Camshaft Design For An Inlet-Restricted FSAE Engine: September 2008
Camshaft Design For An Inlet-Restricted FSAE Engine: September 2008
Camshaft Design For An Inlet-Restricted FSAE Engine: September 2008
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ABSTRACT
The engine of choice for the majority of teams is a stock
3
Restricting the flow rate of air to the intake manifold is a 600 cm motorcycle engine [2, 3]. The Queen’s Formula
convenient and popular method used by several motor Racing (QFR) team employs a 2003-2005 Yamaha YZF
sport disciplines to regulate engine performance. This R6 engine, the specification of which is shown in Table 1.
principle is applied in the Formula SAE and Formula It was chosen as it has one of the longest piston strokes
Student competitions, the rules of which stipulate that all of this classification of engine and, in its stock
the air entering the engine must pass though a 20mm specification, is designed to produce peak torque of 68.5
diameter orifice. The restriction acts as a partially closed Nm at 12,000 rpm. This high performance engine
throttle which generates a vacuum in the inlet plenum. employs the full benefit of exhaust system tuning by
During the valve overlap period of the cycle, which may using a large valve overlap to scavenge the clearance
be as much as 100 degrees crank angle in the volume of exhaust gas therefore increasing high-speed
motorcycle engines used by most FSAE competitors, this torque.
vacuum causes reverse flow of exhaust gas into the
intake runners. This, in turn, reduces the amount of Table 1: Engine Specification
fresh air entering the cylinder during the subsequent 03-05 Yamaha R6
intake stroke and therefore reduces the torque produced. Engine In-line, 4-cyl, DOHC.
This effect is particularly noticeable at medium engine 3
speeds when the time available for reverse flow is Displacement 600 cm
greater than at the peak torque speed. Bore 65.5 mm
The objective of the study described in this paper was to
Stroke 44.5 mm
mitigate the reverse flow effect by reducing the duration
of the valve overlap period. A thermodynamic model of Compression Ratio 13.5
the Yamaha YZF R6 engine was developed for this Maximum Power 92 kW (123 hp) @ 13,000 rpm
purpose and validated using cycle-averaged and crank-
Maximum Torque 68.5 Nm @ 12,000 rpm
angle-resolved test data. The resulting model was then
used to find the optimum values of lift, duration and However, in engines with a large valve overlap, the part-
timing for both the intake and exhaust valves. The load operation is poor due to a reduced induction
camshafts required to give these valve lift profiles were manifold pressure. This causes exhaust gases to travel
designed using valve train analysis software. This back through the cylinder, past the intake valve and into
process included a consideration of the dynamic forces the intake system when both valves are open [4, 5]. As
encountered by the valve train and ensured that the the engine has to be restricted under the FSAE rules, it
resulting stresses remained within safe limits. effectively operates at part load. The standard engine is
The new camshafts increased the torque output by up to therefore not fully optimized for use in a restricted format.
30% at medium engine speeds, without reducing the This affects the torque produced by the engine and
high-speed torque, and therefore significantly improved ultimately the drivability of the car. To develop the engine
the vehicle drivability. and give a desirable torque curve during competition
conditions, where engine speed is typically in the range
INTRODUCTION 3000-12000 rpm, modification of the intake and exhaust
camshafts was undertaken. Previous research within the
To be eligible to compete in the Formula SAE or Formula team concentrated on modification of the intake cam
Student events, the rules [1] dictate the use of a four- shaft only in an older model of the engine [6, 7]. To
3
stroke engine with a maximum displacement of 610 cm reduce the effects of the Ø20mm restrictor, yet maintain
and that all air supplied to the engine must pass through
a single Ø20 mm restrictor for a gasoline fuelled car.
a naturally aspirated configuration, an approach of results [10, 11 and 12]. The engine model used was the
reducing the valve overlap was used. subject of an extensive validation process described in
detail by Walkingshaw [13]. Therefore the engine model
STOCK LIFT PROFILES could be used confidently for thermodynamic analysis.
Figure 2 shows air purity just upstream of the inlet valve
The valve lift profiles of the stock engine were carefully at 5000 rpm and wide open throttle (WOT), where 1 is
measured at ambient conditions using the recommended fresh charge and 0 is exhaust gas. It can be seen during
clearances between the camshaft base circle and the the overlap period between IO1 and EC1 that the gas
bucket (0.15 – 0.2 mm). The resulting profiles are purity drops, indicating the presence of exhaust gas in
plotted in Figure 1 and their durations and peak lifts are the intake manifold. Figure 3 shows mass flow rate and
listed in Table 2. confirms that reverse flow occurs during the overlap
period.
9
8 Intake
7
Valve Lift (m m )
Exhaust
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 180 360 540 720
65
can also be seen in Table 3.
60
55
50
45
40
35
5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000 12000
Engine speed (RPM)
7
Tvh 2.1 2.1
6
5 Dst1 3.95 3.9
4 Dst2 4.55 4.6
3
2 Dos 25 22.05
1 Dis 23 20
0
0 180 360 540 720 Avh 20 24
Degrees after TDC (Cyl 1 starting comb stroke)
W vf 15 10.5
Figure 7. Automated Design and Stock Valve Lift Profiles
Table 4 – Valve Dimensions
This thermodynamic optimization gives no consideration
to the mechanical viability of these valve lift designs.
