Is the Scuderi engine a game-changer?

Submitted by acohill on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 15:22

The Scuderi Group have announced a new internal combustion engine that sure looks like a game changer. At this point, I can guess some of you have already started to yawn, as a whole host of "game changing" internal combustion engine designs over the past thirty years have made than claim (can anyone spell "adiabatic?").

But the Scuderi split cycle engine design is the result of more than twenty U.S. patents, and for engine buffs, the detailed descriptions of the engine, how it works, and why it works is jaw-dropping.

  • How about a 1 mm clearance between the cylinder and the cylinder head?
  • How about outward opening valves?
  • How about compression ratios of 75:1 with internal cylinder pressures of up to 1,885 psi?
  • How about fuel injectors that push the fuel in at pressures up to 3,000 psi?
  • The Scuderi engine fires After Top Dead Center, which has always been considered a bad/difficult thing to do.
  • The engine uses a split cycle configuration, which means it can store waste energy as compressed air to inject into the next firing cycle, increasing overall efficiency.

This short list of innovations does not do the engine justice, but think about a car with a Scuderi engine. My four door sedan, which has a 1.8 liter engine, would shed several hundred pounds of weight and handle very nicely with a smaller Scuderi engine, and would likely go from 32 mpg on the highway to something over 50 mpg. With gas prices passing $3 a gallon and headed towards $4/gallon, squeezing more mileage out of fossil fuels is going to be very attractive. The Scuderi engine can burn gas, diesel, propane, natural gas, and almost any kind of biofuel and renewable fuel. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for a major car manufacturer to bring a Scuderi-powered vehicle to market.

Scuderi, Volkswagen, and other manufacturers that are focused on high efficiency internal combustion engines are going to make life very difficult for the hybrid and electric car market. The hybrids, with their expensive batteries and complicated drive trains, are not price competitive with high efficiency internal combustion vehicles. And it is a myth that the hybrids are "zero emission." You have to charge the batteries with some kind of electric power, and in the U.S., it is probably coal.

Finally, and I have been ranting about this for years, we simply don't have an electric distribution grid that can handle charging large numbers of electric vehicles. It requires a massive investment in new Smart Grid technology, including fiber broadband infrastructure to every premise, to make this work well. We need and want Smart Grid for other kinds of energy conservation reasons, but I'm betting Scuderi engines are going to be more common than hybrid vehicles over the next ten years.

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Comments

Reader (not verified)

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 17:17

THE SCUDERI FAMILY HAS SPENT SINCE THE 90'S WORKING ON THIS TREMENDOUS DEVELOPMENT, THEIR TIME HAS REALLY COME TO FRUITION. THIS YEAR THEY ARE GOING TO INUNDATE THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY LIKE A TSUNAMI BY APRIL AT THE SAE WORLD CONFERENCE IN DETROIT. THE EFFECTS OF THE MILLER CYCLE ON THEIR ENGINE IS GOING TO PROVE SUCH HIGH EFFICIENCY AND INCREASE IN TORQUE AND FUEL ECONOMY, IT IS GOING TO BE MIND BLOWING FOR ALL THE ENGINEERS WHO MIGHT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE INVOLVED WITH A COMPANY SMART ENOUGH TO HAVE ENTERED TO AN NDA SITUATION WITH THE SCUDERI
GROUP. THEY ARE IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH SOME MAJOR OEM'S AT THIS TIME WHICH WILL SURPRISE THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY.

Reader (not verified)

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 18:45

GAME CHANGER, INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION STARTING OVER WITH THIS BAD BOY ENGINE, GONNA CHANGE THE WORLD, SCREW OPEC, WE ARE THE WORLD, WE ARE THE ENGINE, WE ARE THE FUTURE, SING IT LOUD AND PROUD, PEACE, I'M OUT

Reader (not verified)

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 18:49

THUNDER RUMBLE SAYS, READ THIS WORLD AND GET ABOARD THIS TRAIN, IT'S LEAVING THE STATION, ALL ABOARD, GAME CHANGER WAS MINE ALSO, PEACE, I'M OUT

Reader (not verified)

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 21:11

cars, thunder rumble... not trains... :)

Reader (not verified)

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 23:35

who are you, masked man, show yourself, lone ranger, i am tonto your friend?

Reader (not verified)

Thu, 01/06/2011 - 08:11

There are a whole lot of reasons why the "Auto" cycle engine is inefficient. One is firing before TDC. As the engine fires, it requires a great deal of energy (as fuel) to then push the piston past the already expanding gasses in the cylinder in order to then be able to make use of that expansion. Firing after TDC is now somewhat in line with a turbine engine which is by design more fuel efficient but not practical on the road.

Then there is the valve system. The energy required to open a valve is tremendous and wasteful. There have been several patents applied for over the past couple of years that replace the current cam / valve system with a design that eliminated the need to rotate a huge camshaft and compress a set of heavy springs. The Scuderi engine doesn't rely on a cam shaft and the valves open outward. Realistically, mechanical fuel injection was completely replaced with electronics years ago. It only makes sense that valve actuation would be next.

