Evaluating alternative internal combustion engines: 1950-1975

摘要

GMR (General Motors Research Laboratories, now GM RD Center) has long sought ways to improve automotive combustion engines. Following World War IL, considerable effort was also devoted to evaluating new powerplants that embodied differentoperating cycles from those of the established spark-ignition and diesel engines. Two internal combustion variants receiving attention during the third quarter of the 20th century were the free-piston diesel and the gas turbine. Research on those twoalternatives is reviewed. Because their shortcomings were judged to outweigh their advantages, neither has found commercial application in highway vehicles.