A company called Carinthian Tech Research (CTR) has developed a laser that can be used for engine ignition systems. Light is compressed to create a laser pulse, which because of the high energy density it generates plasma, which ignites the fuel. See the lightning spot in the video at: http://www.ctr.at/en/r-d-technologies/laser.html

“When CTR developed a highly specialised laser for ignition systems in jet and internal combustion engines, we took the technology to a new level globally. To achieve this, we had to redesign all the laser components from the pump diodes to the resonator and laser rod, integrating them in a compact housing. The resultant opportunities for using the laser in very confined spaces and environments subject to vibrations, is so unique and innovative that even projects with the ESA for applications in the aerospace industry are being implemented.” CTR 2012

More information: http://www.ctr.at/en/r-d-technologies/laser.html

TECHNOLOGY ENABLES SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED FUEL ECONOMY, REDUCED EMISSIONS, EXTENDED SERVICE LIFE

System technology enables up to 10-percent reduced fuel consumption and is designed for volume manufacturing in current and future engine architectures FRANKFURT, September 13, 2011 … Federal-Mogul Corporation (NASDAQ: FDML) will introduce at this year’s IAA (Frankfurt Auto Show, Hall 4.1, Stand E15, September 13-16, 2011) its highly innovative Advanced Corona Ignition System (ACIS), a breakthrough technology for fuel efficiency and emissions reduction that significantly outperforms conventional spark-ignition systems. Federal-Mogul’s ACIS is currently undergoing development with several customers and has enabled an up to 10-percent fuel efficiency improvement over standard spark ignition in development testing.

Corona ignition creates a significantly larger high-intensity plasma ignition source, spread throughout the combustion chamber, when compared to conventional spark ignition systems. The ACIS technology provides for more thorough combustion and enables advanced combustion strategies like lean burn, highly diluted mixtures and very high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), further increasing fuel efficiency. The company’s ACIS utilizes materials and design strategies to facilitate high-volume production implementation on current and new engine architectures.

“Federal-Mogul’s new corona discharge ignition is a breakthrough innovation that can offer significant fuel economy gains and emissions reductions at a lower incremental cost than other technologies,” said Federal-Mogul President and CEO José Maria Alapont. “Our Advanced Corona Ignition System is another example of Federal-Mogul’s commitment to developing leading technology and innovation to support vehicle manufacturers with regulatory compliance and customer satisfaction for energy efficiency, environmental responsibility and vehicle safety enhancements.”

ACIS uses a high-energy, high frequency electrical field to produce repeatable, controlled ionization, creating multiple streams of ions to ignite the fuel mixture throughout the combustion chamber, whereas conventional spark ignition creates only a small arc in the gap between the electrodes of a spark plug. This highly effective ignition technology also allows for optimized timing of the start of combustion versus conventional ignition systems. ACIS generates rapid ignition and quick burning, ensuring greater conversion of the fuel energy to mechanical energy with the added potential for simultaneous reduction in engine cooling requirements.

“Federal-Mogul’s and our customers’ testing is demonstrating that the improvements to fuel economy and CO2 emissions are at levels unachievable with spark ignition,” Alapont added. “We have already recorded fuel consumption improvements of up to 10 percent on a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine, and there is potential for further improvements,” said Kristapher Mixell, Federal-Mogul’s director, advanced corona ignition system development, Powertrain Energy. “Our Advanced Corona Ignition System is a game-changing technology that also makes other combustion improvements possible.” Corona ignition technology provides higher energy and greater opportunities for ignition than a spark-ignition system, readily accommodating different fuel characteristics. “The technology enables powertrain engineers to more efficiently develop combustion strategies, such as stratified charge, lean burn and high levels of EGR, to reduce fuel consumption exhaust emissions,” Mixell added.

Federal-Mogul has optimized its ACIS for ease of implementation in high-volume applications for both current and future powertrain architectures by designing it to package within the space of a spark-ignition system. The “two-piece” igniter architecture allows engine manufacturers the ability to replace traditional coil and plug systems with no adverse impact on engine design or assembly.

