CAMLESS ENGINE

A Seminar Report
submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
award of the degree of B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering
under Biju Pattnaik University of Technology
by
VARUN ANAND
Regd. No: 1201229389
Under the Guidance of
DR. DILIP KUMAR SAHU
(Prof., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DRIEMS, CUTTACK, ODISHA
OCTOBER 2015

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Seminar entitled CAMLESS
ENGINE presented by VARUN ANAND bearing Registration
No. 1201229389of Mechanical Engineering in DRIEMS has
been completed successfully.

This is in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Bachelor

Degree in Mechanical Engineering under Biju Pattnaik University
of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha.
I wish her/ him success in all future endeavours.

Under The Guidance of

Prof.Shibabrata Mohapatra
(Seminar incharge)
Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

Prof. (Dr.) Dilip Kumar Sahoo

( Seminar Guide )
Department of Mechanical Engg.

Prof. Pranab Kishore Dash

HOD, (Dept. of Mechanical Engg.)
Date:-

Acknowledgements
I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my guide,
DR. DILIP KUMAR SAHU, of Mechanical Engineering for his
unflagging support and continuous encouragement throughout the
seminar work. Without his guidance and persistent help this report
would not have been possible.

I must acknowledge the faculties and staffs of Mechanical

Engineering department for their constant support.

Its my great pleasure to acknowledge my colleagues for

providing their support and motivation.

NAME- VARUN ANAND

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Regd.No. 1201229389

ABSTRACT

The cam has been an integral part of the IC engine from its invention. The cam
controls the breathing channels of the IC engines, that is, the valves through which the
fuel air mixture (in SI engines) or air (in CI engines) is supplied and exhaust driven
out. Beside by demands for better fuel economy, more power, and less pollution,
motor engineers around the world are pursuing a radical camless design that
promisesto deliver the internal combustion engine s biggest efficiency improvement in
years. The aim of all this effort is liberation from a constraint that has handcuffed
performance since the birth of the internal combustion engine more than a century
ago. Camless engine technology is soon to be a reality for commercial vehicles. In
thecamless valve train, the valve motion is controlled directly by a valve actuator there isno camshaft or connecting mechanisms. Precise electronic circuit controls the
operationof the mechanism, thus bringing in more flexibility and accuracy in opening
andclosing the valves. The seminar looks at the working of the electronically
controlledcamless engine with electro-mechanical valve actuator, its general features
and benefit over conventional engine The engines powering today s vehicles, whether
they burn gasoline or dieselfuel, rely on a system of valves to admit fuel and air to the
cylinders and to let exhaustgases escape after combustion. Rotating steel camshafts
with precision-machined egg- shaped lobes, or cams, are the hard-tooled brains of the
system. They push open thevalves at the proper time and guide their closure, typically
through an arrangement ofpushrods, rocker arms, and other hardware. Stiff springs
return the valves to theirclosed position.

Table of Contents

01.INTRODUCTION
02. Working Of a Pushrod Engine
03. Crankshaft
04. Camshaft
05. Working
06. An overview of camless Engine
07. Camless valve train
08. Hydraulic Pendulum
09. Valve opening and closing
10. Valve motion control
11. Unequal lift modifier
12. Cylinder Head
13. Components of camless engine
14. Engine Valve
15. Hydraulic Pump
16. Solenoid Valve
17. High pressure pump
18. Low pressure pump
19. Cool down Accumulator
20. Advantages
21. Conclusion
22. Bibliography

FIG.NO.

