Gearheads of a certain age likely will conjure up images of automotive entrepreneur Preston Tucker when Dr. Robert A. Knezek and Mike Pastusek lay out their vision for the Continuously Variable Displacement piston engine.<\/p>\n
Ever hear of the term \u201cwobble plate\u201d? You won\u2019t find it in either the print or digital versions of Car and Driver or Popular Mechanics. Not yet anyway. But it\u2019s the centerpiece of the engine designed by Dr. Knezek, a retired mechanical engineer, and his co-inventor\/nephew Pastusek.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to do this for 10 years,\u201d says Dr. Knezek, who retired from General Dynamics, now Lockheed Martin, in 2000 after a near 40-year career that included acclaimed engine work on the F-16 fighter jet.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert retired in 2000,\u201d Pastusek says, \u201cbut his brain never retired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Enter the AspireCVD engine as touted by Fort Worth-based AmeriBand, LLC. The company\u2019s goal has been to develop an engine that is small, powerful, low-cost, and fuel-efficient using regular, 87-octane gasoline in a bid to significantly reduce hazardous emissions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nobody that has solved the configuration that is suitable for actual use,\u201d says the soft-spoken Dr. Knezek, 90, president of the company he founded in 2006. \u201cI don\u2019t know anybody that has ever done that. We have accomplished this goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
This engine is projected to be approximately 50% smaller, 50% lighter, and improve fuel efficiency by more than 60%. Displacement of the CVD engine is infinitely variable from 3:1 (1-3, 2-6, 3-9 liters, etc.).<\/p>\n
Dr. Knezek\u2019s claim has been backed by engineering design work performed at the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Tech University, Oklahoma State University, and a private engineering consulting firm. AmeriBand, LLC also has secured six U.S. patents for this technology \u2014 although no actual metal, working engine currently exists.<\/p>\n
As noted, the CVD employs a wobble plate, a concept used by many hydraulic pumps. The piston stroke, and therefore piston displacement, is changed by altering the wobble plate angle. By moving the wobble plate up or down the power shaft, the compression ratio can be increased, decreased, or held constant throughout a range of displacement volume.<\/p>\n
The patented design eliminates the need for timing belts\/timing chains while allowing for independent valve timing. In addition, skirt friction induced by pistons in traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) also is virtually eliminated because the piston connecting rod stays almost perpendicular to the cylinder bore. In this engine, the piston connecting rod moves only about five-six degrees. In a conventional engine, a piston connecting rod moves 50-60 degrees.<\/p>\n
This technology can be adapted for virtually any ICE use, including the military, long-range trucking, farm equipment, school buses, RVs, boats\/marine, and even the wide world of motorsports.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can build an engine that will power whatever you want to power, but it\u2019s going to use a lot less [fuel] energy,\u201d says Pastusek, a self-proclaimed \u201ccountry boy\u201d from Iowa Park who has owned and operated a computerized manufacturing facility since 1976. \u201cThis engine would run on diesel; it would run on gasoline. It would run on natural gas, on any combustible fuel. The point is, if we don\u2019t use as much to start with, it\u2019s going to be better for the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s basic engine profiles list one example with five cylinders that is 13.50 inches in diameter and 18.75 inches long, producing approximately 250 horsepower, and a seven-cylinder engine that is 17.5 inches in diameter and 25 inches long producing about 700 horsepower.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started off with a five-cylinder engine,\u201d said Pastusek, armed with a working plastic model of the CVD. \u201cWe wanted it to be an odd number of cylinders so it would fire on every other cylinder on a 4-cycle engine (1,3,5,2,4,1\u2026etc.) making for a very smooth-running engine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s \u2018scale-able.\u2019 Basically, it can be as big as you want, and it can be virtually as small as you want. It would even work on a little three-cylinder engine as well. But five or seven [cylinders] would give you a good, smooth-running engine. The engine size will vary based on the demand. If you need more horsepower, more torque, it will increase the stroke by changing the angle of the wobble plate. And if you\u2019re going downhill or idling, it will flatten out to where it has very little displacement.\u201d<\/p>\n
The engine\u2019s axial cylinder arrangement features a driveshaft \u2014 and no crankshaft. \u201cGetting rid of the crankshaft \u2026 to me, it\u2019s the biggest change,\u201d said Dr. Knezek, who obtained his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University in 1975.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wobble plate is connected to the driveshaft,\u201d said Pastusek, completing his uncle\u2019s thought. \u201cAnother difference \u2014 because of the cylinder and valve actuator locations and continually firing order every-other cylinder (1,3,5,2,4,1\u2026), there is only one \u2018cam lobe\u2019 for all the intake valves and one \u2018cam lobe\u2019 for all the exhaust valves.\u201d<\/p>\n
