Independent Study Seminar Report

On

CAMLESS ENGINES
Submitted by:

Deepak Pathak (10-MEU-020)

Supervisor:

Mr. Manoj Gopaliya

Ms. Amrita Jhawar

HUDA Sector 23-A, Gurgaon - 122017.

Tel : + 91 124 2365811 to 13
Fax : + 91 124 2367488
Email : itm1@vsnl.com

2013-2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank everyone who helped to see this seminar to completion. In
particular, I would like to thank my seminar coordinators Mr. Manoj Gopaliya and Ms.
Amrita Jhawar for his moral support and guidance to complete my seminar on time.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Pramod Bhatia, Head of the
department Mechanical Engineering for his support and encouragement.
I express my gratitude to all my friends and the classmates for their support and help on
this seminar.

DEEPAK PATHAK
(10-MEU-020)

ABSTRACT
The cam has been an integral part of the IC engine from its invention. The cam controls
the breathing channels of the IC engines, that is, the valves through which the fuel air
mixture (in SI engines) or air (in CI engines) is supplied and exhaust driven out.
Beside by demands for better fuel economy, more power, and less pollution,
engineers around the world are pursuing a radical camless design that promises to deliver
the internal-combustion engines biggest efficiency improvement in years. The aim of all
this effort is liberation from a constraint that has handcuffed performance since the birth
of the internal-combustion engine more than a century ago. Camless engine technology is
soon to be a reality for commercial vehicles. In the camless valve train, the valve motion
is controlled directly by a valve actuator - theres no camshaft or connecting mechanisms.
Precise electronic circuit controls the operation of the mechanism, thus bringing in more
flexibility and accuracy in opening and closing the valves. The seminar looks at the
working of the electronically controlled camless engine with electro-mechanical valve
actuator,

its

general

features

and

benefits

over

conventional

engine.

The engines powering todays vehicles, whether they burn gasoline or diesel
fuel, rely on a system of valves to admit fuel and air to the cylinders and to let exhaust
gases escape after combustion. Rotating camshafts with precision-machined egg-shaped
lobes, or cams they push open the valves at the proper time and guide their closure,
typically through an arrangement of pushrods, rocker arms, and other hardware. Stiff
springs return the valves to their closed position.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter-1: Introduction Push Rod Engine .......6
Chapter-2: Camless Engine ..........................8
Chapter-3: Camless Valve Train ......................9
Chapter-4: Electromechanical Poppet Valve.....................................................................15
Chapter-5: Electromechanical Ball Valve ............19
Chapter-6: Electromechanical Poppet Valve.............................................22
Chapter-7: Advantages Of Camless Engine......................................................................23
Chapter-8: Conclusion

References................................25

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Single Cam And Valve ............................................ 9
Figure 2 Conventional Valve Train Mechanism.........................11
Figure 3 Basic Block Diagram of Camless Engine ...................................12
Figure 4 Electromechanical Poppet Valve ...................................................................16
Figure 5 Different Views of Poppet Valve ......................................................................18
Figure 6 Assembly of Electromechanical Ball Valve ........................19
Figure 7 Hardware of Electrohydraulic Valve Train ................................................21

Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management

1 INTRODUCTION
The cam has been an integral part of the IC engine from its invention. The cam controls
the breathing channels of the IC engines, that is, the valves through which the fuel air
mixture (in SI engines) or air (in CI engines) is supplied and exhaust driven out. Besieged
by demands for better fuel economy, more power, and less pollution, motor engineers
around the world are pursuing a radical camless design that promises to deliver the
internal combustion engines biggest efficiency improvement in years. The aim of all
this effort is liberation from a constraint that has handcuffed performance since the birth
of the internal-combustion engine more than a century ago. Camless engine technology is
soon to be a reality for commercial vehicles. In the camless valve train, the valve motion
is controlled directly by a valve actuator theres no camshaft or connecting
mechanisms .Precise electrohydraulic camless valve train controls the valve operations,
opening, closing etc. The seminar looks at the working of the electrohydraulic camless
engine, its general features and benefits over conventional engines.
The engines powering todays vehicles, whether they burn gasoline or diesel fuel,
rely on a system of valves to admit fuel and air to the cylinders and let exhaust gases
escape after combustion. Rotating steel camshafts with precision-machined cams they
push open the valves at the proper time and guide their closure, typically through an
arrangement of pushrods, rocker arms, and other hardware. Stiff springs return the valves
to their closed position. In an overhead-camshaft engine, a chain or belt driven by the
crankshaft turns one or two camshafts located atop the cylinder head. A single overhead
camshaft (SOHC) design uses one camshaft to move rockers that open both inlet and
exhaust valves.

Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

1.1 PUSH ROD ENGINE

Pushrod engines have been installed in cars since the dawn of the horseless carriage.
A pushrod is exactly what its name implies. It is a rod that goes from the camshaft to the
top of the cylinder head which push open the valves for the passage of fuel air mixture
and exhaust gases. Each cylinder of a pushrod engine has one arm (rocker arm) that
operates the valves to bring the fuel air mixture and another arm to control the valve that
lets exhaust gas escape after the engine fires. There are several valve train arrangements
for a pushrod.

1.1.1 Crankshaft:
Crankshaft is the engine component from which the power is taken. It receives the
power from the connecting rods in the designated sequence for onward transmission to
the clutch and subsequently to the wheels. The crankshaft assembly includes the
crankshaft and bearings, the flywheel, vibration damper, sprocket or gear to drive
camshaft and oil seals at the front and rear.

1.1.2 Camshaft:
The camshaft provides a means of actuating the opening and controlling the
period before closing, both for the inlet as well as the exhaust valves, it also provides a
drive for the ignition distributor and the mechanical fuel pump.

The camshaft consists

of a number of cams at suitable angular positions for operating the valves at approximate
timings relative to the piston movement and in the sequence according to the selected
firing order. There are two lobes on the camshaft for each cylinder of the engine; one to
operate the intake valve and the other to operate the exhaust valve.

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

1.1.3 Working:
When the crank shaft turn the cam shaft the cam lobs come up under the valve
lifter and cause the lifter to move upwards. The upward push is carried by the pushrods
through the rocker arm. The rocker arm is pushed by the pushrod, the other end moves
down. This pushes down on the valve stem and cause it to move down thus opening the
port. When the cam lobe moves out from under the valve lifter, the valve spring pulls the
valve back upon its seat. At the same time stem pushes up on the rocker arm, forcing it to
rock back. This pushes the push rods and the valve lifter down, thus closing the valve.
The figure-1, shows cam-valve arrangement in conventional engines

Figure 1: Single cam and valve

Figure 2: Conventional valve train mechanism

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

Since the timing of the engine is dependent on the shape of the cam lobes and the
rotational velocity of the camshaft, engineers must make decisions early in the
automobile development process that affect the engines performance. The resulting
design represents a compromise between fuel efficiency and engine power.

Since

maximum efficiency and maximum power require unique timing characteristics, the cam
design must compromise between the two extremes.
This compromise is a prime consideration when consumers purchase automobiles.
Some individuals value power and lean toward the purchase of a high performance sports
car or towing capable trucks, while others value fuel economy and vehicles that will
provide more miles per gallon.
Recognizing this compromise, automobile manufacturers have been attempting to
provide vehicles capable of cylinder deactivation, variable valve timing (VVT), or
variable camshaft timing (VCT). These new designs are mostly mechanical in nature.
Although they do provide an increased level of sophistication, most are still limited to
discrete valve timing changes over a limited range.

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

2 CAMLESS ENGINES
To eliminate the cam, camshaft and other connected mechanisms, the Camless engine
makes use of three vital components the sensors, the electronic control unit and the
actuator. The basic block diagram of a camless engine is shown in figure 3.

ELECTRONIC

SENSORS

CONTROL

ACTUATORS

UNIT
Figure 3: Basic Block Diagram of Camless Engine

Mainly five sensors are used in connection with the valve operation. One for sensing
the speed of the engine, one for sensing the load on the engine, exhaust gas sensor, valve
position sensor and current sensor. The sensors will send signals to the electronic control
unit.
The electronic control unit consists of a microprocessor, which is provided with a
software algorithm. The microprocessor issues signals to the solid-state circuitry
based on this algorithm, which in turn controls the actuator, to function according to
the requirements.