FIGURE DESCRIPTION

PAGE

Fig1

Valve opening and closing

09

Fig 2

High pressure reserviour

10

Fig 3

Cylinder head

12

1. Introduction
The cam has been an integral part of the IC engine from itsinvention. The cam controls the
3breathing channels of the IC engines,that is, the valves through which the fuel air mixture
(in SI engines) or air(in CI engines) is supplied and exhaust driven out. Besieged by
demandsfor better fuel economy, more power, and less pollution, motor engineersaround the
world are pursuing a radical 3camless design that promises todeliver the internal
combustion engine is biggest efficiency improvementin years. The aim of all this effort is
liberation from a constraint that hashandcuffed performance since the birth of the internalcombustion enginemore than a century ago. Camless engine technology is soon to be areality
for commercial vehicles. In the camless valve train, the valvemotion is controlled directly by
a valve actuator there is no camshaft orconnecting mechanisms .Precise electrohydraulic
camless valve traincontrols the valve operations, opening, closing etc. The seminar looks
atthe working of the electrohydraulic camless engine, its general featuresand benefits over
conventional engines. The engines powering today isvehicles, whether they burn gasoline or
diesel fuel, rely on a system ofvalves to admit fuel and air to the cylinders and let exhaust
gases escapeafter combustion. Rotating steel camshafts with precision-machined egg- shaped
lobes, or cams, are the hard-tooled 3brains of the system. Theypush open the valves at the
proper time and guide their closure, typicallythrough an arrangement of pushrods, rocker
arms, and other hardware.
Stiff springs return the valves to their closed position. In an overhead -camshaft engine, a
chain or belt driven by the crankshaft turns one ortwo camshafts located atop the cylinder
head.
A single overhead camshaft (SOHC) design uses one camshaft tomove rockers that open both
inlet and exhaust valves. The doubleoverhead camshaft (DOHC), or twin-cam, setup does
away with therockers and devotes one camshaft to the inlet valves and the other to theexhaust
valves.

02. WORKING OF PUSH ROD ENGINE

Pushrod engines have been installed in cars since the dawn of the horseless
carriage. A pushrod is exactly what its name implies. It is a rod that goes from
the camshaft to the top of the cylinder head which push open the valves for the
passage of fuel air mixture and exhaust gases.
Each cylinder of a pushrod engine has one arm (rocker arm) that operates the
valves to bring the fuel air mixture and another arm to control the valve that lets
exhaust gas escape after the engine fires. There are several valve train
arrangements for a pushrod.

03. Crankshaft
Crankshaft is the engine component from which the power is taken. It receives the power
from the connecting rods in the designated sequence for onward transmission to the clutch
and subsequently to the wheels. The crankshaft assembly includes the crankshaft and
bearings, the flywheel, vibration damper, sprocket or gear to drive camshaft and oil seals at
the front and rear.

04. Camshaft
The camshaft provides a means of actuating the opening and controlling the period before
closing, both for the inlet as well as the exhaust valves, it also provides a drive for the
ignition distributor and the mechanical fuel pump. The camshaft consists of a number of cams
at suitable angular positions for operating the valves at approximate timings relative to the
piston movement and in the sequence according to the selected firing order. There are two
lobes on the camshaft for each cylinder of the engine one to operate the intake valve and the
other to operate the exhaust valve.

05. Working
When the crank shaft turn the cam shaft the cam lobs come up under the valve
lifter and cause the lifter to move upwards. The upward push is carried by the
pushrods through the rocker arm. The rocker arm is pushed by the pushrod, the
other end moves down. This pushes down on the valve system and cause it to
move down thus opening the port. When the cam lobe moves out from under the
valve lifter, the valve spring pulls the valve back upon its seat. At the same time
system pushes up on the rocker arm, forcing it to rock back. This pushes the
push rods and the valve lifter down, thus closing the valve. The figure-1,2 shows
cam-valve arrangement in conventional engines
Single cam and valve conventional valve train mechanism Since the timing of the
engine is dependent on the shape of the cam lobes and the rotational velocity of
the camshaft, engineers must make decisions early in the automobile
development process that affect the engine is performance. The resulting design
represents a compromise between fuel efficiency and engine power. Since
maximum efficiency and maximum power require unique timing characteristics,
the cam design must compromise between the two extremes.This compromise is
a prime consideration when consumers purchase automobiles. Some individuals
value power and lean toward the purchase of a high performance sports car or
towing capable trucks, while others value fuel economy and vehicles that will
provide more miles per gallon.
Recognizing this compromise, automobile manufacturers have been attempting
to provide vehicles capable of cylinder deactivation, variable valve timing (VVT),
or variable camshaft timing (VCT). These new designs are mostly mechanical in
nature. Although they do provide an increased level of sophistication, most are
still limited to discrete valve timing changes over a limited range.

06. An overview of a camless engine

To eliminate the cam, camshaft and other connected mechanisms, the Camless
engine makes use of three vital components the sensors, the electronic control
unit and the actuator ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT Mainly five sensors are used in
connection with the valve operation. One for sensing the speed of the engine,
one for sensing the load on the engine, exhaust gas sensor, valve position sensor
and current sensor. The sensors will send signals to the electronic control unit.
The electronic control unit consists of a microprocessor, which is provided with a
software algorithm. The microprocessor issues signals to the solid-state circuitry
based on this algorithm, which in turn controls the actuator, to function
according to the requirements.

