VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL

UNIVERSITY, BELGAUM
A technical seminar report on
“CAMLESS ENGINE”

Submitted in partial fulfillment as per VTU curriculum for VIII semester

Bachelor of Engineering
In
Mechanical Engineering
Of
Visveswaraiah Technological University, Belgaum
Submitted by

RISHI RAJ TOMAR [1DS06ME088]

2009-2010
Department of Mechanical Engineering
DAYANANDA SAGAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
BANGALORE-560078

VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

 DAYANANDA SAGAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bangalore – 560078

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Technical Seminar report entitled “CAMLESS ENGINE”
has been presented by Mr. RISHI RAJ TOMAR, USN: 1DS06ME088 in partial
fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering of
the Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum during the year 2009-10. It is
certified that all correction/suggestions indicated for internal assessment have been
incorporated in the report deposited in the department library.

Date: Sign of HOD/Coordinator

Internal Examiners: Name & sign.

1.

2.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is with great satisfaction and euphoria that I am submitting the Technical

seminar report on “CAMLESS ENGINE”. I have completed it as a part of the
curriculum of our university.

I would like to thank H.O.D Dr. K.J.Sudhakar, Prof. C P S Prakash for his
support and guidance in assistance provided at every stage.

I would extremely thank my Principal Dr. Netaji Ganesan, DSCE, Bangalore

who has always been a great source of inspiration & has encouraged me all
through.

RISHI RAJ TOMAR

 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,
motor engineers around the world are pursuing a radical camless design that promises
to deliver the internal-combustion engine s 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 valvetrain, the valve motion is controlled directly by a valve actuator - there s
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 today s 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 steel camshafts with precision-machined egg-
shaped lobes, or cams, are the hard-tooled brains of the system. 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.
 CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION 5
 WORKING OF PUSH ROD ENGINE 6

 Cranshaft
 Camshaft
 Working

 AN OVERVIEW OF CAMLESS ENGINE 9

Camless Valve Train
Hydraulic Pendulum
Valve Openinig & Closing
Valve Motion Control
Unequal Lift Modifier
Cylinder Head
 COMPONENTS OF CAMLESS ENGINE 20
 Engine Valve
 Hydraulic Pump
Soleniod Valve
High Pressure pump
Low Pressure Pump
Cool Down Accumulator
 ADVANTAGES
2
 CONCLUSION
31
 BIBLOGRAPHY
32
 CAMLESS ENGINE
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 engine’s 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 – there’s 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 today’s
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 egg-
shaped lobes, or cams, are the hard-tooled “brains” of the system. 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. The double
overhead camshaft (DOHC), or twin-cam, setup does away with the
rockers and devotes one camshaft to the inlet valves and the other to the
exhaust valves.

WORKING OF 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.

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.

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.

Working
When the crank shat 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-1,2 shows cam-valve
arrangement in conventional engines
 Figure-1 Figure-2
Single cam and valve conventional valve train
mechanism

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 engine’s
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.
AN OVERVIEW OF CAMLESS ENGINE
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

ELECTRONIC
SENSORS ACTUATORS
CONTROL UNIT

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.

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.
1. 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.

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

Referring now to Figures 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 aluminium wire or other
electrically conductive lightweight material, which is highly conductive for
its mass. Minimising the armature mass is especially important in view of
the rapid acceleration forces placed on it in both directions.

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 Figure 1

or can equally be equipped with them as shown in Figures 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.

2. 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.

Opening and closing the Referring to Figure 10, 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 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 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. As has been covered previously in
AutoSpeed ("Goodbye 12 volts... hello 42 volts!"), 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.

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 pressurised 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 pressurised hydraulic fluid. An electrically
operated hydraulic valve controls the flow of the pressurised 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 pressurised
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 system.

The basic design of the electrohydraulic valvetrain hardware is illustrated

in Figure 11. 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.

However, electrohydraulic systems are mostly being developed

for diesel truck use because it is currently not clear whether the
technology will have the speed needed for higher revving passenger car
engines.

