Resumen
The availability of compressed air in combination with downsizing and turbocharging is a promising approach to improve the fuel economy and the driveability of internal combustion engines. The compressed air is used to boost and start the engine. It is generated during deceleration phases by running the engine as a piston compressor. In this paper, a camshaft-driven valve is considered for the control of the air exchange between the tank and the combustion chamber. Such a valve system is cost-effective and robust. Each pneumatic engine mode is realized by a separate cam. The air mass transfer in each mode is analyzed. Special attention is paid to the tank pressure dependence. The air demand in the boost mode is found to increase with the tank pressure. However, the dependence on the tank pressure is small in the most relevant operating region. The air demand of the pneumatic start shows a piecewise continuous dependence on the tank pressure. Finally, a tank sizing method is proposed which uses a quasi-static simulation. It is applied to a compact class vehicle, for which a tank volume of less than 10 L is sufficient. A further reduction of the tank volume is limited by the specifications imposed on the pneumatic start.