Further Analysis of Railplugs as a New Type of Ignitor

Matthews, Ronald D.; Hall, Matthew J.; Faidley, R. W.; Chiu, James; Zhao, Xiaowei; Annezer, I.; Koenig, Michael; Harber, John; Darden, M. H.; Weldon, W.F.; Nichols, Steven P.

doi:10.4271/922167

Cited by 21 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Initial tests were performed to demonstrate the potential of railplugs for improving the combustion stability of dilute mixtures. k coaxial railplug developed and fabricated at the University of Texas, that was similar to the Champion 689 (illustrated in Figure 3), was tested in a high speed CFR engine (Matthews et al, 1992). This single cylinder research engine is mechanically fuel injected and has a variable compression ratio.…”

Section: Initial Results In a Research-type Enginementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our last paper regarding our fundamental studies (Matthews et al, 1992), we compared the performance of various coaxial configurations and also examined the effect of the current pulse shape delivered by the follow-on circuit. The same type of electronics driver developed for the initial studies was used (as in inductance in the follow-on circuit.…”

Section: Final Fundamental Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The initial durability tests ((Matthews et al, 1992) were performed in a high pressure vessel filled with air. The pressure vessel was not evacuated and refilled between firings.…”

Section: Initial Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The railplug: Development of a new ignitor for internal combustion engines. Final report

Matthews¹,

Nichols²,

Weldon³

1994

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Section: Initial Results In a Research-type Enginementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Final Fundamental Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The railplug: Development of a new ignitor for internal combustion engines. Final report

Matthews¹,

Nichols²,

Weldon³

1994

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“…The high electrical current discharge in this device tends to cause high erosion of the electrodes. The rail plug gives similar results and does not overcome the metal erosion problems [23,24]. [25] describes the results obtained with a high frequency ignition system (HFIS) which generates high voltage using the principle of the resonator in a RLC circuit.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radio frequency spark plug: An ignition system for modern internal combustion engines

Mariani

Foucher

2014

Applied Energy

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“…The railplug is a miniaturized railgun that has been developed as an ignitor for internal combustion engines (Hall et al, 1991;Matthews et al, 1992;Gao et al, 2004aGao et al, , 2004bGao et al, , 2005aGao et al, , 2005bHari et al, 2005). When a sufficiently high voltage is applied across the rails to electrically breakdown the gap between them, an arc jumps across the rails.…”

Section: Railplug Physicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Railplug Ignition System for Enhanced Engine Performance and Reduced Maintenance

Ezekoye¹,

Hall²,

Matthews³

2005

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This Final Technical Report discusses the progress that was made on the experimental and numerical tasks over the duration of this project. The primary objectives of the project were to 1) develop an improved understanding of the spark ignition process, and 2) develop the railplug as an improved ignitor for large bore stationary natural gas engines.We performed fundamental experiments on the physical processes occurring during spark ignition and used the results from these experiments to aid our development of the most complete model of the spark ignition process ever devised. The elements in this model include 1) the dynamic response of the ignition circuit, 2) a chemical kinetics mechanism that is suitable for the reactions that occur in the plasma, 3) conventional flame propagation kinetics, and 4) a multi-dimensional formulation so that bulk flow through the spark gap can be incorporated. This model (i.e., a Fortran code that can be used as a subroutine within an engine modeling code such as KIVA) can be obtained from Prof. Ron Matthews at rdmatt@mail.utexas.edu or Prof. DK Ezekoye at dezekoye@mail.utexas.edu.Fundamental experiments, engine experiments, and modeling tasks were used to help develop the railplug as a new ignitor for large bore natural gas engines. As the result of these studies, we developed a railplug that could extend the Lean Stability Limit (LSL) of an engine operating at full load on natural gas from φ = 0.59 for operation on spark plugs down to φ = 0.53 using railplugs with the same delivered energy (0.7 J). However, this delivered energy would rapidly wear out the spark plug. For a conventional delivered energy (<0.05 J), the LSL is φ = 0.63 for a spark plug. Further, using a permanent magnet to aid the plasma movement, the LSL was extended to φ = 0.54 for a railplug with a delivered energy of only 0.15 J/shot, a typical discharge energy for commercial capacitive discharge ignition systems. Here, it should be noted that railplugs and the associated ignition circuit should not cost much more than a conventional spark ignition system. Additionally, it is believed that the railplug performance can be further improved via continued research and development.iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis Final Technical Report discusses the progress that was made on the experimental and numerical tasks over the duration of this project. The primary objectives of the project were to 1) develop an improved understanding of the spark ignition process, and 2) develop the railplug as an improved ignitor for large bore stationary natural gas engines.Due to these two objectives, the experimental subtasks involved 1) detailed measurements regarding the physical processes occurring during spark ignition, and 2) measurements of the factors that affect railplug performance. Similarly, the modeling subtasks involved developing an improved model for the conventional spark ignition process and developing a model for railplug performance and ignition.The four phases of spark ignition are ...

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Further Analysis of Railplugs as a New Type of Ignitor

Cited by 21 publications

References 3 publications

The railplug: Development of a new ignitor for internal combustion engines. Final report

The railplug: Development of a new ignitor for internal combustion engines. Final report

Radio frequency spark plug: An ignition system for modern internal combustion engines

Railplug Ignition System for Enhanced Engine Performance and Reduced Maintenance

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