VEHICLE POWER PLANTS

Ch-7-W-13-14

VCR
and
Hyper bar engines
High Pressure Turbocharging

Construction and operation of VCR engines

Configurations used to obtain variable compression ratios.
BICERA pistons mechanism and operations
Advantages and draw backs of VCR engines with BICERA pistons
Numerical problems to analyze the concept

Hyper bar engines principle of operation and necessity

Configuration
Calculations
Advantages and drawbacks

Problems of Turbocharging a Naturally Aspirated (NA)

engine
1. Higher pressure and temperature
a. Cylinder head gaskets tend to leak
b. Big/more cylinder head bolts required
c.

Piston ring pack likely to run hotter; piston ring friction also increases
due to higher radial pressure on rings-requiring cooling by oil jets.

d. Hotter cylinder head temperature controlled by:. After charge cooler-10 cooling results in 20 cooling of compressed
air.
. Cavities around combustion chamber enlarged for better cooling
. Large water pump and radiator required.
2. For burning more fuel, FIP and Injectors need to be re-designed or,
adjusted
3

Solution to Problems of Turbocharging an NA engine

AFVs are highly boosted to achieve maximum power
output; running at higher temperatures and pressure.
To overcome the above problems, following steps can be
taken:1. Reduce Compression ratio (CR)- It reduces the peak
pressure and temperature but leads to lower th.
2. Boost now at lower P & T to get maximum power o/p.

PRESSURE CHARGING: LOWERING THE CR

In a hot loaded engine, lowering the CR much below normal will
ensure compression ignition.
But low CR will introduce the problem at cold start and, perhaps
at sustained idle.
To cater for the above, artificial charge warming may be
necessary; by at least four methods:1.
2.
3.
4.

Manifold heating.
Exhaust recirculation.
VCR Engine.
Hyper bar system.

MANIFOLD
HEATING
Fuel sprayed into the incoming air charge and igniting it electrically if engine
temperatures are low enough to make compression ignition uncertain.

At high load conditions,

this
extra fueling is
automatically turned off.

EXHAUST RECIRCULATION
Allows some of the exhaust gases to re-circulate into the engine intake.
Done by advancing the valve-timing of the engine during cranking. As a result
the not-yet-firing engine compresses its air charge on the compression
stroke more than it expands it during expansion.; so it pumps back hot air
back into its own inlet.
This can achieve light load running
indefinitely, but achieving of cold
start is less obvious.

Higher Power Output

For higher power O/P, we need higher mep.
MEP upto 30 bar is achieved in some engines without increasing the peak
pressure (110-140 bar).
MEP depends upon the amount of fuel burnt. This in turn means:a.
b.
c.
d.

More amount of air

More mass of air
Higher density of air
Higher volume of air at the end of compression per cycle.

Pc
Total mass of air per cycle, m
.Vc
RTc

and,

Pc

RTc

. Therefore, for burning maximum fuel for maximum power, we need:1. Pc to be highest-not desirable
2. Tc to be lowest
8

3. Vc to be highest possible (clearance volume to be maximum)-Low CR

VARIABLE CR PISTON
CR continuously adjusted while the engine is running- high for
start and low for heavy load.
Accomplished by special piston- VCR
CR maintained between 8:1 to 24:1.
BICERA piston
Used on AVCR-1360 ENGINE
Max pressure inside the combustion Chamber 140 bar

VCR Engines-BICERA Piston

Principle of Operation.
1. It runs at a CR of 8:1 (about half of the
common diesel engines); so clearance
volume is maximum (double) and,
2. Temperature is just sufficient to sustain
the combustion.
Thus, 2 requirements out of the 3 are met
with low Pc accepted.

The problem of cold starting and the idle/part load is taken care of by
having high CR which goes on decreasing as the load picks up to the
maximum.
Maximum pressure never exceeds 140 bar.
10

Construction.
C- Upper oil chamber
D- Lower oil chamber
H,J- one way inlet valves
L- Discharge valve; adjustable
K- Small orifice to drain oil if pressure in D
exceeds
G- Oil passage way
Two piston rings between shell and the
carrier to prevent oil leakage.

