IFET COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

PRESENTATION ON

VALVETRONIC ENGINE TECHNOLOGY

PRESENTED BY
S.SARAVANAN
III YR MECHANICAL
 VALVETRONIC ENGINE TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION same time, manufacturers are seeking to

minimise fuel consumption and,
The automobile has been accordingly, CO2 emissions. All of this
providing individual mobility for more should be achieved with a maximum
than 100 years. This mobility is made standard of comfort and safety on the
possible first and foremost by road. In the homologation of motor
combustion engines drawing their power vehicles, Europe, Japan and the US
from fossil energy carriers, which, even apply different driving cycles to
today, provide the foundation in determine emissions and fuel
generating mechanical drive power in consumption. However, it is the
the automobile. The primary objectives individual customer who ultimately
in developing drive systems are to curb decides on his/her particular style of
fuel consumption and reduce CO2 motoring and up to 30% of a car’s fuel
emissions. In an effort to meet this consumption depends on how it is driven
challenge, the automotive industry is and the style of motoring that is
developing suitable new engines. The preferred by the driver. Clearly, the
voluntary commitment assumed by the development engineer is unable to
European Automobile Manufacturers influence these external parameters – all
Association (ACEA) is to reduce the that he/she can do is change the basic
fleet emission average of all newly functions and control factors in the car
introduced cars to 140g of CO2 per and its drivetrain. The amount of energy
kilometer by 2008 . required for driving a vehicle also drops
The first objective is to minimise with decreasing driving resistance
emission components such as provided by, for example, a reduction in
hydrocarbon, CO2 and nitrogen oxides roll and air resistance. To make more
(NOx) subject to specific limits. At the efficient use of the energy in fuel, the
actual process of using energy must • the charge cycle;
reach a higher standard of efficiency. • friction; and
Despite modern engine technology, the • thermal losses through the walls.
process of on-going development has not Optimisation in these areas in
yet come to an end. Looking at the driving cycles with low loads and engine
overall concept of a vehicle, the speeds provides the greatest
development engineer must therefore improvements in fuel economy. Quite
optimize the efficiency chain formed by generally, steps taken to reduce the
all of the car’s individual components. throttle effect have a greater potential for
For example, a car with a state-of-the-art saving fuel than the reduction of friction
spark-ignition engine uses only about in the drivetrain (see Figure 2.1).
20% of the energy consumed to actually Precisely with this in mind, BMW has
generate driving power and mobility in eveloped a fully variable valve drive
the EU test cycle. This alone referred to as Valvetronic, a system
demonstrates the remaining potential offering improvement in fuel
consumption comparable in virtually all
Evolution of Valvetronic driving cycles to the latest spark-ignition
engines with direct fuel injection (DFI)
and leanburn operation.

