This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project investigates the technical and commercial merits and potential commercial feasibility of an Adaptive Dual-Fuel (ADF) Injector for direct injection of gasoline and diesel fuels to enable high efficiency clean combustion. Gasoline and E85 fuels are among the most widely available fuels, but are mostly used on spark-ignition port injection gasoline engines with 30~40% less thermal efficiency than diesel engines. The key innovation of the ADF injector enables direct injections of both gasoline/E85 and diesel fuel selectively on-demand from a single injector. The ADF injector can enable simultaneous reduction of NOx and particular matter (PM) emissions and improve engine efficiency through advanced low temperature combustion. It can gain about 30~40% efficiency improvement for gasoline and E85 fuels by using a diesel engine platform. The adaptive dual-fuel injector also provides flexibility for enabling engines to run on either pure diesel, gasoline-diesel, or E85-diesel dual fuels. The Phase I work includes design, alpha prototyping, spray visualization imaging and laser measurements to identify merits and feasibility of the proposed ADF injector.
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be significant benefits for energy security and environment protection. The industry-university collaborated engineering research can also provide deeper understanding on characteristics of dual fuel injection. The dual fuel injector provides new capabilities which can potentially enable transformative combustion methods and regimes for ultra high efficiency clean combustion. This project will significantly benefit US consumers through significant fuel cost saving, facilitate implementations of new CAFE standards with low cost, and benefit US economy.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project investigates the technical and commercial merits and potential commercial feasibility of an Adaptive Dual-Fuel (ADF) Injector to enable high efficiency clean combustion. US drivers are using over 300 million gallons gasoline per day. Improving internal combustion engine efficiency is one of the most significant ways to reduce CO2 emissions. Gasoline and E85 fuels are among the most widely available fuels, but are mostly used on spark-ignition port injection gasoline engines with 30~40% less thermal efficiency than diesel engines. The key innovation of the ADF injector enables direct injections of both gasoline/E85 and diesel fuel on-demand from a single injector. The proposed approach is important for reducing the fuel system cost and enable advanced combustion on practical engines. The ADF injector can enable simultaneous reduction of NOx and particular matter (PM) emissions and improve engine efficiency through advanced low temperature combustion. It can gain about 30~40% efficiency improvement for gasoline and E85 fuels by using a compression-ignition engine platform. The adaptive dual-fuel injector also provides flexibility for enabling engines to run on diesel fuels, gasoline-diesel, E85-diesel dual fuels, and other alternative fuels. The Phase I work includes design, alpha prototyping, spray visualization imaging and laser measurements to identify merits and feasibility of the proposed ADF injector. The Phase I work has been completed. Testing results demonstrated excellent spray atomization quality and proved the feasibility of the new fuel injector design. Phase I results provided solid foundation for further conducting Phase II work. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be significant benefits for energy security and environment protection. The industry-university collaborated engineering research also provides deeper understanding on characteristics of dual fuel injection, and helps graduate students to gain strong laser measurement technical skills. The dual-fuel injector provides new capabilities which can potentially enable transformative combustion methods and regimes for ultra-high efficiency clean combustion. This project will significantly benefit US consumers through significant fuel cost saving, it will facilitate implementations of new CAFE standards with low cost, and benefit US economy.