Hydraulic pendulum
The Electro hydraulic Camless Valve train, (ECV) provides
continuously variable control of engine valve timing, lift, and velocity. It
uses neither cams nor springs. It exploits the elastic properties of a
compressed hydraulic fluid, which, acting as a liquid spring, accelerates
and decelerates each engine valve during its opening and closing motions.
This is the principle of the hydraulic pendulum. Like a mechanical
pendulum," the hydraulic pendulum involves conversion of potential
energy into kinetic energy and, then, back into potential energy with
minimal energy loss". During acceleration, potential energy of the fluid is
converted into kinetic energy of the valve. During deceleration, the
energy of the valve motion is returned to the fluid. This takes place both
during valve opening and closing. Recuperation of kinetic energy is the
key to the low energy consumption of this system.. Figure 7 illustrates the
hydraulic pendulum concept. The system incorporates high and low-
pressure reservoirs. A small double-acting piston is fixed to the top of the
engine valve that rides in a sleeve. The volume above the piston can be
connected either to a high- or a low-pressure source. The volume below
the piston is constantly connected to the high-pressure source. The
pressure area above the piston is significantly larger than the pressure
area below the piston. The engine valve opening is controlled by a high-
pressure solenoid valve that is open during the engine valve acceleration
and closed during deceleration. Opening and closing of a low-pressure
solenoid valve controls the valve closing. The system also includes high
and low-pressure check valves.
 Figure 7. Hydraulic Pendulum.

During the valve opening, the high-pressure solenoid valve is open, and
the net pressure force pushing on the double-acting piston accelerates the
engine valve downward. When the solenoid valve closes, pressure above
the piston drops, and the piston decelerates pushing the fluid from the
lower volume back into the high-pressure reservoir. Low-pressure fluid
flowing through the low-pressure check valve fills the volume above the
piston during deceleration. When the downward motion of the valve
stops, the check valve closes, and the engine valve remains locked in
open position. The process of the valve closing is similar, in principle, to
that of the valve opening. The low-pressure solenoid valve opens, the
pressure above the piston drops to the level in the low pressure reservoir,
and the net pressure force acting on the piston accelerates the engine
valve upward. Then the solenoid valve closes, pressure above the piston
rises, and the piston decelerates pushing the fluid from the volume above
it through the high-pressure check valve back into the high-pressure
reservoir. The hydraulic pendulum is a spring less system. Figure 8 shows
idealized graphs of acceleration, velocity and valve lift versus time for the
hydraulic pendulum system. Thanks to the absence of springs, the valve
moves with constant acceleration and deceleration. This permits to
perform the required valve motion with
much smaller net driving force, than in systems which use springs.
The advantage is further amplified by the fact that in the spring less
system the engine valve is the only moving mechanical mass. To
minimize the constant driving force in the hydraulic pendulum the
opening and closing accelerations and decelerations must be equal
(symmetric pendulum).
 Figure 8. Dynamic characteristics of hydraulic
pendulum.

