Saab Variable Compression Engine Makes North American Debut
18 April 2000
Saab Variable Compression Engine Makes North American Debut at 2000 New York International Auto Show NORCROSS, Ga., April 17 The unique Saab Variable
Compression (SVC) engine will make its North American Debut at the New York
International Auto Show. Revealed in Geneva last month, the SVC is a new
engine concept that enables fuel consumption to be radically cut while
increasing engine performance per liter of engine displacement. The
combination of reduced engine displacement, high supercharging pressure and a
unique system for varying the compression ratio enables the SVC engine to use
energy in fuel far more efficiently than today's conventional automotive
engines. SVC offers an entirely new concept for combining high performance
with low fuel consumption and low exhaust emissions.
Fuel consumption 30 percent lower
The SVC concept reduces the fuel consumption of a conventional naturally
aspirated engine by up to 30 percent while at the same time providing
impressive performance. The five-cylinder SVC engine developed by Saab has a
displacement of 1.6 liters and is as fuel-efficient under normal conditions as
a conventional 1.6-liter engine, but can deliver power comparable to a highly
tuned 3.0-liter engine when needed. The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are
reduced proportionately to the fuel consumption, while the CO, HC and NOx
emissions will enable the SVC engine to meet all current and proposed future
emissions regulations.
The unique feature of the SVC engine -- and the key to its high efficiency
-- is that the engine has a variable compression ratio. The fixed compression
ratio of a conventional engine is a compromise between a wide variety of
operating conditions -- stop and go city traffic, highway motoring at constant
speed, or high-speed freeway driving. The compression ratio of the SVC engine
is continually adjusted to provide the optimum value for varying driving
conditions.
Variable combustion chamber volume for variable compression ratio
The SVC engine is comprised of a cylinder head with integrated cylinders,
which is known as the monohead, and a lower portion consisting of the engine
block, crankshaft and pistons. The compression ratio is varied by adjusting
the slope of the monohead in relation to the engine block and internal
reciprocating components. This alters the volume of the combustion chamber
with the piston at top dead center (highest position of the piston in the
cylinder), which, in turn, changes the compression ratio. The combination of
reduced engine displacement, high supercharging pressure and a variable
compression ratio enables the SVC concept to provide engines with tremendous
power output capabilities. The 1.6 liter, 5-cylinder engine produces 147 lb.-
ft. of torque and 150 horsepower per liter of engine displacement! The SVC
concept opens the door to the development of both small, extremely fuel-
efficient engines with good performance, and larger engines delivering sports
car performance with high fuel-efficiency.
Alternative fuels
The variable compression ratio also gives the engine excellent fuel
flexibility. Since the compression ratio can be varied and adjusted to suit
the properties of fuel, the engine will always run at the compression ratio
that is best suited to the fuel being used.
Three cornerstones of the SVC concept
Although a variable compression ratio is what makes the SVC engine unique,
the fuel efficiency of a conventional naturally aspirated engine would only
improve 4 - 5 percent if it were equipped with a variable compression system.
The full potential of variable compression can only be realized when it's used
in combination with reduced engine displacement and high supercharging
pressure.
1. Reducing the engine displacement -- size does matter
A conventional four-stroke gasoline engine is most efficient
(maximizing the energy in the fuel) when it is running at a high load.
A small engine must work harder and run closer to full load if it is to
perform the same work as a bigger engine, which utilizes only part of
its maximum capacity. The small engine often extracts more energy from
every drop of fuel.
One reason for this is because the pumping losses are lower in a
small engine. Pumping losses arise when the engine is running at low
load and when its fuel consumption is relatively low. In order to
maintain the ideal air-to-fuel ratio (14.7:1), the air supply must be
restricted by reducing the opening of the butterfly valve in the air
intake.
However, this means that the piston in the cylinder is under a
slight vacuum during the suction stroke, when it is drawing air into the
cylinder. The effect is roughly the same when you cover the air hole of
a bicycle tire pump with your thumb while trying to pull out the pump
handle. The extra energy needed for pulling the piston down is known as
the pumping loss. Since a small engine frequently runs at full load and
the throttle is therefore more often fully open, the pumping losses in
the small engine are usually lower than they are in a big engine.
