Scuderi Engine returning in 2011 to SAE World Congress in Detroit
The Scuderi Cycle has been touted as “the Most Significant Advancement in Internal Combustion Engines in Over 130 Years.” Fact is, it gets up to 80% reduction in Nox,
increased fuel efficiency up to 50%, plus more power and torque.
The split cycle engine is best described using a V8 or V6 analogy. Imagine the left bank acting as the compressor side where it processes the first half of the Otto 4-cycle, intake and compression. The right bank would process the second half of the Otto cycle, power and exhaust.
Most notable in this process is the ability to store air under high pressure, thus creating the potential for an air hybrid. Furthermore, this is scalable from small cars to large trucks including diesels.
The concern in the beginning was whether the Scuderi could handle the dynamics from high pressure storage as well as spark timing. Last year the ATDC (after top dead center) firing was confirmed to work.
This year the development emphasis has been on mapping and managing the high pressure as it transitioned to the power side, which could drastically drop. Now it seems testing has confirmed very little pressure drop, enough to give the people at Scuderi even more confidence. You can see Stephen’s interview among other audio and videos at
Scuderi Engine - Media Page
Final Comment
My interview with Stephen Scuderi last year was always cordial and rather upbeat about all of those concerns being solvable. Furthermore, I see this company moving at a sensible measured pace. This tells me they are being careful not to place the technology in any bad light; and, as such, there hasn’t been any.
Question is, who will be first within the auto industry to license this technology? For sure, GM has its HCCI (High Compression Combustion Ignition) engine which functions like a diesel on gasoline. Its efficiency, though, may never meet the efficiency of the Scuderi; meaning the internal combustion engine is far from dead.