A number of other important

items were also included in the list of
objectives: • achieving dynamic
performance, fuel economy, noise
management and quality typical of
BMW;
• having a flexible concept capable of
The losses that are capable of fulfilling future emissions standards;
being influenced are composed primarily • creating a benchmark product in terms
of the following: of its package, weight and cost of
• a combustion process not yet ideal; ownership;
• taking a modular approach in order to Innovative technology was
develop specific engine variants; essential in order to reach the demanding
• ensuring a significant potential for on- objectives and functional requirements
going development; and desired. However, at the same time, this
• providing the foundation for other concept demanded the utmost of the
engine variants, i.e. communality with electronic control and management
future systems in the engine.
engines.
All of this led to the development
of a fully variable valve drive system,
Concept
BMW Valvetronic, helping to
Taking nature as the role model: human
significantly reduce fuel consumption
beings also apply the Valvetronic
while maintaining stochiometric driving
principle
conditions with all the usual advantages.
A comparison with the human
What Is Valvetronic? being clearly explains how Valvetronic
The Valvetronic engine is the works: Whenever we are required to
world's first engine without a throttle make a great effort, we human beings
butterfly. Valvetronic allows the engine breathe in a deep and long process of
to run without a throttle butterfly, the ventilation. Whenever we need less air,
cylinder charge being determined under we do not throttle the supply of air by,
part load as a function of the valve- say, closing our nose or our mouth, but
opening period. The intake and outlet simply breathe in a shorter, flatter
camshafts are driven by variable cam process of ventilation. In a conventional
adjustment, BMW’s Vanos technology. combustion engine the throttle butterfly
A further advantage of this concept is is basically comparable to a human
that it allows worldwide use of the being keeping his nose or mouth at least
proven three-way catalyst for emissions partially closed. With its large valve lift
management, thus meeting even the (= deep, long ventilation) and short
strictest emissions standards in the US. valve lift (= flat, short process of
ventilation), Valvetronic, on the other
hand, is able to breathe in the same way
as nature – always in line with current of premium fuel on 100 kilometers in the
requirements, without any kind of European test cycle, equivalent to 40.9
throttling effect and therefore with mpg Imp. This is a significant 0.7 liters
maximum efficiency. less than the former 77 kW/105 bhp
compact and well over a liter less than
Valvetronic Technology
all competitors in this class.
Accordingly, the Valvetronic
engine no longer requires a throttle
butterfly, which has quite literally
The Valvetronic system is based
restricted the free ventilation of the
consistently on BMW’s proven double-
internal combustion engine ever since its
VANOS (VANOS = variable adjustment
invention. Now Valvetronic replaces this
of the camshafts), with infinite camshaft
conventional function by infinitely
adjustment to meet specific
variable intake valve lift, offering a
requirements. The additional, variable
quantum leap in technology quite
valve lift adjusts the effective cam action
comparable to the changeover from the
and, accordingly, the opening cross-
carburetor to fuel injection.
section of the valves.
Its most important feature is that
it is able to save at least 10 per cent fuel
This is done by a lever positioned
throughout the entire operating range
between the camshaft and the intake
relevant to the customer, with a
valves, its distance from the camshaft
corresponding reduction in exhaust
being adjusted infinitely by an additional
emissions, regardless of fuel quality.
eccentric shaft operated by an electric
And a further important point is that the
motor. Depending on the position of the
efficient operation of Valvetronic does
Valvetronic control system, the lever
not require any unusual types and grades
converts the cam contour into a larger or
of oil possibly difficult to obtain.
smaller valve lift, whatever may be
As a result of these particular
required.
features the 85 kW/115bhp BMW 316ti
compact with its top speed of 210 km/h
or 125 mph consumes a mere 6.9 liters
 The pistons are still running, taking air
from the partially closed intake
manifold. The intake manifold between
the throttle and the combustion chamber
has a partial vacuum, resisting the
sucking and pumping action of the
pistons, wasting energy. Automotive
engineers refer to this phenomenon as
"pumping loss". The slower the engine
runs, the more the throttle butterfly
closes, and the more energy is lost.

WORKING OF
VALVETRONIC ENGINE

 Working Of Ordinary
Engine
In engines without valvetronic  intake valve with throttle plate.
technology fuel injection systems  the supply of the fule/air
monitor the volume of air passing mixture is controlled by the
throttle plate. valve lift is
through the throttle butterfly and
unchanged.
determine the corresponding amount of
fuel required by the engine. The larger  Working Of Valvetronic Engine
the throttle butterfly opening, the more
air enters the combustion chamber. Compared with conventional twin-cam
At light throttle, the throttle engines with finger followers,
butterfly partially or even nearly closes. Valvetronic employs an additional
eccentric shaft, an electric motor and means of an extra, electronicly actuated
several intermediate rocker arms, which camshaft. This movement alone, without
in turn activates the opening and closing any movement of the intake camshaft,
of valves. If the rocker arms push can open or close the intake valves.
deeper, the intake valves will have a
higher lift, and vice-versa. Thus, The Valvetronic system is based
Valvetronic has the ability to get deep, on BMW's established double VANOS
long ventilation (large valve lift) and system, which steplessly varies the
flat, short ventilation (short valve lift), timing of both the inlet and exhaust
depending on the demands placed on the cams. However, the Valvetronic system
engine. adds variable valve lift to the inlet cam,
achieved by the use of a lever positioned
between the camshaft and the inlet
valves. Valvetronic varies the timing and
the lift of the intake valves. The
Valvetronic system has a conventional
intake cam, but it also uses a secondary
eccentric shaft with a series of levers and
roller followers, activated by a stepper
motor. Based on signals formerly taken
mechanically from the accelerator pedal,
the stepper motor changes the phase of
 intake valve with valvetronic. the eccentric cam, modifying the action
of the intake valves. An additional
 the fuel/air mixture is controlled by
a variable valve lift, without a throttle plate. eccentric shaft alters the lever's distance