Therefore it was necessary to check not only the Dimension (mm)
mechanical feasibility of this new design, but also to
determine whether it was possible to manufacture Db 24.44
camshafts that would produce such lift profiles given the Hb 17
design constraints of cam base circle radius and bucket
Tb 2
tappet diameter. There is a complex design relationship
between both of these variables, the valve lift profiles Tbp 2.3
and the manufacturability of the cam profiles. Tw 0.6
Dp 7.46
MECHANICAL ANALYSIS
Table 5 – Bucket Follower Dimensions
Changing a lift profile can impact the valve train
dynamics and the durability of the components [4, 14].
To assess the mechanical implications of the proposed
lift profile, a mechanical analysis was required using
valvetrain mechanical analysis software called 4stHEAD
Table 6. Valve Springs - Progressive Coil Spacing cam and the valve-lift acceleration (i.e. the second
Dimensions derivative of the valve lift with respect to cam angle)
which also affects manufacturability of the cam profile.
The bucket diameters and the base circle radii of the
cams could not be changed and therefore the new
narrower valve lift profiles had to be manipulated within
4stHEAD to ensure that feasible cam profiles could be
manufactured based on the aforementioned constraints.
Other factors that are constantly checked in this iterative
process are the cam to follower Hertz stresses and oil
film thicknesses to ensure that they remain within
recommended limits. Figure 8 shows the finalized intake
valves lift profiles with its associated velocity,
acceleration and jerk characteristics. The key points to
note here are the shape and smoothness of the
acceleration profile as it is this that is manipulated to
achieve the goals described previously.
Space 8 0.75 - -
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 180 360 540 720
It can be seen that there is not as great a gain in The 4stHEAD software was also used to check that the
predicted torque with the mechanical analysis valve lifts new valve lifts and their respective timing events would
but still a substantial improvement upon the baseline. not cause any interference with the piston. In addition, it
was necessary to check that the new valve lifts would not
cause any problems to the dynamics of the valvetrain.
First of all the dynamics of the valvetrain with the original
valve lift profiles were modeled and these were then
compared to the dynamics of the valvetrain with the new
valve lift profiles. There were no anomalies with float,
bounce or separation of the valvetrain components in the
relevant speed range and the maximum stresses were
within acceptable limits.
10
7
Valve Lift (mm)
0
0 180 360 540 720
Figure 11 - Intake Camshaft Profiles Figure 13 – Modified and Stock Valve Lifts
EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION
STOCK MODIFIED
The modified camshafts were tested on a 145kW
Schenck dynamometer with the driveshaft connected to
the gearbox output shaft. A Horiba MEXA-7170DEGR
Exhaust Emissions Analyzer was used to measure AFR.
The engine is fitted with a custom fuel injection and
ignition system which are controlled by a DTA ECU. The
engine was mapped at full load throughout the speed
range between 3000 to 12500 rpm with fuel adjusted to
leanest for best torque and ignition timing adjusted to
Figure 14 – Intake Stock and Modified Camshafts minimum advance for best torque for both the standard
camshaft and the modified camshaft configurations.
The camshafts when then fitted with vernier pulley Figure 17 shows the full load corrected brake torque
wheels so that their timing could be adjusted to the curve comparison between the two tests.
desired settings.
Modified Cams
Figure 17 – Comparison of Engine Torque
Standard Cams
It can be seen that there are large torque gains in the
lower speed range with a maximum of 30% gain at 5500
rpm. The peak torque increased by around 12% at 8500
rpm and an average torque increase across the speed
range of 15.3% was achieved. There are smaller gains
at speeds greater than 11000 rpm due to the the airflow
becoming increasingly choked through the restrictor.
Figure 15 – Comparison of Air Purity at Intake Valve During the optimization process, the Automated Design
feature found that an optimum runner length would be
260 mm. It was decided to investigate this factor by
increasing the length in the direction indicated by the
analysis but not to the extent recommended due to
difficulties in packaging such a long runner length within
the FSAE car. Therefore an extension of 50mm in
runner length was implemented and the engine
Modified Cams remapped at full load. A comparison of the engine with
the extended runners and modified camshafts is shown
compared to the standard runners and modified
camshafts in Figure 18.
Standard Cams
55
st
1. Formula SAE Rules [online]. [Viewed 21 April
Corr Engine Torque (Nm)
50
2008]. Available from:
45
http://students.sae.org/competitions/formulaserie
s/rules/rules.pdf
40 2. B.A. Jawad, M.D. DeGain and A.P. Young Jr.,
“Design of a Restricted Induction System for a
35
High Speed Four Cylinder Engine”, SAE Paper
30 No. 2000-01-3090.
3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000 12000 13000 3. Mario Farrugia, Mike Rossey and Brian P.
