Ian Miller SAAB Variable Compression Motor Abstract Ever more stringent emissions standards and the depleting

of fossil fuels, supply the need for highly efficient modes of transportation. Technologies such as electric and fuel cell vehicles hold the most promise for emissions and fossil fuel use, ho ever they do not suit the intact infrastructure for automobile fueling. Therefore there is a need for developing highly efficient !tto cycle engines for use in personal transportation vehicles. !ne ay to reduce fuel consumption and thereby C!" emissions, is to substitute large displacement engines ith smaller engines that are e#ual in tor#ue and po er output. Apart from the smaller engine$s reduced friction and eight, it also operates at a specific higher load resulting in improved efficiency. Introduction Modern turbocharged engines li%e the Saab ".&' Aero, already represents a certain amount of do nsi(ing, compared to a corresponding naturally aspirated engine in terms of po er and tor#ue. The ) cylinder *.+' Saab Variable Compression ,SVC- concept engine$s performance of "").p brings the do nsi(ing concept further, by effectively replacing a &./' naturally aspirated engine. To reach high specific po er and tor#ue, a combination of variable compression ratio and high pressure charging is used. 0o nsi(ing then transforms the high specific performance reached into good fuel consumption, but ith performance e#ual to a larger engine.

1f the engine is intended to replace a larger engine in a medium or large si(e car not only the ma2imum achieved po er and tor#ue output are of vital importance, but also the tor#ue at */// 34M and belo . To meet these ob5ectives, the SVC engine uses a mechanical supercharger instead of a turbocharger. The high 1ndicated Mean Effective 4ressure ,1ME4necessary for the SVC *.+' engine to e#ual the &./' 6A engines performance forces the C3 do n to 78* to avoid %noc%. At part load operation here most of the driving occurs, a fi2ed C3 of 78* ould have a considerable negative impact on overall fuel consumption. The SVC engines

Variable Compression 3atio ,VC3- system enables C3 *98* to be used during part load operation, thereby achieving good efficiency.

2. Description of the SVC engine

:ig. "8 SVC engine main data ,Memmer;hen designing the SVC engine the Saab$s engineer$s main ob5ectives for the VC3 system ere8 *.- The VC3 system is not allo ed to add any %ind of friction to the engine under operation that increases parasitic losses. ".- The VC3 system must not affect the combustion chamber in a negative ay, detoriating engine efficiency. &.- The VC3 system should be infinitely variable during operation bet een C3 78* and *98*. ;hen pac%aging constraints, functionality etc. ere added to the main ob5ectives, the <Split engine bloc% = 4ivot type> came out as the most appropriate design. The SVC engine$s cylinder bloc% is divided into t o parts. The lo er part is the cran%case, here cran%shaft, con?rods, pistons, etc. are mounted. The upper part is hat Saab calls the <Monohead>, is here the combustion chamber, valves, cylinder liners etc. are situated. The Monohead can be tilted relative to the cran%case through a pivot shaft. The pivot shaft location is a compromise bet een avoiding too much cylinder a2ial variation and %eeping the engine idth do n. Tilting of the Monohead ,enabling the variation of the C3- is controlled by a device Saab calls the e2center shaft mechanism. The e2center shaft is turned to the chosen position by a hydraulic actuator situated at the front of the engine. A sensor indicates the position of the e2center shaft and thereby the actual C3. A separate hydraulic system supplies hydraulic pressure bet een +/ ? *// bars to the hydraulic actuator.

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:ig. &8 An E2center shaft mechanism controls the C3 ,Memmer2.1 Monohead 0ue to the split engine bloc% design, it as possible to ma%e a design in hich the cylinderhead ith valves, combustion chamber etc, forms one unit together ith the cylinder liners,,i.e. a Monohead design-. 1t is not necessary to use a Monohead design, but there are several atvantages, including8 More fle2ible cylinderhead layout due to the lac% of cylinderhead bolts. This resulted in increased cooling at critical areas and a small valve angle, beneficial for achieving high C3. 6o cylinderhead gas%et. 6o cylinder deformation during assembly of cylinderhead bolts, i.e. less piston group friction.

0ra bac%s of the Monohead design include8 Comple2 casting, machining and assembly. 'imited serviceability. As the position of the camshaft chain gears relative to the cran%shaft changes for each C3, a special layout for the timing chain drive needed to be developed. At the pivot point only rotating movement occurs bet een cran%case and monohead. Therefore the chaindrive is divided in t o separate chains, one primary drive bet een cran%shaft and pivot point and one secondary drive bet een 4ivot point and camshafts. 0ue to this design, no variation in gear heel distance occurs &

hen the C3 is changed. The Monohead tilts 9.*/ 0egrees hen the C3 is changed bet een 78* and *98*, this means that the Camshaft rotates "./) 0egrees relative to the cran%shaft. But at the same time, the T0C position changes due to the tilting of the cylinders. 1n all, the deviation bet een cran%shaft and camshafts is *./" 0egree advanced hen the C3 is changed from *98* to 78*.

