Key Design Features

 

 

 

Stand Alone Engine Control Unit ( ECU )

 

This is the first step in allowing a car to run with a lean fuel mixture that allow high mileage figures.

It allow complete control of fuel injection and ignition parameter.  Leaning the fuel to required values for high mileage is not possible with stock ECU.  This is a costly piece of electronic about 1000$ but it's well worth it because it guaranties absolute flexibility of fuel injection/ignition parameters. Most ECU comes with preset fuel trim and ignition values, so it makes a good starting point for experimenting. Leaning the fuel along with the addition of other parameters such as hydrogen from water,  water injection and a more powerful ignition system can be implemented with a stand alone ECU.  All parameters are programed via connection to a PC with the appropriate software, that is usually sold with the ECU. Theoretically, these units are for racing only and not allowed on the street. In practical terms, the intent behind this law is to keep the vehicle within the acceptable standard for emissions. Since our car is going to be polluting far less than an average car, we are within the intent of the law.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrKKepZwwtU

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piggy back ECU

 

A second best choice would be to use a manufacturer specific ECU that plugs into an existing one, from Honda for example. This option is less expensive 600$ but makes some compromise on parameter flexibility.

One example is the Hondata K-Pro  http://www.hondata.com/kpro.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EFIE

 

Stands for Electronic Fuel Injection Enhancer.  The least expensive of the pack, 200$ for the Pro-Tuner, it is also the one with least flexibility, and a less desirable choice for 100+ mpg. It has the advantage of being simpler to tune, but this particular one does require a PC based diagnostic tool. The EFIE is in a different categories compared to previous two. It is to be used with a stock ECU.  Its function is to trick probe signal readings that goes into the ECU. Mains signals are O2 sensors, Map sensors, AIT sensor etc.  Its is mainly sold along with hydrogen generator commonly referred to as " HHO Drycells ".  What happens in situation where hydrogen and oxygen gas is introduced in the fuel mix is that more gasoline is burnt and less hydrocarbon is sent to the O2 sensor downstream. This create more power per amount of fuel spent IF the O2 sensor signal is tricked by the EFIE and sends a normal/rich signal back to the ECU.  Other probe readings has to be tricked for optimal results, because the ECU is programmed to "learn" from unusual probe readings situations and, in the long run, cancel the lean burn mixture and fuel economy previously achieved.  Pro-Tuner claims are they they have overcome this problem, and permanent mileage doubling is possible, but it does not have the flexibility required for ultra-lean mixtures. Some EFIE does not require tuning, and are suitable for low hydrogen boost situations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Injection

 

Water/methanol injection is commonly used in forced induction racing engines.  The cooling effect of evaporating water along with its octane boost properties allow for higher boost pressures and more aggressive, advanced timing.  In our case, the goal is not to boost power but to reduce engine temperature that normally occur when an ultra lean mixture of air / gasoline is used. It can also increase power level of a lean mixture, because of the water mist is being turned into steam during combustion.  When water droplet turns into steam, it volume expands 1700 times.  Methanol mixed with the water allow for faster evaporation of the water, increasing the cooling effect needed for turbo charged engines.  In our case, decreasing inlet temperature is not the primary goal, but the prevention of overheating head and prevention of "hot spots" in the engine is.  This is especially the case if more than 80% of hydrogen is used in the mixture, and even more so if the hydrogen is mixed with oxygen, as with an integral electrolysis gas mixture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkPFZWd8wj4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhaust Gas Recirculation

 

Another successful strategy to prevent hot spots and engine overheating is recirculating a small percentage of the gas exhaust gases into the intake. Common figure is 10% recirculation. Since most of the post combustion gases are not combustible, nitrogen and water vapor for example, they slow down the burn rate of the mixture containing electrolytic oxygen and hydrogen, and makes it more compatible with the burn rate of gasoline. So far, water injection is the preferred method, but EGR is a possibility to keep in mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High Energy Ignition

 

There are a number of ways to get higher ignition spark energy, which allows to ignite a leaner air/fuel mixture.

 

Electrode Design

Some spark plug manufacturer have come up with new electrode design, that allow for greater spark energy, if used in conjunction with a powerful ignition coil.  Federal Mogul is one of them, there many others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhVyvMYCA2I

 

Capacitor Discharge Ignition (CDI)

Some design incorporate a capacitor directly into the spark plug increase ignition spark:

http://www.pulstar.com/why-pulstar/3054-Why-Pulstar.html

Other uses ignition cable that act as a capacitive discharge:

http://www.nology.com/hot.html

The most commonly know CDI in the racing scene is ignitions systems from MSD. They use multiple capacitive discharges at each ignition spark.  The name of the company stands for Multiple Spark Discharge (MSD).

http://www.ignitioninfo.com/cdignition.html

 

Coil On Plug ( COP )

It is found on many vehicles today and produces a stronger spark than the more common ignition system, that again, allows for leaner air/fuel ratios.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X9RgErnKGE

 

Plasma Ignition

This is used on many race cars today and produce the strongest possible ignition energy.

« The AquaPulser is a low power, high energy Pulsed Direct Current Ignition Module. It wires up between your existing spark plug wires and your spark plug. The system consists of an Ignition Module and one or more Distribution Blocks. The Module generates high current DC that is sent to the spark plug - at the same time the spark plug fires. In other words, at the time your on board spark system sends voltage to the spark plug, the AquaPulser adds the high DC current - at the same instance. That means you have both your normal high Voltage output from your coil - plus the high DC Current from the AquaPulser. The Distribution Box isolates the vehicles ignition system from the AquaPulser. »

http://www.hho4free.com/sparkplugs.htm#Plasma%20Spark

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuel Atomization Strategies

 

 

Finer injector ports

The use injector with smaller injection ports allows for finer mist when very low fuel injection trims are used.  Finer mist mean faster, more efficient and more complete burns.