The co-inventors claim the CVD\u2019s patented Hydraulic Valve Actuation System virtually eliminates valve actuation system losses typical in conventional engines.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to the projected 60-plus percent improved fuel economy over a conventional engine,\u201d Pastusek says, \u201cthis engine, we believe, will idle between 10 and 20 RPM. So, instead of having your car cut off when you stop, it goes to minimum displacement and RPM because you have virtually no power demand, consuming very little fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ideal timetable for launching the CVD, Pastusek admits, would have been 10 years ago. \u201cThat was before there was such a big push on electrical stuff,\u201d Pastusek says. \u201cRight now, if you say \u2018electric,\u2019 everybody\u2019s raising the [American] flag. And if you say anything about anything else, it\u2019s like, \u2018That\u2019s old stuff. We don\u2019t want to talk about that. We don\u2019t need this.\u2019 It was definitely the attitude we were facing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut people have come to the realization we\u2019re going to need all forms of energy. And we do need to be as efficient as possible with what we do use.\u201d<\/p>\n
Its search for project partners has pointed Team AmeriBand toward the government. AmeriBand manager Brenda K. Reed \u2014 Dr. Knezek\u2019s daughter \u2014 said the Army has expressed interest in the engine for its ground support vehicles and generators for its \u201ctemporary cities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Uncle Sam, however, is a cautious customer. \u201cWhere we are now, the only engine that we have is a 3D-printed one,\u201d says Reed, 60, whose background is in computer software. \u201cSo, all of the tests that have been done through UTA, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State \u2014 all those computer-generated tests \u2014 have shown that what we\u2019re claiming will happen. But it\u2019s not a physical test. We\u2019re claiming what they said based on their studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where the Army was \u2026 \u2018When you have real test results, come back to us.\u2019 They\u2019re highly interested in the engine. But they want real tests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pastusek said a prototype engine could be built using many commercially available parts at the AmeriBand compound off Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway. That locale also is home to Pastusek\u2019s D&J Technologies, a full-service precision CNC machining, fabrication, and assembly facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve built engines here before \u2014 not like this one,\u201d said Pastusek, 78. \u201cThis is just a matter of getting all the final details worked out. And Oklahoma State right now is working with us to help us on these issues \u2014 the valve and cylinder system, primarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Knezek is a lifespan removed from the farm he grew up on in Megargel, a town in Archer County located on the headwaters of Kickapoo Creek. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Megargel\u2019s population was 174.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was one of four in his graduating class,\u201d Reed said. \u201cMy parents [Robert and wife LaVerne] are going on 67 years of marriage, and one of their wedding gifts was a toaster. And that toaster still works, just because he takes good care of it. Yeah, he\u2019s a smart man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, Dr. Knezek held the positions of project engineer, senior engineering specialist, and program manager during his distinguished tenure at General Dynamics. He served as lead engineer for several projects involving advanced propulsion systems, including as chief engineer for design and integration of the GE F-101 engine into the F-16 fighter jet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were having trouble with Pratt & Whitney supplying the engines. And in a single-engine airplane, that\u2019s not very good,\u201d Dr. Knezek quips. \u201cSo, I managed to engage General Electric, and we came up with a modified engine that had originally been designed for bombers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Problem solved. Next?<\/p>\n
Dr. Knezek\u2019s prescience does conjure up comparisons to Tucker, the Michigan native who challenged America\u2019s automotive establishment with his Tucker Torpedo, aka the Tucker 48. The prototype for the aerodynamic, four-door sedan was powered by a rear-mounted engine and introduced a package of safety\/performance enhancements including a padded dash, pop-out windshield, and disc brakes to car- hungry post-World War II America.<\/p>\n
The suggestion he might be channeling Tucker \u2014 genuine automotive maverick \u2014 drew a polite smile from Dr. Knezek. \u201cI hope so,\u201d he said. \u201cI think of our future, and an engine like this has huge potential. I don\u2019t see anything that will keep us from doing it; I\u2019ll just put it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gearheads of a certain age likely will conjure up images of automotive entrepreneur Preston Tucker when Dr. Robert…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":215761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[117884,5229,117883,117887,854,117890,9604,7371,7372,117888,2426,117891,117886,73791,117885,358,99192,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,23760,68,2969,117889],"class_list":{"0":"post-215760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-ameriband-llc","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-aspirecvd-engine","11":"tag-automotive-technology","12":"tag-clean-energy","13":"tag-engine-patents","14":"tag-entrepreneurs","15":"tag-fort-worth","16":"tag-fortworth","17":"tag-fuel-efficiency","18":"tag-innovation","19":"tag-john-sturbin","20":"tag-mike-pastusek","21":"tag-oklahoma-state-university","22":"tag-robert-knezek","23":"tag-texas","24":"tag-texas-tech-university","25":"tag-top-story","26":"tag-tx","27":"tag-united-states","28":"tag-united-states-of-america","29":"tag-unitedstates","30":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","31":"tag-university-of-texas-at-arlington","32":"tag-us","33":"tag-usa","34":"tag-wobble-plate-design"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115180599243190631","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}