Ricardo PLC

Last updated

Ricardo PLC
Company type Public limited company
LSE:  RCDO
ISIN GB0007370074  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Industry Automotive, Clean energy, Defence, Rail, Marine
Founded1915 (as Engine Patents Ltd.)
Headquarters Shoreham-by-Sea, England
Key people
RevenueIncrease2.svg£445.2 million (2022/2023) [1]
Increase2.svg£34.0 million (2022/2023) [1]
Decrease2.svg£(5.2) million (2022/2023) [1]
Website ricardo.com

Ricardo PLC is a British firm which provides engineering, environmental and strategic consultancy services. Founded by Sir Harry Ricardo, it based at Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Contents

History

Early history

The company was founded by Sir Harry Ricardo as Engine Patents Limited in February 1915. [2] Later in 1915, during the First World War, the company helped develop a 600 brake horsepower (450 kW) engine for a flying boat. [3] In spring 1916, it helped with the design of a device to manoeuvre 25 tonnes (28 tons) battle tanks into position aboard railway wagons. Later in 1916, it designed a 4-stroke crosshead-type engine for the Mark V tank which produced 150 brake horsepower (110 kW) but emitted no visible smoke detectable by the enemy. [4]

After the war, the company developed a side-valve engine, which minimised the clearance between the piston and cylinder head thereby achieving all the advantages of overhead-valve engines without the cost. This new type of engine, known as the turbulent head, was patented in 1932. [5] The company went on to design a 6-cylinder diesel engine producing 130 brake horsepower (97 kW) which was manufactured by AEC for use in London bus fleets. This type of engine, branded as The Comet, was taken up by Berliet and Citroën of France, MAN of Germany, and Fiat and Breda of Italy, among others. [6]

In the 1930s, the company undertook work to convert a Kestrel V12 to diesel operation using single sleeve valve technology: Captain George Eyston used the new engine in the Flying Spray, which, at 159 miles per hour (256 km/h), broke the world diesel speed record at Bonneville in May 1936. [7]

Also in the 1930s, Sir Henry Tizard, Chairman of the Aeronautical Research Committee, who was a proponent of a high-powered "sprint" engine for fighter aircraft and who had foreseen the need for such a powerplant with the threat of German air power looming, encouraged Ricardo to develop what eventually became the Rolls-Royce Crecy engine. [8] In 1931, Harry Ricardo gave a lecture to the Royal Society of Arts, in which he invited his audience to "accompany me inside the cylinder of a diesel engine", passionately describing the process of diesel combustion, in great detail. [9]

In 1938, the company developed the V-16 engine for the Alfa Romeo Tipo 162, a car with highly streamlined bodywork. [10] In 1941, the company developed a relief valve subsequently named "Barostat", which automatically reduced the pressure in the fuel lines as the aircraft gained altitude, thereby avoiding the risk of the engine overspeeding: the Gloster E.28/39, designed by Frank Whittle, used this device. [11]

Post-war

In the 1950s, the company worked with the railway locomotive designer, Lieutenant Colonel Louis Frederick Rudston Fell, to develop an engine for the 4-8-4 Fell locomotive. [12] The United States Navy placed a contract with the company, in 1968, to develop a diesel power unit capable of running for extended periods at ocean depths of up to 600 feet (180 m); the concept was known as "recycle diesel" and involved blending a proportion of exhaust gas with fresh oxygen. [13]

In the 1970s, Opel used Ricardo combustion-chamber technology for the Opel 2100D engine which was installed in the Opel Rekord Series D. [14] General Motors used the same technology in the Chevrolet Suburban in the 1980s. [15] In 1990, the company undertook the development of an automatic layshaft transmission as part of an integrated power-train control system. [16] Then, in 1994, the company acquired a major developer of four-wheel drive technology, FF Developments; this business formed the basis of the company's driveline operations in the UK. [17]

In the early 21st century, the company undertook work to improve the BMW K1200 series motorcycle engines which were subsequently fitted to the BMW Motorrad K1300S, K1300GT and K1300R models. [18] In August 2006, Wing Commander Andy Green successfully achieved a new diesel speed record of 350.092 miles per hour (563.418 km/h) at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, in the JCB Dieselmax with the aid of a diesel engine designed with Ricardo combustion-chamber technology. [19]

The company went on, in around 2008, to develop an engine capable of switching between two-stroke and four-stroke cycles in collaboration with Denso, Jaguar Land Rover and the Centre for Automotive Engineering at the University of Brighton: it was claimed that the engine could improve fuel economy by up to 25%. [20] The company collaborated with Xtrac by assisting with some parts manufacture for the 1044 gearbox, supplied in 2010 to three Formula One teams: Lotus, Virgin and HRT. This gearbox was mated to the Cosworth CA2010 engine. [21]

