Engines that burn petrol or diesel waste roughly two-thirds of their fuel energy as heat. This research aims to recover that wasted energy and cut fuel consumption by 20 to 33 percent while keeping near-zero emissions. The internal combustion engine remains the workhorse of transport, from delivery vans to passenger cars, and even serves as a backup generator for electric vehicles. But its fundamental efficiency has plateaued. This project attacks the problem from two sides: redesigning the combustion process inside the cylinder, and tailoring the fuel molecule itself—creating sustainable, synthetic fuels whose ignition and burning characteristics are matched to these advanced engine designs. If successful, the work could shrink the carbon footprint of every vehicle on the road without requiring a wholesale switch to electric powertrains. It would also make electric vehicles with range-extender engines lighter and more efficient. The researchers will develop new optical diagnostic techniques—such as laser-induced thermal grating spectroscopy—to track fuel vapour temperature and concentration inside the cylinder, providing real data to validate computer models of these novel combustion systems. The outcome is a clearer picture of how far the internal combustion engine can actually go.
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This research seeks to address the knowledge gap with the internal combustion engine (ICE) and answer the question 'how far can you go?'. The research considers methods for reducing fuel consumption of the ICE from two directions: first by improving in-cylinder combustion processes and second through the use of designed fuels from sustainable sources, with the fuel chemistry matched to advanced high efficiency combustion systems. Three novel ICE concepts, aimed at achieving a step improvement of 20-33% reduction in fuel consumption from ICEs at near zero emissions will be investigated, with holistic integration of energy recovery (WP1). The concepts investigated are applicable to commercial vehicles, passenger cars and as electric vehicle range extenders. Novel designed fuels, will be investigated in WP2, including how the fuel molecule can be tailored to improve the ignition and combustion characteristics of the fuel in a novel ICE combustion system. The spray and ignition processes of the new fuels will be characterised through the application of optical diagnostic techniques. WP3 covers the simulation of the ICE combustion concepts and evaluation of current state of the art modelling methods when applied to such combustion systems and designed fuels, with potentially very different fluid characteristics to conventional diesel and petrol. Novel optical diagnostic techniques, including two line Planer Induced Fluorescence to track the vapour concentration and laser induced thermal grating spectroscopy to measure vapour temperature will be developed in WP4 and applied to the research in WP1 and WP2, providing validation for the modelling in WP3.
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