I say, go for it.

Let me know how it works out for ya.... lot's o pic's....

 

Good idea, may I suggest you read:

ELECTRICALLY ACTUATED VALVE

 

Yup, fine idea.

I liked what Smokey Yunick had to say about improvements on the poppet valve design. He said it was all just lipstick on a pig.

 

yea...Cat has run tests on these for future engines (not a secret, I'm not giving anything away!) and they do OK, but dont have the reliability, yet, of the mechanical valves and cam.

i think the ones i saw were operated via a motor and small gear train which did the translating from rotaty motion to linear motion of the valve...not the electromagnet type of actuator...i think those might be too slow for engine use.....not sure.....valves are not my department

 

Sounds good - depending on the load and speed the valve timing and duration can be changed to the peak performance! Mileage and power could be really optimized.

But think about it. Every once in a while your computer does weird things - clitches, noises, static etc. get in the program and it goes nuts - you just re-boot it and start over - no biggie.

But think how fun it would be whenever that happens you get to replace the bent valves and maybe even a few pistons.

Technology needs more time before we get there.

 

Quite a few years ago one of the major manufacturers was working on electro-hydraulic valve actuation. It's tough to get enough force out of an electromagnet to work an engine valve, but electronically controlling a small hydraulic valve showed promise. The last report I recall said that the concept was working on a lab test engine. That was probably fifteen years ago or more.

I suspect that the physics of the enterprise just run into too many problems. It takes a lot of energy to open and close valves that big, especially opening the exhaust valve against combustion pressure. Controlling that much energy, that fast, in such a small space is a mighty tough nut to crack.

Super-conducting electromagnets might be able to manage the trick, but it will be a while until that's practical.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Super-conducting electromagnets might be able to manage the trick, but it will be a while until that's practical.

[/ QUOTE ]

When it becomes practical to use superconductors in automocars, we won't need no stinking combustion engines with valves etc.! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[ QUOTE ]

When it becomes practical to use superconductors in automocars, we won't need no stinking combustion engines with valves etc.!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, and our Jeeps will probably levitate over obstacles! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[ QUOTE ]
...Yeah, and our Jeeps will probably levitate over obstacles! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's the first attempt by those crazy and wacky Islanders:

Drive your Jeep over the water!

Warning: ANDY IS NOT TO WATCH THIS!

 

He He -- Don't we all do that already?

Then why do we pay extra money for "floatation tires?"

 

It could be possible to at least partly control the valves by changing the rocker's ratio electronically. Cadillac touched on the idea a few years back with the 4-6-8 to disable cylinders. By changing ratios, overlap, duration, lift etc are changed. Yes all three change at once, but it's better than being stuck with just one lump.

Some high tech race cars are using that technology now in exotic engines.
The fast speed of opening and closing the valve is eliminated, and if something does go wrong, it doesn't "smack" a valve.

We may see that as commonplace in the near future.

 

How about combining the concept with a spherical rotary valve? Instead of opening into the combustion chamber, it is a ball that rolls and opens the port. It simply spins at half the rpm of the engine and you could vary the phase to the cranshaft is you spun it with an electric motor.

 

Now see there? Two heads are better than one!

Why is it I never could find two headded employees?




Come to think of it, my last wife had two heads - one was nasty, the other was mean.

 

Every year there is a nation wide model engine builders gathering. These guys do lots of cool stuff, like one tenth scale Radial aircraft engines that actually run.

I have been told that there is a guy with a small model of a electric valve engine that shows it off every year. From what I have been told it is throttled by changing the valve open time, and can even run as a hit and miss.

The ball valve is A neat idea. It would be kind of like a Junk head engine. These a liner in the cylinder that is moved up and down and rotates to open and close the valve openings which are cut in the side of the cylinder and in the liner.

 

The only real problem I see with the ball valve idea - or a rotating cylinder valve, is it's running in the carbon from the burning process. I'd think the carbon would cause fast wear on the sealing surfaces. That was a big problem with the Wankel Rotary engine - the seals dragged across the dirty combustion area.

A regular engine valve tends to self clean the seat every time it closes.

If somehow we could get the carbon out of hydrocarbon fuels it probably would be practical.

Interesting concepts though - keep em coming!

 

[ QUOTE ]
I'd think the carbon would cause fast wear on the sealing surfaces. That was a big problem with the Wankel Rotary engine - the seals dragged across the dirty combustion area.........

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sure the problem can be overcome. After all the rotary has been and is still in production for nearly 40 years.

[ QUOTE ]
.....If somehow we could get the carbon out of hydrocarbon fuels it probably would be practical.

[/ QUOTE ]

Carbon free Hydrogen fuel has been around forever. Available but not practical for the same reason rotary and/or electric valves are not. Cost vs benefit. Even the relatively simple variable valve control systems in production are cost prohibitive, and they've been around for many years. Just not worth it as long as fuel and breathable air remains cheap.

 

""""I'm sure the problem can be overcome. After all the rotary has been and is still in production for nearly 40 years.""""

Yup, and still has the same old problem.


Hydrogen as fuel - yup, carbon free -- but to separate hydrogen from whatever they get it from - usually water - it takes energy. Usually that energy comes from hydrocabon fuels making electricity to separate the water. Not very efficient.

Hopefully someday some other source of energy will be tapped - like sunlight, when it is, the entire world will change.

 

I don't know the mechanical specifics, but the Formula One racing engines have been using an air pneumatic system for the valves. For some reason the mechanics limit those engines to rev up to only 18,500 rpm. That would be just 9,250 cycles for each valve each minute.

 

While it sounds great...in reality, it's hard to beat mechanical leverage when it comes to effeciency.

But...I think putting effort in that direction is a waste of time....

My idea of the perfect jeep would be all electric with a small effecient turbin as the generator. With a strong electric motor at each wheel you wouldn't need lockers or diff's....