Our visit to Federal Mogul offered us the unique experience of being able to get a glimpse of the newest spark plug design. One of the benefits of this trip was that we were able to meet directly with everyone from the engineers to chemists who took us through every step of their design process. Their newest spark plug design is called the Advanced Corona Ignition System (ACIS).
ACIS uses a high-energy, high frequency electrical field to produce repeatable, controlled ionization, creating multiple streams of ions to ignite the fuel mixture throughout the combustion chamber. This design allows for more efficient fuel economy and fewer emissions.
Source: http://www.federalmogul.com/en-US/OE/Products/Pages/Product-Details.aspx?CategoryId=2&SubCategoryId=153&ProductId=224#.UZKSR5XSwwE
Think of the air-fuel mixture above the piston, compressed by the up cycle. If a point source ignites the mixture, it begins exploding and pushing the piston down. However, some areas may not ignite before the expansion is largely complete, wasting power and increasing emissions. So the ACIS approach can allow engine manufacturers to come much closer to complete and rapid combustion, with less burning late in the cycle. It will be interesting to see which vehicle it first appears on, and what modifications are necessary to use it, and what complementary modifications it enables.
I found this technology particularly interesting at Federal Mogul. THough I don’t know much about these technologies, I was shocked to see you were able to run your hand through the current. When asked if it was similar to one of those plasma globes the engineer replied yes made it so much more interesting to think that something like that has been around for a while and it only took some time for it to be adapted to suit application in real products (By real products I mean something with a true purpose). Like the prof said it will be interesting to see what vehicle adapts this technology first and where it will go from there, whether it go into other transportation or another use is found for it.