Electromechanical Valve Actuator with Hybrid MMF for Camless Engine

As one of variable valve timing (VVT) approaches, the electromechanical valve actuator (EMVA) uses solenoid to actuate valve movement independently for the application of internal combustion engine. This paper proposed an EMVA structure by incorporating the hybrid magneto-motive force (MMF) implementation in which the magnetic flux is combined by the coil excitation and permanent magnets. Making use of the dedicated flux arrangement, the proposed device can be used to fulfill the VVT features with reduced power source requirement and less electric device components. A dual flux channels EMVA is detailed and the design procedures are presented. Comparing with the conventional EMV, the proposed prototype shows a lot of advantages such as compactness, high temperature tolerance, fast response, relieve of starting current, and variable current actuating timing.