In 2009, McLaren Automotive selected Ricardo to develop a new engine, a 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8, which became known as the McLaren M838T, for its supercars. [22] At around the same time, the company working in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries, developed a semi-robotic tug, Taxibot, which clamped around the aircraft's nosewheel and was controlled remotely by the pilot; the product was intended to reduce aviation fuel consumption. [23]

The Ministry of Defence selected a vehicle developed by Ricardo and Force Protection, known as Ocelot, to replace the Snatch Land Rover in 2010. [24]

In 2011, Ricardo developed a carbon-fibre flywheel with a magnetic coupling and gearing system for energy-storage purposes: the product was known as "TorqStor". [25]

In April 2015, the company acquired Lloyd's Register Rail for £42.5 million, with the intention of developing the company's rail expertise. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleeve valve</span> Valve mechanism for piston engines

The sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines, distinct from the usual poppet valve. Sleeve valve engines saw use in a number of pre–World War II luxury cars and in the United States in the Willys-Knight car and light truck. They subsequently fell from use due to advances in poppet-valve technology, including sodium cooling, and the Knight system double sleeve engine's tendency to burn a lot of lubricating oil or to seize due to lack of it. The Scottish Argyll company used its own, much simpler and more efficient, single sleeve system (Burt-McCollum) in its cars, a system which, after extensive development, saw substantial use in British aircraft engines of the 1940s, such as the Napier Sabre, Bristol Hercules, Centaurus, and the promising but never mass-produced Rolls-Royce Crecy, only to be supplanted by the jet engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napier Sabre</span> 1930s British aircraft piston engine

The Napier Sabre is a British H-24-cylinder, liquid-cooled, sleeve valve, piston aero engine, designed by Major Frank Halford and built by D. Napier & Son during World War II. The engine evolved to become one of the most powerful inline piston aircraft engines in the world, developing from 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) in its earlier versions to 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) in late-model prototypes.

In spark-ignition internal combustion engines, knocking occurs when combustion of some of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder does not result from propagation of the flame front ignited by the spark plug, but when one or more pockets of air/fuel mixture explode outside the envelope of the normal combustion front. The fuel–air charge is meant to be ignited by the spark plug only, and at a precise point in the piston's stroke. Knock occurs when the peak of the combustion process no longer occurs at the optimum moment for the four-stroke cycle. The shock wave creates the characteristic metallic "pinging" sound, and cylinder pressure increases dramatically. Effects of engine knocking range from inconsequential to completely destructive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Ricardo</span> 20th-century British engineer

Sir Harry Ralph Ricardo was an English engineer who was one of the foremost engine designers and researchers in the early years of the development of the internal combustion engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overhead camshaft engine</span> Valvetrain configuration

An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion chamber in the engine block.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overhead valve engine</span> Type of piston engine valvetrain design

An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a pushrod engine, is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with flathead engines, where the valves were located below the combustion chamber in the engine block.

Indirect injection in an internal combustion engine is fuel injection where fuel is not directly injected into the combustion chamber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VM Motori</span> Italian diesel engine manufacturer

VM Motori S.p.A. is an Italian diesel engine manufacturing company which is wholly owned by Stellantis. VM headquarters and main production facilities are located in Cento, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flathead engine</span> A type of four-stroke engine

A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine or valve-in-block engine, is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as in an overhead valve engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common rail</span> Engine fuel delivery method

Common rail direct fuel injection is a direct fuel injection system built around a high-pressure fuel rail feeding solenoid valves, as opposed to a low-pressure fuel pump feeding unit injectors. High-pressure injection delivers power and fuel consumption benefits over earlier lower pressure fuel injection, by injecting fuel as a larger number of smaller droplets, giving a much higher ratio of surface area to volume. This provides improved vaporization from the surface of the fuel droplets, and so more efficient combining of atmospheric oxygen with vaporized fuel delivering more complete combustion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossley</span> British internal combustion engine manufacturer

Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988, it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) is a form of internal combustion in which well-mixed fuel and oxidizer are compressed to the point of auto-ignition. As in other forms of combustion, this exothermic reaction produces heat that can be transformed into work in a heat engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Crecy</span> 1940s British piston aircraft engine

The Rolls-Royce Crecy was a British experimental two-stroke, 90-degree, V12, liquid-cooled aero-engine of 1,593.4 cu.in capacity, featuring sleeve valves and direct petrol injection. Initially intended for a high-speed "sprint" interceptor fighter, the Crecy was later seen as an economical high-altitude long-range powerplant. Developed between 1941 and 1946, it was among the most advanced two-stroke aero-engines ever built. The engine never reached flight trials and the project was cancelled in December 1945, overtaken by the progress of jet engine development.