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

3 CAMLESS VALVE TRAIN

In the past, electro hydraulic camless systems were created primarily as research tools
permitting quick simulation of a wide variety of cam profiles. For example, systems with
precise modulation of a hydraulic actuator position in order to obtain a desired engine
valve lift versus time characteristic, thus simulating the output of different camshafts. In
such systems the issue of energy consumption is often unimportant. The system described
here has been conceived for use in production engines. It was, therefore, very important
to minimize the hydraulic energy consumption. The different types of valve trains are as
follows:

4 - ELECTROMECHANICAL POPPET VALVES

This type of system uses an armature attached to the valve stem. The outside casing
contains a magnetic coil of some sort that can be used to either attract or repel the
armature, hence opening or closing the valve.

Figure 4: Electromechanical Poppet Valves

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

Most early systems employed solenoid and magnetic attraction/repulsion actuating

principals using an iron or ferromagnetic armature. These types of armatures limited the
performance of the actuator because they resulted in a variable air gap. As the air gap
becomes larger (ie when the distance between the moving and stationary magnets or
electromagnets increases), there is a reduction in the force. To maintain high forces on the
armature as the size of the air gap increases, a higher current is employed in the coils of
such devices. This increased current leads to higher energy losses in the system, not to
mention non-linear behaviour that makes it difficult to obtain adequate performance. The
result of this is that most such designs have high seating velocities (i.e. the valves slam
open and shut hard!) and the system cannot vary the amount of valve lift.
The electromechanical valve actuators of the latest poppet valve design eliminate the
iron or ferromagnetic armature. Instead it is replaced with a current-carrying armature
coil. A magnetic field is generated by a magnetic field generator and is directed across the
fixed air gap. An armature having a current-carrying armature coil is exposed to the
magnetic field in the air gap. When a current is passed through the armature coil and that
current is perpendicular to the magnetic field, a force is exerted on the armature. When a
current runs through the armature coil in either direction and perpendicular to the
magnetic field, an electromagnetic vector force, known as a Lorentz force, is exerted on
the armature coil. The force generated on the armature coil drives the armature coil
linearly in the air gap in a direction parallel with the valve stem. Depending on the
direction of the current supplied to the armature coil, the valve will be driven toward an
open or closed position. These latest electromechanical valve actuators develop higher
and better-controlled forces than those designs mentioned previously. These forces are
constant along the distance of travel of the armature because the size of the air gap does
not change.
The key component of the Siemens-developed infinitely variable electromechanical
valve train is an armature-position sensor. This sensor ensures the exact position of the

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armature is known to the ECU at all times and allows the magnetic coil current to be
adjusted to obtain the desired valve motion.

Figure 5: Different views of Poppet Valves

Now referring within Figures 5, FIG. (1 to 4), an electromechanical valve actuator of the
poppet valve variety is illustrated in conjunction with an intake or exhaust valve (22). The
valve (22) includes a valve closure member (28) having a cylindrical valve stem (30) and
a cylindrical valve head (32) attached to the end of the stem (30).The valve actuator (20)
of the poppet valve system generally includes a housing assembly (34) consisting of
upper and lower tubular housing members (36) and (42). A magnetic field generator
consisting of upper and lower field coils (48) and (52), a core (56) consisting of upper and
lower core member (58) and (68), and an armature (78) suitably connected to the valve
stem (30). The armature coil is preferably made from aluminum wire or other electrically
conductive lightweight material, which is highly conductive for its mass. Minimizing the
armature mass is especially important in view of the rapid acceleration forces placed on it
in both directions.

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

The ability of the electromechanical valve actuator to generate force in either direction
and to vary the amount of force applied to the armature in either direction is an important
advantage of this design. For instance, varying the value of the current through the
armature coil and/or changing the intensity of the magnetic field can control the speed of
opening and closing of the valve. This method can also be used to slow the valve closure
member to reduce the seating velocity, thereby lessening wear as well as reducing the
resulting noise.
This system is able to operate without valve springs as shown in FIG.1 or can equally be
equipped with them as shown in FIG. (6 & 7).
Siemens report that a special software algorithm is used to control the actuator coil
currents such that the valves are decelerated to a speed near zero as they land - in
conjunction with a switching time of barely three milliseconds. For the valves this means
minimal wear and minimum noise generation. The 16-valve four cylinder engine that is
currently undergoing tests in Germany, by Siemens, is equipped with 16 valve actuators
and the corresponding armature-position sensors. A Siemens ECU is used and two cable
rails connect the actuators to it. A 42-volt starter-generator provides the power.

