By Splitting the Hot from the Cold, a New Engine Design Could Dramatically Boost Efficiency
The Tour Engine Tour Engine We really ask too much our internal combustion engines--compression needs a cool environment and combustion a hot one--and the compromises made to accommodate those demands lead to abysmal efficiency. So a San Diego-based company is turning that around by splitting the engine into two parts--a hot half and a cold half--to potentially boost efficiency by 50 percent. A conventional four-stroke engine has four essential motions: the intake stroke where the piston draws in fuel (downstroke), the compression stroke where it packs the fuel (upstroke), the combustion or power stroke where the fuel ignites (downstroke), and the exhaust stroke (upstroke) that clears the leftovers from the cylinder and prepares for a new intake stroke. The first two strokes work optimally in a cold environment, while the last two work better when the cylinder is hot. To compromise, the radiator is constantly channeling heat away from the cylinders,...