07. Camless valve train

In the past, electro hydraulic camless systems were created primarily as research
tools permitting quick simulation of a wide variety of cam profiles. For example,
systems with precise modulation of a hydraulic actuator position in order to
obtain a desired engine valve lift versus time characteristic, thus simulating the
output of different camshafts. In such systems the issue of energy consumption
is often unimportant. The system described here has been conceived for use in
production engines.
It was, therefore, very important to minimize the hydraulic energy consumption.
In the past, electro hydraulic camless systems were created primarily as research
tools permitting quick simulation of a wide variety of cam profiles. For example,
systems with precise modulation of a hydraulic actuator position in order to
obtain a desired engine valve lift versus time characteristic, thus simulating the
output of different camshafts. In such systems the issue of energy consumption
is often unimportant. The system described here has been conceived for use in
production engines. It was, therefore, very important to minimize the hydraulic
energy consumption.

1. Electromechanical Poppet Valves

This type of system uses an armature attached to the valve system.Theoutside
casing contains a magnetic coil of some sort that can be used toeither attract or
repel the armature, hence opening or closing the valve.Most early systems
employed solenoid and magnetic attraction/repulsionactuating principals using
an iron or ferromagnetic armature. These typesof armatures limited the
performance of the actuator because theyresulted in a variable air gap. As the
air gap becomes larger (ie when thedistance between the moving and stationary

magnets or electromagnetsincreases), there is a reduction in the force. To

maintain high forces onthe armature as the size of the air gap increases, a higher
current isemployed in the coils of such devices. This increased current leads
tohigher energy losses in the system, not to mention non-linear behaviourthat
makes it difficult to obtain adequate performance. The result of thisis that most
such designs have high seating velocities (ie the valves slamopen and shut
hard!) and the system cannot vary the amount of valve lift.The
electromechanical valve actuators of the latest poppet valve designeliminate the
iron or ferromagnetic armature. Instead it is replaced with acurrent-carrying
armature coil. A magnetic field is generated by amagnetic field generator and is
directed across the fixed air gap. Anarmature having a current-carrying armature
coil is exposed to themagnetic field in the air gap. When a current is passed
through thearmature coil and that current is perpendicular to the magnetic field,
aforce is exerted on the armature.When a current runs through thearmature coil
in either direction and perpendicular to the magnetic field,an electromagnetic
vector force, known as a Lorentz force, is exerted onthe armature coil. The force
generated on the armature coil drives thearmature coil linearly in the air gap in a
direction parallel with the valvestem. Depending on the direction of the current
supplied to the armaturecoil, the valve will be driven toward an open or closed
position. Theselatest electromechanical valve actuators develop higher and
better- controlled forces than those designs mentioned previously. These
forcesare constant along the distance of travel of the armature because the
sizeof the air gap does not change.
The
key
component
of
the
Siemens-developed
infinitely
variable
electromechanical valve train is an armature-position sensor. This sensor ensures
the exact position of the armature is known to the ECU at all times and allows
the magnetic coil current to be adjusted to obtain the desired valve motion.
Referring now to Figures 1 to 4, an electromechanical valve actuator of the
poppet valve variety is illustrated in conjunction with an intake or exhaust valve
(22). The valve (22) includes a valve closure member 28 having a cylindrical
valve stem (30) and a cylindrical valve head (32) attached to the end of the stem
(30). The valve actuator (20) of thepoppet valve system generally includes a
housing assembly (34) consisting of upper and lower tubular housing members
(36) and (42), a magnetic field generator consisting of upper and lower field coils
(48) and (52), a core (56) consisting of upper and lower core member (58) and
(68), and an armature (78) suitably connected to the valve stem (30). The
armature coil is preferably made from aluminium wire or other electrically
conductive lightweight material, which is highly conductive for its mass.
Minimising the armature mass is especially important in view of the rapid
acceleration forces placed on it in both directions. The ability of the
electromechanical valve actuator to generate force in either direction and to vary
the amount of force applied to the armature in either direction is an important
advantage of this design. For instance, varying the value of the current through
the armature coil and/or changing the intensity of the magnetic field can control
the speed of opening and closing of the valve. This method can also be used to
slow the valve closure member to reduce the seating velocity, thereby lessening
wear as well as reducing the resulting noise.
This system is able to operate without valve springs as shown in Figure 1 or can
equally be equipped with them as shown in Figures 6 & 7. Siemens report that a
special software algorithm is used to control the actuator coil currents such that
the valves are decelerated to a speed near zero as they land - in conjunction with
a switching time of barely three milliseconds. For the valves this means minimal
wear and minimum noise generation. The 16-valve four cylinder engine that is
currently undergoing tests in Germany, by Siemens, is equipped with 16 valve
actuators and the corresponding armature-position sensors. A Siemens ECU is

