William Atkins
Monday, 03 November 2008 22:47
Science -
Energy
Page 2 of 3
The researchers added a small device so a strong electrical field could be added to the fuel just before it was injected into the car’s cylinders.
They stated,
“The electrical field was found to reduce the fuel viscosity, resulting in much smaller fuel droplets in atomization.”
The researchers added,
“Because combustion starts at the droplet surface, smaller droplets lead to cleaner and more efficient combustion.”
These small droplets of fuel have less surface area than normal fuel, which makes for more efficient combustion in the engine.
Dr. Tao states,
“Making the droplets smaller has been a goal for a while.” [Science News article “Thinning fuel before injection boosts efficiency” (October 25, 2008, page 9)]
They found that the gas mileage for the Mercedes-Benz increased from 32 miles per gallon to 38 miles per gallon. This change of MPG was an increase of 18%.
They concluded within their paper,
“Both laboratory tests and road tests confirm our theory and indicate that such a device improves fuel mileage significantly. The technology is expected to have broad applications, applicable to current internal combustion engines and future engines as well.”
According to the Science News article, “If applied to all the cars and trucks in the United States, that fuel savings would add up to more than 300 million barrels of gasoline and about 150 million barrels of diesel per year.”
Pleasre read page three because it tells of background on the electrorheological device and the work of Dr. Tao.
