Continuously Variable Displacement Engine Concept Validation

The gasoline engine is the prevalent engine in use today for automobiles and light trucks. In spite of the growth of various hybrids, clean diesel, and electric vehicles, it is projected to be in 71% of the vehicles produced globally in 2022. The gasoline engine has very poor efficiency at partial load typical of its usage in automobiles. Automobile engines can typically produce 200 or even 300 horsepower, but seldom do drivers use more than 40 horsepower. Typically, drivers use only about 20 horsepower, roughly 1/10 of the capacity of the engine. The efficiency of the engine is often a dismal 5% to 15% at these operating conditions and even driving down the highway at freeway speeds. The Continuously Variable Displacement (CVD) drive system for engines improves the overall efficiency by approximately 29%, lowering fossil fuel usage and reducing CO2 emissions. The CVD drive system controls the displacement of the engine to match the vehicle’s power requirement. It replaces the conventional throttle which controls the engine power by choking it of air. The CVD drive system controls the stroke of the engine along with the combustion volume to provide optimum characteristics no matter what the operating condition. The CVD drive system needs to be developed and proven to be commercialized. DOE SBIR Phase I moved the design forward by funding analytical work necessary before building prototypes to test. Phase II will move the design further forward by funding the manufacture and testing a prototype CVD drive system. Although the initial commercialization target is the automobile, the drive system has application to any gasoline, natural gas, or biofuel engine that runs at low duty cycles. This includes delivery trucks and vans, motorcycles, gen-sets, city busses, and small industrial engines. The drive mechanism is also applicable to compressors, including refrigeration compressors and air compressors.