Scientists in Liverpool working with some engineers from Ford, have developed an ignition system that ignites the fuel mixture with a laser instead of a spark plug. Engines in their labs are currently running with the laser system.
The laser can be split into multiple beams which means it can have multiple ignition points, improving the chance of a complete burn, reducing emissions and improving efficiency in cold and damp conditions.
Part of the laser can be reflected back to provide information about how the engine is running, giving the computer the ability to adjust the air fuel mixture, also raising the possibility of better utilizing alternative fuels.
Ford says they will possibly use the system in their high end vehicles in as little as 2 years. Although this is strictly an automotive system at the moment, there’s certainly no reason this technology couldn’t, at some point, be adapted for smaller engines such as those used in motorcycles. Very cool technology!
Electric powered vehicles of all sorts are touted as the future but the old internal combustion engine just keeps getting better and better. It’s also a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to study and remain at the cutting edge of the technology, mechanics who refuse to learn and evolve will find their opportunities fading fast.
Dan Martin says
What…? Run out of gas and zap a hole(s) in the piston?
Alternative Fuels…? Who needs ’em? With enough laser wattage we could run the motor on straight water, and Voila! – Steam Power.
nawitus says
You do you know that it will always take more energy breaking down the water into hydrogen and oxygen, than from burning the hydrogen itself. You can just skip that step and run the car straight from batteries. Hydrogen *IS NOT* an energy source, it can only be used to store energy, and even in that, it’s not ideal. Every day, ~1-2% of the hydrogen will evaporate from your tank (if you don’t use energy itself to keep it cool). I wouldn’t like to lose 1-2% of my gasoline every day (Yes, it does evaporate in the gas tank, I would like to hear some numbers of how much though, and that gasoline-air-mixture can be burned too).
JR says
All fuels are a way to store energy…. gasoline stores chemical energy that is released in combustion…. batteries store electrical energy….
Schneegz says
Does anyone know why we haven’t seen direct injection in motorcycles yet, or if and when we might see it?
nobody says
What nobody has pointed out yet is that, with a laser, a lot of better fuels and mixture ratios that can’t be ignited with an arc plug will ignite with a laser. One of the reasons for direct injection is to control the mixture in various zones of the combustion chamber – what works best for power & emissions isn’t what works best for ignition. Lasers could change that. That is good news.
frozen prairie says
Hey Schneegz,
Some scooter manufacturers have been using direct injection two-strokes for a while: Aprilia (and Piaggio/Vespa I think). Here is a link to some info on the Aprilia Di-Tech.
http://www.speed-sports.com/motorscooters/scooter_models/aprilia_scooters/ditech.html
I’m not sure if my copy and paste created a hyper-link; if not just Google Aprilia Di-Tech.
FREEMAN says
When you sit and think about it, you kinda wonder why this wasn’t thought of sooner. I’d like to see a comparison to see which ignition system consumes more energy or rather which requires more electricity to generate that spark or beam to ignite fuel vapor. I’m not familiar with laser technology but I would venture to guess that the laser system would take less energy to generate the “spark.” I don’t know, correct me if I’m wrong.
kneeslider says
FREEMAN, according to the article in the Telegraph, the lasers use less energy than conventional plugs.
FREEMAN says
@ Paul,
Thanks, I guess I should have followed the link before I posted.
I read in the article that they are using fiber optics to deliver the laser beam. However, I wonder if down the line they will package these new laserplugs in a similar fashion as conventional sparkplugs so as to upgrade your current car or motorcycle. I also wonder if the cylinder walls and pistons have to be prepped somehow so as not to absorb the laser beam and cause damage. Or maybe the beam isn’t strong enough to burn metal.
MikeC says
I would like to know how the laser ignites the air/fuel mixture. Lasers are no more than concentrated beams of light at a given frequency. They have to dissipate the energy into a media of significant density in order to excite that media into converting that light energy into head, and ultimately combustion. One thought is to have a target that the laser is exciting – basically a spark plug. Another is that laser is targeting the piston, and making it hot enough to initiate combustion. The third is if the intake charge density is sufficient to excite then self combustion (excited by the laser) occurs. If the third is the method, compression ratios would have to be high – maybe that approaching diesel at >16:1. If that is the case, torque would be awesome, as well as fuel economy. Interesting… 🙂
GenWaylaid says
I toyed around with the idea of using lasers as ignition sources back when I was in college, but I wasn’t focusing on propulsion technology so I never went anywhere with it. My concept was to tune the laser to the energy level required to break a molecular oxygen bond, creating a large number of oxygen radicals which would jump-start the combustion process. Alternatively, you could tune the laser to the oscillation frequency of a common molecular bond in the fuel mixture (most likely O=O, C-C, or H-C) and pump energy into those molecules until their temperature was high enough for autoignition as in a diesel engine. The laser power would be targeted for a particular chemical effect, so it should be low enough to prevent heating damage to the piston and cylinders. Continuously moving the beams would help prevent hot spots.
What originally got me thinking about this concept was the difficult combustion chamber shape of Wankel rotaries, where it would be better to trigger ignition along a line instead of at one or two points. There’s also the possibility that a “web” of laser beams could replace flame holders in a turbine engine, reducing impediments to airflow. In theory one could use multiple freqencies to carefully direct which combustion reactions start when and where, or to sense variations in fuel composition. Motor vehicles may never see anything that advanced, but power plant turbines might someday.
Schneegz says
” frozen prairie 07.16.09 at 3:33 pm
Hey Schneegz…”
Thanks, dude. I still wonder why manufacturers like Honda and BMW – both of whom use direct injection in their cars – haven’t applied it to their motorcycles. Direct injection allows for higher compression ratios and more complete combustion which result in more torque, power and gas mileage, and lower emissions all at the same time. Why not apply such a technology to motorcycles?
