Will F1 use HCCI ?
| September 29, 2011 | Posted by admin under Formula 1 |
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F1 turbo engines to use HCCI ?
Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition
Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition engines could be the next big thing in F1 engine design when 2014 turbo era comes around…
Diesel engines are efficient partly because of the high energy density of the diesel fuel.
Compressed air and a squirt of diesel in the engine cylinder which ignites the fuel with no spark.
Diesel has become more expensive to produce however due to the need to remove pollutants from the exhaust gases. A petrol engine that works like a diesel engine called the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine is the solution : giving approx 15 percent better mileage than a conventional petrol engine.
Will F1 use HCCI ? – I think it’s pretty likely – as it’s “greener” and that’s good for F1′s image apart from anything else!
Petrol can be made to auto-ignite, but the combustion is notoriously difficult to control. HCCI engines typically function by mixing precise quantities of fresh air and burned exhaust gases (the heat from the exhaust helps drive the auto-ignition) inside the cylinder.
Making an HCCI engine work smoothly required every modern advance in IC power, including complex variable valve timing ( already familiar to Formula 1 – Renault intorduced it in the mid 80′s ) and direct fuel injection. Both GM and VW have made petrol HCCI engines, and GM is currently testing its engine in prototypes in Detroit and Germany.
Will F1 use HCCI ? – we’ll soon see!
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