 |
|
Iowa State engineer works to clean and improve engine performance
September 18, 2008AMES, Iowa -- The five engines in Song-Charng Kong's Iowa State University laboratory have come a long way since Karl Benz patented a two-stroke internal combustion engine in 1879.
There are fuel injectors and turbochargers and electrical controls. There's more horsepower, better efficiency, cleaner burning and greater reliability.
But Kong -- with the help of 15 graduate students and all kinds of sensors recording engine cylinder pressure, energy release and exhaust emissions -- is looking for even more.
Kong, an Iowa State assistant professor of mechanical engineering who keeps a piston by his office computer, is studying engines with the goal of reducing emissions and improving efficiency.
"There is still a lot of work to be done to improve engine performance," Kong said. "All of this work will lead to incremental improvements."
And those small improvements can add up when you consider there are more than 250 million registered vehicles on U.S. highways, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Kong and his students are working on a lot of combustion projects in the lab: They're studying diesel engines with the goal of reducing emissions. They're developing a computer model of a gasoline engine that will make it much easier and faster to research and develop new engine technologies. They're figuring out how to optimize new technologies such as multiple fuel injections per combustion cycle.
They're working with Terry Meyer, an Iowa State assistant professor of mechanical engineering, to use high-speed, laser-based sensors that can record images of injection sprays and combustion inside a cylinder. That can give researchers insights into combustion characteristics and ideas for improvements.
They're also studying how plastics dissolved in biodiesel affect engine performance. Biodiesel acts as a solvent on certain plastics and that has Kong checking to see if some waste plastic could be recycled by mixing it into fuel.
And they're studying the combustion of ammonia in engines. Ammonia is relatively easy to store, is fairly dense with hydrogen and doesn't produce greenhouse gases when it burns. So burning ammonia in engines could be an early step to developing a hydrogen economy.
Kong's work is supported by grants from Deere & Co., the Ford Motor Co., the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Ames-based Renewable Energy Group Inc. and the Iowa Energy Center based at Iowa State.
As he showed a visitor around his engine lab recently, pointing out a new turbocharger here or an experimental one-cylinder engine there, Kong said there's good reason to keep studying engines.
"We want to make these engines better," Kong said. "In my mind, the internal combustion engine may be the most important combustion system in daily life. Just by improving combustion efficiency by a fraction, we can save a lot of energy for the country and the world."
And yes, he said, "There is a future for internal combustion engines."
Iowa State University
Kong, an Iowa State assistant professor of mechanical engineering who keeps a piston by his office computer, is studying engines with the goal of reducing emissions and improving efficiency.
"There is still a lot of work to be done to improve engine performance," Kong said. "All of this work will lead to incremental improvements."
And those small improvements can add up when you consider there are more than 250 million registered vehicles on U.S. highways, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Kong and his students are working on a lot of combustion projects in the lab: They're studying diesel engines with the goal of reducing emissions. They're developing a computer model of a gasoline engine that will make it much easier and faster to research and develop new engine technologies. They're figuring out how to optimize new technologies such as multiple fuel injections per combustion cycle.
They're working with Terry Meyer, an Iowa State assistant professor of mechanical engineering, to use high-speed, laser-based sensors that can record images of injection sprays and combustion inside a cylinder. That can give researchers insights into combustion characteristics and ideas for improvements.
They're also studying how plastics dissolved in biodiesel affect engine performance. Biodiesel acts as a solvent on certain plastics and that has Kong checking to see if some waste plastic could be recycled by mixing it into fuel.
And they're studying the combustion of ammonia in engines. Ammonia is relatively easy to store, is fairly dense with hydrogen and doesn't produce greenhouse gases when it burns. So burning ammonia in engines could be an early step to developing a hydrogen economy.
Kong's work is supported by grants from Deere & Co., the Ford Motor Co., the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Ames-based Renewable Energy Group Inc. and the Iowa Energy Center based at Iowa State.
