Quasiturbine tech promises engine paradigm shift

- The Quasiturbine is suitable for multi -fuel use, including hydrogen combustion. It can also be operated in a combined thermal cycle mode (including steam and Stirling mode hook-up on the same shaft) thereby further increasing the efficiency.

- Finally, the Quasiturbine can operate in the more conventional Otto or Diesel mode, yet retains its added value characteristics when compared to the piston engine.

The principal difference between the Otto and the photo-detonation Quasiturbine is the mechanism of fuel ingestion, ignition and combustion. The Otto mode Quasiturbine uses a spark ignition, while the photo-detonation Quasiturbine eliminates the need for spark plugs and an electrical ignition system. In photo-detonation mode, the fuel/air charge auto-ignites with a short, powerful pressure pulse in the Quasiturbine's combustion chamber. With the exception of the method of fuel ignition and combustion, and lean fuel condition, the operational characteristics of the Quasiturbine engines in both modes are essentially the same from the user perspective.

Energy efficiency

For the Otto piston engine, about half the gasoline used in the transportation sector is literally wasted to fight the atmospheric intake vacuum depression generated by the carburettor butterfly-valve (the engine-braking effect). This is also responsible for nearly half the pollution generated by gasoline transportation activities.

The Quasiturbine offers the potential for significant increases in fuel efficiency due to several factors, including virtually complete combustion of the fuel/air charge, high compression ratios, early and late mechanical conversion and the absence of peripheral accessories like camshaft. In fact, cost reduction is so important in transportation that even if Quasiturbine had a significantly higher cost (which is not the case), the fuel saving over the life of the vehicle would make the Quasiturbine engine a "no-charge" feature. This would be true even in non-photo-detonation Otto mode. Accelerated reduction in combustion chamber temperature, pressure and confinement time also leads to less heat transfer toward the engine block, further contributing to efficiency improvements over the piston engine.

Environmental Benefits

Regardless of the method of ignition and combustion, the Quasiturbine is a uniquely "clean combustion" engine. The pollution-related products of commercially available internal combustion engines include carbon monoxide, other un-combusted hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen. Carbon monoxide and un-combusted hydrocarbons are the result of incomplete combustion of the fuel in the engine. The Quasiturbine's unique engine architecture minimizes the formation of these pollution-related engine products. Consequently, the chemical reaction that leads to the formation of oxides of nitrogen is retarded or prevented.

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