Valve opening and closing

A more detailed step-by-step illustration of the valve opening and closing
process is given in Figure 9. It is a six-step diagram, and in each step an
analogy to a mechanical pendulum is shown. In Step 1 the opening (high-
pressure) solenoid valve is opened, and the high-pressure fluid enters the
volume above the valve piston. The pressure above and below the piston
become equal, but, because of the difference in the pressure areas, the
constant net hydraulic force is directed downward. It opens the valve and
accelerates it in the direction of opening. The other solenoid valve and the
two check valves remain closed. In Step 2 the opening solenoid valve
closes and the pressure above the piston drops, but the engine valve
continues its downward movement due to its momentum. The low-
pressure check valve opens and the volume above the piston is filled with
the low-pressure fluid. The downward motion of the piston pumps the
high-pressure fluid from the volume below the piston back into the high-
pressure rail. This recovers some of the energy that was previously spent
to accelerate the valve. The ratio of the high and low-pressures is
selected so, that the net pressure force is directed upward and the valve
decelerates until it exhausts its kinetic energy and its motion stops. At
this point, the opening check valve closes, and the fluid above the piston
is trapped. This prevents the return motion of the piston, and the engine
valve remains fixed in its open position trapped by hydraulic pressures on
both sides of the piston. This situation is illustrated in Step 3, which is the
open dwell position. The engine valve remains in the open dwell position
as long as necessary. Step 4 illustrates the beginning of the valve closing.
The closing (low-pressure) solenoid valve opens and connects the volume
above the piston with the low-pressure rail. The net pressure force is
directed upward and the engine valve accelerates in the direction of
closing, pumping the fluid from the upper volume back into the low-
pressure reservoir. The other solenoid valve and both check valves
remain closed during acceleration. In Step 5 the closing solenoid valve
closes and the upper volume is disconnected from the low-pressure rail,
but the engine valve continues its upward motion due to its momentum.
Rising pressure in the upper volume opens the high-pressure check valve
that connects this volume with the high-pressure reservoir. The upward
motion of the valve piston pumps the fluid from the volume above the
piston into the high-pressure reservoir, while the increasing volume below
the piston is filled with fluid from the same reservoir. Since the change of
volume below the piston is only a fraction of that above the piston, the
net flow of the fluid is into the high-pressure reservoir. Again, as it was
the case during the valve opening, energy recovery takes place. Thus, in
this system the energy recovery takes place twice each valve event.
When the valve exhausts its kinetic energy, its motion stops, and the
check valve closes. Ideally, this should always coincide with the valve
seating on its seat. This, however, is difficult to accomplish. A more
practical solution is to bring the valve to a complete stop a fraction of a
millimeter before it reaches the valve seat and then, briefly open the
closing solenoid valve again. This again connects the upper volume with
the however, is difficult to accomplish. A more practical solution is to
bring the valve to a complete stop a fraction of a millimeter before it
reaches the valve seat and then, briefly open the closing solenoid valve
again. This again connects the upper volume with the low-pressure
reservoir, and the high pressure in the lower volume brings the valve to
its fully closed position. Step 6 illustrates the valve seating. After that, the
closing solenoid valve is deactivated again. For the rest of the cycle both
solenoid valves and both check valves are closed, the pressure above the
valve piston is equal to the pressure in the low-pressure reservoir, and
the high pressure below the piston keeps the engine valve firmly closed.
Valve motion control
Varying the activation timing of both solenoids varies the timing of
the engine valve opening and closing. This, of course, also vanes the
valve event duration. Valve lift can be controlled by varying the duration
of the solenoid voltage pulse. Changing the high pressure permits control
of the valve acceleration, velocity, and travel time. The valve can be
deactivated during engine operation by simply deactivating the pair of
solenoids which control it. Deactivation can last any number of cycles and
be as short, as one cycle.
Increasing the number of valves in each cylinder does not require a
corresponding increase in the number of solenoid valves. The same pair
of solenoid valves, which controls a single valve, can also control several
valves running in-parallel. Thus, in a four-valve engine a pair of solenoid
valves operates two synchronously running intake valves, and another
pair runs the two exhaust valves.

UNEQUAL LIFT MODIFIER - In a four-valve engine an actuator set

consisting of two solenoid valves and two check valves controls the
operation of a pair of intake or a pair of exhaust valves. Solenoids and
check valves are connected to a common control chamber serving both
valves (Figure 10). In a four-cylinder engine there is a total of eight
control chambers connected to eight pairs of valves. For each pair, the
volumes below the hydraulic pistons are connected to the high pressure
reservoir via a device called the lift modifier. In a neutral position the
modifier does not affect the motion of the valves, and activation of the
solenoid valves moves both engine valves in unison

.
Figure 10. Paired valves with unequal lift control.

To enhance the ability to vary the intake air motion in the engine
cylinder, it is often desirable to have unequal lift of the two intake valves,
or even to keep one of the two valves closed while the other opens. In
some cases it may also be used for paired exhaust valves. The lift
modifier is then used to restrict the opening of one the paired valves. The
modifier is shown schematically in Figure 11 as a Rotating rod with its
axis of rotation perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The rod is
installed in the cylinder head between the two intake valves. A cutout in
the rod forms a communication chamber connected to the volumes below
the hydraulic pistons of both intake valves. The communication chamber
is always connected to the high pressure reservoir. In the case A the
modifier is in the neutral position, and both valves operate in unison. In
the case B the modifier rod is shown turned 90 degrees clockwise. The
exit of oil from the volume below the hydraulic piston in the valve No. 1 is
blocked and the valve cannot move in the direction of opening. However,
the entry of oil into the volume below the hydraulic piston is permitted by
a one-way valve installed in the modifier rod. This guarantees that,
whenever deactivation takes place, the valve No. 1 will close and remain
closed, while the valve No.2 continues its normal operation. If the
modifier rod is turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise (from the position
shown in the case A), the valve No.2 is deactivated, while the valve No. 1
would continue normal operation. In the case C the lift of one of the
valves is reduced relative to the second one. The rod is turned a smaller
angle so that the exit of oil from the valve No. 1 into the communication
chamber is not completely blocked, but the flow is significantly throttled.
As a result, the motion of the valve No. 1 is slowed down and its lift is
less than that of the valve No.2. Varying the angular position of the
modifier rod 26 varies the degree of oil throttling, thus varying the lift of
the valve No. 1.
 Figure 11. Unequal lift
control.

