Internal-combustion engines – Water and hydrocarbon
Patent
1986-07-31
1988-07-19
Wolfe, Jr., Willis R.
Internal-combustion engines
Water and hydrocarbon
123 25B, 123 25C, F02M 2502
Patent
active
047577878
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The invention relates to a method of and an arrangement for burning a liquid or gaseous fuel in the presence of air or another oxidizer, and including introduction of water in a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, especially a reciprocating or rotary piston engine.
Conventional internal combustion engines, especially reciprocating piston engines with applied ignition, such as used in motor vehicles and stationary plants have a maximum thermal efficiency of approximately 30%. Thus the ratio of the energy value of the fuel supplied to the combustion chamber as compared to the energy which lastly is available, is no more than approximately 30%. Turbines, rotary piston engines, and the like are characterized by a similar low degree of efficiency.
It is known, in general, that the efficiency of internal combustion engines of the kind mentioned is increased by introducing water and other non-fuels into the combustion chamber, and in this context three different kinds of water addition are shown in the prior art and believed to be advantageous, namely:
(1) direct injection of water into the combustion chamber (for example DE-A-3 432 787 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,573);
(2) introduction of vapor or air of high humidity into the intake passage upstream of the combustion chamber (for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,907 or DE-A-2 602 287); and
(3) formation of a fuel-water emulsion which is introduced into the combustion chamber (for example DE-A-3 236 233 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,512).
These known systems all work in response to one or more operating parameters, usually in dependence on the number of revolutions of the internal combustion engine (for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,134), the negative pressure prevailing in the intake passage (for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,380), a knocking or pinging sensor (for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,255), the exhaust gas pressure (for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,134), and/or the temperature prevailing in the intake passage (EP-A-0 009 779). All of these systems afford more or less improvement of the efficiency while at the same time reducing the emission of ecologically damaging exhaust gases, and particularly reducing CO and NO.sub.x. The improvement in efficiency with the known structures should be about 10 to 15%, and this is quite remarkable. Furthermore, fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 50% (U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,907).
In order to further increase the efficiency and reduce the fuel consumption, it was also proposed by others to inject water directly into the combustion chamber in the range of the compressed fuel-air mixture and in front of the flame front during the combustion, i.e. after ignition of the fuel-air mixture but before autoignition of the final gas (cf. DE-A-3 133 939). This is intended to keep the temperature in the combustion chamber reliably below the "uncontrolled" or critical detonation or "knocking" temperature at higher compression ratios which are in the order of up to 18.7:1.
Starting from the very diverse state of the art mentioned, the inventors have invented a method and an arrangement of introducing the water which establishes an extremely smooth combustion even at the lowest speeds of the internal combustion engine, at higher efficiency and fuel savings which can reach approximately 60 to 65% and with a remarkable reduction of harmful substances, especially when using low octane fuel, such as regular gasoline or fuel of octane number "0", such as acetylene and the like.
The nucleus of the instant invention resides in the preparation and introduction of the fuel/water/air mixture into a combustion chamber while compressing and igniting the same such that an "initial or primary combustion" of the fuel/air mixture results at a temperature just below the uncontrolled or critical (head) temperature T.sub.c (knocking limit). The combustion with the present invention releases a correspondingly progressive "secondary combustion" of the admixed water. The "primary cycle" and the "secondary cycle" take place
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Risitano Antonino
Rosario Lanzafame
Macy M.
Wolfe, Jr. Willis R.
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