This engine, by design, is inherently more efficient.

Reader (not verified)

Sun, 01/09/2011 - 18:29

NO- there is very little energy used in pushing the piston past "already expanding gasses". Peak pressure occurs AFTER TDC, when ignition timing is correct. There are plenty of diagrams showing the cylinder pressure vs crank/piston position, check them out. Energy to open the valve is "tremendous"? Don't think so. This is another "fact" which is exagerated to make this engine look better. Electronic valve actuation is used, and in Formula 1 engines, pneumatic actuation. But this engine, by design, is going to a low rpm engine, which is a limiting factor in the hp/cubic inch, and hp/lb.

Reader (not verified)

Thu, 01/06/2011 - 09:32

Having known about and followed this since 2003, I know the effort, energy and hard work that has gone into the creation of this new invention. I have heard the naysayers in their uneducated opinions and the arguments that it has been tried before (so that means don't try again?). This should open the minds of many once it makes it debut ... and it will be a big benefit to everyone - even those who make fun, trash-talk and don't bother to learn about this technology! It has taken - and continues to take - patience and perseverance as well as dedication and determination of many to bring this to market. And it will be worth it! Thank you, Carmello! Thank you to the Scuderi family for making their dad's dream come to fruition! Thank you for what we will all be excited about - more torque and HP, better MPG, way-less emissions, less weight in a vehicle without the need of compromising the integrity of the structure ... Thank you - thank you - thank you
LGL

Reader (not verified)

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 09:46

I have a hard enough time keeping my phone, ipod, laptop, camera, and other electronic items charged. I could not imagine charging my car. Even if you have the ability at home, now you have to worry when you arrive at your destination. Its like fighting for the electric socket at the airport, or Starbucks to plug your phone or laptop into. This whole electric technology makes no sense in the Automobile world. This Christmas the northeast suffered a big blizzard. Many people lost power, but they were able to drive. Oops I forgot to charge my car last night, we are going nowhere. I can always store safely. This technology will surely knock the wind out of the electric hype. I wish the Scuder Engine all the best.

Reader (not verified)

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 18:56

Even if your lucky enough to find a socket for your car, how long do you have to wait till its charged? My house is full of electrical sockets like everyone else, yet charging stuff is a pain in the butt.
Go Scuderi !

Reader (not verified)

Sat, 01/08/2011 - 16:28

Scuderi has to get it in gear if they want to be any factor for the near future. With supercapacitor/battery hybrid energy storage systems ( http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2011/01/07/5-faqs-about-hybrid-energy-storage-and-efficiency ) and the Chinese commitment to EV's ( http://www.marketwatch.com/story/warren-buffett-looks-to-electric-car-in-byd-stake ), the train is leaving the station. Off-the-shelf parts already have the capabilities to tighten the tap on oil usage ( http://afstrinity.com/video/ ), it's just confirming which design will transition from prototype to market. Once the new technology proliferates, it will be impossible to convince the market to turn back!
A good example is the COATES rotary heads ( http://www.coatesengine.com/csrv.html ), no auto company will touch them. They are building generator sets for the oil industry. They are not perceived as new enough, evidently for today's buyers, imho.

Reader (not verified)

Sat, 01/22/2011 - 23:32

I pulled the following from an article in a Springfield, Mass. newspaper published in January, 2008 - 3 years ago. Perhaps 3 years from now, the efficiency of the computer simulation of the Scuderi Engine will have increased even more:

WEST SPRINGFIELD - Independent testing of a computer model of an innovative "split cycle" engine developed by the Scuderi Group of West Springfield has shown it is at least 15 percent more fuel efficient than existing gasoline engines, the company announced yesterday. With an "air hybrid" feature added to recover wasted energy, the fuel efficiency is 30 to 50 percent greater than for conventional gas engines, said the company's president, Salvatore Scuderi. In addition, the tests also showed the split cycle engine produced 50 to 80 percent fewer tailpipe emissions of nitrogen oxides, a prime ingredient of smog, he said. "The results so far have exceeded our expectations," Scuderi said. The engine design, which can be adapted for diesel fuel, was tested by Southwest Research Institute in Texas, an independent research and development organization that has worked for NASA and the Ford Motor Co. A spokesman for the institute said it does not comment on work done for private companies.

Reader (not verified)

Fri, 01/28/2011 - 08:49

Thanks. It was a good non-technical summary. In fact, it is an excellent summary by the poster, acohill of what the Scuderi engine means to the market! Imagine eliminating our dependence on foreign oil, significantly reducing the carbon footprint, and saving $Billions of dollars for the American consumer and American transportation industry!

The company is brilliant and about to prototype a couple of vehicles in live road tests to prove the technology in the real world.

If you know the company's founder, Carmella Scuderi, he invented the process to recycle refrigerant in the early 90's. This technology is still in use today!

Not bad for non-automotive engineers! Carmella was as much an outsider in the refrigerant market as he was the internal combustion and automotive market. Sometimes it takes fresh outside thinking to reinvent the industry!