Two cycle ceramic JP8 fueled engine

In support of the Navy's goal to develop the SWARM into a highly reliable, long-range aerial observation platform operable by minimally-trained Navy personnel, the capabilities of Phase II powerplants will be substantially expanded over those of Phase I.These powerplants will incorporate an on-board remotely operable starter-generator and computer-controlled fuel injection, enabling the engine to be started and run reliably under a wide range of environmental conditions, as well as reducing the requiredtraining of Navy personnel to a minimum.In Phase II of this program we will continue engine development to improve the Specific Fuel Consumption over Phase I levels. Uninterrupted endurance with JP-5/JP-8 fuels will also be increased significantly over Phase I results. Ceramic components willbe developed and integrated to facilitate these goals. The design of the engine will also be expanded to include a larger engine size of approximately 2 in3. As applicable to further the project goals, we will also partner with others in the field, suchas Davis Diesel Development and Aerosonde, to take full advantage of their small UAV engine development experience and expertise. Production costs for lots of 100 and 1000 units will be estimated for both engine sizes. Five samples of each prototypeengine size will be provided. Also, as determined by the contract officer, we will incorporate into the development program the muffler and propeller technologies being developed by other Navy contractors. The various technologies being developed under this program will be incorporated into the full system design in an incremental fashion that ensures that at each stage of the development process we will have a fully functioning engine that is better thanits' predecessor from the previous stage. For example, the JP-5/JP-8 operational capabilities will first be expanded using existing metal engines. Only later, when the operational capabilities with JP-5/JP-8 have matured to a point of reliability, willthe ceramic components be introduced. That way, at any stage of the development process the Navy will have a functional, reliable small JP-5/JP-8 powerplant that can be considered for immediate emergency use. Similarly, the starter/generator will beintegrated into ceramic designs only after being successfully developed with existing engines. We will also investigate incorporating technologies that allow the powerplant to be reused with minimal refurbishment after saltwater landings of the SWARM.