Papers by GTAT and Other Parties
Papers Written by GTA Technologies
"New Concepts in Octane Boosting of Fuel for Internal Combustion Engines"
Dr. Paul Waters, American University, Department of Chemistry
to the
American Chemical Society, August 2000
The holy grail of the process of the combustion of fuels in internal combustion engines is the perfect mixture of fuel and air. This ideal state is to provide complete combustion at a uniform rate, to deliver optimal power with no pollution of the atmosphere. A primary objective of engine builders is to provide the engine designs that will produce a uniform distribution of fine diameter fuel droplets deemed crucial to forming a mixture approaching perfection. When high molecular weight polymers are added to hydrocarbon fuels at low ppm levels, the viscoelasticity manifested during the stress of carburetion or injection precludes the formation of large numbers of fine droplets. The average droplet size of such fuels aerosolized in air is 55 microns and the size distribution is narrowed measurably from that of neat fuels. Such polymer-fortified fuels burn more slowly initially at significantly lower temperatures, thereby increasing the octane rating of the fuel, the efficiency of the combustion and the power delivered to the crankshaft.
Download paper in PDF (108KB)
"Global Warming
Reduction by Polymers in Automotive Fuels"
Dr. Paul Waters, American
University, Department of Chemistry
to the American Chemical Society, August
2000
When polymers which can impart sufficient viscoelasticity to hydrocarbon (HC) fuels are introduced with the fuel into the combustion chambers of internal combustion engines the fuel droplets formed burn more efficiently at lower temperatures, resulting in lower fuel consumption and greater power. The lower operating temperatures of the engines mean that less heat is contributed to the global thermal burden. The greater efficiency of the engines means that a lesser quantity of carbon dioxide is produced per unit of work provided. The pollutants: HC, CO and NOx are significantly reduced and this obviates their prospective greenhouse-warming effects. The contribution is holistic in that the enhanced efficiency of the combustion process in engines reduces the thermal output not only from individual vehicles but at the refinery and in the vehicles which transport fuel, as well.
"Green Automotive Fuels"
poster presentation by Dr. Paul
Waters
American University, Department of Chemistry
to the American
Chemical Society, August 2000
When high molecular weight polymers are dissolved in hydrocarbon (HC) fuels they impart a viscoelasticity which is evident when the fuel is subjected to the sudden stress of the carburetion or injection process. The resulting fuel droplets have a narrower size distribution and larger average diameters than those from neat fuels. The paucity of low-and sub-micron size droplets moderates the high temperature spike exhibited with normal fuels and the NOx emissions are thereby greatly reduced. Because the surface area per unit mass is reduced, the rapid chemistry, which depletes the region of oxygen and yields partially oxidized and/or unburned hydrocarbons and carbon particulates in normal fuels, is diminished. The polymers, present at low ppm levels, cause the fuel droplets to burn more slowly initially, and more rapidly, uniformly and efficiently later thereby significantly reducing the emissions of the monitored pollutants, HC, CO and NOx.
This paper was presented as slides and discussions only. Presentation not available.
"A Paradigm Shift Occurs in Fuel Additive Technology"
Dr. Albert
Hadermann et al
The purpose of this paper is to describe new fuel additive technology being marketed by GTAT. The technology offered by GTAT provides significant opportunity to improve combustion efficiency of engines burning liquid fuels with consequent improvements in power, fuel economy and reduced emissions. Most importantly, the technology provides these benefits by low cost modifications to the fuel rather than relatively high cost modifications to engine design and control systems. Internal combustion engines, in spite of extensive design work over many years, are still relatively inefficient in terms of combustion efficiency. (Scientific American, Improving Automotive Efficiency, December 1994, indicated typical combustion efficiencies of 40% for gasoline automotive engines).
This paper presents combustion technology information gleaned from publications of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) presented at a recent national meeting in Detroit in the Fall of 1995 and provides commentary showing how GTAT’s fuel additives can be used to help overcome combustion problems identified by the SAE scientists and engineers. This change in approach to improving combustion by changing the viscoelastic properties of the fuel is a paradigm shift which offers significant potential for gasoline and diesel engines. A synopsis of the selected SAE papers is provided followed by a discussion of how the fuel additive addresses the combustion efficiency problem presented in the SAE papers.
"Extensional Viscosity and Single Phenomenological Basis for the GTA Fuel
Additive"
Dr. Albert Hadermann
This paper outlines the physics of the polymer in a relaxed state and its extensionally viscous properties.
"GENERAL PROPERTIES OF SOLVENTS FOR THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT OF
VISCON"
GTA Technologies paper on blending GTA Fuel Additive into
solvents.
Papers Written by Other Parties
"Gasoline Spray Droplet Size Distribution"
University of Illinois, Department of Mechanical
Engineering
Urbana, Illinois April, 1998
Dr. J.E. Peters compared the droplet size distribution of sprays of gasoline from a standard Bosh port fuel injector into static air with and without Viscon. Dr. Peters used a laser diffraction technique to measure droplet size at radial positions from the center line of the spray cone 10 cm below the tip of the injector nozzle.
"Fuel Additive Validation
Study"
The University of Michigan
Department of Mechanical
Engineering
April, 1996
To evaluate the validity of GTA's claims, a CFR engine was used. In order to get a reliable baseline, the engine was completely rebuilt. They were able to obtain peak cycle pressure, brake specific fuel consumption, spark advance allowed before knock, and maximum brake torque. Unfortunately the Yanmar diesel engine was not ready, so no data of how the additive effects diesel performance could be evaluated. The Horiba gas analyzer was not interfacing with the computer at the time of testing, so no emissions tests could be performed.
"Fuel Additive Effects on Deposit Build-Up and Engine Operating
Characteristics"
Valtadoros, T.H., Wong, V.W and Heywood J.B.
ACS
Preprints Vol 36, No. 1
Symposium on Fuel Composition/Deposit Formation
Tendencies
Division of Petroleum Chemistry,
American Chemical Society,
Atlanta, April 14-19, 1991
The objectives of the study were to determine the effects of a combustion chamber cleaning additive on octane requirement increase (ORI) and engine operating, combustion and knocking characteristics as deposits build up over time and to interpret the observed phenomenon.
The experimenters concluded among other things: "There is a strong correlation of ORI with unburned gas temperature, regardless of how the deposit is generated. A rise of TK in unburned gas temperature during combustion (at 10o ATC) correlates to approximately a one octane number rise in octane requirement."
Paper available through the American Chemical Society and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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