DESIGN APPROACH
FOR CAMLESS
ENGINE
The camless engine was created on
the basis of an existing four-cylinder,
four-valve engine. The original cylinder head
with all the valves, springs, camshafts, etc.
was replaced by a new cylinder head
assembly fully integrated with the camless valvetrain. The camshaft drive
was eliminated, and a belt-driven hydraulic pump was added. There was
no need for lubrication, and the access for engine oil from the engine
block to the cylinder head was closed off. No other changes to the engine
have been made.

Cylinder head
Two cross sections of the cylinder head are shown in Figure 12. The
aluminum casting is within the original confines and contains all hydraulic
passages connecting the system components. The high- and low-pressure
hydraulic reservoirs are integrated into the casting. The reservoirs and
the passages occupy the upper levels of the cylinder head and are part of
the hydraulic system. The hydraulic fluid is completely separated from the
engine oil system. A finite element analysis was used to assure the
cylinder head integrity for fluid pressures of up to 9 MPa. The lower level
of the head contains the engine coolant.
 Figure 12. Cross sections of cylinder head.

The engine valves, the check valves and the modifiers are
completely buried in the body of the head. The solenoid valves are
installed on the top of the cylinder head and are kept in their proper
locations by a cylinder head cover. Hydraulic and electric connections
leading to the hydraulic pump and the electronic controller, respectively,
are at the back end of the cylinder head. The height of the head assembly
is approximately 50 mm lower than the height of the base engine head.
Figure 13 is a photograph of the head on the engine with the head cover
removed. 27

COMPONENTS OF CAMLESS ENGINE

Main components of a camless engine are-Engine valve, solenoid
valve, high pressure pump, low pressure pump, cool down accumulator,
etc.

Engine valve – A cross section of the engine valve assembly is

shown in Figure 14. The valve piston is attached to the top of the valve,
and both the valve and the piston can slide inside a sleeve. The sleeve
openings above and below the valve piston allow the hydraulic fluid to
enter and exit. A seal in the lower part of the sleeve prevents leakage of
fluid into the intake or exhaust port. A leak-off (not shown) unloads the
seal from excessive pressure, which otherwise increases friction. There is
a tight hydraulic clearance between the valve and the sleeve. However,
the clearance between the sleeve and the cylinder head is relatively large,
which improves the centering of the valve in its seat Circulation of
hydraulic fluid through the chambers above and below the valve piston
cools and lubricates the valve. All the forces acting on the valve are
directed along its axis. Absence of side forces reduces stresses, friction
and wear.

Figure 14. Engine valve

Solenoid valve – Figure 15 shows a cross section of the solenoid
valve. The solenoid has conically shaped magnetic poles. This reduces the
air gap at a given stroke. The normally-closed valve is hydraulically
balanced during its movement. Only a slight unbalance exists in the fully-
open and the fully-closed positions. A strong spring is needed to obtain
quick closing time and low leakage between activations. The hydraulic
energy loss is the greatest during the closing of either the high- or the
low-pressure solenoid, because it occurs during the highest piston
velocity. Thus, the faster the solenoid closure, the better the energy
recovery. The valve lift and the seat diameter are selected to minimize
the hydraulic loss with a large volume of fluid delivered during each
opening. Both high-pressure and low-pressure solenoid valves are of the
same design.

Figure 15. Solenoid valve.

Lift modifier - The design of the lift modifier permits a simultaneous

hydraulic control of a group of modifiers with a single pulse-width
modulated solenoid-valve that adjusts the pressure in a control gallery.
Hydraulic system
A diagram of the hydraulic system is shown in Figure 16. An engine-
driven variable-displacement pump automatically adjusts its output to
maintain the required pressure. The high-pressure and the low-pressure
reservoirs are connected to all corresponding locations serving the high-
and the low-pressure solenoids and the check valves.

Figure 16. Hydraulic System.

High pressure pump: the quantity of fluid delivered by the high

pressure pump with the actual needs of the system at various engine
speeds and loads is critical to assuring low energy consumption. To
conserve the mechanical power needed to drive the pump, its hydraulic
output should closely match the needs. A variable displacement, high
efficiency, axial plunger-type pump was initially selected for that reason.
Taking into account the prohibitively high cost of such pump for
automotive applications, a low-cost variable capacity pump was
conceived. A cross section of the pump is shown in Figure 17. The pump
has a single eccentric-driven plunger and a single normally-open solenoid
valve. During each down stroke of the plunger the solenoid valve is open,
and the plunger barrel is filled with hydraulic fluid from the low pressure
branch of the system. During the upstroke of the plunger, the fluid is
pushed back into the low pressure branch, as long as the solenoid valve
remains open. Closing the solenoid valve causes the plunger to pump the
fluid through a check valve into the high pressure branch of the system.
Varying the duration of the solenoid voltage pulse varies the quantity of
the high-pressure fluid delivered by the pump during each revolution.
 Figure 17. High pressure pump.