Weslake & Co also known as Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, described as England's greatest expert on cylinder head design, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake is most famous for its work with Bentley, Austin, Jaguar and the Gulf-Wyer Ford GT40 Mk.I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IOE engine</span> Type of combustion engines

The intake/inlet over exhaust, or "IOE" engine, known in the US as F-head, is a four-stroke internal combustion engine whose valvetrain comprises OHV inlet valves within the cylinder head and exhaust side-valves within the engine block.

Internal combustion engines date back to between the 10th and 13th centuries, when the first rocket engines were invented in China. Following the first commercial steam engine by Thomas Savery in 1698, various efforts were made during the 18th century to develop equivalent internal combustion engines. In 1791, the English inventor John Barber patented a gas turbine. In 1794, Thomas Mead patented a gas engine. Also in 1794, Robert Street patented an internal-combustion engine, which was also the first to use liquid fuel (petroleum) and built an engine around that time. In 1798, John Stevens designed the first American internal combustion engine. In 1807, French engineers Nicéphore and Claude Niépce ran a prototype internal combustion engine, using controlled dust explosions, the Pyréolophore. This engine powered a boat on the river in France. The same year, the Swiss engineer François Isaac de Rivaz built and patented a hydrogen and oxygen-powered internal-combustion engine. Fitted to a crude four-wheeled wagon, François Isaac de Rivaz first drove it 100 metres in 1813, thus making history as the first car-like vehicle known to have been powered by an internal-combustion engine.

Prosper L'Orange was a German engineer and inventor who pioneered the precombustion chamber, which made possible high-speed diesel engines that did not require an air compressor, and enabled them to be built small enough for use in road vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal combustion engine</span> Engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber

An internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is typically applied to pistons, turbine blades, a rotor, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into kinetic energy which is used to propel, move or power whatever the engine is attached to.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Results 2023" (PDF). Ricardo PLC. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Ricardo marks one hundred years of performance and sustainability". Automotive World. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Hawthorne, Sir William (1976). "Harry Ralph Ricardo, 26 January 1885 – 18 May 1974". Royal Society Publishing. p. 367. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  4. ↑ Hawthorne (1976), p. 368
  5. ↑ Hawthorne (1976), p. 365
  6. ↑ Hawthorne (1976), p. 368
  7. ↑ "Eyston – Eldridge Speed of the Wind / Flying Spray". Old Machine Press. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  8. ↑ Nahum, A.; Foster-Pegg, R. W.; Birch, D. (1994). The Rolls-Royce Crecy. Derby, England: Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. p. 26. ISBN   9781872922058.
  9. ↑ Ricardo, Harry. "Inside the Cylinder of a Diesel Engine". Old Machine Press. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "Alpha Romeo Tipo 162". Alpha Romeo Club. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  11. ↑ Hawthorne (1976), p. 375
  12. ↑ "The Fell Diesel Mechanical Locomotive". The Paxman History Pages. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  13. ↑ Puttick, J. R. (1971). "Recycle diesel underwater power plants". SAE International. pp. 2700–2711. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  14. ↑ Opel Rekord 2100D: GM's future diesel. Popular Science. 1 October 1976. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  15. ↑ "1982 Chevrolet Suburban" (PDF). Chevy Trucks. p. 8. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  16. ↑ Gott, Philip G. (1991). Changing Gears: The Development of the Automotive Transmission. Society of Automotive Engineers. pp. 366–369.
  17. ↑ "After the Tractor: Harry Ferguson and the R5 4WD". Ferguson Club. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  18. ↑ Carter, Tony (April 2009). "A Very Special K 1300 That Is". Motorcycle Sport & Leisure Magazine (583). Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  19. ↑ "JCB Diesel Max". Bluebord Electric. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  20. ↑ The Engineer: Technology & Innovation Awards 2009. London: The Engineer. 9 November 2009. p. 43.
  21. ↑ Racecar Engineering, Vol 20 No 3, March 2010, Pages 31–36.
  22. ↑ "The McLaren M838T: Building the world's "greenest" supercar engine". The Engineer. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  23. ↑ "Ricardo TaxiBot Concept To Cut Airplane Fuel Consumption". Auto Evolution. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  24. ↑ "MoD chooses Ricardo's Ocelot vehicle". The Financial Times. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  25. ↑ "Ricardo's scalable TorqStor flywheel system promises FE gains at reduced cost". SAE International. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  26. ↑ "Ricardo purchases Lloyd's Register Rail for £42.5m". International Railway Journal. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2024.

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