As he showed a visitor around his engine lab recently, pointing out a new turbocharger here or an experimental one-cylinder engine there, Kong said there's good reason to keep studying engines.
"We want to make these engines better," Kong said. "In my mind, the internal combustion engine may be the most important combustion system in daily life. Just by improving combustion efficiency by a fraction, we can save a lot of energy for the country and the world."
And yes, he said, "There is a future for internal combustion engines."
Iowa State University
Combustion Engine Current Events and Combustion Engine News RSSIon Tiger fuel cell unmanned air vehicle completes 23-hour flight
The Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL's) Ion Tiger, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV), has flown 23 hours and 17 minutes, setting an unofficial flight endurance record for a fuel-cell powered flight.
Fuel Cells, Energy Conversion, and Mathematics
Concerns about dwindling fossil fuel resources, current levels of petroleum consumption, and growing pressure to shift to more sustainable energy sources are among the many factors prompting the transition from our current energy infrastructure to one that uses less carbon and requires the efficient conversion of energy.
Surveillance vehicles take flight using alternative energy
Nearly undetectable from the ground, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used by the military to scan terrain for possible threats and intelligence. Now, fuel cell powered UAVs are taking flight as an Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored program to help tactical decision-makers gather critical information more efficiently- and more quietly.
Argonne scientists reveal interaction between supersonic fuel spray and its shock wave
Shock waves are a well tested phenomenon on a large scale, but scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and their collaborators from Wayne State University and Cornell University have made a breakthrough that reveals the interaction between shockwaves created by high-pressure supersonic fuel jets.
Electricity from straw
Researchers have developed the first-ever biogas plant to run purely on waste instead of edible raw materials - transforming waste into valuable material.
Hydrogen tank lighter than battery
Dutch-sponsored researcher Robin Gremaud has shown that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is excellent at absorbing hydrogen.
Simple device which uses electrical field could boost gas efficiency
With the high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel impacting costs for automobiles, trucks, buses and the overall economy, a Temple University physics professor has developed a simple device which could dramatically improve fuel efficiency as much as 20 percent.
A promising step towards more effective hydrogen storage
An international research team led by Swedish Professor Rajeev Ahuja, Uppsala University, has demonstrated an atomistic mechanism of hydrogen release in magnesium nanoparticles - a potential hydrogen storage material. The findings have been published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).
Argonne tests validate BMW Hydrogen 7 emissions well-below SULEV
Independent tests conducted by engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory on a BMW Hydrogen 7 Mono-Fuel demonstration vehicle have found that the car's hydrogen-powered engine surpasses the super-ultra low-emission vehicle (SULEV) level, the most stringent emissions performance standard to date.
RAND paper finds diesel, hybrid vehicles can provide more societal benefits than gas-powered autos
Cars and light trucks powered by advanced diesel technology or hybrid technology can provide larger societal benefits than traditional gasoline-powered automobiles, according to a RAND Corporation working paper presented today.