OMMAG says
Laser ignition? Sure why not? But I’ll bet you can get a better, simpler and cost effective result with just using higher energy sparks.
As I see it there is NO reason at all for the current weak current ignition systems to be the standard. I’d like to see some development of plasma jet technology for the IC engine.
After all a spark is just an uncontrolled plasma arc. Just make it better.
Arrange the the system to work in conjuction with the atomized pattern from a direct injector and Bob’s your uncle …. running crap(cheap) fuel with high compression and generating higher thermal efficiency.
nortley says
I’d want to put in a ColorTune plug just to watch the show.
Billy B. Tso says
interesting concept, shame a little behind the eight ball though…specially when you think of some of the great advancements in electric motorcycles. Obviously still worth looking at, as it’ll be a while before an alternative powered motor takes over from regular fuel combustion type motor…
Billy B. Tso.
Ry_Trapp0 says
as cool as this is, i can’t help but think that it’s still just a band-aid until HCCI has been fully figured out(or atleast compared to the diesel cycle anyways). i simply don’t see how any other form of ignition can work as good as compression ignition, though we just gotta weed out the problems. although the high heat and cylinder pressures are issues, i believe the main problem still holding it back is controlling when auto-ignition occurs.
with VWs 2 HCCI engines deep in development, and MBs “DiesOtto”, i really don’t think that we’re too far away.
also, what is with the lack of development in the diesel realm? i mean, we have a 6,500RPM duramax based(I.E., really big, really heavy rotating assembly, plus longer stroke than optimum) diesel V8, and that’s coming out of a little race shop(the banks guys, which is pretty small compared to something like a mutli-million dollar formula 1 race shop)! just imagine what potential could be unlocked if a major company really got involved, like ford did with this ignition system! i believe the true potential is in the use of different fuels with the diesel cycle, since the banks guys have said that the burn rate of the fuel is what is holding them back from spinning faster than 7,000RPM(which is still a BIG number for car use, considering the 3 valve 4.6l V8 in the mustang GT is set at 6,250RPM).
well, that’s my rant for the day, lol.
todd says
honda has put quite a bit of development in the next generation diesel:
http://world.honda.com/Diesel/
-todd
KIRK says
Hmmmmm I wonder how carbon build up would affect the laser lens.
todd says
unscrew the lens and clean it off.
-todd
Walt says
Love to see technology keep advancing.
The shade tree guys complained when ignition points and carburetors started to disappear. As I drive my electronically ignited, fuel injected vehicles vast mileage with minimal problems, starting easily in any weather and squeezing every gallon, I wonder where those guys are today.
I’ll admit new tech isn’t perfect. I’ve had two computers go out on me — one an intermittent failure on a 78 Fairmont, the other an instant, total failure (drove in, parked, wouldn’t start) on an 88 Sable. Hmmm both Fords . . . could be driver error.
rafe03 says
Ford’s not the only ones looking at Laser Ignition. Technische Unversität München & General Electric, Garching, Germany have been busy as well.
Go see:– “Experimental Study on Laser-Induced Ignition of Swirl-Stabilized Kerosene”
Flameshttp://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JETPEZ000131000002021501000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power — March 2009 — Volume 131, Issue 2, 021501 (8 pages)
DOI:10.1115/1.2981181 [Hope I pasted all this in correctly. If not, it’s in the ASME Digital Library]
Just a funny idea; what if a Diesel engine were to have it’s compression ratio lowered by a point or 2 to prevent autoignition. Install a laser system that could focus on many of the most efficient locations for each & any different load conditions. Then use the laser system to provide the final energy to initiate the flame or flames if more than one would help optimize the burn, it’s rate & it’s pattern. Multi-kernels of ignition could reduce the burn rate problem by reducing the burn distance.
GenWaylaid above seems to have been seriously thinking along some other interesting lines. Perhaps a laser system could allow the use of higher energy fuels (like Diesel or kerosene or ?) that have a volatility factor too low to be ignited by a spark.
How about using lasers to “tune” the atomization of the fuel particles for best use under varying load conditions! Maybe suppress the formation of Nitrides that form smog!
The Age of the Infernal Combustion Engine is not over yet!
Ah Well. Too soon old, too late smart!
Justin Willman says
The kneeslider always answers my questions!
15th of July i looked at the park plug out of a 1098r Ducati and looked at a nylon magnetic strip and said to my self the spark plug is out of date.With new valve angles the spark plug restricts modern port designs. This technoligy or other ignition alternatives will be used and should last the life of the engine.Think about the alternative room now for valve operation can’t wait to see the power gains.
Moto Gp should never be restricted in capacity but should be restricted to a fuel
capacity limit! this technoligy shows to me this formula will work.A company should be unrestricted in capacity to consume a given volume of fuel. Most people would agree the 1000 motogp bikes where more entertaining to watch!
PaulN says
I read this and slapped myself on the forehead. Of course! It seems so obvious that this would work. Lasers are pretty efficient, powerful, reliable, and not that expensive given what combustion calls for. There is no chance of the flame blowing out, you can put them anywhere in the head, this is a no brainer. I wonder why it took so long to come out.
Jimbo says
@ Justin Willman,
A little of topic here, but I think the 800cc MotoGP is way more entertaining… The lean angle is fantastic and the speed is still ridiculous 🙂
@ the rest:
As far as a laser ignition source goes, I’m reserving my opinion, I’m fairly sure that a group dedicated to making it work efficiently have managed a better system than any single one of us could think up. It’ll be fun finding out!
-Jimbo
Fábio says
Proceeds as if the functioning of the start of combustion?
As the beam will start to spark and cause the explosion?