Eliminating the spark plug and its arc, ACIS eliminates the source of electrode erosion—the main cause of wear in a conventional spark-ignition system. This prolongs ignition system durability and extends service intervals. ACIS also uses materials that are already proven in automotive applications to ensure durability throughout the designed service life. “The global growth of the car parc, reaching more than 1.2 billion vehicles by 2015, will continue to be a very strong market for spark-ignition systems, that is why we are continuing to develop new spark plug technology together with developing the Advanced Corona Ignition System for high performance powertrain and vehicle applications,” Alapont added. The company’s Advanced Corona Ignition System is being developed at its technical centres in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Visit the company’s website at www.federalmogul.com.

MOST – Media Oriented Systems Transport – is the de-facto standard for multimedia and infotainment networking in the automotive industry.

MOST – Home > Home

Figure 1 Bosch SMP480 barometric pressure sensor (Source: Bosch Media)

The new Bosch SMP480 barometric pressure sensor is extraordinarily small. It takes up just one-quarter of the space of its predecessor. This makes it easier than ever to include it in the electronic control units used in automotive technology. This is the first time the Stuttgart-based automotive supplier has released a pressure sensor in its SMP range that uses a 12-bit digital interface to provide pressure and temperature data, instead of producing an analog measurement signal. This digital barometer’s pressure signal tolerance over its lifetime is less than 1.0 kPa – the best accuracy currently available in the market. The SMP480, which features a ten-pin premold SMD housing and is RoHS-compliant, is already being delivered in large quantities.

Pressure sensors make cars more eco-friendly
Barometric pressure sensors are a key component in engine management for diesel and gasoline engines. They are designed to measure the current ambient pressure accurately and with low drift. Atmospheric pressure is a function of height above sea level as well as of weather conditions. The engine management system uses the sensor measurement data to ensure the optimum air-fuel mixture, irrespective of whether the vehicle is traveling along a coastal road or a road up in the mountains. The benefit of this constant rebalancing of the mixture ratio is that it reduces fuel consumption as well as emissions of CO2 and other pollutants.

Silicon sensor membrane
The core of the SMP480 is its sensor element. This is made up of a monocrystalline silicon membrane – manufactured using the advanced porous silicon membrane (APSM) process – which hermetically seals a reference vacuum. Four strain gages are implanted in the membrane in a bridge circuit. Changes caused by atmospheric pressure in the curvature of the membrane, even those measuring just a few thousandths of a millimeter, are converted into an electrical signal. Signal conditioning and A-D conversion are performed by an ASIC adjacent to the sensor element within the housing.

A success story with over 1.6 billion MEMS sensors

Bosch sets the pace in MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) technology. The company has manufactured over 1.6 billion MEMS sensors since production began in 1995. This makes Bosch the global market leader in MEMS sensors. Its product portfolio comprises pressure sensors, acceleration sensors, yaw-rate sensors, mass flow sensors, torque sensors, and microphones for a variety of automotive and consumer electronics applications. Additional information on the Bosch sensor program can be accessed at www.bosch-sensors.com.

Set up by Bosch, Deutz and Eberspächer in April 2010, Bosch Emission Systems is constantly further expanding its portfolio of highly efficient exhaust gas treatment systems. Using a modular kit means that a complete systems solution for effective exhaust-gas treatment can be integrated quickly and simply. “We are exploiting our core competencies in the areas of exhaust gas technology to prepare forklifts, mobile machinery such as construction vehicles, tractors, and other agricultural machinery, as well as stationary machinery for stricter emissions standards in a cost-effective manner,” says Wolfgang Albrecht, managing director of Bosch Emission Systems. “The system can also be used in on-road applications such as buses and municipal vehicles.”

High-performance system made of standardized components
“Drawing on tried and tested components, we can design an exhaust gas treatment system to suit any vehicle or machine,” Albrecht says. “Short development cycles and low tooling costs enable us to offer cost-effective solutions.” Thanks to compact design and other new developments, the systems are flexible enough to be adapted to individual needs. The systems provide a stand-alone solution – they have their own sensors and actuators. And thanks to an integrated control unit, the systems are diagnostic-capable. The modules available, which have to be certified in consultation with the respective engine manufacturers, cover diesel engines in the power range from 19 to 560 kW.

