The engine is on fire?
The magic core power is quite chic
Literature rolling
The Zhihu platform, which has a relatively strong academic atmosphere, has always been the "think tank center" for most people to learn to recharge. Since December 2021, as a content worker in the automotive field, the author has frequently brushed up on the questions and answers about the "Beijing Automotive Magic Core Engine" on Zhihu, as a niche and very technical topic, I am particularly surprised to have such a heat, why can an engine also attract "hot discussion" from Zhihu people?
In the series of questions on "how to evaluate", the answer of Beijing Motor Magic Core Engine in the short term has surpassed the more well-known engine technology related topics such as "Earth Dream" and "Chuangchi Blue Sky".
After carefully reading the relevant answers of Zhihu Daren, I also have a certain understanding of this engine and some feelings, so I have compiled this article.
▎Can the technical reserves of Chinese car companies "compete for the current" in the world?
Objectively discussing this issue requires a huge reserve of knowledge and a "God perspective," so I'll just talk about it from the perspective of a car editor about the changes we've seen in recent years.
Once upon a time, we jokingly called "a Mitsubishi 4G series engine, feeding most of the Chinese car companies." Indeed, more than 10 years ago, when our automobile industry was still in its infancy, it had to face a large number of technical barriers from 0 to 1. Especially in the most core engine technology of fuel vehicles, we can only seek development in a reverse way.
The picture is derived from the zhihu da ren @engine line of sight
However, in the past decade, from one of the most influential engine selections in China, the "Chinese Heart" annual top ten engines, Chinese brand engines have increasingly appeared on the list.
The hotly discussed "Magic Core 1.5T Engine" is the "Chinese Heart" Annual Top Ten Engines in 2021. Also selected was Geely's Ray God, Hi· X hybrid engine, Dongfeng's Mach-powered MHD hybrid system, Great Wall's lemon hybrid DHT system, Changan's Blue Whale first-generation 2.0T engine, Xingtu's 2.0TGDI engine. These names, which may not be familiar to everyone, are actually frequently discussed in the automotive circle.
Nowadays, more and more independent brands like BEIJING Auto, the core technology is pinched in their own hands, in this environment of healthy competition with the master, independent brands are rapidly shortening the gap between them and overseas car brands.
The most surprising thing about this Magic Core 1.5T engine is that it has a thermal efficiency of 39.2% and a 43% improvement in low-speed response performance. And two very critical technologies – Miller+VGT.
▎VGT technology is equipped with a people-friendly model, and everyone can have a supercar dream
No car enthusiast can refuse to go supercars, but the high price makes it difficult for them to intersect with us more often. However, with the continuous increase of R&D investment in Chinese brands and the improvement of R&D strength, some technologies originally used for supercars are gradually appearing on more people-friendly models.
The VGT used on the Beijing Motor Magic Core engine is the variable-section turbocharger that was once exclusive to supercars.
Turbocharging, as you may all be familiar with, uses the exhaust energy of a reciprocating internal combustion engine to provide compressed air to the press, thereby increasing the intake of air into the internal combustion engine. However, ordinary exhaust gas turbines also have many problems, such as turbine hysteresis, low torque deficiency and other issues.
In order to avoid these problems, there are a variety of relatively complex solutions, such as compound supercharging technology, the mechanical + turbo double supercharging used in some land Rover engines, such as the variable secondary turbocharging technology, the twin-scroll tube supercharging used in the BMW B series engine, and the most complex variable mixed-flow turbocharging technology, and the VGT of the Beijing Motor Magic Core engine belongs to this category.
It has better turbine flow regulation and low back pressure, so the system can be powered up to 43% faster under the same conditions and maximum torque can be reached at 1500 rpm.
This means that in the actual driving time, the model equipped with the magic core power 1.5T engine can release the maximum torque of the engine at a low speed, not only faster and more sensitive, but also theoretically under the premise of normal transmission logic, it can be maintained at a lower speed and improve fuel economy.
▎ With the Miller cycle, the Magic Core 1.5T engine smashes out the "sledgehammer" effect
This VGT technology is combined with the Miller cycle to achieve high efficiency and low consumption of the engine as a whole.