Cylinder heads with Valvetronic use an from the camshaft, with the eccentric's

extra set of rocker arms, called position determined by a worm drive

intermediate arms (lift scaler), from an electric motor. The position of

positioned between the valve stem and the lever converts the cam action into a

the camshaft. These intermediate arms smaller or larger valve lift, as requested

are able to pivot on a central point, by by the engine management system.

Intake vale lift can be altered from a  The cams controlling the
minimum of 0.25mm(!) to a maximum eccentric shaft are machined to
of 9.7mm, with the electric motor tolerances of a few hundredths of
adjusting the eccentric shaft in 0.3 a millimeter.
seconds.
ENGINE DESIGN
Because the intake valves now
ASPECTS
have the ability to move from fully
closed to fully open positions, and  Basic engine design completely
everywhere in between, the primary
revised
means of engine load control is
transferred from the throttle plate to the Not only the cylinder head with
intake valve train. By eliminating the BMW’s new Valvetronic technology,
throttle plate's "bottleneck" in the intake but also the complete four-cylinder
track, pumping losses are reduced, fuel power unit featured in the BMW 316ti is
economy and responsiveness are an all-new development from the ground
improved. up. The new cross-flow cooling concept
with its open deck crankcase reduces
 Operating Parameters
coolant flow resistance and therefore
allows use of a smaller water pump with
 Valve lift is variable between 0
just 60 per cent of the usual power
and 9.7 mm.
uptake.
 Adjustment of the worm gear
from one extreme to the other
Made of aluminum, the engine
takes 300 milliseconds.
block ends exactly on the centerline of
 Combined with double-vanos
the crankshaft bearings. A ladder frame
valve timing technology, the
between the crankcase and the oil sump
camshaft angle relative to the
connects the lower halves of the bearing
crankshaft can be adjusted by up
bridges to form one complete unit also
to 60°.
accommodating the balance shaft
 The intermediate arm is finished
housing and the two-stage oil pump.
to a tolerance of 0.008 mm.
This makes the entire drive unit very
stiff and robust, minimizing any Valvetronic system fail. In this case, the
vibration of other vehicle components engine would enter a "limp home"
the driver would otherwise feel on the program, and engine speed would once
steering wheel, gearshift lever and again be controlled by the throttle plate.
pedals, and also perceive as a kind of
consistent humming noise.

