Mixed & Multi-Fuel Internal Combustion Engines

Abstract - Internal combustion engines typically burn either heavy fuel such as diesel, kerosene,
JP5, JP8, Bio-Diesel, etc. or “light” fuels such as gasoline, ethanol or natural gas. Heavy fuel
engines use the heat of compression to initiate ignition. Light fuel engines use a spark to initiate
ignition. New mixed fuel (heavy & lite) engine technology allows for spark ignition of heavy
and light fuel mixtures in any ratio. To our knowledge, this is the first commercial multi-fuel-
mixed fuel internal combustion engine. This presents a unique opportunity for the evaluation of
conventional and alternative fuel mixtures in terms of efficiency, performance and emissions.
Few (if any) studies report on spark ignition performance of a wide range of heavy and light fuel
mixtures. This effort includes a test bed lightweight 2-stroke multi-fuel engine installed on a
battery powered EZGO golf cart. The multi-mixed fuel engine powers a 36V electrical
generator/battery charger. The golf cart and engine test bed will be used to evaluate the
performance/efficiency (read miles/gallon) of spark ignited heavy and light fuel mixtures.
Index of Terms: heavy fuel, light fuel, internal combustion, multi-fuel, fuel mixtures, spark
ignition.
Principal Author’s Biography: Christopher R. Hardy received a BS Electrical Engineering from
the University of South Carolina Honors College in 1987. Mr. Hardy joined Kigre, Inc. in 1988
and became Chief Engineer in 1999. Mr. Hardy has worked on numerous IRD&E efforts and has
been a Project Engineer and Principal Investigator on various Government programs. Mr. Hardy
currently serves on the Industry Advisory Board for Georgia Southern University and is chair of
the Savannah Section, IEEE. Mr. Hardy was appointed to the Board of Directors of Laser Spark
Plug Inc. in 2007. Laser Spark Plug, Inc. is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization that promotes the
development of fuel efficient technologies for use in internal combustion engines.

I. INTRODUCTION
Electric vehicles need improvements to become successful market driven (mass produced)
products. Compared to traditional vehicles, they are limited in range and functionality. In 2010,
the US sales of 11.5 million new cars and trucks compares to only 275,000 hybrids and less than
20,000 electric vehicles [1,2]. New (heavy & lite) multi-fuel/mixed fuel engine technology
provides an attractive option to increase range and functionality for hybrid and electric vehicles
[3,4,5]. Novel light weight, low emission engines may serve as battery chargers or Auxiliary
Power Units (APU) for electric cars. This allows for near unlimited range with the use of any
fuel available. “Light” fuels include gasoline, methanol, ethanol, acetone, ether, nitro methane
and alcohols. “Heavy” fuels include diesel, JP5, JP8, Jet A, kerosene, biodiesel, vegetable oils,
seed oils, etc.

Lightweight modified 2-stroke engine blocks are readily reconfigured with advanced materials
for high durability and long life operation. A proprietary supercharger fuel injector system is
installed that includes specially engineered micro-poppet valves. This unique injector system is
designed to atomize the fuel into very small particles (with an extremely high surface to volume
ratio) such that the fuel appears as a fine “smoke” instead of a traditional “spray”. The injector
system projects and collimates the fuel smoke into the engine cylinder as a symmetrical “cloud”
where two traditional spark-gap plugs are used for precision timed ignition resulting in
unsurpassed engine performance with the cleanest burn and the greatest efficiency.
II. MCDI ATOMIZATION TECHNOLOGY
The Mechanically Compressed Direct Injection (MCDI) system combines air and fuel using a
small compressor that is attached to each cylinder and injects the mixture into the combustion
chamber through a delivery valve which finely atomizes the liquid to allow low evaporation
types of fuels to ignite even at low temperatures [3,4]. The MCDI system also provides a high
level of stratification of the charge through the delivery valve mechanism to eliminate
detonation. The fuel is delivered into the piston chamber as very fine atomized or nebulized
particles as shown in figure 1. The fuel appears as a fine smoke as the supercharged fuel injector
poppet vales deliver a symmetrical “fuel cloud” instead of the more traditional fuel injector mist
or spray. (figure 2) The system allows a high tolerance for the lightweight 2-stroke to burn
nearly any liquid fuel available.

5
15
25
35
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Normalized Fuel Shot Mass
Droplet Size (microns)
MCDI Standard Injector

Fig. 1 MCDI & standard system atomized fuel particle size comparison

Fig. 2 Super-charged fuel injector delivers symmetrical fine smoke fuel cloud

The MCDI fuel delivery system provides for very clean burning of the fuel with low NOx
emissions [5]. After many hours of operation these engines show extraordinary visible evidence
of their efficient operation and low emissions. Figure 3 shows a 12 hp engine. Disassembled
engine component parts (after extended operation under load) are shown in figures 4 and 5.

Fig. 3 12 hp lightweight two stroke engine with MCDI fuel delivery system

Fig. 4 Spark plugs and piston cylinder after extended operation under load

Fig. 5 Piston shaft engine/cylinder connections after extended operation under load

III. MULTI-FUEL GENERATOR/APU TEST BED

To our knowledge, there are very few (if any) studies on spark ignition performance of heavy
and lite fuel mixtures. In fact, a few years ago we approached diesel engine research experts at
the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center Support of Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Testing. We
suggested testing spark ignition performance of heavy and lite fuel mixtures. They (5 different
US Army diesel fuel experts) told us that it was impossible to spark ignite heavy fuel. In fact,
the multi-fuel engine is being tested and under consideration for use in several military programs
including Killer Bee and AAI’s RQ-7 Shadow [6,7]. These new UAV engines help to meet the
U.S. Army’s “One Fuel Forward” initiative.
We are in the process of assembling a test bed for the study of the efficiency performance for
heavy and lite fuel mixtures. The test bed consists of a battery powered EZGO golf cart with a
multiple fuel engine as a 36V electrical generator/battery charger. (Figure 6) The golf cart and
engine will used to evaluate performance/efficiency (read miles/gallon) of spark ignited heavy
and light fuel mixtures.

Fig. 6 Electric golf cart to be fitted with 36V XRDi multi/mix fuel engine battery charger
IV. CONCLUSION
Lightweight (2-stroke) multi-fuel/mixed-fuel engines incorporating MCDI system technology
holds promise to increase range and functionality for hybrid and electric vehicles. As an
electrical generator, these engines provides for the burning of multiple fuels (i.e. diesel,
kerosene, jet-A, JP5, JP8, and other fuels) in a low compression, spark-ignited engine with low
emissions and significantly reduced fuel consumption levels. Technology advantages include
multi-fuel capability, power/Weight ratio of >1 hp/lb, operating temperature Range -30 °C to
+60 °C (tested), scalability, Low NOx emissions reduced from greater than 300ppm to less than
SAE 2013 World Congress & Exhibition, April 16-18, 2013 Detroit, Michigan, USA
Session # SDP110, Advances in Alternative Energy Sources for Sustainable Development in the
Transportation Sector, Paper Offer Number: 13SDP-0003
6

30ppm, low maintenance, operation on a variety of fuels with no recalibration (Bio-diesel,

Ethanol, JP5, JP8, Jet A, diesel, gasoline) and cold start demonstrated at -30 °C (with no aids)[8-
12].
This mixed fuel engine/generator electric golf cart research platform is initially slated for use by
High School students as a test bed for science fair experiments. With successful future
fundraising efforts, LSP plans to produce additional engine/golf cart test beds and make them
available to engineering departments at Furman, USC and Clemson University International
Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). In the future, this same test bed may also be used
to evaluate new (more practical) laser spark plug designs [13].
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