Porsche has filed for a patent that describes how a six-stroke internal combustion engine works.
While a four-stroke engine has four operating phases/timings: Intake – Compression – Combustion – Exhaust, Porshe’s new engine has six: Intake – Compression – Combustion – Compression – Combustion Exhaust.
To achieve this Porsche uses a crankshaft that rotates in a ring with two concentric circles. This implementation alternates the center pivot point, effectively reducing the stroke of the piston slightly (Bottom Dead Center) for the additional strokes. This in turn changes the compression as the piston does not travel as high (Top Dead Center) in the cylinder.
This means the engine has two top and two bottom dead centers, allowing it to run in six strokes. This complex design allows the engine to produce more power with better efficiency.
Whether or not Porsche will ever build such an engine remains to be seen, but it’s certainly an interesting idea that shows the German company trying to find ways to keep internal combustion engines alive amid pressure to transition of the sector to electrification.
Source: www.autoblog.gr
