SBIR Phase I: Development of an Adaptive Dual-Fuel Injector to Enable High Efficiency Clean Combustion for SUV and Light Duty Truck Engines

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.