used and two cable rails connect the actuators to it. A 42-volt starter-generator
provides the power. 2. Electromechanical Ball Valves An alternative to the
conventional poppet valve for use in camless valve trains is a ball valve. This
type of electromechanical valve system consists of a ball through which a
passage passes. If the ball is rotated such that the passage lines up with other
openings in the valve assembly, gas can pass through it. (Exactly like the ball
valves many of us use valve is accomplished by electromagnets positioned
around its exterior. to control our boost. Opening and closing the Referring to
Figure 10, the valve housing (7) is shown in two pieces. Ball valve (8) has two
rigidly attached pivots (12). The disc (10) is permanently attached and indexed
to the ball valve and contains permanent magnets around its perimeter. The
electromagnets (11) are situated on both sides of the ball valve (8) and they are
fixed to the valve housing.
The electromagnets are controlled through the ECU. A crank trigger sensor on
the crankshaft provides information about the position of the pistons relative to
top dead centre. Thus, at top dead centre of the power stroke, the ECM could be
used to fix the polarity of both electromagnets so that they are of opposite
polarity to the magnets in the ball valve, rotating the ball valve to the closed
position. The substitution of a simple, efficient ball valve and valve housing
arrangement in a a four stroke reciprocation piston engine eliminates all the
independent moving parts in the valve train. This may even be an improvement
over the poppet valve camless system - the ball valve needs only to rotate on its
axis to achieve the desired flow conditions, rather than be accelerated up and
down in a linear fashion. A partially open ball valve state may also be able to be
used to create more turbulence.
Electromechanical valve train implementation would not be possible witha
normal 12V electrical system. As has been covered previously inAutoSpeed
("Goodbye 12 volts... hello 42 volts!"), the automotiveindustry has chosen a 42V
electrical system as the next automotive standard. Consequently, the energy
demand of EMVT can be optimally matched by a crankshaft-mounted startergenerator (KSG - in Siemens speak) operating at 42V; it is integrated in the
flywheel and designed for the starting process as well as generator operation.

Electrohydraulic Poppet Valves

In general terms, present designs of electrohydraulic valves comprise poppet
valves moveable between a first and second position. Used is a source of
pressurised hydraulic fluid and a hydraulic actuator coupled to the poppet valve.
The motion between a first and second position is responsive to the flow of the
pressurised hydraulic fluid. An electrically operated hydraulic valve controls the
flow of the pressurised hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic actuator. In one design,
the provision is made for a three-way electrically operated valve to control the
flow of the pressurised hydraulic fluid to the actuator. This supplies pressure
when electrically pulsed open, and dumps actuator oil to the engine oil sump
when the valve is electrically pulsed to close.
The use of engine oil as the hydraulic fluid simplifies and lowers the cost of the
design by removing the need for a separate hydraulic system.The basic design of
the electrohydraulic valvetrain hardware is illustrated in Figure 11. The engine
poppet valves (22) and the valve springs (24)that are used to reset them are
shown. The poppet valves are driven by hydraulic actuators (26), which are
controlled by electrically operated electro-hydraulic valves (28) supplying
hydraulic fluid to the actuators via conduit (29). The preferred hydraulic fluid is

engine oil, supplied to theelectro-hydraulic valves by the pressure rail (30). An

engine-driven hydraulic pump (32) supplies the oil pressure, receiving the oil
from the engine oil sump (34). The pump output pressure is also limited by an
unloader valve (36), as controlled by an accumulator (38) connected to the oil
pressure rail. With this design the hydraulic pump could be periodically
disconnected, such as under braking, so that the valve train would run off the
stored accumulator hydraulic pressure. As is the trend with all modern engine
systems, the camless engine has an even greater reliance on sensors. The valve
actuation and control system typically needs a manifold pressure sensor, a
manifold temperature sensor, a mass flow sensor, a coolant temperature sensor,
a throttle position sensor, an exhaust gas sensor, a high resolution engine
position encoder, a valve/ignition timing decoder controller, injection driver
electronics, valve coil driver electronics, ignition coil driver electronics, air idle
speed control driver electronics and power down control electronics.
A valve developed by Sturman Industries is said to be about six times faster than
conventional hydraulic valves. To achieve such speeds, it uses a tiny spool
sandwiched between two electrical coils. By passing current back and forth
between the coils, a microprocessor -based controller canquickly move the spool
back and forth, thereby actuating the engine valves in accordance. However,
electrohydraulic systems are mostly being developed for diesel truck use
because it is currently not clear whether the technology will have the speed
needed for higher revving passenger car engines.

