Transonic Supercritical Fuel Injection Could Improve Gasoline Engines by 50-75 Percent

Next Big Future ^ | Mar 3, 2010 | Brian Wang

[decimon]

Transonic Combustion, based in Camarillo, CA, has developed a gasoline fuel injection system that can improve the efficiency of gasoline engines by 50 to 75 percent, beating the fuel economy of hybrid vehicles. A test vehicle the size and weight of a Toyota Prius (but without hybrid propulsion) showed 64 miles per gallon for highway driving. The company says the system can work with existing engines, and costs about as much as existing high-end fuel injection.

[BlueDragon]

I read this as they're running gasoline in a diesel engine, but maybe I misunderstand.

It seems they really don't want folks to understand too much. In one place, it appeared they were talking "blend". In others, they claim to have the run the engines on a variety of fuels.

The "diesel architecture" to me, read 'high compression'.

The last line;

To minimize friction losses, the Transonic engineers have steadily reduced the compression of their test engines to between 20:1 and 16:1, with the possibility of 13:1 for gasoline engines.

In the old days, when the hot-rodders custom built small-block V-8's, going much past 12.5 to 1 made it difficult to keep from blowing head gaskets.

Diesels are more like in the neighborhood of 14 to 1 and more, with modern ones perhaps always more? (I'm not really that up-to-date).

For another comparison;
An 50's era, Chevy straight 6 used 7.5 to 1 compression ratio, and had a head bolt torque of a bit less than one hundred ft. lbs. 85-90 lbs? That sounds about right...
A diesel Caterpillar straight 6 would have head bolt torques of around 350 ft. lbs. I think I remember 345, or was it 365 lbs(?) for a 70's era 343 Cat.

It's much more expensive to make engines that utilize higher compression ratios, particularly if you want them to be durable. Everything needs to be stronger --- blocks, heads, pistons, rods. That's why the diesel "architecture".

Even if this new tech would actually work in the real world, they won't be converting 350 Chevy blocks, to use it. That had been tried in the past, (using lower compression, gasoline "architecture" simply converted to diesel) and it failed. Rather famously.

[Waverunner]

The real solution

[SampleMan]

But I have the same thing that I built in my garage, and it burns water...

Seriously, where do these stories come from. If this were true, they wouldn’t be peddling stories, they would be gearing up for mass production.

The follow up to this story will be that these guys in black suits showed up and confiscated the only prototype, which can’t be recreated.

[SampleMan]

A 50 or 75 percent improvement would probably put a gas engine beyond its theoretical max efficiency.

No, the theoretical limit is the energy in the fuel, which is about 275 mpg. The problem is that most of the energy is wasted producting heat.

[valkyry1]

No, the theoretical limit is the energy in the fuel, which is about 275 mpg. The problem is that most of the energy is wasted producting heat

Thats why he referred to the theoretical max efficiency of the ic gas engine. The fuel has to combust so how will it get around the problem that most of the energy is wasted in heat?

[neverdem]

BTTT!

[Yardstick]

Exactly. We studied this in thermodynamics class years ago. I can’t remember what the name of the ideally efficient engine was — Carnot Cycle or something. But even it was something like only 70% efficient. And I think it assumed no heat loss or friction. The only losses were due to entropy (IIRC, and it’s been a while!).

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks decimon. With anything like this it is necessary to A) prove reliability, B) prove it can be built reliably on an assembly line, and C) retain vicious attorneys. Nearly thirty years ago, Yunick’s adiabatic system used a combo of patented and proprietary things to build a 60 mpg three cylinder that had satisfactory performance; Ray Gorte prototyped a hydrocarbon-direct fuel cell; what do we have instead? Basically bupkis.

[dangerdoc]

The claims remain to be proven but my understanding that the major problem keeping super lean burning engines off the road is emmisions. Specifically NOs.

What they are claiming does not break the rules of thermodynamics but may break the rules of the EPA.

[chooseascreennamepat]

“Still remember the “100 mpg carburator” the auto companies were supposed to have buried years ago.”

Yes. They televised the ceremony hosted by John Cameron “give it a licking and it keeps on ticking” Swayze.

Ah, I remember it well. (sung to the tune of the Col. Bogie March)