All ancillaries are bolted directly ADVANTAGES AND

to the crankcase without the rather BENEFITS
elaborate supports and attachments
otherwise required – again an important  Fuel economy increased
contribution to running smoothness with
Valvetronic offers the customer
vibrations reduced to a minimum.
direct, immediate benefits, with fuel
 Throttle plate is not removed consumption and exhaust emissions
decreasing, but dynamic performance
It is important to note however, and the spontaneous response of the
that the throttle plate is not removed, but engine improving accordingly. Added to
rather defaults to a fully open position this there is the even higher standard of
once the engine is running. The throttle running smoothness, since the valves
will partially close when the engine is move only slightly in a precisely
first started, to create the initial vacuum controlled process.
needed for certain engine functions, such
as emissions control. Once the engine The improvement in fuel
reaches operating speed, a vacuum pump economy ensured by this concept of
run off the passenger side exhaust throttle-free engine load management is
camshaft (on the N62 V8 only) provides approximately 10 per cent in the EU
a vacuum source, much as a diesel cycle and at least 10 per cent under the
engine would, and the throttle plate once typical driving conditions encountered
again goes to the fully open position. by a customer. The basic rule is that fuel
The throttle plate also doubles as an economy versus other concepts increases
emergency backup, should the with the driver running the vehicle at
lower loads and engine speeds. The km/h or 125 mph, 11 km/h faster than
consumption figures the motorist is able the top speed of the former model.
to achieve in this way are comparable to
the fuel economy only a diesel engine Another advantage is the
was able to offer just a few years ago. unusually spontaneous response of the
316ti to the gas pedal. This is
attributable to the simple fact that load
control, to use the technical term for
"giving gas", now takes place "right
there where the action is", that is directly
in the combustion chamber. This
eliminates the usual time lag between the
process of "giving gas" and the actual
acceleration of the car, which used to be
inevitable due to the need to fill the
intake manifold between the throttle
butterfly and the combustion chamber.
In this respect, Valvetronic even
outperforms the most advanced concepts
using individual throttle butterflies, thus
offering an unprecedented combination
of spontaneous engine response and
At the same time the new four- ultra-fine dosage of power and
cylinder is even more dynamic than its performance under low loads.
predecessor, the 316ti now accelerating
well over a second faster to 100 km/h,  Perfectly suited for all fuel
achieving this important mark from a grades
standstill in 10.9 seconds. The standing-
start kilometer, in turn, comes after 31.6 Another significant advantage of