G
C
F
E
L

A slot in the inner piston, keyed from K

the outer piston to avoid rotation
but, outer piston can move up and down.
Outer piston- malleable cast iron
Inner piston- forged aluminium

11

Operation.
1. During Cranking.
H
. As the carrier connected with the con.
C
rod comes down, shell tends to lag
behind. Hence pressure in lower oil
chamber D increases and oil leaks out
to the sump. Also pressure in the upper
L
oil chamber C decreases so it is filled
J
up with more oil.

. So the gap between the outer and inner

piston increases- Vc is minimum and CR
maximum.

G
F
E

As Carrier moves up, shell tries to lag behind but does not: due to oil
K
pressure in C.
E

But since the motoring air pressure at the top of the piston is less than
the oil pressure in C, both shell and carrier move together and the CR is
12
maintained at 22:1

Operation.
2. During Loaded Condition.
. As engine fires and picks up, the
combustion
pressure
in
the
combustion chamber above the piston
increases upto 140 bar.
. Now this pressure exceeds the spring
force of valve L. Thus oil from C
drains out to the sump. Thus
decreasing the gap between the outer
and inner pistons.
.Now the clearance volume VC
increases thereby reducing the C.R K

G
C
F
E
L

13

Advantages of VCR Engine.

1. Better overall efficiency. At full load,
th is less due to reduced C.R but
power O/P is more. But at idling and
part loads th is better- we know AFVs
run quite a lot on idling/part load.

G
C
F
E

2. Increases BMEP. Rate of increase of

bmep is more; compensating for the
low th at full load by giving out more
power O/P.

L
J

3. Lower sfc. Less than 0.20 kg/km.hr.

4. High
Power
at
full
Compensates for lower th.

load.

5. Increased Power O/P. Upto 50% additional due to higher maximum

peak
E
pressure. It also depends on of the turbocharger and inclusion of a
charge cooler.
14

Advantages of VCR Engine

6. Lower Bulk. Due to more power
O/P.
7. Better Acceleration. Due
increased boost in bmep.

to

G
C
F

8. Better Cooling of Piston Ring

Pack. By circulation of oil through
G.

E
L
J

9. Better Cold Starting. Due to high

C.R. With simple glow plug,
engine can be started at
temperatures as low as -400 to
-500 C

D
K
E

15

Disadvantages of VCR Engine

1. Heavier Piston. 80-100% more weight leading to 50-75% more mass
of reciprocating parts. Thus we need sturdier parts.
2. Cost of piston. Very high.
3. High Capacity Lub. Oil Pump Required. They consume more power
and space.
4. Complicated Design.
5. Reliability. Questionable.

16

HYPERBAR Turbocharging
This system has been developed to overcome some of the
practical difficulties inherent in using conventional
turbocharging system on very high output engines,
particularly those required to operate over a large speed
range.
These difficulties may be summarized as under:1. Low turbocharging efficiency at very high pressure ratios.
2. High peak cylinder pressure.
3. Low boost at low engine speed.
4. Poor starting and light load running with low engine
compression ratio (CR).
5. Insufficient compressor map width at high pressure ratio.
6. Slow turbocharger acceleration.
17

HYPERBAR Turbocharging..
This system uses an additional combustion chamber (CC) placed between
the exhaust ports of the engine and the turbocharger turbine. Additional fuel
is burnt in this CC to increase turbine and therefore, compressor work,
overcoming disadvantages 1 and 3.

In order to provide sufficient air

for the auxiliary CC, some air
from
the
turbocharger
compressor by-passes the
engine directly to this CC. This
bypass is also used to restrict
compressor
mass
flow
variation as engine speed and
engine air flow change,
overcoming
disadvantages
number 5.
18

HYPERBAR Turbocharging.
Figure shows engine and compressor air flows, superimposed on a very high
pressure ratio, single stage compressor map. This means that the
compressor is easily matched to the engine and that the compressor may be
designed for high efficiency and pressure ratio without sacrifice to achieve a
wide flow range.

