NEVIS - The Internal Combustion Engine reinvented
NEVIS stands for New Exhaust Valve & Intake System, while it sounds basically like a simple modification to current technology, is actually attempting to reinvent the ICE. From fourteen years of research and testing by Cesare Bortone, the new engine design claims to solve lots of problems. It is smaller and lighter, even though being built of steel, versus the aluminum-magnesium alloy BMW R6 3.0L block they tested it against, and only has two cylinders. The cylinders themselves are not as we know them, as they are apparently donut-shaped. According to its claim, the engine can range in its compression ratio anywhere from 7:1 to 38:1, which seems problematic at best, but likely has the most to do with the large power output from such small displacement. The stroke is considerably shorter, and uses energy of the engine's exhaust vacuum to assist in the combustion cycle, also enabling it to produce six times the number of power strokes per revolution than that of an ordinary four-stroke ICE. Also, the engine is a modular design, which, according to the NEVIS team, enables a manufacturer to easily configure multiple arrays of cylinders (2, 4, 5, 6, 8, etc.) in an engine from the same facility, even on the same assembly line, streamlining construction and production costs.
That's all well and good, you say, but it still burns gas just like everything else, and oil is running out. Well guess what, greenies: the NEVIS engine can apparently burn any type of fuel, from diesel, to any mixture of biofuels, to even hydrogen. The most basic explanation I can make out of the technical overview is that they took elements of both the regular gas combustion cycle and the diesel cycle, added their own innovations, and made the most efficient, versatile engine ever made. Sounds too good to be true, maybe, however the 1.0L prototype was successfully tested and run at the conclusion of the 2.1 million Euro grant-funded phase last year, and NEVIS Engine Company, Ltd. was subsequently formed to further develop and commercialize the engine design, as well as "manage all related intellectual property." Patents have been issued in both Europe and the U.S.
[Source: NEVIS - Thanks for the tip, wouter!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brad 4:10PM (6/05/2009)
Funny this engine is claiming to be the world's most efficient engine, while Revetec in Australia has already indepentently tested their engine and achieved 39.5% efficiency on petrol, confirming it is the world's most efficient petrol engine. www.revetec.com
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Turbofrog 7:29PM (6/21/2007)
There have been numerous internal combustion engine concepts that have superior efficiency, power-density, flexibility, etc... but they almost all inevitably have problems when it comes to longevity and, more notably, expense.
Right off the bat, the idea of toroidal cylinders means no more cheap machining of the block, and getting accurate tolerances would likely be very pricey indeed.
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Tony Belding 9:42PM (6/21/2007)
Haven't similar claims been made about Rotapower (i.e. Wankel rotary) engines? Is anybody looking at them outside of Mazda and Paul Moller?
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godzilla808 4:20PM (6/22/2007)
Looking at the additional photos and 3-d drawings, I'm pretty sure the cylinders are not toroidal--although the combustion chamber is. The output shaft runs through the center of the pistons, so the pistons and cam (cam ring?) surround it.
I agree that longevity and expense will make or break it, but it's nice to see someone thinking outside of the box. A working prototype helps too, at least you know it's not *complete* bunk. :)
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