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As the name implies, the 'High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle' (HEHC) attempts to combine the best features of numerous thermodynamic cycles including Otto, Diesel, Rankine, and Atkinson to create a highly efficient engine.
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Referring to the figure, HEHC can be described as follows:
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Air (with no fuel) is compressed to a high ratio (> 18) in a compressor cylinder of the engine. The air is directed into an isolated combustion chamber.
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Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber and auto ignites. Combustion occurs under truly isochoric conditions and is allowed to complete until all fuel is fully combusted.
- The combustion products expand into an expander cylinder, which has larger volume than the intake volume.
- A small amount of water (an optional component) may be used in the system. Water may facilitate the cooling, lubricating, and sealing of combustion chamber and pistons.
The combination of high compression ratio, true constant volume combustion, expansion into a larger volume than intake, and (optionally) water turning to high pressure steam cumulatively add to the efficiency of the engine, allowing in a first approximation an overall thermodynamic efficiency of 75% and higher.
A basic thermodynamic analysis illustrates the high efficiency potential of the HEHC cycle.
next > Efficiency
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