Efficient reduction of nitrogen oxides
The nitrogen oxides of diesel engines are reduced via a Denoxtronic system, which injects the reducing agent AdBlue into the exhaust gas flow. Precise metering ensures that there is always exactly the right amount of agent for the operating values of the engine and SCR catalyst. A major new development is a spiral-shaped mixing section, which enables the optimum mixture of the AdBlue. This makes it possible to reduce nitrogen oxides by up to 95 percent. At the same time, fuel consumption, and in turn CO₂ emissions, can be reduced by up to five percent. As a result of nitrogen oxide treatment in the exhaust tract, the combustion process can be optimized with regard to fuel efficiency. For large engines, Bosch Emission Systems has further developed the Bosch Denoxtronic system. By cleverly combining the supply and dosing modules, as well as adapting the metering system, larger volumes of reduction agent can be precisely dosed. The system as a whole is governed by a central exhaust gas control unit. Bosch Emission Systems also supplies all the required sensors, as well as harnessing for CAN buses and the AdBlue tank.

Comprehensive Look into the Integration of Driver Assistance Systems into the Gross Network Vehicle

Driver assistance systems are about to conquer the market. The latest studies predict a growth from 9 to 62 million units per year throughout the years 2005 to 2012. Driver assistance systems are on their way to becoming an integral part of the vehicle – with interfaces to many different clusters of electric/electronic systems in the car. Comparable to the human body, numerous functions have to be implemented and networked: sensors – like for example radar, cameras or ultrasonic – processing units and actuators like steering, brakes, ESP and airbag. Taking into account the complexity of the use cases and the different vehicle areas that have to exchange information, it is obvious that an adequate network infrastructure is of essential importance for the efficiency of the system. From a functional point of view driver assist systems have started to enlarge the functional range of classical infotainment systems … read on in the electronic MOST Informative (Harald Schoepp, SMSC)

Some interesting information from Bosch (www.bosch.com):

As a pioneer of diesel injection technology, Bosch offers a wide range of common-rail systems for diverse markets and applications. From two to twelve cylinders, for the Asian, European, and U.S. markets – Bosch has the right system in its portfolio for every kind of demand. Continuous improvements are making the diesel of the future even better in performance and more economical. “As Bosch sees it, the consumption of diesel engines can be reduced by another 30 percent in the future. Moreover, this can be achieved in compliance with increasingly strict emissions standards such as Euro 6 and the U.S. Tier 2 Bin 5,” says Dr. Markus Heyn, the member of the Diesel Systems division’s executive management responsible for the passenger-car business.

The modular concept of the CRS2 common-rail system with solenoid-valve injectors covers the range from two- to eight-cylinder engines. Apart from the tried and true CRS2-16 and CRS2-18 models, which deliver 1,600 and 1,800 bar respectively, the system is now also available in a CRS2-20 version, delivering 2,000 bar. Higher injection pressure vaporizes the fuel in the combustion chamber even more finely. This optimizes combustion, thus reducing emissions and fuel consumption. Moreover, in the newly developed CRI-20 solenoid-valve injector, an integrated high-pressure reservoir is used for the first time. This reduces fluctuations in pressure. All CRS2 injectors allow a wide dynamic range when controlling the nozzle needle, and thus make short intervals between injections possible. That allows up to eight individual injections per cycle. Advance injection reduces combustion noise and NOx emissions, and post-injection reduces particulate emissions. For some applications, the CRS2 common-rail system can already be designed to meet the Euro 6 emission standard, which will come into effect in 2014. Especially for the Asian growth markets, and in particular India and China, Bosch continues to offer its CRS1-14UP and CRS1-16, which are especially robust and cost-effective solenoid-valve systems featuring injection pressures of 1,450 and 1,600 bar.

The technically more complex CRS3 common-rail system with piezo injectors is designed for engines with very high specific power of more than 75 kilowatts per litre of displacement. It works in combination with the CP4 high-pressure pump and is so far available for system pressures of 1,800 and 2,000 bar. However, Bosch engineers are already working on systems with up to 2,500 bar. The piezo actuator develops some ten times more power than a solenoid valve, and is thus less sensitive to minor fuel impurities. For precisely metering the tiniest amounts for advance and post-injection, as well as for consistent quality over its service life, the inline piezo injector satisfies the highest standards. Thanks to its modular design, this system can be adapted to the requirements of engines with between four and twelve cylinders.