Miller stands for Miller loop, as opposed to the Atkinson loop. The difference between the two lies in the difference in piston travel, quoting the metaphor of Zhihu Da ren @ original circle: "The Miller cycle is equivalent to letting you punch someone, you can round the punch, so you can output stronger power." The Atkinson cycle is the equivalent of letting you punch someone in the face, but the big arms have to clamp the body at all times, so the power is weaker, but it is more labor-saving. "The Miller cycle used in the Magic Core engine combines a stronger power scheme with a thermal efficiency of 39.2% and a 43% increase in low-speed response performance. This is equivalent to clamping the body with the big arm, and also pulling out the effect of the "sledgehammer". Improves both fuel economy and power.
The magic core engine has a large number of technical upgrades in terms of friction reduction, combustion system, and thermal management, and adopts the technology of rolling flow inlet design, 350bar high-pressure direct injection in the cylinder, and layered cooling of the cylinder block cylinder head. At the same time, the magic core engine has also made great efforts to reduce friction, using crankshaft bias, DLC coating, low tension piston rings and other technologies. Under these technologies and Seiko production, the engine can use viscosity 20 label oil, to know that the more precise the engine production process, the thinner the oil used, the smaller the liquid resistance from the oil during operation, which is also an important part of improving thermal efficiency.
The combination of the above makes this engine one of the few engines that can balance power and energy consumption.
▎Behind the best NVH performance in the same class is Asakusa's R&D attitude
If a car wants to provide a comfortable driving environment, NVH performance is a top priority. Magic core 1.5T engine is user-centered, according to the user's use scenario, whether the engine sound is good at the moment of ignition, whether it is quiet when idling, whether it is smooth when shifting, etc., 1682 technical improvements have been made, combined with the timing belt transmission system, a new generation of high-pressure oil pump, OAD, high-stiffness crankshaft, crankshaft bias, anti-bending torsion linkage, high-stiffness oil pan and other up to 21 noise reduction technologies, Achieving the industry's best idle noise level of 57.5dB also refreshed the noise reduction record of the same level of engine.
Zhihu Daren @ Zhang Rong summed up in his answer: "The Demon Core 1.5T engine is a grass-saving and low-pitched horse. "I was particularly impressed by the comparison of this image, and for the pursuit of a quiet driving texture, it is the best evaluation of the engine."
The ultimate pursuit of every detail of the engine reflects the attitude of the R&D team to excellence, and it was through this attitude that Germany has become the country where the automotive industry is at the forefront. After a detailed review of the information, it was found that the research and development of the Magic Core Engine of Beijing Automobile really had "German blood".
In 2014, BAIC Motor acquired META Engine and Energy Technologies Co., Ltd. in Germany, which subsequently became BAIC Motor's overseas automotive R&D center, which is the product of joint research and development between Chinese and German teams.
Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, GM and other brands have cooperated with META and have obtained more than 100 worldwide invention patents in Germany. In order to make the magic core engine have the high quality of "German production", META specially selected engineers with many years of experience in the development of luxury car engines such as Porsche to join the team cooperating with Beijing Automobile.
It is said that the development process of this engine also covers the full-scenario test: whether it is the hailar extreme cold at -40 °C, the hot summer of the flame mountain at 50 °C, the Beijing Auto magic core engine has passed the verification standard, and, the emphasis is that the verification standard is still known for its strict German standard, and I believe that the reliability of the magic core engine will be at the top level in the industry.
▎ Write at the end
On the road of embracing electrification, the internal combustion engine power will continue to play an important role in the next decade, the Chinese and world auto markets will show the characteristics of diversified development of the industry, and major car companies are also responsible for the historical mission of diversifying emission reduction means to accelerate carbon peak carbon neutrality.
This time BAIC Motor can be hotly discussed because of an engine in Zhihu, not only benefiting from the background of the rise of Chinese technology, BAIC Motor's own forward-looking research and development of advanced technology, the great importance of user experience, and the ultimate pursuit of product quality, which is the confidence of our Chinese technology to achieve good results.
Thinking of this, I also want to share the most touching sentence I have gained in Zhihu: In the future, we will get used to more and more Chinese car companies to create more eye-catching results in the global automotive industry!