Engine Speed (RPM)
Sangeorzan, “On the Use of a Honda 600cc 4-
Figure 18 – Comparison of Runner Length Changes Cylinder Engine for Formula SAE Competition”
SAE 2005-01-0025.
As expected mid-range torque was increased but the 4. Yushu Wang, “Introduction to Engine
torque started to decrease slightly at higher engine Valvetrains” Society of Automotive Engineers,
speeds. A maximum gain of 6.9% at 6000 rpm was ISBN 0-7680-1079-9.
achieved using the extended runner lengths. 5. James M. Novak, Raymond A. Kach, “Computer
Optimization of Camshaft Lift Profiles for a
CONCLUSIONS Nascar V-8 Engine With Restrictor Plate” SAE
962514.
The modified camshafts increased the low to mid-range 6. R .H. McKee, G. McCullough, G. Cunningham,
torque output by: J.O. Taylor, N. McDowell, J. T. Taylor and R.
McCullough, “Experimental Optimisation of
1. Reducing the valve overlap period and therefore the Manifold and Camshaft Geometries for a
reverse flow. Restricted 600cc Four-cylinder Four-stroke
Engine” SAE 2006-32-0070.
2. Advancing the intake valve closing point thereby 7. J. Taylor, R. McKee, G. McCullough, G.
reducing the amount of reverse flow occurring at the Cunningham, C. McCartan, “Computer
beginning of the compression stroke. Simulation and Optimisation of an Intake
Camshaft for a Restricted 600cc Four-Stroke
These changes to the valve timing increased the torque Engine” SAE 2006-32-0071.
output by a maximum of 30% at 5500 rpm in the 8. VIRTUAL ENGINES Engine Simulation
restricted FSAE engine. However if these camshafts Software, VIRTUAL 4-Stroke and VIRTUAL 2-
were used in the unrestricted stock engine then at high Stroke, Optimum Power Technology, Bridgeville,
speeds the valve timing settings would greatly reduce its PA, www.optimum-power.com
performance. When the modified camshafts are used in 9. G. P. Blair, “Design and Simulation of Four-
conjunction with the restrictor, the restrictor masks the Stroke Engines”, Society of Automotive
negative effects of the camshafts at the higher engine Engineers, 0-7680-0440-3, 1999.
speeds as it becomes the limiting factor on the engine’s 10. G.P. Blair, D.O. Mackey, M.C. Ashe and G.F.
performance. Chatfield, "On Improving the Accuracy of the
Simulation of Reciprocating Engines", IMechE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Paper No. C587/001/2000.
11. G. P. Blair, “Empiricism and Simulation In the
Design of the High Performance Four-Stroke
The authors would like to thank the Queen’s University of
Engine” SAE 983046.
Belfast, School of Mechanical and Aerospace
12. G.P. Blair "Back to Basics", Race Engine
Engineering for providing access to the engine test
Technology, Volume 6 Issue 027,
facilities. In addition, the support of Optimum Power
December/January 2008, Pages 36-45, ISSN
Technology in providing the Virtual Engines licenses is
1740-6803.
greatly appreciated. Further thanks are extended to
13. J. Walkingshaw, S. McClintock, G. McCullough,
Russell McKee, Michael McCauley and Maurice Doherty
C. McCartan, and G. Cunningham,
for their contribution and assistance throughout the
“Experimental Validation of FSAE Engine
duration of the project.
Model”, 2008-32-0079.
14. Lisheng Yang, Akemi Ito and Hideo Negishi, “A
Valve Train Friction and Lubrication Analysis
Model and Its Application in a Cam/Tappet Wear
Study” SAE 962030
15. 4stHEAD design software, Prof. Blair and NOMENCLATURE
Associates, Belfast, Northern Ireland,
www.profblairandassociates.com FSAE Formula SAE
16. Mark Oldham, "Death of a Black Art", Race SAE Society of Automotive Engineers
Engine Technology, Volume 2 Issue 005, QFR Queen’s Formula Racing
Summer 2004, Pages 39-45, ISSN 1740-6803. RPM Revolutions per minute
17. G.P. Blair, Charles McCartan and Hans TDC Top dead centre
Hermann, "The Right Lift", Race Engine BDC Bottom dead centre
Technology, Volume 3 Issue 009, Cyl Cylinder
JULY/AUGUST 2005, Pages 44-52, ISSN 1740- VE Virtual Engines
6803. IO1 / IVO Inlet valve open
18. G.P. Blair, Charles McCartan and Hans IC1 / IVC Inlet valve closed
Hermann, "Making the Cam", Race Engine EO1 / EVO Exhaust valve open
Technology, Volume 3 Issue 010, October EC1 / EVC Exhaust valve closed
2005, Pages 46-55, ISSN 1740-6803. AD Automated Design
19. G.P. Blair, Charles McCartan and Hans
Hermann, "Bucket Operation", Race Engine
Technology, Volume 3 Issue 011, December
2005, Pages 56-65, ISSN 1740-6803.
20. G.P. Blair, "Steel Coils Versus Gas", Race
Engine Technology, Volume 5 Issue 023,
June/July 2007, Pages 16-24, ISSN 1740-6803