More Combustion Engine Current Events and Combustion Engine News Articles
 |
Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals by John Benjamin Heywood (Author) This text, by a leading authority in the field, presents a fundamental and factual development of the science and engineering underlying the design of combustion engines and turbines. An extensive illustration program supports the concepts and theories discussed. |
 |
Combustion Chamber: 3.4 by Losi Combustion Chamber: 3.4 |
 |
Internal Combustion Engine in Theory and Practice: Vol. 2 - 2nd Edition, Revised: Combustion, Fuels, Materials, Design by Charles Fayette Taylor (Author) This revised edition of Taylor's classic work on the internal-combustion engine incorporates changes and additions in engine design and control that have been brought on by the world petroleum crisis, the subsequent emphasis on fuel economy, and the legal restraints on air pollution. The fundamentals and the topical organization, however, remain the same. The analytic rather than merely descriptive treatment of actual engine cycles, the exhaustive studies of air capacity, heat flow, friction, and the effects of cylinder size, and the emphasis on application have been preserved. These are the basic qualities that have made Taylor's work indispensable to more than one generation of engineers and designers of internal-combustion engines, as well as to teachers and graduate students in the... |
 |
1929 History of the Internal Combustion Engine Film DVD: Car, Automobile, & Motor Car Engines, Engine Block, Rotary Piston Engine, V8 History Pictures Film The internal combustion engine is one of the driving forces behind 20th century technology. This DVD features a historical film that shows the workings of the internal combustion engine very early in its heyday. This film is silent. Table Of Contents: (1) The Power Within: The Operation Of Internal Combustion Engine (1929) - This vintage film from the 1920s shows how the internal combustion engine functions, using vintage animation and title cards to show the inner workings of the technology. Construction, operation and care of the internal combustion engine is shown, along with a rundown of the varied uses of the engine power, such as pumping water, plowing fields, powering automobiles, lighting homes and powering airplanes. Four-stroke, six-stroke and V-shape eight cylinder engines are... |
![Historic Print (S): [Four-stroke gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine designed by Nicolaus A. Otto]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51d5SqzbxFL._SL160_.jpg) |
Historic Print (S): [Four-stroke gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine designed by Nicolaus A. Otto] by Library Images This is a museum quality, reproduction print on premium paper with archival/UV resistant inks. Date: [1896] Subject: Otto, Nicolaus August, 1832-1891. Spark ignition engines--1870-1880. Gasoline engines--1870-1880. Notes: Title devised by Library staff. Illus. in: A practical treatise on the 'Otto' cycle gas engine / by William Norris. London ; New York ; Bombay : Longmans, Green, 1896. Published in: The tradition of technology : Landmarks of Western technology ... / Leonard C. Bruno. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 1995, p. 252. Format: Book illustrations 1890-1900.Photomechanical prints 1890-1900. SOURCE: Library of Congress |
 |
Internal Combustion Engine Sean Egan (Primary Contributor) |
 |
Engine Computer ECU : ACCORD 95 Elec Cont Unit (ECU); (lower right dash), 4 cyl, Cpe (2 Dr) & Sdn (4 Dr), EX, Canada mkt, AT by Honda Please match the numbers on your ECU to the numbers listed in the description of this part. We ship all electronics in a clear bag for you to preview the part before opening the bag. If you open the bag we will not take a return on the part, but will replace it once under warranty. This Engine Computer ECU has the following features and fits these vehicles directly that are listed below. Fit and Interchange ACCORD 94 Elec Cont Unit (ECU); (lower right dash under carpet), Cpe (2 Dr) & Sdn (4 Dr), EX, Canada mkt, AT ACCORD 94 Elec Cont Unit (ECU); (lower right dash under carpet), Cpe (2 Dr) & Sdn (4 Dr), DX and LX, AT ACCORD 95 Elec Cont Unit (ECU); (lower right dash), 4 cyl, Cpe (2 Dr) & Sdn (4 Dr), DX and LX, AT ACCORD 95 Elec Cont Unit (ECU); (lower... |
 |
Easy Slider Starring: Lisa Akey, James Colby, Neil Flynn, Dylan Haggerty, Mark Vasconcellos Directed By: David E. Peckinpah Also With: Bill Dial (Producer), Tim Burns (Writer) |
 |
Unsteady Combustion by Springer Unsteady Combustion is divided into three parts: combustion-induced oscillations; internal combustion engines; and experimental techniques and modelling. Part 1 of the book deals with combustion instabilities, pulsed combustors, and active control of unsteady motions, and constitutes an excellent survey of the range of problems central to combustion instabilities. Internal combustion engines will undoubtedly be the prime movers in ground transportation for many years, if not decades to come. The major problems in practice are fuel efficiency and the emission of pollutants: all of the papers in Part 2 address these two problems. The third part of the book deals with quite general laser diagnostics and modelling aspects, including computer simulations which, while a young subject, hold... |
 |
Universal Test Tools BT-500 - Combustion Leak Test Kit - Universal Test Tools - BT-500 by Universal Test Tools BT-500 Combustion Leak Test Kit |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |