Wirtschaftswoche: 'Miracle of Scuderi'
 |
The popular German weekly business news magazine Wirtschaftswoche published an article about the Scuderi Group on November 10, 2008 that has received widespread attention in Germany. The following is a translation from the German: Miracle of Scuderi It drives and drives and drives and drives. Since 1876, when Nicolaus August Otto from Cologne, patented the Otto combustion engine, the four strokes principle has not changed from ingestion, compression, burning, and discharge. Despite all attempts by engineers to make the petrol engine simpler, faster, and more economical, the operation mode of engines has essentially remained the same for over 130 years. In addition, the efficiency of this heat-powered engine remained rather modest with its 33 percent. Carmelo Scuderi, an Italian-American from West Springfield, Massachusetts, simply could not accept this low output. Scuderi, a specialist of compressor technology who is credited with the development of the technical basis for the CFC-free refrigerator, started to work intensively with the gasoline engine in the mid- 90’s. His new approach divided the four cycles into two and allocated each of the two cycles into a cylinder. Thus, the basis for the "Scuderi Split Cycle engine" was invented. With this patented idea, the engineer founded the Scuderi Group in 2001. After the passing of Carmelo, his sons began to manage the company. Scuderi Group President Sal Scuderi expanded the engine by adding a compressed air reservoir, rendering it more powerful and turning it into a hybrid system. By end of the year, he will have invested approximately 50 million dollars into the project. The first prototype of the miracle machine, a double-cylinder engine with one liter capacity and 100 hp, should be completed by the end of the year. The aim is very high - the double cylinder engine is expected to consume only half as much fuel as the conventional Otto engine, and the emissions are planned to be about 80 percent lower. The new motor could drive lawn mowers as well as cars and diesel locomotives. The best news is this innovative engine would cost only about 300 Euro more than a conventional diesel engine. But how does this consumption miracle work? A cylinder takes in air, compresses it and pushes it via an elaborate valve system into the second cylinder where it ignites with fuel. Both units are optimally designed for their functions. For example, the compression cylinder builds pressure up to 50 bars, whereas an Otto engine with direct fuel injection only manages three bars. The advantage of this high compression is that the fuel can be ignited in the second cylinder after the upper slack point, which would not need to work against the combustion pressure. "That alone increases efficiency by 20 percent," says Lutz Deyerling, vice president of European operations of the Scuderi Group. In addition, the fuel burns at lower temperatures and thus fewer pollutants result. Without much trouble, the engine can be transformed into an air hybrid. To do that, a compressed air reservoir is installed between the two cylinders. When the driver slows down the car or steps on the brake, the system transports the hot air generated in the compressor cylinder into the reservoir. When the driver accelerates, the car uses the power from the pressure reservoir first. "This reduces consumption by 50 percent," states Deyerling. The proof, however, is still pending. Nevertheless, the US Department of Defense could be convinced. It supports the construction of the prototype at the South West Research Institute in San Antonio (Texas) by funding millions of dollars. For military use and commercial motor vehicles, the generation of compressed air is especially interesting, as it can easily be retrofitted. However, the large German car makers and their subcontractors have withheld their judgment. They want to wait until they have seen the prototype in action. The fact that surplus pressure can be effectively used is also demonstrated in the hybrid drive that Rexroth, a Bosch affiliated company, is currently testing in a garbage truck in Berlin. Here, the engineers have linked a so-called axial piston unit with the transmission shaft. When braking, it pumps oil into a high-pressure reservoir. This power is sufficient for letting the garbage truck roll about 150 meters from a standing position without igniting the diesel engine. Tests have proven that the system consumed about a quarter less Diesel and ran very quietly. That hydraulic hybrid functions so well that Bosch wants to launch next year. "The price is not yet fixed, but the acquisition will amortize itself for the buyers within two to three years," promises a Bosch manager.