Lasers set to zap engines into running more efficiently

new scientist ^ | 20 February 2015 | by Hal Hodson

[mbarker12474]

How does burning fuel more efficiently lead to anything greener or cleaner? Doesn’t this simply change the proportion of different waste products?

The new technology is desirable because you get more energy out of a given amount of fuel. It’s less clear that it is cleaner.

[Marko413]

Whether this really will work or not, it sure sounds awesome!

[miliantnutcase]

Anything that keeps the internal combustion engine alive is awesome. We can still improve on it.

[bigbob]

All emissions reduction is based on creating more complete combustion, fewer waste pruducts.

[RayChuang88]

If the idea works, it means far more complete combustion with much higher level of efficiency in turning fuel into motive power—imagine 200 bhp from an I-4 engine but without the power “peakiness” of current engines of the same displacement that have that much power and way lower fuel consumption.

[11th Commandment]

..... a laser ignites the fuel in the middle of the chamber instead, burning more of the fuel and improving combustion efficiency by 27 per cent. Laser ignition could boost the fuel efficiency of a car from 40 kilometres per litre up to around 50, for example. The more complete burn also emits fewer polluting by-products such as nitrogen dioxide.

If nitrates can be reduced, then remediation in the exhaust emission could be scaled back. This would also boost efficiency.

[Yo-Yo]

Look Ma, no spark plugs ping!

[Squawk 8888]

If nothing else, it will burn less fuel, ergo less waste. Also, the worst pollutants from IC engines are unburned and partially-burned hydrocarbons, so anything that makes the fuel burn more completely will be cleaner.

[smokingfrog]

I remember reading about this a few years ago.

If it ever happens, I wonder if you will be able to retrofit an existing engine?

[IronJack]

Anything that keeps the internal combustion engine alive is awesome. We can still improve on it.

I agree, and one place to start is on the whole reciprocating design. Converting linear motion to circular motion is not very efficient. A workable rotary engine would waste much less energy.

And I've often wondered about injecting gasoline VAPOR into the combustion chamber instead of particulate (atomized) gasoline. Liquid gasoline doesn't burn; it only ignites at the liquid-gas boundary of the atomized droplets. Wouldn't a proper air/gas mixture of vapor be much more explosive and avoid the loss of energy required for the state change from liquid to gas?

[Zathras]

It might work but I don’t know if the mileage advantages will be enough to justify the cost.
Power needs to be high enough to ignite fuel in ms and optics would malfunction with carbon buildup in cylinders.

[Dad was my hero]

How does burning fuel more efficiently lead to anything greener or cleaner? Doesn’t this simply change the proportion of different waste products?

If I was guessing, I'd say that to produce the same propulsion or "work" you could do it on less fuel. If it creates a certain amount of output based on inefficient burning, then you increase the burning and you would be able to do the same output on less fuel.

[Pontiac]

"One shipping company we are talking to is interested in retrofitting their existing engines with laser ignition."

Cargo ships employ diesel engines. How would you retrofit a diesel engine with laser ignition?

[Red Badger]

In Ghosh's engine, a laser ignites the fuel in the middle of the chamber instead, burning more of the fuel and improving combustion efficiency by 27 per cent. Laser ignition could boost the fuel efficiency of a car from 40 kilometres per litre up to around 50, for example. The more complete burn also emits fewer polluting by-products such as nitrogen dioxide.

Great news if true................

[Red Badger]

The more complete burn also emits fewer polluting by-products such as nitrogen dioxide.

[isthisnickcool]

[11th Commandment]

http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=51731

[lacrew]

I normally don’t trust these ‘next great engine’ stories....but this one has great potential.

I wonder if the EGR system can be eliminated, with the improved combustion.

[Pontiac]

"One shipping company we are talking to is interested in retrofitting their existing engines with laser ignition."

One thing that I would have concern with changing over to laser ignition is the durability of the laser in the combustion chamber.

Today a set of spark plugs can easily last 100,000 miles.

Will a laser exposed to the punishing environment of a combustion chamber last that long?