Laser Ingnition System

[Rufus120]

Was just reading this.  Could be cool.  I wonder if you could make the engines spin up super high?  Maybe 50,000 rpms 

Scientists in Liverpool working with some engineers from Ford, have developed an ignition system that ignites the fuel mixture with a laser instead of a spark plug. Engines in their labs are currently running with the laser system.

The laser can be split into multiple beams which means it can have multiple ignition points, improving the chance of a complete burn, reducing emissions and improving efficiency in cold and damp conditions.

Part of the laser can be reflected back to provide information about how the engine is running, giving the computer the ability to adjust the air fuel mixture, also raising the possibility of better utilizing alternative fuels.

Ford says they will possibly use the system in their high end vehicles in as little as 2 years. Although this is strictly an automotive system at the moment, there's certainly no reason this technology couldn't, at some point, be adapted for smaller engines such as those used in motorcycles. Very cool technology!

Electric powered vehicles of all sorts are touted as the future but the old internal combustion engine just keeps getting better and better. It's also a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to study and remain at the cutting edge of the technology, mechanics who refuse to learn and evolve will find their opportunities fading fast.

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/07/16/laser-ignition-system-eliminates-spark-plugs-internal-combusion-engines-continue-to-evolve/

[Rufus120]

Another article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/5803066/Cars-to-be-started-by-lasers-instead-of-spark-plugs.html

Scientists at Liverpool University and engineers at car giants Ford have developed a new ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

The researchers claim the technology is more reliable and efficient than current spark plug technology and will enable cars to start more easily in cold and damp conditions.
     
It is understood that Ford, the world's fourth largest car manufacturer, hopes to put the laser ignition system into their top of the range vehicles within the next couple of years before making it more widely available.

Dr Tom Shenton, a reader in engineering at Liverpool University who is leading the project, said: "We are running engines everyday in our laboratory with this system now and our ultimate objective is have it inside cars driven by consumers.

"Lasers can be focused and split into multiple beams to give multiple ignition points, which means it can give a far better chance of ignition.

"This can really improve the performance of the engine when it is cold, as this is the time when around 80 per cent of the exhaust emissions are produced and the engine is at is least efficient.

"The laser also produces more stable combustion so you need to put less fuel into the cylinder."

In current engines spark plugs are positioned at the top or bottom of a cylinder and they can often fail to ignite fuel effectively if the petrol is not in the right position in the cylinder.

In the new system the spark plug is replaced by a laser powered by the car battery which is sent along thin optical fibres into the engine's cylinders where lenses focus the beam into an intense pinprick of light.

When fuel is injected into the engine, the laser is fired, producing enough heat to ignite the fuel and power the engine.

The researchers claim that the laser, which will need to fire more than 50 times per second to produce 3000 RPM, will require less power than traditional spark plugs.

Some of the laser can be reflected back from inside the cylinder to provide information for the car on the type of fuel being used and the level of ignition, allowing the car to adjust the quantities of air and fuel automatically to optimise the performance.

This raises the prospect of mixed fuel cars which can run on a number of different biofuels while ensuring they still run efficiently.

A spokesman for Ford said: "Ford, like all vehicle manufacturers, is obliged by European legislation to reduce emissions and our work in this area is led by Ford's UK R&D centre in Essex.

"This collaboration with the University of Liverpool is part of that effort, with Ford contributing in kind, with engineering time and equipment use, as well as financially."

The project has now been awarded a £200,000 grant by the Carbon Trust to help develop the system further. Transport accounts for 25 per cent of carbon emissions and it is hoped new ignition systems can help to cut this level of pollution.

Robert Trezona, Head of Research & Development at the Carbon Trust, said: "Laser ignition is attractive in a number of ways.

"It has a real potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the future by improving the ignition and combustion of fuel, particularly in engines starting from cold, but it can also be used in mixed fuel engines such as biofuels."

[acalles]

sounds cool..

but it will never be used. (and I honestly have my doubts it even works now)

its much to complicated, and there honestly wouldn't be any benifit over injecting the fuel onto the plug directly.

also, it takes almost NO power to fire a spark plug, but it would take LOTS of power to fire lasers and cool them for the same amount of time.

I wonder if you could make the engines spin up super high?  Maybe 50,000 rpms

ignition systems have no barrier to engine speed. Valve timing, air flow and internal component weight are the limiting factors.

"This can really improve the performance of the engine when it is cold, as this is the time when around 80 per cent of the exhaust emissions are produced and the engine is at is least efficient.

as far as this goes, it would be much simpler to warm the coolant and oil with glow plugs to bring the temp up faster.

[jagstang]

but less cool

[caperix]

ignition systems have no barrier to engine speed. Valve timing, air flow and internal component weight are the limiting factors.

The time for the coil to build up the energy needed to fire is a limiting factor in engine speed.
Coil on plug has reduced this greatly but I could see some improvements happening.

I don't see the internal compustion engine going anywere for a long time, there are some cool ideas out there on ways of improving it.  I've head of cam less 4 strokes that use solenoids to open the valves & variable compression cylinder heads.

[causeofkaos]

  I've head of cam less 4 strokes that use solenoids to open the valves & variable compression cylinder heads.

Diesel engines ( 18 wheeler style ) are almost out with that solenoid actuating thingamajiggee

[Bendy]

Without regard to ignition limitations, there are still other things to worry about that will grenade an engine long before it reaches Ludicrous Speed. Valve contact if you're not a Ducati, rotary, non-interference, or Formula One engine. A 2-stroke moving too fast for its lube. Or the end-all bad boy, Destructive Harmonic Resonance. To name a few.

...mechanics who refuse to learn and evolve will find their opportunities fading fast.

LASER ignitions sound neat, but that journalist deserves a crotch kick for that offensively ignorant and knowledge-lacking statement.

[jagstang]

Don't forget the 6-stroke!  Probably my favorite take on the internal combustion engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crower_six_stroke

[Porsche Monkey]

LASER ignitions sound neat, but that journalist deserves a crotch kick for that offensively ignorant and knowledge-lacking statement.

Yeah I get pretty upset when somebody calls me a mechanic.



As far as spark plugs being a limiting factor, don't jap bikes rev to 16,000+ and still use spark plugs?  Most car engines don't rev half that much. What do F1 cars rev to? They still use spark plugs. This laser idea sounds cool and I can see what they are getting at with a more comlete fuel burn but I fail to see how it could be that much better than what we have now. I would like to see how it could revolutionize the way current engines fire backed with hard data.

[Howie]

I could see one advantage to lazer ignition, assuming they have a working prototype of reasonable size and cost (big assumption).  The ignition system would not wear or require maintenance.  There is also the possibility you could fire leaner mixtures, but the results would be mixed since this would cause an increase in NO_x emissions.  This ignition system could only reduce CO₂ if somehow there was enough of a power increase to reduce engine size.  There could be a fuel mileage increase, reducing carbon footprint.  I doubt the increase would be significant. 

[Cicero]

How would they keep the lens from fouling or getting dirty? I can see its application in a hydrogen or NG situation, but for common bio fuels use I think the maintenance would outweigh the possible gains.

[Popeye the Sailor]

You guys have not considered the full possibilities.

If they put this in the Hyundai Tiburon (Tiburon translates to "Shark") we'll finally have sharks with freakin' laser beams attached to their heads!