Turn your gasser into a diesel!! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

pmari · #1 02-04-2006, 11:00 PM

http://www.washingtonfreepress.org/73/gasEngineUseDiesel.htm

pawoSD · #2 02-04-2006, 11:04 PM

Wow....very interesting indeed!

raMBow · #3 02-04-2006, 11:18 PM

Wow, so simple. Amazing impact upon emissions. Automotive engineers around the world are going, duh.. why didn't I think of that!

t walgamuth · #4 02-04-2006, 11:45 PM

a more detailed article. i didnt really follow the explanation. it does sound very good though.

tom w

#5 02-05-2006, 12:02 AM

"Sonex has recently successfully applied their SCAI process to a six-cylinder Subaru gas engine using JP5 fuel under a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) contract and is confirming its single cylinder results."

Let me get this straight. They put this piston into one cylinder of a six cylinder gas engine. It still runs and they think they have a miracle on their hands?

How will the ECM know to change the fueling strategy? How will the low pressure g@sser injectors push heavy diesel into 500+psi compression pressure (VS gasser's 150-200psi)? What role will the spark system play (dead weight)? How will the emissions systems react to the different exhaust contents?

Oh, thats right. It's a modern engine. Just throw the piston in there and drive away.

I'm just waiting to hear that DARPA bought it out to shield a consumer base that's not ready for this kind of shocking technology, just like the 200mpg carburetor.

#6 02-05-2006, 12:15 AM

Their website seems to have alot of "lawsuit" cases in their press releases.

More info about the piston:

http://www.sonexresearch.com/pr1-3-06%20$272,700%20Contract%20for%20UAV%20HFE.htm

http://www.sonexresearch.com/prod.htm

"The lack of a method for controlling the ignition point, however, has prevented practical implementation of HCCI. Sonex believes it has attained the control of ignition that will make HCCI viable for commercial application."

rg2098 · #7 02-05-2006, 12:18 AM

Generally many "cracks" and "traps" are bad for emissions. Atomized fuel that drifts into these spaces don't burn correctly.

bgkast · #8 02-05-2006, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForcedInduction

"Sonex has recently successfully applied their SCAI process to a six-cylinder Subaru gas engine using JP5 fuel under a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) contract and is confirming its single cylinder results."

I think what they are trying to say is that they had made tests with a 1 cyl engine, then installed pistons of this design in a subaru engine to confirm the results of the tests on the single cyl engine.

Nate · #9 02-05-2006, 01:12 AM

bunch of CRAP!!!
We all know that putting magnets on the float bowls of a 100mpg carb makes it into a 150mpg carb, DUHH

Seriously sounds fishy... Theres no way a normal gas engine could withstand the extreamly high compression a true diesel requires... Allthough with the spark plugs, it might ignite the fuel, but it still has to compress it 2-4x what it was ment for...

I wouldnt do it

~Nate

t walgamuth · #10 02-05-2006, 07:30 AM

what they mean by single cyl tests. it may be crap but it also may mean that they took a cut down block and tested with the subie head and piston configuration. it would follow that all the computers and such are not being used i think for testing purposes.

single cyl testing is a common thing i think.

tom w

pmari · #11 02-05-2006, 09:34 PM

http://www.house.gov/hasc/openingstatementsandpressreleases/107thcongress/01-03-22pouring.html

http://www.gizmag.com/go/4695/

http://www.sonexresearch.com/pr12-16-04%20Fleet%20Owner%20Article.htm

Pouring isn’t some crackpot engineer hawking snake oil out of his basement. He’s the former chairman of the department of aerospace engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy and chanced upon the principles that led to today’s lower-emissions piston design during a government-sponsored research program in the late 1970s.

Once the project ended, Pouring had to decide whether to shelve what he’d learned and return to teaching, or try to make a commercial go of his findings. The desire to bring his technology to life won out, and in 1980 Pouring formed a private company known today as Sonex Research Inc. The piston design itself is called the Sonex Combustion System (SCS).

"The SCS DI (direct injection) technology relies on uniquely shaped cavities, called micro-chambers (MCs), in the piston around the circumference of the piston bowl," says Pouring. "These MCs thus form a segmented ring around the piston bowl, with each micro-chamber positioned in line with a fuel injector spray. The MCs are in turn connected to the piston bowl by tunnel-like vents arranged strategically so that a small fraction of the fuel can be trapped in the MC."

That way, he explains, the "flame" from the main combustion chamber is quenched by the vent, preventing complete combustion in the MCs and thus allowing for slow and incomplete oxidation of the trapped fuel. According to Pouring, this leads to the formation of "highly reactive radicals," substances that help reduce emissions by chemically interacting with the soot in the diesel engine’s exhaust stream.

"These materials," says Pouring, "are very effective in reducing emissions in standard diesel engines due to the turbulent chemical soot interaction."

Pouring believes his new piston can be used in one of two ways in a direct injected engine. The first is what he calls the Low Soot Diesel Design (LSDD), enabling soot and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) to be reduced in standard DI diesel engines at compression ratios greater than 16:1.

The second design path, called Sonex Controlled Auto Ignition (SCAI), is for engines with low compression ratios (12.5:1 or lower) to enable auto-ignition and combustion with high rates of heat release for a variety of fuels. "As SCAI provides sparkless combustion in un-throttled, DI lightweight engines, it can thus reduce emissions and increase fuel economy simultaneously," he says.

The SCAI process uses HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition), which manufacturers worldwide believe will help lower emissions and improve fuel economy, Pouring notes.

"The point of our LSDD technology is to affect the combustion process and lower amounts of soot and NOx, yet doesn’t impact fuel economy," he adds.

Yet Pouring remains convinced that the piston Sonex has developed could make adjusting to EPA rules now and in the future much easier on engine makers and fleets.

"There are no new components and no new maintenance is required for the engine," he explains. "All engines must have pistons to work. Why not use a basic design change to help meet the emission rules, sustain fuel economy, as well as reduce maintenance by perhaps reducing the number of oil changes needed – all at the same time? This technology is also complementary to aftertreatment systems, allowing reduction in their size and cost."

t walgamuth · #12 02-05-2006, 10:46 PM

hope he gets the funding to make it come true.

tom w