Liverpool are developing a car ignition system that swaps spark plugs for a laser beam to start vehicles while generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
The team has just received nearly £200,000 (US$320,000) in grants to test the technology from the Carbon Trust, a government funded entity charged with helping
businesses in the transition to
a low carbon economy. The award is part of the Carbon Trust’s Applied Research grant that supports the development of low
carbon technologies.
Ford reportedly plans to install the laser
ignitions in a select range of vehicles in the next few years before expanding the laser
ignitions on a larger scale. The technology works like this: The laser is quickly directed toward the
combustion chamber where the fuel is most concentrated,
allowing the engine to run on a more efficient mix of fuel and air. Bigger diameter valves that improve engine gas flow could be used in such
a system because
the thin fiber optic cable delivering the laser beam is smaller than a spark plug. The laser is also more reliable than a traditional spark plug.
The laser
ignition may also
overcome a significant barrier to widespread adoption of biofuels -- starting the vehicle when the engine is cold. According to the
Telegraph, reflecting part of the laser back from inside the
cylinder can deliver information on fuel type and ignition level to allow vehicles to optimally
adjust the air/fuel mix.
“Laser ignition is a really exciting technology because it improves
the efficiency of petrol cars and could, in the future,
speed the uptake of cars run on biofuels derived from sustainable organic materials such as algae,” Mark Williamson, the Carbon Trust’s
director of
innovations, said in a statement.
other articles talk about using multiple beams to ignite the fuel at separate points in the chamber. they are expected to
start using them in
some cars by 2011.
Som jag skrev i en annan tråd så låg nog denna utv. i understa lådan hos Borsch, som jag gissade hade köpt upp
det österikiska bolaget som utv. detta. Redovisade res. (
det sista jag såg ) var: Kolvmotor - 10- 15% red. av bränsle. Wankelmotor ( Rx-7:a ) - 25- 35% red.av
bränsle.
Nu får man hoppas att Mazda - Ford samarbetet fortsätter som tidigare.
Bet blir nog Rx-9, 1,6 litermotor med lasertändning 2011.
Lennart Pettersson
Stockholm
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."
- Mahatma Gandhi
då 
