansion to intake pressure, as in the Atkinson / Brayton cycles. The thermodynamic analysis presented in this paper compared standard-air models of HEHC and conventional cycles such as Otto and Diesel. Such air-standard models are REFERENCES [1] Shkolnik, N., 2003, Liquid Piston Internal Combustion Power System. International PCT patent application no. WO 2003/074840. [2] Shkolnik, N., Shkolnik, A., 2004, Hybrid Cycle Combustion Engine. U.S. Patent application 60/535,891. [3] Burghardt, M.D., 1986, Engineering Thermodynamics With Applications, Third Edition, Harper & Row, New York.

useful to uncover first-order trends in performance. Under airstandard assumptions, for the compression ratios chosen for corresponding cycles, HEHC is shown to offer nearly 35% improvement in efficiency over Otto and Diesel engines. A novel engine implementation is presented which may be capable of efficiently implementing the HEHC cycle. The LiquidPiston Engine (LPE) is a compact design consisting of a separate rotary compressor, two isolated combustion chambers, and a separate rotary expander. Several potential implementation issues were discussed. [4] Norman, T.J., 1981, "A performance model of spark ignition Wankel engine: including the effects of crevice volumes, gas leakage and heat transfer", Masters Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Mechanical Engineering. [5] Bedford, F., Rutland, C., Dittrich, A., Raab, A., Wirbleit, F., 2000, "Effects of Direct Water Injection on DI Diesel Engine Combustion." SAE Paper 2000-012938 [6] Heywood, J. 1988. Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals. Mcgraw-Hill. New York., pp 175.

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