US 12,421,891 B1Granted

High-speed long-stroke reciprocating engine

AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company

InventorXin Yu

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Abstract

An engine includes a first crankshaft and a second crankshaft, pistons, piston rods, cylinders, combustion chambers, and fuel injectors. The crankshafts each extend in a horizontal plane and form a first and second rotating power output shaft of the engine. The combustion chambers form containment boundaries for combustion reactions of an air-fuel mixture formed in the cylinders with fuel provided by the fuel injectors. The piston rods connect the pistons to the first or the second crankshaft. The pistons are disposed in the cylinders, and the planar surface of the piston head of each piston distributes forces from an associated combustion reaction to a corresponding piston rod. The piston heads are disposed at an angle between 7 and 15 degrees in the first bank of cylinders and −7 and −15 degrees in the second bank of cylinders relative to a vertical plane.

Claims16

Dependent claims

An engine, comprising:

a first crankshaft extending in a horizontal plane, where the first crankshaft is configured to form a first rotating power output shaft of the engine;
a second crankshaft extending in the horizontal plane, where the second crankshaft is configured to form a second rotating power output shaft of the engine;
a plurality of pistons, each piston of the plurality of pistons comprising:
a corresponding piston rod connected to the first crankshaft or the second crankshaft, and
a piston head comprising a planar surface that is configured to distribute forces from a corresponding combustion reaction of a plurality of combustion reactions to the corresponding piston rod;
a plurality of cylinders, each cylinder of the plurality of cylinders being configured to house a corresponding piston of the plurality of pistons;
a plurality of combustion chambers, each combustion chamber being configured to form a containment boundary for a corresponding combustion reaction of the plurality of combustion reactions;
at least one fuel injector configured to inject fuel into the engine, where the fuel is mixed with air disposed in the plurality of cylinders to form an air-fuel mixture that is combusted during the plurality of combustion reactions;
wherein the plurality of cylinders comprises an even number of cylinders situated in two parallel banks, forming a first bank of cylinders and a second bank of cylinders;
wherein the first crankshaft interconnects pistons disposed in the first bank of cylinders and the second crankshaft interconnects pistons disposed in the second bank of cylinders;
wherein the planar surface of the piston head in the first bank of cylinders is disposed at an angle between 7 and 15 degrees, inclusive, and the planar surface of the piston head in the second bank of cylinders is disposed at an angle between −7 and −15 degrees, inclusive, relative to a vertical plane that extends in a direction orthogonal to an extension direction of the horizontal plane,
wherein a maximum engine speed of the engine is greater than 9400 RPM,
wherein each piston actuates with a stroke length greater than 75 millimeters,
wherein a ratio of a length of each piston rod to a diameter of each combustion chamber has a value greater than or equal to 1, and
wherein the engine operates with a maximum compression ratio of 23.9.

12 more elements

A method, comprising:

connecting a plurality of pistons to a first crankshaft or a second crankshaft with a plurality of piston rods, where the first crankshaft and the second crankshaft each extend in a horizontal plane and each form a rotating power output shaft of an engine;
housing each piston of the plurality of pistons in a corresponding cylinder of a plurality of cylinders, where the plurality of cylinders are disposed forming a first bank of cylinders and a second bank of cylinders, and the pistons are interconnected by their respective crankshaft;
positioning a planar surface of a piston head of each piston in the first bank of cylinders at an angle between 7 and 15 degrees, inclusive, and the planar surface of the piston head of each piston in the second bank of cylinders at an angle between −7 and −15 degrees, inclusive, relative to a vertical plane that extends in a direction orthogonal to an extension direction of the horizontal plane;
injecting fuel using at least one fuel injector into the engine;
mixing the fuel with air disposed in the plurality of cylinders to form an air-fuel mixture;
combusting the air-fuel mixture in a corresponding combustion chamber of a plurality of combustion chambers, where each combustion chamber forms a containment boundary for a corresponding combustion reaction of a plurality of combustion reactions;
and
operating the engine with:
a maximum engine speed greater than 9400 RPM;
a stroke length for each piston greater than 75 millimeters;
a ratio of a length of each piston rod to a diameter of each combustion chamber greater than or equal to 1;
a maximum compression ratio of 23.9;
wherein the planar surface of the piston head of each piston is configured to distribute forces from an associated combustion reaction of the plurality of combustion reactions to a corresponding piston rod.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/821,400Filed 30 Aug 2024
Granted: 23 Sep 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

F02B 75/225
With cylinders in V, fan, or star arrangement: having two or more crankshafts
F01B 1/04
Reciprocating-piston machines or engines characterised by number or relative disposition of cylinders or by being built-up from separate…: with…
F01B 9/02
Reciprocating-piston machines or engines characterised by connections between pistons and main shafts, not specific to groups F01B1/00 - F01B7/00:…
F02B 75/20
Multi-cylinder engines: with cylinders all in one line