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Ultrasonic-injector

Use of ink/bubble jet technology in fuel injection
  (+3, -2)
(+3, -2)
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against]

Ink/bubble jet print heads have the ability to deliver precisely metered, extremely small particles of fluid. One thing that I/C engines require is precisely metered fine mists of fuel mixed with air.

Can the same technology that creates 1200 DPI resolution on paper increase fuel efficiency in I/C engines?

Clarification;

I am not suggesting using the physical components of an ink/bubble jet printer, but the technology behind it. I believe, but could be mistaken, that the printhead uses ultrasonics to atomize the ink for deposition. Sort of like the cold fog makers used in desktop fountains.

I am sure that if there is a benefit to using this technology, the engineering obstacles such as durability could be iorned out. The question boils down to "Would there be any/enough benefit to warrant further investigation?"

aceinc, Oct 15 2005

Fuel Vaporization http://naca.larc.na...33/naca-report-435/
An older study, that explains some complexities. [reensure, Oct 16 2005]

[link]






       Is this an invention, or merely a clever application?
jellydoughnut, Oct 15 2005
  

       [Pa've] There's always port injection but I suspect that gets fairly warm too.   

       I think the metering for engine fuelling is quite precise anyway and I doubt that an inkjet system could create/operate under the pressure needed to force the fuel through a wee nozzle and atomise it.
squigbobble, Oct 15 2005
  

       Where does a clever application end, and an invention begin?
aceinc, Oct 16 2005
  

       Isn't this called direct fuel injection? I suppose you could go about it in different ways, but I'm not sure how yours would work.
discontinuuity, Oct 16 2005
  

       +1 for this being a very clever idea, though i dont think incomplete atomization of fuel is too big of a problem on most homogenious charge otto cyle engines. this technology MIGHT be helpfull in direct inject otto cyle, or Diesel cycel engines, where the fuel from the injector is often too bunched up to be more chemically / thermally efficient. iff you look at the cross sectional area of a spray from a diesel engine, you will notice that the outer fuel gets fried, and the inner fuel doesnt burn thuroughly. this releases NOX and CO respectively (i might have that mixed up) your idea could IN THEORY control this cross sectional area to coencide with flame propegation on direct inject auto cycle engines...i'm not so sure if you would be able to do much with the diesels though. you should google stuff like "flame propigation", "injector spray pattern", "diesel combustion temperature pattern" stuff like that. i think you could really go somewere with this with some work.
auricom_mech, Aug 02 2006
  

       The main thing is that Fuel injectors are pressure fed and inkjets are not(kind of like the difference between a Wagner Power painter and an aeresol can)   

       I think each is well suited to its application but niether one would work really well in the other application as they are fundementally different applications. Larger industrial style ink jets(like those used to mark bread with its expiration date, are more like fuel injectors than ink jets.   

       Also I dont believe that the technology used for inkjet printing(the nozzles themselves) are really scalable. I think if you tried to blow one up it would end up looking kind of like a big electronic fuel injector.   

       I dont think there is anything new here, just a lack of understanding of the technologies and hydrodynamics involved.
jhomrighaus, Aug 02 2006
  

       Snap! Thought of this on the way to work, this morning. So big +. I expect the first guy to think up bubble jet printing was not taken too seriously.
But doesn't the principle involve electrical heating, and vaporisation of the water in the ink?
Ling, Aug 21 2006
  

       Some inkjet heads heat and vaporise a bit of the ink to blow the liquid bit in front of that bubble out the head, others use a piezo element to eject bits of ink mechanically. There may be other ways, but I'm not aware of them. I also have no idea what pressures of injection are possible with the inkjet technologies, or if they compare to what is required for fuel injection. This would be a critical bit of data for judging this suggestion.
James Newton, Aug 21 2006
  
      
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