A review of split-cycle engines

This article reviews split-cycle internal combustion engine designs. The review includes historical work, assessment of prototypes and discussion of the most recent designs. There has been an abundance of split-cycle engine designs proposed since the first in 1872. Despite this, very few prototypes...

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Main Authors: Josh Finneran, Colin Garner, M.D. Bassett, Jonathan Hall
Format: Default Article
Published: 2018
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2134/34814
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id rr-article-9562061
record_format Figshare
spelling rr-article-95620612018-01-01T00:00:00Z A review of split-cycle engines Josh Finneran (4378294) Colin Garner (1247325) M.D. Bassett (7123658) Jonathan Hall (30104) Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified Split cycle Split combustion Internal combustion Engine Review Divided Heat recovery Efficiency Emissions Expander Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified This article reviews split-cycle internal combustion engine designs. The review includes historical work, assessment of prototypes and discussion of the most recent designs. There has been an abundance of split-cycle engine designs proposed since the first in 1872. Despite this, very few prototypes exist, and no split-cycle engines are reported to be in series production. The few split-cycle prototypes that have been developed have faced practical challenges contributing to limited performance. These challenges include air flow restrictions into the expansion cylinder, late combustion, thermal management issues, and mechanical challenges with the crossover valve actuation mechanism. The main promoted advantage of split-cycle engines is the increased thermal efficiency compared to conventional internal combustion engines. However, an efficiency improvement has not thus far been demonstrated in published test data. The thermodynamic studies reviewed suggest that split-cycle engines should be more efficient than conventional four-stroke engines. Reasons why increased thermal efficiency is not realised in practice could be due to practical compromises, or due to inherent architectural split-cycle engine design limitations. It was found that the number of split-cycle engine patents has increased significantly over recent years, suggesting an increased commercial interest in the concept since the possibility of increased efficiency becomes more desirable and might outweigh the drawbacks of practical challenges. 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 2134/34814 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/A_review_of_split-cycle_engines/9562061 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
institution Loughborough University
collection Figshare
topic Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified
Split cycle
Split combustion
Internal combustion
Engine
Review
Divided
Heat recovery
Efficiency
Emissions
Expander
Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified
spellingShingle Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified
Split cycle
Split combustion
Internal combustion
Engine
Review
Divided
Heat recovery
Efficiency
Emissions
Expander
Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified
Josh Finneran
Colin Garner
M.D. Bassett
Jonathan Hall
A review of split-cycle engines
description This article reviews split-cycle internal combustion engine designs. The review includes historical work, assessment of prototypes and discussion of the most recent designs. There has been an abundance of split-cycle engine designs proposed since the first in 1872. Despite this, very few prototypes exist, and no split-cycle engines are reported to be in series production. The few split-cycle prototypes that have been developed have faced practical challenges contributing to limited performance. These challenges include air flow restrictions into the expansion cylinder, late combustion, thermal management issues, and mechanical challenges with the crossover valve actuation mechanism. The main promoted advantage of split-cycle engines is the increased thermal efficiency compared to conventional internal combustion engines. However, an efficiency improvement has not thus far been demonstrated in published test data. The thermodynamic studies reviewed suggest that split-cycle engines should be more efficient than conventional four-stroke engines. Reasons why increased thermal efficiency is not realised in practice could be due to practical compromises, or due to inherent architectural split-cycle engine design limitations. It was found that the number of split-cycle engine patents has increased significantly over recent years, suggesting an increased commercial interest in the concept since the possibility of increased efficiency becomes more desirable and might outweigh the drawbacks of practical challenges.
format Default
Article
author Josh Finneran
Colin Garner
M.D. Bassett
Jonathan Hall
author_facet Josh Finneran
Colin Garner
M.D. Bassett
Jonathan Hall
author_sort Josh Finneran (4378294)
title A review of split-cycle engines
title_short A review of split-cycle engines
title_full A review of split-cycle engines
title_fullStr A review of split-cycle engines
title_full_unstemmed A review of split-cycle engines
title_sort review of split-cycle engines
publishDate 2018
url https://hdl.handle.net/2134/34814
_version_ 1794747261067984896