Rolf, This is kinda old news. They have been testing for some time with Hydrogen.
the RX-8 style engine is perfect since they
can set the ports for no overlap event. There is squawk that the side
ported "8" engine started life in their H2 testing. There
are papers which are a couple of years old. Use H2 powered
cars in google. You will probably get hits for the Mazda paper. Bill
Jepson
Thanks Bill, and I thought I hit on something new. I see now that it has been
around for a while. Here is the link:
http://www.evworld.com/databases/shownews.cfm?pageid=news150803-04
Also thanks to Vance for clearing up efficiency. I was wondering why H2 as a
fuel could suddenly change engine efficiency over the RPE. Storing H2, when
you need perhaps a 400 kg tank is something else as well as the cost of making
H2 since it is not a 'fuel' found in nature. It's only an energy carrier that must
first be made. Looks like the H2-fueled ICE may not be very favourable either.
Thanks for straightening me out.
Rolf Pfeiffer.
An Hydrogen fuel cell is how I indirectly got started in a business 25 years ago.
I had developed some computerized performance test equipment. Road & Track wrote
and article about it. First thing I knew I was involved in developing test
equipment for Los Alamos Scientific Labs because they were researching
a fuel cell powered golf cart. The point is.... that was 25 years ago!!! :)
It is still not here and is unlikely to ever arrive.
Microprocessor-Based System for Roll-Down and Acceleration Tests
by D.K. Lynn, C.R. Derouin, and Paul Lamar
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
Published in IEEE Proceedings 29th Vehicular Technology Conference
(The technical details of the road test system.)
Arlington, Illinois, March 28-30, 1979
Paul Lamar
What Mazda discovered was they could direct inject low pressure hydrogen gas
in the rotary and thereby improve the volumetric efficiency of the engine
by 20 to 30% over a premixed hydrogen gas powered IC engine. Makes sense
as the hydrogen gas being 28% of the total mixture displaces some of the
air getting through the intake ports. Direct hydrogen gas injection does
not work well in a piston engine as the red hot exhaust valve causes
back firing and pre ignition. Probably what Keith was alluding to.
The output of the premixed engine is only 63% of the gas engine.
The direct hydrogen gas injected rotary is 90% of the specific power of
a gasoline rotary. Specific power in terms of size not thermal.
On the other hand premix works better at low power low RPM.
This is from paper C389/233 presented to the Society of Automotive
Engineers of Japan. Or it could also be SAE 925011.
Paul Lamar
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