08. Hydraulic Pendulum

The Electro hydraulic Camless alve train, (EC ) provides continuously variable
control of engine valve timing, lift, and velocity. It uses neither cams nor springs.
It exploits the elastic properties of a compressed hydraulic fluid, which, acting as
a liquid spring, accelerates and decelerates each engine valve during its opening
and closing motions. This is the principle of the hydraulic pendulum. Like a
mechanical pendulum, the hydraulic pendulum involves conversion of potential
energy into kinetic energy and, then, back into potential energy with minimal
energy loss . During acceleration, potential energy of the fluid is converted into
kinetic energy of the valve. During deceleration, the energy of the valve motion
is returned to the fluid. This takes place both during valve opening and closing.
Recuperation of kinetic energy is the key to the low energy consumption of this
system.. Fig ure 7 illustrates the hydraulic pendulum concept. The system
incorporates high and low - pressure reservoirs. A small double-acting piston is
fixed to the top of the engine valve that rides in a sleeve. The volume above the
piston can be connected either to a high- or a low-pressure source. The volume
below the piston is constantly connected to the high-pressure source. The
pressure area above the piston is significantly larger than the pressure area
below the piston. The engine valve opening is controlled by a high- pressure
solenoid valve that is open during the engine valve acceleration and closed
during deceleration. Opening and closing of a low pressure solenoid valve

controls the valve closing. The system also includes high and low-pressure check
valves.
Figure 7. Hydraulic Pendulum. During the valve opening, the high-pressure
solenoid valve is open, and the net pressure force pushing on the double-acting
piston accelerates the engine valve downward. When the solenoid valve closes,
pressure above the piston drops, and the piston decelerates pushing the fluid
from the lower volume back into the high-pressure reservoir. Low-pressure fluid
flowing through the low-pressure check valve fills the volume above the piston
during deceleration. When the downward motion of the valve stops, the check
valve closes, and the engine valve remains locked in open position. The process
of the valve closing is similar, in principle, to that of the valve opening. The lowpressure solenoid valve opens, the pressure above the piston drops to the level
in the low pressure reservoir, and the net pressure force acting on the piston
accelerates the engine valve upward. Then the solenoid valve closes, pressure
above the piston rises, and the piston decelerates pushing the fluid from the
volume above it through the high-pressure check valve back into the highpressure reservoir. The hydraulic pendulum is a spring less system. Figure 8
shows idealized graphs of acceleration, velocity and valve lift versus time for the
hydraulic pendulum system. Thanks to the absence of springs, the valve moves
with constant acceleration and deceleration. This permits toperform the required
valve motion withmuch smaller net driving force, than in systems which use
springs.The advantage is further amplified by the fact that in the spring
lesssystem the engine valve is the only moving mechanical mass. Tominimize the
constant driving force in the hydraulic pendulum theopening and closing
accelerations and decelerations must be equal(symmetric pendulum).

09. Valve opening and closing

A more detailed step-by-step illustration of the valve opening and closing process
is given in Figure 9. It is a six-step diagram, and in each step an analogy to a
mechanical pendulum is shown. In Step 1 the opening (high- pressure) solenoid
valve is opened, and the high-pressure fluid enters the volume above the valve
piston. The pressure above and below the piston become equal, but, because of
the difference in the pressure areas, the constant net hydraulic force is directed
downward. It opens the valve and accelerates it in the direction of opening. The
other solenoid valve and the two check valves remain closed. In Step 2 the
opening solenoid valve closes and the pressure above the piston drops, but the
engine valve continues its downward movement due to its momentum. The lowpressure check valve opens and the volume above the piston is filled with the
low-pressure fluid. The downward motion of the piston pumps the high-pressure
fluid from the volume below the piston back into the high- pressure rail. This
recovers some of the energy that was previously spent to accelerate the valve.
The ratio of the high and low-pressures is selected so, that the net pressure force
is directed upward and the valve decelerates until it exhausts its kinetic energy
and its motion stops. At this point, the opening check valve closes, and the fluid