seconds, 1.8 seconds faster than before, Valvetronic highly beneficial to the

and the top speed of the 316ti is now 201 customer is that a Valvetronic engine
offers at least the same fuel economy as
the most advanced direct-injection petrol Other Advantages
engines without the same compromises
in terms of emissions. Accordingly, the  Anti-knock control for running
316ti is able to do without the elaborate on all fuel grades between 87 and
and so far hardly reliable emission 99 octane.
management technologies still required  Maintenance-free ignition system
today on a direct-injection petrol engine. with individual coils.
And it does not require sulfur-free fuel  Maintenance-free valve drive
like a direct-injection petrol engine, with hydraulic valve play
achieving its superior fuel economy with compensation.
proven l =1 technology, which allows  A Service Interval Indicator to
the Valvetronic engine to run on all keep the cost of service to a
commercially available grades of regular minimum
petrol. In other words, the customer  A two-mass flywheel for
enjoys all the consumption-related maximum running smoothness
advantages of Valvetronic also when  Valve drive with roller bearings
driving in countries without a throughout in the interest of
nationwide supply of sulfur-free fuel. minimum friction and fuel
The consumption figures for the 316ti consumption.
nevertheless relate to the use of premium  Advanced catalysts near the
fuel with an octane rating of 95 RON. engine in special manifold design
Together with its 63-liter (13.9 Imp gal) for minimum emissions.
fuel tank, the 316ti offers a much longer  In Valvetronic engines coolant
range than its predecessor, with extra- flows across the head, resulting
urban fuel consumption in the European in a temperature reduction of
EU test cycle of just 5.3 liters for 100 60%.
kilometers (53.3 Imp gals). This means  The water pump size is cut in
that the driver would only have to refuel half, reducing power
after a very significant 1,188 kilometers consumption by 60%.
or 737 miles.  The power steering fluid is
warmed quickly, reducing the
 power used by the hydraulic system calls for multi-parameter load
pump. management requiring the introduction
 Mounting the water and power of new control algorithms and new, even
pump on the same shaft and a more efficient, engine management.
heat exchanger between coolant Disadvantages
and engine oil reduces oil
Facing such a high standard of
temperature by 30%.
software and hardware complexity, a
manufacturer obviously also runs a
greater risk of making mistakes. It is
BMW has successfully
essential to acquire a sufficient stock of
completed this quantum leap in
data under all kinds of operating
technology, even in the light of a
conditions in order to understand how
demanding product development
such a new system behaves. However,
process. An important task in this
such data cannot be provided by the
process is to reduce the product
usual sequential test runs.
development period to just 30 months.
All-round, general use of the
This applies to all new products. A
latest direct-injection technology, in
further objective is to reduce the amount
turn, faces some significant drawbacks
of hardware required and provide a
such as costs, the need to make the
broad knowledge base for the new
combustion process very robust and the
Valvetronic technology, the know-how
potentials in exhaust emissions
acquired in this process serving to
treatment.
develop this technology to an even
higher standard with new functions.
Computer aided exercise (CAx)-based
methods and three-dimensional EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
calculations were applied consistently in  First Working Model
this project, ensuring successful The first BMW model to enter
application of the new technology in the the market in 2001 with a large-
car despite the high level of product production spark-ignition engine
complexity. This new mechatronic featuring fully variable Valvetronic and
Vanos valve control was the 316ti
Compact. In turn, the first representative at just 2,000 revolutions per minute
of this newly developed family of (rpm), with torque peaking at 3,750rpm.
engines was a four-cylinder four-valve Engine output, in turn, remains
spark-ignition power unit displacing 1.8 consistently at its near-maximum
litres, developing maximum torque of throughout a wide speed range.
175 Newton meters (Nm) and maximum The 4.4-litre power unit develops
output of 85kW (see Figure 4). BMW’s a maximum output of 245kW with a fuel
new Valvetronic four-cylinder power consumption of only 10.9 litres/100km
units come with 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre (or 25.9 miles per gallon) and already
capacities. complies with the EU4 standard, which
does not become obligatory until 2005.
Some Experimental results The oil service intervals, in turn, have
Despite the reduction in engine been extended up to 40,000km or 25,000
size by 100 cubic centimeters, compared miles.
with the former generation of power One of the most important
units, torque is up from 165Nm to objectives from the start was to reduce
175Nm, with output increasing from fuel consumption. These engines offer a
77kW to 85kW. With displacement of particular enhancement of fuel economy
the 2.0-litre engine being increased by above all at low loads. When idling, fuel
5%, torque was up by no less than 11% consumption is down by approximately
from 180Nm to 200Nm, engine output 25% and the overall improvement in the
increasing from 87kW to 105kW, European fuel consumption test cycle is
resulting in specific torque of 12%. The customer will also experience
100Nm/litre and specific output of this improved economy and fuel
52.5kW/litre. efficiency in everyday motoring on the
The driver senses this enhanced road. Using the power of the engine in
performance through the more powerful full, on the other hand, the driver does
torque curve, the car’s dynamic not have greater fuel efficiency than with
behaviour on the road clearly proving a conventional power unit. The reason
the advantages of this extra torque. More for this is that, under these conditions,
than 90% of the engine’s torque comes the engine runs like a throttle butterfly
power unit with its butterfly fully open. very robust and the potentials in exhaust
Under normal driving conditions, emissions treatment.
however, throttle-free load management Valvetronic combines a
significantly reduces fuel consumption significant improvement of fuel
in practice. consumption with excellent engine
response and control, allowing optimum
valve timing under all running
CONCLUSION
conditions. The result is smooth and free
In summary, these innovative operation of the engine under part load
developments provide a combination of with very little throttle effect. Optimised
product features thus far inconceivable fuel/air mixture management ensures
with a spark-ignition engine. The significant advantages in fuel efficiency
introduction of the world’s first intake compared with a conventional four-
manifold providing infinite variation in cylinder engine, reaching the same
manifold length serves to improve the standard as today’s lean-burn concepts.
torque level, which is already very good Since such an engine with Valvetronic
to begin with. A particular highlight of does not require an NOx removal
engines with Valvetronic load catalyst, it can be used worldwide with
management is the significantly all types and grades of fuel.
improved fuel/air mixture guaranteeing
minimum fuel consumption, maximum
REFERENCES:
spontaneity and optimum refinement.
www.bmwworld.com/technology/valvetr
DFI with a stochiometric air/fuel
onic
ratio provides the highest level of
www.bmwworld.com/engines/valvetroni
specific output as well as a combustion
c
process helping to fulfil all exhaust
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/valvetronic
emissions standards worldwide. All-
Internal Combustion Engines by
round, general use of the latest direct-
SEMINAR TOPIC FROM ::
injection technology, in turn, faces some
www.edufive.com/seminartopics.html
significant drawbacks such as costs, the
need to make the combustion process