Low Cost Gas Engine Innovation Doubles Fuel Economy
Revetec, a little known company from the Gold Coast region of Australia, may be on to something huge: they’ve created an engine that is 50% smaller, 50% lighter, has 50% lower emissions and is cheaper to manufacture than a conventional internal combustion engine of the same horsepower. Oh yeah, did I mention that it doubles the fuel economy too.
What that means is a car like the 2007 Toyota Yaris, which is rated at 40 mpg on the highway, would get 80 mpg with a Revetec engine.
This isn’t some hoax… They have a prototype which has been attached to an actual vehicle and independently tested to substantiate their claims.
In personal communication with Mr. Brad Howell-Smith, the Chairman, Inventor and CAD Designer for Revetec, he says “road tests have estimated that [the engine] uses around 50% less fuel than a conventional engine” and if it were converted to run on diesel, that performance gain could be much higher.
Also, because the engine delivers higher torque, and can perform and operate well at much lower rpm’s than a conventional one, the noise levels are lower.
To illustrate how serious he is, Mr. Howell-Smith said that since 2001 his company has been in touch with the US Military Head of R&D for the Southern Hemisphere on a “regular basis” for the purpose of developing one of their engines for light aircraft.
The current prototype engine, the X4v2, is what Revetec calls a “controlled combustion engine.” The meat of the engine comprises two counter rotating multilobate cams, which are acted upon by two pairs of diametrically opposed pistons which are rigidly interlinked by connecting rods.
If that sounds like complete gibberish to you, you’re not alone. Which is why I included an animation of the process to the left. A more simplified animation of the general motion of an engine of this sort is also included below.
Mr. Howell-Smith said that “if [the engine] uses 50% less fuel given that it has the same top end as a conventional engine, emissions would be reduced by 50% if the bottom end was utilized.”
What does all that stuff about “bottom end” and “top end” mean? The X4v2 has a huge amount of torque over a much larger range of rpm’s than a conventional internal combustion engine.
If a person were to drive a vehicle fitted with this engine in a non-aggressive fashion and keep the rpm’s at the “bottom end” (meaning no “jack-rabbit” starts) they could expect to see a 50% reduction in emissions.
Alternatively, according to Mr. Howell-Smith, a person could see a 30% reduction in fuel use and a 30% reduction in emissions if they used the full acceleration power of the X4v2 all the time. This would provide a 20% increase in acceleration capabilities.
We could debate about whether or not the internal combustion engine has a place in the future of transportation or whether it’s going to be all-electric or fuel cell or whatever… but in the meantime, Revetec has a product that could revolutionize the the transportation industry now, and provide a much needed large reduction in fuel consumption and emissions.
Just imagine a bunch of 80 mpg Toyota Yarises (Yarisi??) running around all over the place. A little scary, I know, but… an 80 mpg conventional automobile? I must be dreaming, wake me up before I get too excited.
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Image Credits: Revetec
From the pictures/description this looks very similar to a Wankel engine (rotary type found in some Mazdas). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine except that pistons are driving the lobes instead of fuel/exhaust directly.
HYDROGEN FUEL REQUIRES NUCLEAR REACTORS TO CREATE IT
Hydrogen as a fuel requires nuclear power to create it, because the hydrogen/oxygen bond is probably the strongest chemical bond in nature.
Using fossil fuel to create hydrogen is idiocy. It would create more pollution and greenhouse gasses than just doing what we are now.
However, nuclear reactors have the power to do this, and create no greenhouse gasses. The newest designs produce VERY little nuclear waste.
Hydrogen is far from a “perfect” fuel. It is hard to package and requires special care in handling. I still feel that a well modified “hybrid” kind of vehicle would work in our real world now.
All we need to do to jettison foreign oil is get between 35-40 mpg on all our cars, like the Europeans do now. But like a number of posters mentioned, it is not the best solution to future personal transportation.
sanjosemike
[...] While the folks over at Benz move away from the Internal Combustion Engine, there are yet those others who believe - Low Cost Gas Engine Innovation Doubles Fuel Economy. [...]
I still think Tesla motor has the right idea. http://www.teslamotors.com/ Electric is the answer. Buy this car and get enough solar panels to offset your electricity consumption. Hook up your solar panels to the grid, sell your electricity when the rates are at its highest and your utility company might even pay you for the car you’re driving!
There is no performance comprise with Tesla’s specs as well like using compressed air to run a car.
This along with thousands of other inventions will be shelved by the oil companies and the US government. Did you see where this company is involved with the head of the US military R&D? Their sole purpose is to shelve any invention that gets in the way of big oil and their profits.
The gas engine in cars was invented over a 100 years ago. They sprinkle microprocessors around it but it is still the same engine, with carefully controlled gas milage standards. Cars are like horse and buggy carts with radar…..
I will piss myself when the Co gathers more interest, and its shares go through the roof….
Im sure if it has a chance of really working, there company will get bought out and shut down, the prototypes and designs destroyed and the patents never licensed.
That Lupo looks alot like my Festiva. I’m getting 55mpg out of my festiva with much more trunk space. Wonder if I can lose some weight and get up to Lupo standards.
From vBharat.com » Low Cost Gas Engine Innovation Doubles Fuel Economy…
Revetec, a little known company from the Gold Coast region of Australia, may be on to something huge: they’ve created an engine that is 50% smaller, 50% lighter, has 50% lower emissions and is cheaper to manufacture than a conventional internal combu…
I liked the story and glad it was posted. However, a little touch of skepticism is probably warranted as many of us are eager for solutions.
I’m skeptical, but even failed ideas can give food for thought that lead to good ones.