A Low Cost Acoustic Property Sensor for Measuring Natural Gas Composition in Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Powered Vehicles

86 A Low Cost Acoustic Property Sensor for Measuring Natural Gas Composition in Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Powered Vehicles--Commercial Electronics, Inc., 801 North 15th Street, Broken Arrow, OK 74012-2838; (918) 251-0925 Mr. Scott Phillips, Principal Investigator Mr. Michael A. Phillips, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-97ER82353 Amount: $75,000 Among the various alternative fuels proposed for energy-efficient engines in heavy-duty vehicles (delivery vans, buses, and tractor trailers), natural gas has the greatest potential to achieve very high efficiency and low emissions. The preferred on-board storage system is liquified natural gas. Problems may occur when a diesel engine that has been optimized for fuel economy and low emissions for a particular composition of natural gas is fueled with a different composition of natural gas. There is a clear need for low-cost sensors in the vehicle to determine the composition of the natural gas fuel. The Phase I project will evaluate the potential for using sound propagating through fuel to determine the gas composition; this will be the basis for developing an acoustic instrument to measure the concentration of individual constituents of natural gas and its combustion properties. Phase II research and development will culminate with the testing of a prototype sensor onboard a vehicle. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Using sound to measure the composition and quality of the liquified natural gas fuel will lead to the development of an off-the-shelf sensor that can be located in the electronic control module of the engine. The sensor would allow the engine to operate much more efficiently and have better fuel economy, reduced exhaust emissions, and better reliability and durability. _