Energies, Vol. 12, Pages 3999: Design of an Electromagnetic Variable Valve Train with a Magnetorheological Buffer (Energies)

In this paper, an electromagnetic variable valve train with a magnetorheological buffer (EMVT with MR buffer) is proposed. This system is mainly composed of an electromagnetic linear actuator (EMLA) and a magnetorheological buffer (MR buffer). The valves of an internal combustion engine are driven by the EMLA directly to open and close, which can adjust the valve lift and phase angle of the engine. At the same time, MR buffer can reduce the seat velocity of the valve and realize the seat buffer of the electromagnetic variable valve. In this paper, the overall design scheme of the system is proposed and the structure design, finite element simulation of the EMLA, and the MR buffer are carried out. The electromagnetic force characteristics of the EMLA and buffer force of the MR buffer are measured, and the seat buffering performance is verified as well. Experiments and simulation results show that the electromagnetic force of the EMLA can reach 320.3 N when the maximum coil current is 40 A. When the current of the buffer coil is 2.5 A and the piston’s motion frequency is 5 Hz, the buffering force can reach 35 N. At the same time, a soft landing can be realized when the valve is seated.