Additionally, a small engine is lighter, has lighter internal
reciprocating mass and has lower frictional losses. Therefore, a small
engine is generally more efficient than a big engine.
2. Supercharging -- power on tap
Although a small engine is efficient, it is not powerful enough to
be used for anything other than powering small, lightweight cars. By
supercharging the intake air and forcing more air into the engine, more
fuel can be injected and burned efficiently. The engine then delivers
more power for every piston stroke, which results in higher torque and
horsepower output. By supercharging the engine only at greater
throttle openings when extra power is really needed, the fuel economy
of a small engine can be combined with the greater performance of a big
engine. Small displacement engines and supercharging have long been
well-known concepts at Saab. Saab launched the turbo concept back in
1976 as a way of boosting the performance of an engine by raising the
intake air pressure, but without making the engine bigger and heavier,
and therefore less fuel efficient.
Over the last 25 years, Saab has developed a number of innovative
turbo-enhanced engine systems, all of which have resulted in boosting
performance, lowering fuel consumption and reducing exhaust emissions.
However, engine development has now reached the stage at which a new
parameter of the combustion process must be optimized to meet future
demands for reducing the carbon dioxide emissions and enabling
alternative fuels to be used. Varying the compression ratio is the
ideal parameter to optimize.
3. Variable compression -- pearl of wisdom
The compression ratio of an engine is the piston displacement
volume plus the volume of the combustion chamber divided by the volume
of the combustion chamber -- in other words, the amount by which the
fuel/air mixture is compressed in the cylinder before it is ignited.
The compression ratio is one of the most important factors that
determine how efficiently the engine can utilize the energy in the
fuel.
The energy in the fuel will be better utilized if the compression
ratio is as high as possible. But if the compression ratio is too
high, the fuel will pre-ignite, causing "knocking," which could damage
the engine. In a conventional engine, the maximum compression ratio
that the engine can withstand is therefore set by the conditions in the
cylinder at high load, when the fuel and air consumptions are at
maximum levels. The compression ratio remains the same when the engine
is running at low load, such as when the car is traveling on the
highway at constant speed.
Due to its variable compression ratio, the SVC engine can be run
at the optimum compression ratio of 14:1 at low load in order to
maximize the use of the energy in the fuel, and the compression ratio
can then be lowered to 8:1 at high load to enable the engine
performance to be enhanced by supercharging without inducing
"knocking."
New ways of using known engine components
An objective in the development of the SVC concept was to retain as many
of the basic components of a conventional engine as possible. The crankshaft,
connecting rods, pistons and valves are all of the same type as those of
today's engines. What distinguishes the SVC engine is the way it is split
into upper and lower portions. Compared to a conventional engine, the joint
face between the two is about 20 centimeters (almost eight inches) lower. The
upper part, known as the monohead, consists of the cylinder head with
integrated cylinders, whereas the lower part -- the crankcase -- consists of
the engine block, crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons.
The monohead is pivoted at the crankcase. The compression ratio is
altered by tilting the monohead in relation to the crankcase by means of a
hydraulic actuator. The volume of the combustion chamber will then increase
and therefore lower the compression.
To increase the compression, the slope of the monohead is reduced. The
volume of the combustion chamber will then decrease and the compression will
be higher. The monohead is sealed at the crankcase by a rubber bellows.
The monohead can be sloped by up to 4 degrees. The optimum compression
ratio is calculated by the Saab Trionic engine management system based on the
engine's speed, engine load and fuel quality. The compression ratio is
continuously variable.
Efficient four-valve combustion chambers
An important benefit of the SVC concept is that the variable compression
can be achieved without modifying the design of the efficient four-valve
combustion chamber. The combustion chamber design is of vital importance to
the combustion process, and therefore directly affects the exhaust emissions,
fuel consumption and engine performance. One of the essential conditions in
the work of developing the SVC concept was that the new technique should not
impair the existing design.
Since the monohead is made as one unit, it is also possible to enhance the
design of the coolant passages. This is essential for being able to
supercharge the engine sufficiently to achieve high performance.
