The State Of Diesel Power

The State Of Diesel Power ENERGY Miscellaneous Diesel technology is changing If you want to know what s coming next look at heavy industry and the military says Jason Thompson an editor at Diesel Power magazine Thompson closely follows new diesel designs and aftermarket add-ons He recently shared his thoughts with FARM SHOW We do lots of stories on heavy diesel engines and new products like bypass oil centrifuges and heaters that circulate coolant keeping it at 150 degrees says Thompson There are new products coming out of the desert wars like the nano filters being used on cruise missiles Amsoil for example now offers a nano filter Thompson recommends keeping an eye on DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA carries out innovative and futuristic military research including new materials and devices such as hydraulic actuators Eaton and General Motors have both announced projects that use hydraulic actuators to capture and store braking energy When the driver takes his foot off the gas pedal engine torque drives a hydraulic fluid pump This fluid in turn compresses nitrogen gas while the process brakes the vehicle When power is needed the process reverses and hydraulic fluid is pushed back through the pump to drive an axle hydraulic motor The system is similar to hybrid electric vehicles without the limitations of storage batteries and is three times more efficient at capturing braking energy Another area where he expects to see considerable advances is in pollution control Emissions equipment on diesel trucks is an inefficient way to get cleaner emissions Why use an EGR valve when emissions could be controlled on the inside if we could control valves better? Thompson points to Fiat s claims for a valve system that can knock emissions down by 80 percent He also cites an innovative digital hydraulic valve-based fuel system from Sturman Industries based on technology originally developed for NASA Other newer diesel efficiency enhancements that Thompson likes include a filter minder that measures vacuum to tell you when filters need changing www filterminder com ; coolant preheaters that eliminate cold starts www hotstart com ; coolant filters that filter a little at a time to keep system free of contaminants www dieselsite com ; and reusable magnetic filter wraparounds that capture metal fragments before they can return to cause problems in the engine www shopfiltermag com Thompson notes that diesels have a lot of room for improvement Diesel engines are only 30 percent efficient he says Rudolf Diesel suggested that 70 percent efficiency could be had just with greater compression It is interesting that we haven t gotten there yet Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jason Thompson Diesel Power Magazine 831 S Douglas St El Segundo Calif 90245 ph 310 623-0531; Jason Thompson@sorc com; www dieselpowermag com Jim Ruen Contributing Editor

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