above the piston is trapped. This prevents the return motion of the piston, and
the engine valve remains fixed in its open position trapped by hydraulic
pressures on both sides of the piston. This situation is illustrated in Step 3, which
is the open dwell position. The engine valve remains in the open dwell position
as long as necessary. Step 4 illustrates the beginning of the valve closing.
The closing (low-pressure) solenoid valve opens and connects the volume above
the piston with the low-pressure rail. The net pressure force is directed upward
and the engine valve accelerates in the direction of closing, pumping the fluid
from the upper volume back into the low- pressure reservoir. The other solenoid
valve and both check valves remain closed during acceleration. In Step 5 the
closing solenoid valve closes and the upper volume is disconnected from the lowpressure rail, but the engine valve continues its upward motion due to its
momentum. Rising pressure in the upper volume opens the high-pressure check
valve that connects this volume with the high-pressure reservoir. The upward
motion of the valve piston pumps the fluid from the volume above the piston into
the high-pressure reservoir, while the increasing volume below the piston is filled
with fluid from the same reservoir. Since the change of volume below the piston
is only a fraction of that above the piston, the net flow of the fluid is into the
high-pressure reservoir. Again, as it was the case during the valve opening,
energy recovery takes place. Thus, in this system the energy recovery takes
place twice each valve event. When the valve exhausts its kineti c energy, its
motion stops, and the check valve closes. Ideally, this should always coincide
with the valve seating on its seat. This, however, is difficult to accomplish. A
more practical solution is to bring the valve to a complete stop a fraction of a
millimeter before it reaches the valve seat and then, briefly open the closing
solenoid valve again. This again connects the upper volume with the however, is
difficult to accomplish. A more practical solution is to bring the valve to a
complete stop a frac tion of a millimeter before it reaches the valve seat and
then, briefly open the closing solenoid valve again. This again connects the
upper volume with the low-pressure reservoir, and the high pressure in the lower
volume brings the valve to its fully closed position. Step 6 illustrates the valve
seating. After that, the closing solenoid valve is deactivated again.
For the rest of the cycle both solenoid valves and both check valves are closed,
the pressure above thevalve piston is equal to the pressure i n the low-pressure
reservoir, and the high pressure below the piston keeps the engine valve firmly
closed.

VALVE OPENING AND CLOSING

10. Valve motion control

Varying the activation timing of both solenoids varies the timing of the engine
valve opening and closing. This, of course, also vanes the valve event duration.
Valve lift can be controlled by varying the duration of the solenoid voltage pulse.
Changing the high pressure permits control of the valve acceleration, velocity,
and travel time. The valve can be deactivated during engine operation by simply
deactivating the pair of solenoids which control it. Deactivation can last any
number of cycles and be as short, as one cycle.
Increasing the number of valves in each cylinder does not require a
corresponding increase in the number of solenoid valves. The same pair of
solenoid valves, which controls a single valve, can also control several valves
running in-parallel. Thus, in a four-valve engine a pair of solenoid valves operates
two synchronously running intake valves, and another pair runs the two exhaust
valves.

HIGH PRESSURE RESERVIOR

11. Unequal lift modifier

In a four-valve engine an actuator set consisting of two solenoid valves and two check valves
controls the operation of a pair of intake or a pair of exhaust valves. Solenoids and check
valves are connected to a common control chamber serving both valves. In a four-cylinder
engine there are total of eight control chambers connected to eight pairs of valves. For each
pair, the volumes below the hydraulic pistons are connected to the high pressure reservoir via
a device called the lift modifier.

12. Cylinder Head

Cylinder head
Two cross sections of the cylinder head are shown in Figure 12. The aluminium
casting is within the original confines and contains all hydraulic passages
connecting the system components. The high- and low-pressure hydraulic
reservoirs are integrated into the casting. The reservoirs and the passages
occupy the upper levels of the cylinder head and are part of the hydraulic
system. The hydraulic fluid is completely separated from them engine oil system.
A finite element analysis was used to assure the cylinder head integrity for fluid
pressures of up to 9 M a. The lower level of the head contains the engine
coolant.
Figure 12. Cross sections of cylinder head.
The engine valves, the check valves and the modifiers are completely buried in
the body of the head. The solenoid valves are installed on the top of the cylinder
head and are kept in their proper locations by a cylinder head cover. Hydraulic
and electric connections leading to the hydraulic pump and the electronic
controller, respectively, are at the back end of the cylinder head. The height of
the head assembly is approximately 50 mm lower than the height of the base
engine head. Figure 13 is a photograph of the head on the engine with the head
cover removed. 27

