Three-cylinder engines are no longer what they used to be and are gradually becoming the mainstream trend

The list of the 2018 International Best Engines has been announced. This award is hosted by Engine Technology International, a world-renowned engine professional technology publication. In this selection list, which is known as the Oscars of the engine industry, many awards were won by small-displacement three-cylinder engines.

In the current context of energy conservation and emission reduction, with increasingly stringent fuel consumption and emission regulations, small-displacement engines represented by three-cylinder engines are trying to reduce fuel consumption.

From a technical perspective, three-cylinder engines offer higher efficiency, lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions than four-cylinder engines, and their advantages in cost control are becoming increasingly obvious, so they have been able to develop rapidly and be applied on a large scale.

In recent years, automakers such as Volkswagen, BMW, GM, Ford, and Peugeot Citroen have all been applying three-cylinder turbocharged engines on a large scale, and small-displacement three-cylinder engines are becoming a development trend.

Although three-cylinder engines have the advantages of high efficiency, low fuel consumption and low emissions, historical problems such as high engine noise, easy shaking and poor smoothness have become the main concerns of consumers when choosing three-cylinder engines.

With GM, BMW, Ford, Peugeot Citroen and other automakers taking the lead in adopting and applying it on a large scale in their main-selling models, and more and more independent brand car companies such as SAIC, Geely and Changan joining the three-cylinder engine product camp, with the continuous innovation of technology, today's three-cylinder engines are no longer what they used to be. The problems of loud noise and severe vibration that were criticized are being overcome one by one with the emergence of new technologies.

The use of a large number of lightweight materials has further improved the mechanical performance of the three-cylinder engine, while significantly reducing the total mass of the three-cylinder engine.

Regarding the most discussed issue of vibration, an analysis pointed out that the use of lightweight materials in three-cylinder engines greatly reduces the inertial mass, reducing the first-order unbalanced moment that causes vehicle body vibration to a reasonable range. At the same time, the second-order unbalanced moment that accounts for a very small proportion of the total energy is also greatly reduced. Therefore, lightweight materials can be used to isolate and reduce vibration in three-cylinder engines below 1.2T.

For three-cylinder engines above 1.2T, it is only necessary to add a balance shaft on the basis of the above to offset the first-order unbalanced torque, and the whole vehicle can once again optimize the isolation and shock absorption of the second-order balance torque.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.