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

5 ELECTROMECHANICAL BALL VALVES

An alternative to the conventional poppet valve for use in camless valve trains is a ball
valve. This type of electromechanical valve system consists of a ball through which a
passage passes. If the ball is rotated such that the passage lines up with other openings in
the valve assembly, gas can pass through it. (Exactly like the ball valves many of us use
valve is accomplished by electromagnets positioned around its exterior to control our
boost).

Figure 6:Assembly Of Electromechanical Ball Valve

Referring to Figure 6, the valve housing (7) is shown in two pieces. Ball valve (8) has two
rigidly attached pivots (12). The disc (10) is permanently attached and indexed to the ball
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valve and contains permanent magnets around its perimeter. The electromagnets (11) are
situated on both sides of the ball valve (8) and they are fixed to the valve housing. The
electromagnets are controlled through the ECU. A crank trigger sensor on the crankshaft
provides information about the position of the pistons relative to top dead centre. Thus, at
top dead centre of the power stroke, the ECM could be used to fix the polarity of both
electromagnets so that they are of opposite polarity to the magnets in the ball valve,
rotating the ball valve to the closed position.
The substitution of a simple, efficient ball valve and valve housing arrangement in a
four stroke reciprocation piston engine eliminates all the independent moving parts in the
valve train. This may even be an improvement over the poppet valve camless system - the
ball valve needs only to rotate on its axis to achieve the desired flow conditions, rather
than be accelerated up and down in a linear fashion. A partially open ball valve state may
also be able to be used to create more turbulence.
Electromechanical valve train implementation would not be possible with a normal 12V
electrical system. The automotive industry has chosen a 42V electrical system as the next
automotive standard. Consequently, the energy demand of EMVT can be optimally
matched by a crankshaft-mounted starter-generator (KSG - in Siemens speak) operating at
42V; it is integrated in the flywheel and designed for the starting process as well as
generator operation.

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

6 ELECTROHYDRAULIC POPPET VALVES

In general terms, present designs of electrohydraulic valves comprise poppet valves
moveable between a first and second position. Used is a source of pressurized hydraulic
fluid and a hydraulic actuator coupled to the poppet valve. The motion between a first and
second position is responsive to the flow of the pressurized hydraulic fluid. An
electrically operated hydraulic valve controls the flow of the pressurized hydraulic fluid
to the hydraulic actuator. In one design, the provision is made for a three-way electrically
operated valve to control the flow of the pressurized hydraulic fluid to the actuator. This
supplies pressure when electrically pulsed open, and dumps actuator oil to the engine oil
sump when the valve is electrically pulsed to close. The use of engine oil as the hydraulic
fluid simplifies and lowers the cost of the design by removing the need for a separate
hydraulic systems.

Figure 8: Hardware of electrohydraulic valve train

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The basic design of the electrohydraulic valve train hardware is illustrated in Figure 8.
The engine poppet valves (22) and the valve springs (24) that are used to reset them are
shown. The poppet valves are driven by hydraulic actuators (26), which are controlled by
electrically operated electro-hydraulic valves (28) supplying hydraulic fluid to the
actuators via conduit (29). The preferred hydraulic fluid is engine oil, supplied to the
electro-hydraulic valves by the pressure rail (30). An engine-driven hydraulic pump (32)
supplies the oil pressure, receiving the oil from the engine oil sump (34). The pump
output pressure is also limited by an unloader valve (36), as controlled by an accumulator
(38) connected to the oil pressure rail. With this design the hydraulic pump could be
periodically disconnected, such as under braking, so that the valve train would run off the
stored accumulator hydraulic pressure.
As is the trend with all modern engine systems, the camless engine has an even
greater reliance on sensors. The valve actuation and control system typically needs a
manifold pressure sensor, a manifold temperature sensor, a mass flow sensor, a coolant
temperature sensor, a throttle position sensor, an exhaust gas sensor, a high resolution
engine position encoder, a valve/ignition timing decoder controller, injection driver
electronics, valve coil driver electronics, ignition coil driver electronics, air idle speed
control driver electronics and power down control electronics.
A valve developed by Sturman Industries is said to be about six times faster than
conventional hydraulic valves. To achieve such speeds, it uses a tiny spool sandwiched
between two electrical coils. By passing current back and forth between the coils, a
microprocessor-based controller can quickly move the spool back and forth, thereby
actuating the engine valves in accordance.

