DEVELOPMENT STATUS

Programmable Diesel Fuel Injector

Engineering Development Process
Fulfilling the mission of Great Plains Diesel Technologies, L.C. to provide a programmable diesel fuel injector begins with:

Milestone 1
Obtain test proof of the technical feasibility of the magnetostrictive Electro-technology candidate.

Key Characteristic:
A fast, infinitely adjustable (programmable) diesel fuel injector must be able to position a valve element such that it can:

• Very quickly or very slowly change the fuel flow rate from one setting to another.
  
  
• Set fuel flow anywhere within a range.

Test Objectives:
Engineer, design, and manufacture a prototype transducer.   Verify its technical feasibility by obtaining test proof of:

• Transient response displacment from rest to no less than seventy micrometers in no greater than one hundred microseconds.
  
  
• Steady-state displacement as a function of steady-state electrical input.

Status:

1. Completed engineering indicates that the programmable diesel fuel injector will be the same size or smaller than existing injectors.
   
   
2. The plot illustrates the very first data set from the very first magnetostrictive transducer prototype.   Vertical axis units are micrometers of displacement ranging from -40 to +160 µm while horizontal axis units are seconds ranging from zero to 1.5 milliseconds.   The legend lists ordinary #2 petroleum diesel fuel pressure followed by the peak positive and negative voltage levels used to quickly start and stop current.   The transducer is configured such that the fuel pressure provides the required compressive preload on the magnetostrictive material.   At time = zero, the plot origin, voltage begins its rise from zero. Displacement begins from rest.
   
   Peak voltage widths were held constant across all test conditions, allowing the analog dynamics of the transducer to be evident.   Between the voltage peaks, a much smaller steady-state voltage was used.

The Bottom Line:   Electrical control over both the speed and displacement are illustrated by the graph.

Milestone 2
Obtain test proof that the programmable magnetostrictive transducer can programmably control fuel flow rate.

Key Characteristic:
Engineer, manufacture, and test a hydromechanical tip arranged to maximize control over fuel flow rate.:

• Enable tiny pilot pulses.
  
  
• Set fuel flow anywhere within a range.

Test Objectives:
Engineer, design, and manufacture a prototype injector.   Verify its technical feasibility by obtaining test proof of:

• Measure the time required and the smallest quantity of fuel that can be injected.
  
  
• Steady-state injection flow rate as a function of steady-state electrical input.

Status:

1. Development of a strategic partnership is pending.
   
   
2. Development of a business infrastructure is pending.

Milestone 3
Balance of engineering and production development.