Low pressure pump - A small electrically driven pump picks up

oil from the sump and delivers it to the inlet of the main pump. Only a
small quantity of oil is required to compensate for the leakage through
the leak-off passage, and to assure an adequate inlet pressure for the
main pump. Any excess oil pumped by the small pump returns to the
sump through a low-pressure regulator. A check valve 1 assures that the
inlet to the main pump is not subjected to pressure fluctuations that occur
in the low-pressure reservoir.

Cool down accumulator - The system also includes a cool-

down accumulator that, during normal operation, is fully charged with oil
under the same pressure as in the inlet to the main pump. When the
engine stops running, the oil in both the high- and the low-pressure
branches cools off and shrinks. As the system pressure drops, the
accumulator discharges oil into the system, thus compensating for the
shrinkage and preventing formation of pockets of oil vapor. The high-
pressure branch is fed from the accumulator through a check valve 2 that
is installed in-parallel to the main pump. The low-pressure branch is fed
through an orifice that is installed in-parallel to the check valve 1. The
orifice is small enough to prevent pressure wave propagation through it
during each engine cycle, but sufficient to permit slow flow of oil from the
accumulator to the reservoir. In some applications, the orifice can be
incorporated directly in the check valve. After the oil in the system has
cooled off, the accumulator maintains the system at above atmospheric
pressure by continuously replenishing the oil that slowly leaks out through
the leak-off passage. When the engine is restarted, the accumulator is
recharged again. If the engine is not restarted for a very long time, as it
is the case when a vehicle is left in a long-term parking, the accumulator
will eventually become fully discharged. In that case, the pressure in the
accumulator drops to an unacceptable level, and a pressure sensor, that
monitors the accumulator pressure, sends a signal to the engine control
system which reactivates the electric pump for a short period of time to
recharge the accumulator. This process can be repeated many times, thus
maintaining the system under a low level of pressure until the engine is
restarted. After the engine restarts it takes less than one revolution of the
main pump to restore the high pressure. Operating the hydraulic system
in a closed loop contributes to low energy consumption. The amount of
hydraulic power consumed by the system is determined by the flow of
fluid from the high- to the low-pressure reservoir times the pressure
differential between the outlet from and the inlet to the high pressure
pump. A small loss is also associated with leakage. There are good
reasons to use high hydraulic pressure in the system, one of them being
the need to maintain a high value of the bulk modulus of the oil. In a
closed-loop system the pressure in the low-pressure reservoir can also be
quite high, although lower than in the high-pressure reservoir (thus the
pressure in the low-pressure rail is low only in relative terms). Hence, the
system can operate with very high hydraulic pressure, and yet the energy
consumption remains modest due to a relatively low pressure differential.
The ratio of high pressure to low pressure must be sufficiently higher than
the ratios of the pressure areas above and below the valve piston to
assure reliable engine valve closure.

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 cylinder’s 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 12. 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.

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 valve-opening rates 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 any
time 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 0conditions. The promise is
less pollution, better fuel economy and performance.
Another potential benefit is the cam less engine’s fuel savings.
Compared to conventional ones, the cam less design can provide a fuel
economy of almost 7- 10% 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.

CONCLUSIONS

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 four-valve multicylinder
engine.
2. The system employs the hydraulic pendulum principle, which
contributes to low hydraulic energy consumption.
3. The electro hydraulic valve train is integral with the cylinder head,
which lowers the head height and improves the engine packaging.
4. 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.
5. 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.
BIBLIOGRAPHY :-

 Michael M.Schechter and Michael B.Levin “Camless Engine”

SAE paper 960581
 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.
 K. Hatano, k. Lida, H. Higashi, and S. Murata, “Development
of a New Multi-Mode Variable Valve Timing Engine”,SAE
paper930878
 J-C. Lee, C-W. Lee, and J. Nitkiewitz, “The Application of a Lost
Motion VVT System to a DOHC SI Engine”,SAE paper 950816
 John B. Heywood, “Internal combustion engine fundamentals”
 William H. crouse. “Automotive mechanics.”
 John Steven Brader ,A Thesis on Development of a Piezoelectric
Controlled Hydraulic Actuator for a Camless Engine
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