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

7 - ADVANTAGES OF CAMLESS ENGINE

Electro hydraulic camless valve train offers a continuously variable and independent
control of all aspects of valve motion. This is a significant advancement over the
conventional mechanical valve train. It brings about a system that allows independent
scheduling of valve lift, valve open duration, and placement of the event in the engine
cycle, thus creating an engine with a totally uncompromised operation. Additionally, the
ECV system is capable of controlling the valve velocity, perform selective valve
deactivation, and vary the activation frequency. It also offers advantages in packaging.
Freedom to optimize all parameters of valve motion for each engine operating condition
without compromise is expected to result in better fuel economy, higher torque and
power, improved idle stability, lower exhaust emissions and a number of other benefits
and possibilities.

Camless engines have a number of advantages over conventional engines.

In a conventional engine, the camshaft controls intake and exhaust valves. Valve
timing, valve lift, and event duration are all fixed values specific to the camshaft
design. The cams always open and close the valves at the same precise moment in
each cylinders constantly repeated cycle of fuel-air intake, compression,
combustion, and exhaust. They do so regardless of whether the engine is idling or
spinning at maximum rpm. As a result, engine designers can achieve optimum
performance at only one speed. Thus, the camshaft limits engine performance in
that timing, lift, and duration cannot be varied.

The improvement in the speed of operation valve actuation and control system can
be readily appreciated with reference to Figure 9. It shows a comparison between
valve speeds of a mechanical camshaft engine and the camless engine valve
actuation. The length of the valve stroke in inches versus degrees of rotation of a
mechanical camshaft is illustrated.

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Figure 8: Graph of stroke v/s degrees

When graphed, the cycle of opening and closing of a valve driven by a mechanical
camshaft will display a shape similar to a sine curve. The opening period (as
measured in crankshaft degrees) remains constant for any engine load or rpm.
However, the cycle of opening and closing of valves driven by the
electromechanical valve actuators operates much faster. Designed to match valveopening rate at the maximum engine rpm, the electromechanical valve actuators
open the valve at this same rate regardless of engine operating conditions.
Because of this improved speed, greater flexibility in programming valve events is
possible, allowing for improved low-end torque, lower emissions and improved
fuel economy. The massive opening period for the electromechanically driven
valve can also be seen.
But in a cam less engine, any engine valve can be opened at anytime to any lift
position and held for any duration, optimizing engine performance. The valve
timing and lift is controlled 100 percent by a microprocessor, which means lift and
duration can be changed almost infinitely to suit changing loads and driving
conditions. The promise is less pollution, better fuel economy and performance.
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Another potential benefit is the cam less engines fuel savings. Compared to
conventional ones, the cam less design can provide a fuel economy of almost 710% by proper and efficient controlling of the valve lifting and valve timing.

The implementation of camless design will result in considerable reduction in the

engine size and weight. This is achieved by the elimination of conventional
camshafts, cams and other mechanical linkages. The elimination of the
conventional camshafts, cams and other mechanical linkages in the camless
design will result in increased power output.

The better breathing that a camless valve train promotes at low engine speeds can
yield 10% to 15% more torque. Camless engines can slash nitrogen oxide, or NOx,
pollution by about 30% by trapping some of the exhaust gases in the cylinders
before they can escape. Substantially reduced exhaust gas HC emissions during
cold start and warm-up operation.

8 - CONCLUSION

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Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Institute of Technology and Management,

1. An electro hydraulic camless valve train was developed for a camless engine. Initial
development confirmed its functional ability to control the valve timing, lift, velocity,
and event duration, as well as to perform selectively variable deactivation in a fourvalve multicylinder engine.
2. Review of the benefits expected from a camless engine points to substantial
improvements in performance, fuel economy, and emissions over and above what is
achievable in engines with camshaft-based valve trains.
3. The development of a camless engine with an electro hydraulic valve train described
in this report is only a first step towards a complete engine optimization. Further
research and development are needed to take full advantage of this system exceptional
flexibility.

REFERENCES

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[1] Michael M.Schechter and Michael B.Levin Camless Engine, SAE paper [960581]
[2] John B. Heywood, Internal combustion engine fundamentals
[3] www.machinedesign.com
[4] www.halfbakery.com
[5] www.deiselnet.com
[6] www.greendieseltechnology.com
[7] www.autospeed.com
[8] P. Kreuter, P. Heuser, and M. Schebitz, "Strategies to Impove SI-Engine Performance
by Means of Variable Intake Lift, Timing and Duration", SAE paper [920449].

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