A group of Spanish, French and Czech researchers have developed a two-stroke engine with a reduced weight, size, fuel consumption and emissions compared to the four stroke engine. The engine's reduced weight and size give it a high specific power, creating the need for only two cylinders instead of four, according to published reports.

"We have been able to reduce the engine weight by between 50% and 60% with regard to the equivalent four-stroke engine,” says Ricardo Novella, researcher at CMT-Motores Térmicos of the Universitat Politècnica de València. “This entails a significant saving in fuel consumption, as well as a reduction in the cost of the engine itself.”

Fewer cylinders also mean a reduced amount of friction produced in the engine, creating an improved mechanical output and overall quality of performance, reports say.

This latest development is the result of Powerful, a European project led by the French multinational company Renault, in collaboration with the Czech Technical University in Prague, the IFP Energies Nouvelles and the companies Delphi and Le Moteur Moderne as well as researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València.

The researchers performed validation tests on the engine in the installations of CMT-Motores Termicos and proved the engine's potential for reducing emissions and fuel consumption. They also realized the possibility of implementing more advanced combustion concepts as an alternative to the traditional diesel system.

The team now is working on developing a boosting system that would increase maximum power levels to that of a four-stroke engine.

"Now the engine needs 20% more power, but it weighs 50% less, so the ratio gives more power per unit of weight (specific power), but not twice as much, which is what it should be. It gives around 1.7 times more. It is necessary to increase the power to a ratio of 2", says Novella.

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IHS Automotive