Transonic Combustion - SAE Paper
Since the prior thread is closed, I'm posting this in a new thread referencing the original thread. I previously posted that when new technical information became publicly available, I would link it here.
On October 25, 2010, Transonic Combustion presented an SAE technical paper detailing it's novel new injection ignition combustion process at the Society of Automotive Engineers 2010 Powertrain Fuels and Lubricants Meeting in San Diego CA.
"Spark ignition gasoline engine efficiency is limited by a number of factors; these include the pumping losses that result from throttling for load control, spark ignition and the slow burn rates that result in poor combustion phasing and a compression ratio limited by detonation of fuel. A new combustion process has been developed based on the patented concept of injection-ignition known as Transonic Combustion or TSCi?; this combustion process is based on the direct injection of fuel into the cylinder as a supercritical fluid. Supercritical fuel achieves rapid mixing with the contents of the cylinder and after a short delay period spontaneous ignition occurs at multiple locations. Multiple ignition sites and rapid combustion combine to result in high rates of heat release and high cycle efficiency. The injection-ignition process is independent from the overall air/fuel ratio contained in the cylinder and thus allows the engine to operate un-throttled. Additionally, the stratified nature of the charge under part load conditions reduces heat loss to the surrounding surfaces, resulting in further efficiency improvements. The short combustion delay angles allow for the injection timing to be such that the ignition and combustion events take place after TDC. This late injection timing results in a fundamental advantage in that all work resulting from heat release produces positive work on the piston. Other advantages are the elimination of droplet burning and increased combustion stability that results from multiple ignition sources."
How long does it take from when I stick the key in until there is sufficient supercritical fluid available to start the engine?*filter
Here's an approach from Mahle that achieves essentially the same results as TSC, but with less costly and more durable hardware. This Mahle pilot ignition system gets very close to CV combustion conditions, with very little NOx and good SFC.
You didn't happen to have one of these babies go rogue, did you?
Associated Press:
The Pentagon said Tuesday it was trying to determine if a missile was launched Monday off the coast of Southern California and, if so, who might have fired it.
Spokesmen for the Navy, Air Force, and other military organizations said they were looking into a video posted on the CBS News website that shows an object shooting across the sky and leaving a large contrail, or vapor trail, over the Pacific Ocean.
The video was shot by a KCBS helicopter, the station said Tuesday.
"Nobody within the Department of Defense that we've reached out to has been able to explain what this contrail is, where it came from," Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said.
Lapan said that "all indications" are that the Department of Defense was not involved within the mystery object, and that the contrail might have been created by something flown by a private company.
Normally any missile test would require notification so that mariners and pilots could be warned or air space closed, but that may not have been done in this case, Lapan said.
"It does seem implausible, and that's why at this point the operative term is 'unexplained'," he said. "Nobody ... within the Department of Defense that we've reached out to has been able to explain what this contrail is."
Missile tests are common off Southern California. Launches are conducted from vessels and platforms on an ocean range west of Point Mugu.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, issued a statement jointly with the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, saying that the contrail was not the result of a foreign military launching a missile. It provided no further details.
"We can confirm that there is no threat to our nation, and from all indications this was not a launch by a foreign military," the statement said. "We will provide more information as it becomes available."
NORTHCOM is the U.S. defense command and NORAD is a U.S.-Canadian organization charged with protecting the U.S. from the threat of missiles or hostile aircraft.
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