Piezoelectric Single Crystal Stacks for Improved Fuel Injector Performance

Engine performance and fuel consumption in the Navy's surface ships, submersibles, and aircraft are a significant concern from both an operations and logistics viewpoint. Higher fuel efficiency leads to longer times between resupply or lower operating costs, while increased performance is always desired during combat operations. We propose the use of single crystal piezoelectric materials to enhance the performance of a critical aspect of combustion engine technology, the electronic fuel injector, to improve both performance and efficiency. By replacing the existing piezoceramic driving technology with piezoelectric single crystals we will improve the three critical requirements for fuel injector actuators: stroke, force output, and bandwidth. This can be achieved in a component of identical size, or smaller than, existing driving stacks, and may allow for the omission of displacement amplification systems resulting in smaller, less expensive fuel injectors. The higher performance of the fuel injectors will allow for more precise control of engine performance, allowing the Navy to choose between higher power, greater fuel efficiency, or lower emissions from their engines.