:ig. 98 Timing Chain 0rive 'ayout. 2.2 Crankcase / Monohead Rubber Seal As the monohead moves relative to the cran%case, fle2ible rubber bello s are used to prevent cran%case gases and oil from escaping from the engine. To protect the sealing from heat and mechanical damage, shields cover the sealing around the engine. The e2haust ports are also positioned higher than normal, allo ing for e2tra space bet een e2haust manifold and sealing, %eeping the sealing temperature under *"/C. 2. Charging S!ste" ;ith the VC3 system, the amount of do nsi(ing that can be achieved is dependent on the charging system performance. Many charging systems ere investigated and the only available system capable of delivering the re#uired level of boost pressure over the entire engine speed range as 5udged to be the <Scre type> supercharger.

:ig. )8 The 'ysholm <Scre type> Supercharger, positive displacement, charging process.

0ue to the inbuilt pressure ratio in the supercharger of appro2. "8*, it is necessary to disconnect the supercharger during part load operation to avoid parasitic losses. At part load the supercharger is disconnected ith help of a clutch, and a <by?pass> throttle is opened, allo ing the inlet air to by?pass the supercharger. The engine then operates as a *.+' naturally aspirated

engine. 0uring high load conditions, the clutch is closed and the SC is engaged. The <By?pass> throttle closes and the boost pressure increases. ,:ig. +:ig. +8 Schematic layout of the Charging system 2.# $ngine Manage"ent S!ste" 1n order to control the added functionality of VC3 and the described charging system, a modified Saab Trionic @ engine management system is used. The system has a VC3 map for each load = rpm and ne functionality that uses the dual throttles and the supercharger clutch to control the boost pressure. To achieve sufficient in5ector range from idle to full load for a *.+' engine ith "").p, variable fuel pressure is used. The fuel pressure increases ith increased boost pressure. . %erfor"ance .1 %o&er' (or)ue and *M$% As pointed out already, the amount of do nsi(ing that can be achieved is very much dependent on the available tor#ue at *///rpm and belo . Therefore, the original ob5ective as to create a relatively <flat> tor#ue curve.

:ig. @8 SVC ? engine po er and tor#ue curve

:ig. 78 BME4 ,3!6 A7- compared to current supercharged and 6=A engines To obtain this output from only *.+' displacement, it has to operate at high 1ME4=BME4. To avoid engine %noc%ing and detoriated combustion stability caused by late phased combustion, the C3 has to be lo ered do n to 78* at full load operation. To meet the BME4 ob5ectives, the boost pressure has to be accordingly high over the engines entire speed range. :ig.A sho s a comparison of static boost pressure for a turbocharged Saab A?) Aero, and the SVC engine ith SC. The better dynamic behavior of the SC means that the difference at lo rpm is even greater in reality. The built in pressure ratio in the SC of appro2. "8*, contributes to the good adiabatic efficiency at high boost pressures, hich allo s the SC to operate ithin the temperature limits of *7) C at the outlet port.

:ig. A8 Boostpressure comparison 0ue to the e2it temperatures from the SC of up to *7) C, an effective intercooler system is re#uired both in terms of a lo ?pressure drop, and temperature efficiency. To reach the performance targets, a ma2imum air temperature of +/ C after the intercooler is re#uired.

.2 +riction and +M$% 3eplacing a larger displacement engine ith a smaller engine gives an obvious advantage in terms of reduced friction. .o ever due to the SVC engines high pea% cylinder pressure, the bearings, pistons etc. have to ithstand the correspondingly higher load. This means that :ME4 ill not be in class ith the best 6A engines, but real friction po er ill still be lo er than best in class 6A engines ith the same performance. 0ue to the large increase in friction po er hen the SC is used, the strategy is to run the engine as much as possible ithout SC. . $"issions !ne of the main ob5ectives for the SVC engine as that it should be able to meet all %no n future orld ide stringent emission legislations. To meet this ob5ective, a 'ambda B * concept ith a T;C system as selected. There are also no restrictions regarding further add on systems li%e EC3, SA1 etc. The SVC engines small individual cylinder displacement of /.&"' together ith the engine operating at C3 *98* during part load, puts the focus on .C emissions. 1n :ig.*/ the difference in .C emissions for C3B*98* and the more normal */8* is sho n. 0ue to do nsi(ing, the engine operates at a higher load, hich partly compensates for this increase in BS.C. .o ever, it is still necessary to operate the engine at lo C3 before Catalytic converter <'ights off>. This also reduces <'ight off> time, due to the decreased engine efficiency.

