Fuel Agnostic Engine
From Open Source Ecology
Basics
- An engine that can essentially run with any fuel you throw at it
- For Spark Ignition Engines , it is quite easy to swap between Gasoline, Fuel Alcohols , and Gaseous Fuels such as CNG , Autogas , and to an extent even Hydrogen
- Compression Ignition Engines (Diesel Engines) are a bit more difficult due to issues such as Fuel Lubricity , Cold Flow Properties , and Cetane Value however they can run on:
- Diesel engines can also be run in a dual-fuel configuration with fuels such as CNG where the Diesel Fuel is used as a spark plug of sorts (Re: Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition / RCCI )
- Gas turbines tend to be quite fuel agnostic, although Gas Turbine Combustor design would need to vary
- Most ICE/Turbine based systems should be able to change settings via computer modes to best suit the fuel in use (air/oxygen in, fuel dosing etc)
- For piston engines, Variable Valve Timing (Especially Infinitely Variable Valve Timing ( FreeValve / Camless Engines ) would aid in lowering the Compression Ratio of the engine
- For instance by default it could have a CI Engine's Higher Compression Ratio, but by Temporarily Opening the Valve During the Beginning of the Compression Stroke, one can reduce this
- In terms of being Fuel Agnostic, External Combustion Engines are much easier to do this with, but efficiency tends to be less, and they would require the use of some working fluid and Heat Exchangers, but we are developing the Steam Engine so that may work
- Also electric vehicles are TECHNICALLY Fuel Agnostic as the electricity can be generated by many methods, but for this concept they will not count
- Fuel cells are counted as some may take multiple fuels (methane + liquid hydrocarbons, or hydrogen + methanol, etc)
- Detonation/Engine Kno
To Be Looked Into
- Do the Gas Fuel Systems allow diesel engines to use CNG, and H-CNG also work with work with pure Hydrogen gas, or Syngas ?
- Can Autogas be used in these systems as well
- Hot Bulb Engines and Glow Plugs (Also as a research term Crude Oil Engines may be of use)
- Can these allow for "heavier" fuels to be used in otherwise Conventional Diesel Engines?
- Would a Modern Hot Bulb Engine (Potentially Using the Catalytic Converter and/or some Forced Air + Liquid Fuel Burner to heat the bulb in a novel geometry) be of any use, or are glow plugs sufficient
- Solid fuels are also difficult
- Slurry fuels like Charcoal-Water Slurry Fuel can, and have been used
- Look Into for these:
- any issues of engine clogging/fuel tank settling, also how to address this?
- Add on gasifiers can be used to convert nearly any solid fuel to Syngas and possible slag/ash
- Engine Knock Detection
- Fuel Type Detection (Could be done directly in theory, but modern spark ignition engines can deduce the Octane Rating of the fuel used by the sensors used for the Catalytic Converter etc
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