Abstract
The requirement to develop a new engine that is better in each of its attributes is the paradox that engineers are frequently confronted with. The study presented here has challenged that paradox.
A new Diesel engine with only two valves per cylinder was developed that has better emissions, better fuel economy and higher performance than its four-valve predecessor whilst having substantially reduced the cost, weight and required package space of the base engine.
The new two-valve engine achieves the same volumetric efficiency as its four-valve counterpart as a result of optimizing the cylinder head architecture, the design of the intake ports and manifold, and the valve train. Improved combustion efficiency was achieved through optimization of the combustion chamber and the injection strategy, and by means of a durable cylinder head architecture that has minimized injector inclination and eccentricity.
The engineering method that was applied has focussed on defining every detail of the design such that the engine system as a whole is optimized. The application of state-of-the-art CAD and CAE tools, experimental methods and manufacturing technologies were elementary to this approach. Thus, it has been demonstrated that indeed the paradox can be broken.
KEYWORDS – engine efficiency, Diesel combustion, cylinder head, two-valve, CAE, cost, weight, package