Engine Shows Diesel Efficiency without the Emissions

摘要

Transportation accounts for 65 percent of U.S. oil consumption. More efficient vehicle engine designs would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and help to mitigate global climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions. Cleaner engines would contribute to reducing toxic pollutants in the atmosphere, such as nitrogen oxide (NO_x), hydrocarbon (HC), and carbon monoxide (CO). One promising technology is called the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine. Livermore engineers Salvador Aceves and Daniel Flowers are leading a team that is applying modeling processes originally developed by nuclear weapons researchers to study the HCCI engine's potential. HCCI technology could be scaled to virtually every size and class of transportation engines, from small motorcycles to large ships. Stationary HCCI engines could replace the spark-ignited and diesel engines currently used for backup-power generation and in businesses such as hotels where recovered exhaust heat is used for swimming pools and other facilities. Caterpillar Inc. has donated a six-cylinder stationary engine for the Livermore team to verify modeling results experimentally.