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UBCO reducing emissions

A UBC engineer has created a valve that promises to reduce vehicle emissions by making internal combustion engines more fuel efficient and better for the environment.

According to UBC Okanagan, Rudolph Seethaler, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and PhD candidate Brad Reinholz, have completed a simulation study that demonstrates engines can be built to be more efficient, while at the same time cutting harmful emissions.

Seethaler’s research introduced a unique cogging-torque-assisted motor drive (CTAMD) to replace conventional camshaft valve trains.

During analytic simulation in a lab at UBC’s Okanagan campus, the pair reportedly determined that the CTAMD could revolutionize the way internal combustion engines are manufactured.

“Typically, valve systems are controlled by camshafts and we tried to control them with electromechanical valve actuation (EVA),” said Seethaler.

“This technology has several advantages as it reduces emissions, and improves fuel economy.”

An EVA is a system for opening and closing valves that combines electrical and mechanical processes as opposed to the conventional fixed camshaft engine.

In his research Seethaler notes that most engines are a lot more powerful than they need to be, so the engine power is throttled back, providing only the energy required.

This 'throttling-back' reveals an inefficiency in engine design.

“We hardly ever use the power of our engine and this is quite inefficient. There is 10 to 15 per cent efficiency loss because there is a throttle in your air-intake system. Basically you are throttling back the power your engine can provide,” explained Seethaler.

By replacing camshafts with these EVA systems, Seethaler was able to remove the throttle process and provide optimal valve timing. In addition, he said, the EVA allows for more efficient cylinder deactivation, and permits new combustion strategies.

Moving on from this finding, researchers now need to test efficiency and emission improvements with an actual engine in an engine test facility, and Seethaler is hoping to get that done in the near future.

He noted that while these efficiency improvements have been tested with other EVA systems, the EVA systems before his are not in commercial use because they have proven to be either too expensive or not reliable enough.

The novelty in Seethaler’s CTAMD lies in the fact that it is cost effective and reliable, said UBCO. 

While Seethaler, who worked as a senior controls engineer for BMW in Germany before coming to UBC, is pleased with the results in the lab, he said the next step is to get this properly tested and get engine manufacturers on board.

“We have shown in the lab that there is a way of creating an electromechanical valve actuation,” said Seethaler. “We have invented something I think is cool, but it now needs to be tested on an engine.”



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