NASA
verifies in 1984 and 1998 that
ionized fuel
disperses better than mechanical spray injection.
By
passing a conductive fluid [diesel or gasoline] over a series of
dissimilar metals an electrolytic charge is generated in the fuel
stream.
This small ionizing (-) charge primarily effects the
fuel stream at the
point of atomization (dropletting) at the fuel injector
nozzle. An
uncharged fuel droplet within the vapor cloud in
the combustion
chamber tends to clump together creating larger droplets
with less
surface area of fuel exposed to oxygenation at the instant
of
combustion.
The negatively charged fuel droplets within the vapor
cloud will
now repel each other causing smaller droplet diameters
and
a finer mist. That finer mist burns at statistically higher temperatures
than a non-ionized fuel stream and significantly improves combustion
efficiency resulting in less unburned fuel, soot, smoke and
particulate.
Reductions in carbon and nitrous based gases are also
demonstrated.
The
efficiency of fuel ionization was demonstrated at NASA-JPL by
Bellan and Harstad in 1984 and
1998
Electrostatic
Dispersion of Fuel Drops To Reduce Soot
A numerical simulation shows that electrostatic
dispersion is
superior to mechanical
dispersion.
- JPL Labs, Pasadena, California
Electrostatic dispersion of drops of sprayed liquid fuel has been proposed
as a technique for reducing the amount of soot formed during burning of
the fuel. It is necessary to disperse fuel drops in order to reduce local
concentrations of fuel-rich vapors, because such concentrations favor the
nucleation of soot. The present technique can be implemented by use of
a previously developed device called an “electrostatic triode”;
this device puts like electrostatic charges onto sprayed fuel drops to
generate dispersion of the drops.
Another
technique for reducing the formation of soot is mechanical dispersion
through utilization of turbulence. The effectiveness of electrostatic
versus mechanical dispersion for reducing the formation of soot has
been investigated in a theoretical and computational study.
In
the study, the mechanical and thermodynamic interactions between
fuel drops and the surrounding gases were simulated numerically by
use of a mathematical model similar to the models used in previous
studies of sprayed liquid fuels that have been performed by the same
innovators and summarized in a number of articles in NASA Tech Briefs.
The model includes, among other conservation equations, equations
for the momenta of the drops. The electrostatic forces were included
in these equations for those drops that were considered to be charged.
The calculations for the charged drops were stopped at the Rayleigh
limit; that is, secondary atomization was not modeled.
The
results of the numerical simulations were interpreted as signifying
that electrostatic dispersion would be superi- or to mechanical dispersion
for reducing the nucleation of soot; this finding gave rise to speculation
that perhaps a combination of electrostatic and mechanical dispersion
might be even more effective. However, further numerical simulation
revealed that for the purpose of reducing the formation of soot,
the combination electrostatic and mechanical dispersion would not
offer a significant advantage over electrostatic dispersion alone.
This work
was done by Josette Bellan
and Kenneth Harstad of Caltech for
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NPO-20219
" ... It has been shown that drop-induced mechanical centrifugation cannot
achieve the same benefi-
cial effects as electrostatic dispersion... to reduce soot nucleation while
promoting evaporation. ...electrostatic charging is superior to mechanical
centrifugation for combined soot nucleation reduction and enhancement of evaporation."
SOME US PATENTS REFERENCED
Electrostatic dispersal of liquids
US Patent 4400332, 2907707 October, 1959 Wintermute 261/1
Gas and liquid contact apparatus
3352545 November, 1967 Denine 261/95
Carburetor construction
3698635 October, 1972 Sickles 239/3
Spray Charging Device
3734474 May, 1973 Olati 261/95
Carburator For Internal Combustion Engines
4034728 July, 1977 Saufferer et al. 123/537
Installation for achieving an air/fuel mixture
4085717 April, 1978 Willman et al. 123/538
Atomization device for internal combustion engines
4183339 January, 1980 Nagaishi et al. 261/DIG.80
Electrostatic fuel atomizing apparatus for internal
combustion engine
4429665 February, 1984 Brown 123/538
Fuel treating device and method
4715325 December, 1987 Walker
Pollution control through fuel treatment
4930483 June, 1990 Jones
Fuel treatment device
4959155 September, 1990 Gomez 210/687
Method for the purification of fluids such as water,
aqueous fluids and fuel fluids
5013450 May, 1991 Gomez 210/687
Method and solid material body for the purification
of fluids such as water, aqueous fluids and liquid
5044347 September, 1991 Ullrich et al.
Device promoting the dispersion of fuel when atomized
5048499 September, 1991 Daywalt
Fuel treatment device
5069190 December, 1991 Richards
Fuel treatment methods, compositions and devices
5092303 March, 1992 Brown
In-line fuel preconditioner
5154153 October, 1992 MacGregor
Fuel treatment device
5167782 December, 1992 Marlow
Method and apparatus for treating fuel
5197446 March, 1993 Daywalt et al.
Vapor pressure enhancer and method
5451273 September, 1995 Howard et al.
Cast alloy article and method of making and fuel filter
5524594 June, 1996 D'Alessandro
Motor fuel performance enhancer
5730109 March, 1998 Nozawa
Exhaust gas purification system in combustion engine
5738692 April, 1998 Wright
In-line catalyst
6000381 December, 1999 Berlin et al. 123/538
The molecular reaction occurs as the fuel flows in direct contact
with, collides
with, passes over, and oscillates through a combination
of precious and nonprecious
metals and metal alloy knitting mesh
wire spiral coils and screens. The screens
are preferably made of
such materials as 304 stainless steel and copper,
and are placed in
a cylindrical housing that is preferably made from copper
and nickel.
The copper and nickel housing is so described because its principal
alloy components are those metals, but the actual metallurgical
constituency
is generally set forth hereinafter. The knitted mesh spiral
coiled wire stands,
are compacted and composed of various metals,
base metals and metal alloys
as more specifically set forth hereinafter.
cu and al.In another embodiment,
a method of creating an electric field
for fuel treatment is accomplished
by directing the fuel stream, between
two dissimilar, short-circuited metals
such as copper and aluminum.
The electric field effect occurs due to the
existence of standard potential
differences between metals. The fuel flows
between the two metals such
as copper and aluminum and is treated by the
electric field created by the
potential difference of the metal pair. The
desirable thin fuel stream and
associated high field treatment within the
fuel line could also be located
and created within the inlet section of the
fuel injector body itself.
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We
are on a spaceship; a beautiful one. It took billions
of years to develop.
We're not going to get another. Now, how do we make this
spaceship work?
Politicians
are always realistically maneuvering for the next election.
They are obsolete as fundamental problem-solvers.
- R. Buckminster Fuller
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