13. Components of camless engine

1. Engine valve
2. Solenoid valve
3. Lift modifier
4. High Pressure Pump
5. Low Pressure Pump
6. Cool-down Accumulator

16. Solenoid Valve

Figure 15 shows a cross section of the solenoid valve. The solenoid has conically
shaped magnetic poles. This reduces the air gap at a given stroke. The normallyclosed valve is hydraulically balanced during its movement. Only a slight
unbalance exists in the fullyopen and the fully-closed positions. A strong spring
is needed to obtain quick closing time and low leakage between activations. The
hydraulic energy loss is the greatest during the closing of either the high- or the
low-pressure solenoid, because it occurs during the highest piston velocity. Thus,
the faster the solenoid closure, the better the energy recovery. The valve lift and
the seat diameter are selected to minimize the hydraulic loss with a large
volume of fluid delivered during each opening. Both high-pressure and lowpressure solenoid valves are of thesame design.

17. High pressure pump

the quantity of fluid delivered by the high pressure pump with the actual needs
of the system at various engine speeds and loads is critical to assuring low
energy consumption. To conserve the mechanical power needed to drive the
pump, its hydraulic output should closely match the needs. A variable
displacement, high efficiency, axial plunger-type pump was initially selected for
that reason. Taking into account the prohibitively high cost of such pump for
automotive applications, a low-cost variable capacity pump was conceived. A
cross section of the pump is shown in Figure 17. The pump has a single
eccentric-driven plunger and a single normally-open solenoid valve. During each
down stroke of the plunger the solenoid valve is open, and the plunger barrel is
filled with hydraulic fluid from the low pressure branch of the system. During the
upstroke of the plunger, the fluid is pushed back into the low pressure branch, as
long as the solenoid valve remains open. Closing the solenoid valve causes the
plunger to pump the fluid through a check valve into the high pressure branch of
the system. Varying the duration of the solenoid voltage pulse varies the
quantity of the high-pressure fluid delivered by the pump during each revolution.

18.Low pressure pump

A small electrically driven pump picks up oil from the sump and delivers it to the
inlet of the main pump. Only a small quantity of oil is required to compensate for
the leakage through the leak-off passage, and to assure an adequate inlet
pressure for the main pump. Any excess oil pumped by the small pump returns
to the sump through a low-pressure regulator. A check valve 1 assures that the
inlet to the main pump is not subjected to pressure fluctuations that occur in the
low-pressure reservoir.

19. Cool down accumulator

The system also includes a cooldown accumulator that, during normal operation,
is fully charged with oilunder the same pressure as in the inlet to the main
pump. When the engine stops running, the oil in both the high- and the lowpressure branches cools off and shrinks. As the system pressure drops, the
accumulator discharges oil into the system, thus compensating for the shrinkage
and preventing formation of pockets of oil vapor. The high - pressure branch is
fed from the accumulator through a check valve 2 that is installed in-parallel to
the main pump. The low-pressure branch is fed through an orifice that is
installed in-parallel to the check valve 1. The orifice is small enough to prevent
pressure wave propagation through it during each engine cycle, but sufficient to
permit slow flow of oil from the accumulator to the reservoir. In some
applications, the orifice can be incorporated directly in the check valve. After the
oil in the system has cooled off, the accumulator maintains the system at above
atmospheric pressure by continuously replenishing the oil that slowly leaks out
through the leak-off passage. When the engine is restarted, the accumulator is
recharged again. If the engine is not restarted for a very long time, as it is the
case when a vehicle is left in a long-term parking, the accumulator will
eventually become fully discharged. In that case, the pressure in the
accumulator drops to an unacceptable level, and a pressure sensor, that
monitors the accumulator pressure, sends a signal to the engine control system
which reactivates the electric pump for a short period of time to recharge the
accumulator. This process can be repeated many times, thus maintaining the
system under a low level of pressure until the engine is restarted. After the
engine restarts it takes less than one revolution of the main pump to restore the
high pressure. Operating the hydraulic system in a closed loop contributes to low
energy consumption. The amount of hydraulic power consumed by the system is
determined by the flow of fluid from the high- to the low-pressure reservoir
times the pressure differential between the outlet from and the inlet to the high
pressure pump. A small loss is also associated with leakage. There are good
reasons to use high hydraulic pressure in the system, one of them being the
need to maintain a high value of the bulk modulus of the oil. In a closed-loop
system the pressure in the low-pressure reservoir can also be quite high,
although lower than in the high-pressure reservoir (thus the pressure in the lowpressure rail is low only in relative terms). Hence, the system can operate with
very high hydraulic pressure, and yet the energy consumption remains modest
due to a relatively low pressure differential. The ratio of high pressure to low
pressure must be sufficiently higher than the ratios of the pressure areas above
and below the valve piston to assure reliable engine valve closure.

