Simulation of a Pneumatic Valve Actuation System for Internal Combustion Engine

1-D analysis methods are used to simulate the performance of a pneumatic valve actuation system for an internal combustion engine. Pneumatics provides an attractive alternative to the more-common hydraulic valve actuation, in part because of the insensitivity of the working fluid viscosity to changes in temperature. Technical issues and concerns introduced by the use of pneumatics are addressed and plausible workarounds presented. In the present work, an actuator is sized for the specific engine application at hand. Once the actuation is sized, an actuation concept is selected and simulations performed. Technical issues of interest are actuation rates, seating velocity control, thermal management, valve-valve interactions, and power consumption. The pneumatic actuation system selected is gauged against each of these metrics using results of the simulations and commentary provided. The use of energy recovery methods and novel actuation-assist features such as pressure balancing are also examined and commentary provided as to their effectiveness and feasibility of implementation.