Mechanical compressor for maximum boost pressure and fast response
The mechanical compressor used for supercharging is engaged and disengaged
by the Saab Trionic engine management system. The compressor is equipped with
an intercooler and delivers a maximum boost pressure of 2.8 bar (40 psi),
which is double the boost pressure delivered by today's Saab 9-3 Viggen and
9-5 Aero high output turbo engines. Saab engine designers chose to use a
compressor instead of a turbocharger for the SVC engine because today's
turbochargers are not able to deliver the high boost pressure and fast
response needed by the SVC engine.
A platform for continued development
The SVC concept and the 1.6-liter, five-cylinder engine represent a leap
forward in engine technology and provide a completely new platform for further
engine development. The fact that the compression ratio parameter can now be
controlled enables more accurate engine operation, and therefore, higher
efficiency. SVC can be combined with other engine technologies to further
improve performance, lower fuel consumption and reduce exhaust emissions.
The SVC engine represents a decisive step in the long-term development
work aimed at combining the benefits of the Otto engine and the diesel engine.
This trend is already visible in engine development. Direct injection will be
used on the Otto engine just as it is on the diesel engine, while the diesel
engine will have much more electronics. Variable compression has thus far
been the missing link between the two.
Engine innovators
The importance of the compression ratio to the efficiency of an engine has
long been known, and there are many imaginative patents for different designs
of variable compression engines. What Saab engine designers were first to
achieve -- just as they were with turbocharging in the 1970s -- was to combine
innovative new thinking with a known technique and proven theories in order to
develop a system that is usable.
Saab engine designers began thinking about developing a variable
compression engine in the early 1980s, but it was not until the end of the
1980s that more concrete development work was started, albeit on a modest
scale. The first patent application was lodged in 1990. The first usable
experimental engine had a displacement of 2.0 liters, and delivered higher
torque and power output than was necessary. But the engine did prove that the
theory performed well.
Actual testing began when the second generation prototype engine -- a 1.4
liter in-line six -- was ready in the mid-1990s. The objective was that an
SVC engine of that design would have the performance and power output of a
naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V6 engine, but with 30 percent lower fuel
consumption. In order to have the potential of the SVC engine assessed by
independent experts, Saab approached the renowned German engine development
company FEV Motorentechnik in Aachen. They submitted a thorough evaluation to
confirm that the engine met the desired targets, and that it was also possible
to make further advances by continued development work.
However, the six-cylinder, 1.4-liter in-line engine was not appropriate to
the performance level needed by the projected Saab range of cars. The engine
also entailed packaging disadvantages. So it was dropped in favor of the
current five-cylinder, 1.6-liter engine concept.
The SVC concept would have been impossible to develop without an advanced
engine management system. The addition of variable compression as another
control parameter in the already complex control system of today's automotive
engines creates high demands on the engine management system. The engine
management system for the SVC engine is a special version of the Saab Trionic
system -- developed in-house by Saab and in use on Saab turbocharged engines
since 1991. Further development of the Saab Trionic system and the in-depth
knowledge of the system accumulated by Saab engineers have been key elements
in the development of the SVC concept.
However, even in its latest version, the Saab five-cylinder, 1.6-liter SVC
engine is still at the prototype stage and further development work is needed
before the engine can be used in regular production. The final design and
size, and also the performance and fuel consumption properties of the ultimate
production engine are dependent on many factors, including meeting the future
demands of customers.
Technical data
The figures below relate to the 1.6-liter test engines currently used in
Saab's ongoing technical development work. The exact technical specifications
of future regular production engines will be dependent on this development
work, future customer demands for performance and fuel-efficiency and Saab's
overall product plans.
Engine displacement 1.598 liter
Number of cylinders 5
Cylinder bore 68 mm
Piston stroke 88 mm
Compression ratio 8:1 to 14:1, depending on engine load
Max. compressor boost pressure 2.8 bar (40 psi)
Max. monohead tilt angle 4 degrees
Peak engine torque 224 lb.-ft.
Engine rating 225 hp
