Research design and development of a novel auxiliary power unit (APU) incorporating advanced fuel tolerant Wankel rotary engine technology

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The company is proposing to research, design & develop a fuel tolerant compact lightweightfuel efficient 5kw auxiliary power unit incorporating a novel wankel rotary engine (WRE)with direct injection stratified charge technology. The current state of art involves 3 cylinderdiesel or petrol engines which are bulky & weigh on average around 160kg. The major focusfor this project is auxiliary power units for heavy duty tractor, trailer trucks, portablelightweight military applications, range extenders for city cars & some industrial &commercial uses. The auxiliary power unit offers long haul truck drivers amenities like airconditioning/heating during rest breaks without the need to idle the truck engine. Thetechnology could eliminate 11 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year from idlingthe truck engine as well as providing a fuel saving of $6,000 on average per each truck. WithUS legislation now in force that stops the idling of engines for more than 30 minutes and withAPU’s only having 5% penetration the market potential is considerable. In the electric vehicle(EV) market, lack of range causes range anxiety for users which is the fear that the vehicle hasinsufficient battery charge & thus range to reach its destination. With EV’s the range of thevehicle is generally between 50km-100km. The proposed APU technology has the potential todouble this range & therefore significantly reduce range anxiety for the UK and globally.Environmental benefits based on very low adoption rates for the technology are stillsignificant 67,000 tonnes of CO2. The technical problem facing the market is the availabilityof a reliable compact lightweight fuel tolerant, fuel efficient engine to power theAPU/generator set capable of optimal power output of 5kw at a competitive price. Theproposed concept has both the potential to meet both the technical and cost objectivesnecessary for successful exploitation.