Cylinder Head Insulation Plate, Design, Analysis and Testing for an Extreme High Efficiency Internal Combustion Engine 2024-01-2831
The main objective of this paper is to describe the design, analysis and testing of a novel method of insulating the combustion chamber, which is key for efficiency demonstration on a new class of internal combustion engine (ICE). A recuperated split cycle engine (RSCE) has unique demands for heat loss reduction. In particular during the combustion event, to minimize the heat losses is a must to achieve high efficiency.
The insulation is provided by a metal plate that is assembled into the cylinder head to line the combustion chamber surface. The design has been focused on reducing heat transfer surface area and exploiting contact gap thermal resistance between the upper surface of the plate and the cylinder head, thus reducing heat wasted to the coolant circuit.
In this paper, the plate requirements, functions, design, analysis and test results from a research and development (R&D) program of a heavy duty (HD) recuperated split cycle engine are reported. This includes novelties in plate design, technology and the materials used. This work is based on requirements, hypotheses and problem simplifications, supported by virtual validation, FEM analyses, spreadsheet calculations, component specifications and 1D simulations. Development has also been done by suppliers to satisfy the project requirements, alongside a compromise between technology selection and the pressing need to respect an extremely short time frame for component procurement.
Summary and conclusions are drawn from; test results, particularly in comparison with parallel testing of ceramic coatings, suitability for hydrogen combustion, and further development and potential implementation on existing cylinder heads.
