To be able to tune internal combustion engines optimally, information is needed from the combustion process in the engine’s cylinders. This isn’t easy, because it’s hard to monitor what’s going on in the sooty and hot cylinders. The Karlstad scientists and Mecel have found algorithms for a so-called ion stream analyzer, which uses statistical signal processing to obtain better combustion information from ion streams. The information is used to control and monitor the engine.
The research project could be of crucial importance to the control of the next generation of internal combustion engines. The researchers recently applied for a patent for the invention. The aim is to get major auto-makers to sign on for its future development.
“If we can improve the quality of the information about the combustion process, an ion stream analyzer might be standard in every car sold in the future,” says Jakob Ängeby, visiting researcher at the Section for Electrotechnology at Karlstad University and director of future technologies at Mecel.
When the air and fuel in the engine’s cylinder is burned, free electrons and charged ions are formed in the combustion gases. By metering how many ions there are in the gas, information can be gleaned about the combustion. It’s not new knowledge that the ion stream can be used to read information about the course of combustion. The technology is already in use today.
What the researchers at Karlstad University are adding is the application of statistical signal processing to acquire information that was previously hidden in the ion stream. For example, it may be a matter of creating just the right mixture of air and fuel and pressure max or to develop the
engine’s combustion stability to get the car to run as smoothly as possible.
“With better information about combustion, you can control engines better and make them more efficient, which in turn leads to better gas mileage,” says Jakob Ängby.
Mecel has been a leader in research and development of ion stream analyzers for more than 20 years. The Ă…mĂĄl-based company works on the absolute cutting-edge of advanced electronics and software for controlling and extracting information from internal combustion engines. The research
project is partially funded by the Foundation of technology transfer (Teknikbrostiftelsen). Besides Jakob Ă„ngby, Magnus Mossberg and Andreas Jacobsson are involved in the project, both from the Section for Electrotechnology at Karlstad University.
For more information, please contact Jakob Ă„ngby, phone: +46 54-700 20 87
or +46 532-621 52; cell phone: +46 73-034 61 52.
27 May, 2021 - Karlstads universitet
Novels, films, and games that describe wastelands and worlds in ruin tend to feature places of rest – peaceful oases and havens in stark contrast to the surrounding wasteland. What is the function of these places in post-apocalyptic fiction? Karlstad University’s Andreas Nyström investigates further in his doctoral thesis, Places of Rest in Worlds of Ruins: Havens in Post-Apocalyptic Fiction.
29 October, 2014 - Karlstads universitet
The first study to examine prenatal exposure to the phthalate DiNP finds it is associated with a shorter anogenital distance (AGD) in Swedish boys at the age of 21 months. These findings raise concern since animal research has linked DiNP exposure to a shorter AGD, and studies on humans have related shorter AGD to male genital birth defects as well as impaired reproductive function in adult males, and the levels of DiNP metabolites in humans are increasing globally.
23 October, 2013 - Karlstads universitet
Children who had PVC floorings in the bedroom at baseline were more likely to develop asthma during the following 10 years period when compared with children living without such flooring material. Furthermore, there were indications that PVC flooring in the parents’ bedrooms were stronger associated with the new cases of asthma when compared with child’s bedroom. This could be an indication that prenatal exposure is of importance.
5 July, 2013 - Karlstads universitet
Half of all the produced food in the world is thrown away. According to a new study from Karlstad researcher Helen Williams and her Australian colleagues, smart packaging can be one important part of the solution to reduce food waste.
Expertsvar, The Swedish Research Council, Hantverkargatan 11B, Stockholm SWEDENPhone +46(0)8 546 44 000
P.O. Box 1035, SE-101 38 Stockholm, expertsvar@vr.se
Information about cookies will open in a new window
