Brickley Engine Prototype

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The Brickley Engine Configuration, 15-20% Increase in Fuel Efficency, 15-20% Decrease in CO2 Emissions.

 

[91PlymouthLaser]

wow...seems like it could be a good design. But if I'm not mistaken hasn't something similar to this been tried before?

 

[Defiant]

Here we go again.
Give us a call when the prototype's been on the road for a few thousand miles.
"Reduced friction"? When two bearings have been replaced with five? The trouble's not in friction with engine emissions. It's in burning in a combustion chamber that's continuously changing volume and shape- part of why Wankel engines are so dirty. Fire don't like corners.

Again, if you want to change the IC engine world, get rid of camshafts.

 

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FAQs
It seems like there are a lot of moving parts. How can there be gains with so many moving parts?

There are more moving parts. However, an increase in moving parts does not mean there has to be more friction. Where friction is concerned one has to look at the distances that the areas of oil being sheared have to travel, oil viscosity, and what part of the Stribeck curve is in play. The Brickley configuration reduces friction in several ways. First, it eliminates the piston skirts. As well, it eliminates a number of crankshaft main bearings and crankpin bearings. It also connects the cylinders to each other through a pinned linkage, each pinned joint rotating only a small amount, thereby significantly increasing mechanical efficiency.

 

[ILLiCliPSE]

looks pretty much like a boxer motor to me...

 

[PapioGXL]

Here we go again.
Give us a call when the prototype's been on the road for a few thousand miles.
"Reduced friction"? When two bearings have been replaced with five? The trouble's not in friction with engine emissions. It's in burning in a combustion chamber that's continuously changing volume and shape- part of why Wankel engines are so dirty. Fire don't like corners.

Again, if you want to change the IC engine world, get rid of camshafts.

Have you seen the Coates engine yet?

Welcome to Coates International Ltd.

That Brickley design appears to be only a theory, as such an engine in real world applications would prove to be horribly inefficient.

 

[Defiant]

Coates only replaces cams with ports. You're still up against the same problem of (at best) a very limited amount of dynamic variability, and torque and power curves similarly limited.
Poppet valve actuation with engine-oil hydraulics, controlled by a computer similar to what controls your fuel. Continuously variable lift and duration, optimized torque and power output throughout the rev range, instant selection between economy and power, and emissions minimization. No more cam belts or chains, no more crank stress from that drive. Parasitic load on the crank might be reduced, depending on how cleverly the pressure demand of the lifting hydraulics is solved.

 

[TunaTalon]

Or for even less parasitic drag and fewer mechanical parts and pieces use electromagnetic force to open and close the valves. http://engineeringmatters.com/EMI Electromagnetic Fully Flexible Valve Actuator.pdf

This concept has been under development for many years. The last I remember was that tremendous forces are required to duplicate the ramp speeds from a good old camshaft.

 

[Defiant]

That's why hydraulic would probably work better than solenoid. With only the slightest bit of clever huddling chamber design, you could blow a valve open just as far and fast as its mass and the distance to the receding piston would allow. You could also set it up so that you'd have desmodromic action, and blow it closed as well. Part of the trouble with valve acceleration is the strength of the valve spring- if you use hydraulics to close it as well as open it, you'd only need a spring strong enough to keep it against the seat when closed. Or, use a variable-force air spring.

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

Or for even less parasitic drag and fewer mechanical parts and pieces use electromagnetic force to open and close the valves. http://engineeringmatters.com/EMI Electromagnetic Fully Flexible Valve Actuator.pdf

This concept has been under development for many years. The last I remember was that tremendous forces are required to duplicate the ramp speeds from a good old camshaft.

When I first read about this technology in Road & Track, I thought it was pretty exciting. One of the coolest things about it (although not the most useful or important) was that it would make engine starters obsolete, as the valves to any of the pistons that had stopped at TDC when the engine was last shut down could be fully closed, and fuel + spark would be added. This would basically kick-start the engine immediately with no starter needed.

I believe they said there was around a 20% increase in effeciency/power to be had by removing the valvetrain load from the engine.