SwRI Launches Heavy-Duty Gasoline Engine Consortium.Business Editors/Automotive Writers/Science Writers SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2004 Southwest Research Institute Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is one of the oldest and largest independent, nonprofit, applied research and development (R&D) organizations in the United States. Founded in 1947 by Thomas Slick, Jr. (R) (SwRI) will launch a cooperative research program early this year to develop a high-efficiency, durable gasoline engine gasoline engine: see internal-combustion engine. gasoline engine Most widely used form of internal-combustion engine, found in most automobiles and many other vehicles. . The four-year effort will seek to improve gasoline engine technology for heavy-duty applications. The new consortium, known as HEDGE (High-Efficiency, Durable Gasoline Engine), will develop new technologies for the gasoline engine market. It is possible that the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and post-2010 emission goals will severely restrict the efficiency and cost advantages currently enjoyed by today's diesel engine. With improved combustion technology, the gasoline engine will be able to better compete in the heavy-duty market. The multiyear program will focus on one main integration engine and will work on three to four projects aimed at developing enabling technology for the engine. The projects will focus on development of knock-resistant combustion chambers Combustion chamber The space at the head end of an internal combustion engine cylinder where most of the combustion takes place. See Combustion , high-energy ignition ignition, apparatus for igniting a combustible mixture. The German engineer Nikolaus A. Otto, in his first gas engine, used flame ignition; another method was heating a metal tube to incandescence. approaches, and strategies for high brake mean effective pressure (BMEP BMEP Brake Mean Effective Pressure ) operation. Engine control will be a key element in the development of an aggressive knock mitigation strategy. Dr. Thomas W. Ryan III, program manager and an Institute engineer in the SwRI Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division, explained that participants select the consortium work from a number of projects. Institute engineers and scientists recommend areas of interest based on SwRI's extensive automotive-related experience and on work initiated in the Institute's internal research program. "The HEDGE program will culminate culminate, in astronomy, the maximum height in the sky reached by a celestial body on a given day. At the culminate the body is crossing the observer's celestial meridian and is said to be in upper transit. in the merging of all necessary technologies to demonstrate cost, efficiency and durability in an integration or demonstration engine," Ryan said. "Using the technology developed in this program, consortium members will get an early start on this heavy-duty engine technology." The advantage of consortium membership is that the impact of the yearly contribution is multiplied by the number of participants, providing substantially more pre-competitive research than would be possible by funding from a single member. In addition, SwRI's internal research programs involving control algorithms and modified ignition combustion concepts will be shared with consortium members. These efforts often form the basis for focused research under the consortium. SwRI has introduced the program to a range of companies in Europe, Asia and the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , including light and heavy-duty engine manufacturers, component suppliers, and oil and fuel companies. "This program can serve both gasoline and diesel manufacturers, enabling each to 'hedge' their bets on the direction the heavy-duty engine will take in the post-2010 era," Ryan noted. As an independent R&D laboratory, SwRI has extensive experience in managing consortia. The fourth of a series of clean-diesel consortia was initiated in late 2003. In the Clean Diesel IV consortium, SwRI will be conducting research in low-emission diesel engines and in ultra-clean homogeneous charge, compression ignition technology. A kickoff meeting for the HEDGE consortium is planned for early 2004. Detailed information will be offered as it becomes available. For more information about HEDGE, contact Ryan at 210-522-3192, fax 210-522-2019 or e-mail at tryan@swri.org. SwRI is an independent, nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. , applied research and development organization based in San Antonio, Texas “San Antonio” redirects here. For other uses, see San Antonio (disambiguation). San Antonio is the second most populous city in Texas, the third most populous metropolitan area in Texas, and is the seventh most populous city in the United States. As of the 2006 U.S. , with more than 2,800 employees and an annual research volume of almost $355 million. |
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