Investigation of Different Valve Geometries and Vavle Timing Strategies and their Effect on Regenerative Efficiency for a Pneumatic Hybrid with Variable Valve Actuation

Abstract

In the study presented in this paper a single-cylinder Scania D12 diesel engine has been converted to work as a pneumatic hybrid. During pneumatic hybrid operation, the engine can be used as a 2-stroke compressor for generation of compressed air during vehicle deceleration and during vehicle acceleration the engine can be operated as an air-motor driven by the previously stored pressurized air. The compressed air is stored in a pressure tank connected to one of the inlet ports. One of the engine inlet valves has been modified to work as a tank valve in order to control the pressurized air flow to and from the pressure tank. In order to switch between different modes of engine operation there is a need for a VVT system and the engine used in this study is equipped with pneumatic valve actuators that uses compressed air in order to drive the valves and the motion of the valves are controlled by a combination of electronics and hydraulics. This paper describes the introduction of new tank valve geometry to the system with the intent to increase the pneumatic hybrid regenerative efficiency. The new tank valve has a larger valve head diameter than the previously used setup described in order to decrease the pressure drop over the tank valve. In order to ensure tank valve operation during high in-cylinder pressures the valve is combined with an in-house developed pneumatic valve spring which makes the tank valve pressure compensated. A comparison between the old and the new tank valve geometry and their effect on the pneumatic hybrid efficiency has been done. Also, optimization of the valve timings for both CM (Compressor Mode) and AM (Air-motor Mode) has been done in order to achieve further improvements on regenerative efficiency. (Less)