:ig. */8 Bra%e Specific .ydrocarbon output at "/// rpm, BME4 B "./ bar. .# Dri,eabilit! The SC is disconnected during part load operation to avoid parasitic losses. The connection and disconnection of the SC is operated by an electromagnetic clutch. 0ue to the moment of inertia from the SC hen it is engaged, a control strategy as developed to ma%e the SC s itching transparent to the driver.

0epending on driving conditions, different engagement times are used to engage the SC. At constant speed driving ithout the SC, hen a small increase in load re#uires the SC to be engaged, a smooth connection of the SC is necessary to avoid a 5er% in the movement of the car, and thus an engagement time of up to +)/ms is used. 1f on the other hand the driver suddenly re#uires full tor#ue, a #uic% engagement of the SC is necessary to obtain instant acceleration, and thus an engagement time of less than *//ms is used. Above &)// rpm, the SC is engaged all the time. #. Su""ar! and Discussion 1t has been sho n that VC3 interacting ith .igh charging and do nsi(ing can reduce drivecycle fuel consumption up to &/D, a 6A &./' engine can effectively be replaced ith a Supercharged *.+' engine. To e#ual the performance of the &./' engine, a BME4 of over "9 bar as obtained. A Scre type Supercharger as used to create sufficient boost pressure over the engines entire speed range. The Superchargers built in pressure ratio contributes to good efficiency at high boost pressure but causes e2cessive losses at part load hen no boost pressure is needed. Therefore, a clutch disengages the Supercharger at part load. 1n all, this concept has turned around the !tto engines characteristic of increased efficiency ith increased load, to reach ma2imum efficiency at medium loads. As this is the area here most driving occurs, a real fuel consumption benefit for the customer can be e2pected. The current limit for the possible do nsi(ing ith this concept depends on the charging system, both in terms of possible boost pressure over the entire speed range, and the fact that too much Supercharger operation detoriates fuel consumption. :uture charging systems li%e Electric assisted Turbochargers, 4ressure ;ave Superchargers etc. ill move this limit, ma%ing even further do nsi(ing possible. !ne consideration, hich has not been made, is the cost of production for this motor. !rdinarily technologies such as supercharging and intercooling are considered too e2pensive for most production cars. !n top of that there is the e2pense of the monohead and VC3 technology, not only is there an added cost to production for these technologies but in training of mechanics to service them. 1n the end though the cost of fuel and government regulations ill force ne and e2pensive engine technologies into the auto mar%et.

*ibliograph!
A%i, Saab Corporation, &)7?A?97"*" 2&"7+, .elsin%i :inland,Telephone 1ntervie and e?mail, May @, "//*, 3egarding the Saab Variable Compression 3atio Engine. Allison, L. Engine Trends. Internet. 4 May 2001. Available http://www.4wdonline.com/A/Engines.html Eobe, Cerry. <Saab unveils 3adical Variable?Compression Engine.> 1nternet. 9 May "//*. Available http8== .findarticles.com=cfF/=m&/*"=9F*7/=+*7A"+"/=print.5html Lee, David. New Unique Engine Concept for High Performance and Lower Fuel Consumption: Saab Variable Compression. Internet. 4 May 2001. Available http://www.autoworld.com/news/saab/saab_variable_compression.asp Memmer, Scott. 3omans, Brent. <Saab$s Variable Compression Engine.> 1nternet. 9 April "//*. Available http8== .edmunds.com=ed eb=editorial=innovations=saabengine.html. <Saab 3eveals Gni#ue Engine Concept That !ffers .igh 4erformance and 'o :uel Consumption.> 1nternet. 9 May "//*. Available http8== .saabnet.com=tsn=press=///&*7.html. Shar%e, 4aul. <!tto or 6ot, .ere it comes.> 1nternet. 9 April "//*. Available http://www.mcmagazinc.org/backissues/junc00/features/otto/otto.html . ;an, Mar%. <4o er Boosting Technology.> 1nternet. 9 May "//*. Available http8== .fortunecity.com=silverstone=lacia=)7=technicalFschool=engine=techFengineF9.htm.

Calculations!n the :ollo ing pages 1 calculated the theoretical po er output for a *.+ liter supercharged motor ith a compression ratio of 78*, and a *.+ liter naturally aspirated motor ith compression ratio *98*, using the stated assumptions. ;hile these calculation neglect the friction associated ith the motor and in no ay reflect the engine output po er, e can conclude the supercharged motor ill produce more po er than the naturally aspirated one.

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