A Baker's Dozen Tech Tidbits from SAE 2015 - Motor Trend (blog)
An in-depth stroll of the floor never fails to reveal a trove of technology promising a brighter automotive future. Being able to change the compression ratio of an engine on the fly would make a whole lot of engine innovations way easier to develop and more attractive to buyers. Daimler honcho Dieter Zetsche has stated that his company's DiesOtto engine concept, which runs a lower-cost gasoline engine on the compression-ignition diesel cycle under certain lower load conditions, requires a variable compression ratio... We've seen Saab's hinged cylinder block (2000), Nissan's triangulated connecting rods (2003), MCE-5's wacky geared con-rods, and Lotus' movable puck in the top of the cylinder head (2009). These ideas all proved too complicated or... A new connecting rod features an eccentric "small end" at the piston wrist pin that can change the connecting rod's effective length, thereby varying the compression from 8:1 to 12:1 or 9:1 to 13:1. The force of compression or intake vacuum... Source: blogs.motortrend.com
