Buffered Internal Combustion Engine Thermal Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard internal combustion engines, including four-stroke and split cycle designs, suffer from inefficiencies due to their single cycle synchronous nature, leading to significant thermal energy loss and greenhouse gas emissions, with challenges in burning air-fuel mixtures under high pressure and limited maximum pressure containment.
Innovation Solution
A buffered internal combustion engine design featuring an insulated tank system with high-pressure gas storage and a modular engine architecture, allowing for decoupled HPG generation and power generation cycles, controlled by an Engine Control Module to optimize pressure, power, and emissions, with flexible cylinder types and valve timing for multi-cycle synchronous or asynchronous operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a single cycle synchronous process is used in standard internal combustion engines, then the engine structure is simple, but thermal energy loss is significant and efficiency is low
Solution Approach 1:
The engine cycle is segmented into two separate cycles: a first cycle in a first engine for generating high-pressure gases (HPG) and a second cycle in a second engine for consuming HPG to produce work. This segmentation allows thermal energy to be recovered and reused across cycles, significantly reducing thermal energy loss while distributing structural complexity across separate engine units.
2Power
If fuel is burned under high pressure inside a combustion chamber, then power density is improved, but the maximum pressure containment capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the high-pressure combustion process from the work-producing process. The first engine generates HPG at high pressure, which is then transferred to the second engine for work production. This allows each engine to be optimized for its specific pressure range, with the first engine handling high-pressure combustion and the second engine operating at appropriate pressures for its containment structure.
3Productivity
If a buffered internal combustion engine with decoupled cycles is implemented, then thermal energy recovery is improved and efficiency increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges two separate engines into a coordinated buffer engine system where the first engine's exhaust HPG becomes the second engine's intake fuel. This merging of exhaust from one engine with intake of another creates a thermally efficient coupled system that recovers and reuses thermal energy that would otherwise be lost, improving overall productivity despite increased system complexity.
4Loss of energy
If all cylinders execute the same four-stroke cycle continuously, then the engine design is simple, but a good part of fuel's thermal energy is lost in the exhaust system
Solution Approach 1:
Cylinders are segmented into different functional groups: some cylinders are dedicated to HPG generation (first cycle) while others are dedicated to HPG consumption and work production (second cycle). This functional differentiation allows the exhaust thermal energy from HPG-generating cylinders to be captured and utilized by HPG-consuming cylinders, eliminating the waste of thermal energy in the exhaust system while requiring differentiated cylinder configurations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances engine efficiency, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and provides flexibility in function assignment across cylinders, achieving better thermal energy recovery and power generation while minimizing contamination, by allowing for optimized pressure management and asynchronous operation.
Implementation Method 1
an insulated tank system capable of holding high-pressure gases
Implementation Method 2
an insulated tank system capable of holding high-pressure gases
Implementation Method 3
At least one of the chambers of an engine must be able to generate high-pressure combustion gases (HPG)
Implementation Method 4
at least one of the chambers of the same or different engine must be able to generate power by consuming HPG from the main gas storage tank
Data Source
AI summary
Internal combustion engine and method for buffering of combustion gases and fresh air in a storage tank and producing power, torque and other functions by consuming buffered gases from storage tank for improved efficiency, improved power and torque, reduced emissions, immediate response to increase or decrease power and torque requests, new and improved functionality, kinetic energy recovery, thermal energy recovery and increased ECM flexibility.