Ch-7-W-13-14-VCR and Hyperbar

engines
Prof
(Col) GC Mishra

19

HYPERBAR Turbocharging..
The hyperbar turbocharging system is designed to operate with very high
compressor pressure ratio and very low engine compression ratio,
overcoming disadvantage number-2
For example, the Molchior and Talamon
report tests in which the Hyperbar system
is used to raise compressor pressure
ratio from 2.8 to 7.26 (using a 2-stage
system), while engine CR is reduced from
13:1 to 7:1. BMEP is increased from 17 to
30 bar with no increase in maximum
cylinder pressure (140 bar).

Ch-7-W-13-14-VCR and Hyperbar

engines
Prof
(Col) GC Mishra

20

HYPERBAR Turbocharging...
An additional disadvantage of conventional system listed above (4) is poor
starting and light load running with low engine CR. The Hyperbar uses an
electric starter motor to rotate the turbocharger rotor, with the engine air bypass open.

21

HYPERBAR Turbocharging....
The air flow is sufficient to enable to the auxiliary CC to be started. The
turbocharger starter motor is then decoupled, allowing the turbocharger to
operate like a free-running gas turbine.
The engine may then be cranked by normal means, and air is drawn into the
CCs. Normally this air would be at atmospheric pressure and temperature
and the CR of the engine would not be high enough for self-ignition.
However, since the gas turbine part is self-sustaining, a reasonable boost
temperature and pressure can be developed before the engine fires.
By by-passing the charge air-cooler, warm air from compressor exit is
delivered to the cylinders aiding in in-cylinder ignition. The charge air cooler
may also be by-passed during light load operation to maintain high air
temperature and good combustion. At higher loads, a gradual transition to
full air-cooling is required to limit the thermal loading of the engine.

22

HYPERBAR Turbocharging.....
The auxiliary CC can also be used to improve turbocharger and engine
response to rapid load and speed demand changes.
This can be achieved by increasing the auxiliary CC fueling rapidly to
accelerate the turbocharger when required., and by maintaining fuelling at
light load and low speed to prevent the turbocharger speed from ever falling
to a low value. This overcomes the final disadvantage number-6.

23

Principle of Operation
1. The Hyperbar system is based on the use of a high pressure
turbocharger driven not only by the exhaust gases but also by the
additional energy supplied by a gas turbine type combustion chamber
operating in parallel with the engine.
2. CR can be as low as 7:1 and boost pressure more than 5 bar. This
system uses lean air fuel ratio and this gives greater specific power
output without increase in mechanical or thermal loading
The turbocharger specially developed for the UD V8 X 1500 engine by
Turbomeca provides a compression ratio of 7.9:1 and in its second TM 307
B version has a single-stage centrifugal compressor driven by a two-stage
axial-flow turbine.

24

Operation.
1. At the starting of the engine,
compressor is turned on electrically.
All the air is given to the auxiliary
comb. Chamber where fuel is burnt.
All the exhaust gases are fed into
the turbine till the O/P pressure of
the compressor reaches 5 bar.
2. Now when the engine is cranked, high pressure air is available in the
main comb. Chamber; temperature is sufficient for combustion; fuel
injected to start the engine.
3. Very low C.R (7:1) provides maximum VC, with high boost pressure PC
with TC minimum (along with charge cooler)

Total mass of air per cycle, m

Pc
.Vc
RTc

and,

Pc
RTc
25

Advantages of Hyper bar Engines.

1. Excellent transient response- turbo-lag phenomenon is eliminated.
Response is good at all loads due to the auxiliary comb. Chamber;
surge free operation.
2. High bmep from 25 to 30 bars with peak pressure limited to 140 bars.
3. High power to weight ratio.
4. Moderate thermal loading.
5. No auxiliary engine required.
Disadvantages
6. High specific fuel consumption and low thermal efficiency- (Running
engine at low C.R constantly).
7. Complex design and poor reliability (prone to malfunctioning).
Use. This system is being used in AMX-40 and LECLERC tanks.

26

The End
QUESTIONS
?

CONCLUSION

THANK
?

YOU

27