 

Fuel Heater

The use of fuel heater has long been proved to reduce fuel consumption, especially on on older vehicles, where fuel atomization in not optimal. Engine coolant is circulated in a heat exchanger to increase fuel temperature. It decreases vaporisation time of fuel and allows for leaner mixtures. A resistor heater can also be used, which allow for faster heating and more precise fuel temperature control. This is a safer option in my view, since engine overheating can cause a fire hazard if the fuel is heated by the engine coolant.

 

Strong Magnets on Fuel lines

Just like laser light is coherent light, strong magnets have the effect of polarizing the fuel molecules, and orient them in a coherent manner.  This has the effect of make the fuel molecule more available to mix with air. The exact physics of how it works is yet unknown to me but lots of experimenters have reported fuel mileage increase with them.  The key factors are to use the strongest magnets possible, use the entire surface area of the magnets, and place them in a repulsive, south pole to south pole arrangement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Electrolysis Gases Injection

 

The last but not least. This aspect might be the most important contribution to fuel economy in our design, and may allow, with proper tuning,  to run the car without any fuel whatsoever. They key thing here is to split the water molecule with the least amount of energy,  producing the most powerful gases possible.  Volume of gas output per watt of power is not the only thing to consider.  There are many combination of gases that can be produced from the electrolysis of water. Actually, electrolysis is a misnomer since we are not using large current and large amounts of electrolytes as in textbook electrolysis.  The use of high frequency, pulsed square wave and capacitive / inductive resonance between the cell and an inductor is the key to obtain large amounts of gas for the least amounts of power. This has been done before in the past, Stanley Meyer, Andrija Puharich, have used this method to produce sufficient gas on demand to run their vehicles on water alone. The difficulty with this method have been to keep the water capacitor ( electrolysis cell ) in resonance, since as the conditions in the cell changes, gas production decreases. The modern version of this resonance electrolysis setup is to use PC programmed microprocessors with Phase Lock Loop ( PLL ) to constantly monitor cell resonance and adjust frequency accordingly, in real time. One example of such a circuit is offered by Germany based company Innovationsshop: http://www.source-for-innovations.com/pgen.htm

This is the Cadillac of pulse width modulation for hydrogen production.  It has to be tuned, with capacitors  that matches the cell for proper resonance tracking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another key feature of our design is to use concentric tubes electrodes cell. This is called a "Joe cell" in the jargon of inventors community.  It seem to produce by far the most powerful electrolytic gases of any cell configuration. Although the method used by experimenters is very different from usual hydrogen on demand systems, it involves a water charging process, and the use of the cell in vacuum connection to the engine without any power going into the cell. This produces hydrogen ions that can remain stable long enough to be sent and burned into the engine. The main difficulty with vacuum only cells is that they are very unpredictable and can cease to work without any apparent reasons.  To overcome this problem, constant energy, of the right nature, has to be provided to the cell, without killing its ion producing capability.  What we are hoping to achieve is the best of both world: Gas production stability and reliability of pulsed current powered electrolytic cells and the powerful ionic gases production of vacuum only cells.

 

Some of the factors that determine the nature of gas combinations produced by an electrolytic cell are:

 

• Electrode spacing

• Electrode material

• Electrode surface finish and oxidation

• Difference in surface area of cathode and anode

• Electrolyte nature and concentration

• Water temperature

• Presence of contaminants

• Frequency of pulsed current

• Voltage into the cell

• Current into the cell

• Shape of electrode: tube, plate, spirals.

 

All of these parameters will be optimized to get an adequate amount of high quality electrolytic gas.

We will start with a pair of tube electrodes for the first test with the resonance sensing circuit.  We have a full stainless steel cell ready for testing. Later on, our goal is to test resonance capabilities of the concentric tubes design. 

 

The Use of Ultrasonic Frequency.

 

One of the problem with stainless steel electrodes is that they tend to corrode after long hours of use. This dramatically decreases gas production and gas quality. The use of the most corrosion resistant stainless steel, S316 L  and distilled water tend to solve this problem, but it can still be an issue. The preferred electrolyte is Potassium Hydroxide, KOH, because it mostly stays within the cell, without being vaporised or combined with electrolytic gases. Very low, < 1% electrolyte content seem to produce the most powerful combination of gases, but it also create oxidation problems.  One possible solution is the use of ultrasonic transducers, as used in ultrasonic cleaning bath.  Theses transducers are inexpensive and commonly available, and they consume little power. On one hand there is the possibility that the additional vibration of the water molecules create more gas, on the other, the possibility that it may interfere with the LC resonance that we are trying to create with the special circuitry.  In this case, it would be advisable to run the ultrasonic cleansing action in the cell only when the car is at rest. The added benefit of ultrasonic cleansing is that it keeps the water from freezing, in cold climates like here in Canada. Rooftop solar panels, additional deep cycle battery or plugging into the main are possible options to power the ultrasonic circuit while the car is at rest. 10W of power is all that is needed to keep the water from freezing, but for the ultrasonic cleansing, it may require more power.

 

 

Open Source Research: The Way of the Future

 

There was many inventors and scientists that have run a motor vehicle on very little or no gasoline in the recent past. For some, we have plans, schematics and patents that explains how they were constructed. For others we have video proofs that they are real, functioning devices. What I did not ever found, after six years of research on alternative energy devices, is a video proof of a real world, practical device, like a car that runs on water, with detailed informations on how it works and how to construct it. 

The goal here is to present the most potent strategies to increase gas mileage of a vehicle. We probably wont need to use them all to achieve our goal of 100 MPG.