20.Advantages of camless engine

Electrohydraulic camless valve train offers a continuously variable and
independent control of all aspects of valve motion. This is a significant

advancement over the conventional mechanical valve train. It brings about a

system that allows independent scheduling of valve lift, valve open duration, and
placement of the event in the engine cycle, thus creating an engine with a totally
uncompromised operation. Additionally, the ECV system is capable of controlling
the valve velocity, perform selective valve deactivation, and vary the activation
frequency. It also offers advantages in packaging. Freedom to optimize all
parameters of valve motion for each engine operating condition without
compromise is expected to result in better fuel economy, higher torque and
power, improved idle stability, lower exhaust emissions and a number of other
benefits and possibilities. Camless engines have a number of advantages over
conventional engines. In a conventional engine, the camshaft controls intake and
exhaust valves. alve timing, valve lift, and event duration are all fixed values
specific to the camshaft design. The cams always open and close the valves at
the same precise moment in each cylinder s constantly repeated cycle of fuel-air
intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. They do so regardless of whether
the engine is idling or spinning at maximum rpm. As a result, engine designers
can achieve optimum performance at only one speed. Thus,the camshaft limits
engine performance in that timing, lift, and duration cannot be varied. The
improvement in the speed of operation valve actuation and control system can
be readily appreciated with reference to Figure 12. It shows a comparison
between valve speeds of a mechanical camshaft engine and the camless engine
valve actuation. The length of the valve stroke in inches versus degrees of
rotation of a mechanical camshaft is illustrated. When graphed, the cycle of
opening and closing of a valve driven by a mechanical camshaft will display a
shape similar to a sine curve. The opening period (as measured in crankshaft
degrees) remains constant for any engine load or rpm. However, the cycle of
opening and closing of valves driven by the electromechanical valve actuators
operates much faster. Designed to match valve-opening rates at the maximum
engine rpm, the electromechanical valve actuators open the valve at this same
rate regardless of engine operating conditions. Because of this improved speed,
greater flexibility in programming valve events is possible, allowing for improved
low-end torque, lower emissions and improved fuel economy. The massive
opening period for the electromechanically driven valve can also be seen But in a
cam less engine, any engine valve can be opened at any time to any lift position
and held for any duration, optimizing engine performance. The valve timing and
lift is controlled 100 percent by a microprocessor, which means lift and duration
can be changed almost infinitely to suit changing loads and driving 0conditions.
The promise is less pollution, better fuel economy and performance. Another
potential benefit is the cam less engines fuel savings.m Compared to
conventional ones, the cam less design can provide a fuel economy of almost 710% by proper and efficient controlling of the valve lifting and valve timing. The
implementation of camless design will result in considerable reduction in the
engine size and weight. This is achieved by the elimination of conventional
camshafts, cams and other mechanical linkages. The elimination of the
conventional camshafts, cams and other mechanical linkages in the camless
design will result in increased power output. The better breathing that a camless
valve train promotes at low engine speeds can yield 10% to 15% more torque.
Camless engines can slash nitrogen oxide, or O x, pollution by about 30% by
trapping some of the exhaust gases in the cylinders before they can escape.
Substantially reduced exhaust gas HC emissi ons during cold start and warm -up
operation.

1. Conclusion

1. An electro hydraulic camless valve train was developed for a camless engine.
Initial development confirmed its functional ability to control the valve timing,
lift, velocity, and event duration, as well as to perform selectively variable
deactivation in a four -valve multicylinder engine.
2. The system employs the hydraulic pendulum principle, which contributes to
low hydraulic energy consumption.
3. The electro hydraulic valve train is integral with the cylinder head, which
lowers the head height and improves the engine packaging.
4. Review of the benefits expected from a camless engine points to substantial
improvements in performance, fuel economy, and emissions over and above
what is achievable in engines with camshaftbased valve trains.
5. The development of a camless engine with an electro hydraulic valvetrain
described in this report is only a first step towards a complete engine
optimization. Further research and development are needed to take full
advantage of this system exceptional flexibility.

22. Bibliography
mwww.machinedesign.com
www.halfbakery.com
www.deiselnet.com
www.greendieseltechnology.co
www.me.sc.edu