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Transient Plasma: Energy, Engines, and Aerospace Applications

USC: Dan Singleton, Scott Pendleton, Alex Simone, Andras Kuthi, Jason SandersCOLLABORATORSNPS: J. Sinibaldi, C. Brophy; NumerEx: Jack Watrous Stanford: Barbour, Hanson; WPAFRL Experiments: Cam Carter (LIF humidity and OH), Hoke, Schauer, Stockman (Princeton), Ecole Polytechnique (Fast Ionization) S. Starikovskaya, E. Mintoussov, N. Popov

Research supported by the AFOSR, ONR, Nissan, NumerEx/ONR STTR, Ness/AF STTR, NIH, NSF, TCC Corp., WPAFRL, Alfred Mann Inst

DanScottJason

Alex

Transient plasma occurs during the formative phase prior to equilibration of the electron energy distribution

It is studied for applications to engine efficiency and other diverse areas.

Ideas for future directions will be presented.

TRANSIENT PLASMA CREW

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USC Pulsed Power Research Group

nsec Pulsed Power

Ignition

Biomedical (Cancer)

A Little Wine

Catalyst

Yung-Hsu

Andy Kuthi

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Transient Plasma and Streamers

Generated by nsec pulsed power• Initiates the breakdown process prior

to arc formation in a gas• Fast rise time, short (typically <100

ns), high-voltage pulses • Turn off pulse before spark

breakdown occurs• Produce an array of streamers• Started with NOx abatement studies• Higher energy electrons in streamer

head produce radicals, ions• Nsec pulsed power enables!

Transient plasma (left), ≤100 ns, after which transition to an arc (right)

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Streamer Image (Canon EOS 10D, 80 mm Lens, 15 sec exposure)Single Pulse

Pseudospark Pulse Generator61 kV, 54 ns Pulse (1000 mJ)

15 mm Gap110 kV/cm (440 Td)

Stainless Steel Porous CathodeStainless Steel Threaded Anode (8-32)

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ONR 1990s Transient Plasma NO Removal Results

Energy cost function of V, short pulse, polarity, repetition rate, electrode configuration, dielectric, and current densityAchieved <10ev/mol! Corresponds to <5% engine energy requirement.

97-98 Program

USC engine: 10 eV/molecule

Shown are results for plasma treatment of exhaust, obtained from various sources, and compared.

Major sources of variation between engines are power conditioning, local fields (reactor configuration), and role of particulates and hydrocarbons (HC).

Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 71, No. 23, 8 December 1997 V. Puchkarev and M. Gundersen

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Improved Combustion Using TPI: 12 ns Ignition

Spark: 10 µs, 15 kV, 105 mJ pulseTPI: 12 ns, 50 kV, 70 mJ pulse

• Compared to spark ignition, TPI produces:

• Shorter ignition delay• Faster pressure rise time• Higher peak pressure

• TPI can also ignite leaner mixtures (� < 0.7)

Stoichiometric (�=1) C2H4-air at 1 atm

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Large increase in pressure, lower igniting energy= Increased power = Increased fuel efficiency when fuel/air mixture is lean

C. Cathey, T. Tang, T. Shiraishi, T. Urushihara, A. Kuthi, and M. A. Gundersen, “Nanosecond Plasma Ignition for Improved Performance of an Internal Combustion 

Engine,” IEEE Trans on Plasma Sci, Dec. 2007.

Transient Plasma in a Car Engine

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Nissan ICE Experiment: TPI Increases Pressure

• Using TPI in an ICE resulted in– 20% increase in peak pressure

using less energy (57 mJ vs 80 mJ)– Faster flame propagation

Streamers generated via a 60 kV, 20 ns pulse, using a modified spark plug

Data taken in collaboration at Nissan, Yokohama Japan

Pressure vs. crank angle, for a spark, 100 ns pulse, and 20 ns pulse, ф=.72.

1200 rpm, 100 mm-Hg, ADV: 20 deg BTDC, iso-octane-air combustion, each frame is 200 µs long. C. Cathey, T. Tang, T. Shiraishi, T. Urushihara, A. Kuthi, and M. A. Gundersen,

“Nanosecond Plasma Ignition for Improved Performance of an Internal Combustion Engine,” IEEE Trans on Plasma Sci, Dec. 2007.

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• Ignition method increases fuel efficiency

• Uses nanosecond‐scale pulses

• Demonstrated improvements in engine platforms

• Single‐cylinder gasoline ICE 

(Nissan, tests in Japan, 20% improvement in combustion efficiency)

• Four‐cylinder gasoline ICE

(USC, 20% improvement in combustion efficiency)

• Single‐tube PDE’s with gaseous and liquid fuels

(Navy and Air Force, 4 times improvement in repetition rate, hence thrust)

• Single‐cylinder, 3 cylinder, 6 cylinder diesel ICE tests underway

Pulsed Power and Transient Plasma Ignition

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Transitioning to beneficial commercial applications

1)AMI: medical, cancer therapies, in progress, clinical trials

2)Transient Plasma Systems: Started

3)Marine Diesel emissions and efficiency with TCC, New

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Compact Pulsed Power Development

T. Tang, A. Kuthi, and M. A. Gundersen, "Design of 60kV, 20ns Solid-State Pulse Generator Based on Magnetic Reactor Driven Diode Opening Switch," in Twenty-Seventh International Power Modulator Symposium, 2006, pp. 224-226.

Resonant Charging Magnetic reactor DOS sharpening

GndGnd

IGBT1200V 600A

T_1Custom Metglas2:42

C41 nF

T_2Nanocrystal3:6

900 - 1.2 K VDC

C11.68 uF

C24 nF

C34 nF

L1Nanocrystal41 turns

L2Nanocrystal11 turns

2DSEI1210

6 VMIK100UF

Load200 Ohm

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30 atm TPI ignition of Diesel-Air

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NSPP Transient Plasma Research

Static Chamber ExperimentsDiesel Engine Experiments

1-cyl Kubota, 3-cyl Detroit Diesel,6-cyl Isuzu Engines• Goals

• To determine the effect of TP on the burning rate and peak

pressure during combustion of diesel fuel

• To determine effects of pressure and temperature on TP

• To optimize TP parameters (pulse length, amplitude,

electrode shape)

• Goals• To determine he effects of TP

on emissions and fuel efficiency

• To operate TP in real engines with realistic constraints

Kubota 3HP 3-53DDC 110HP Isuzu 6-cyl 122HPOperational Operational/ mod Under construction

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Pulsed Power for Treatment of Tumors

1 week0 weeks 2 weeks

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• Average juice yield increase after PEF treatment ≈30%• Beneficial compounds (antioxidants) increased

PEF TreatedControl

Pulsed Power for Improving Wine Quality

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Transient Plasma SystemsSolutions for Improving Fuel Efficiency in Vehicles

Presented by Dr. Dan Singleton

+20%

+20%C:\Users\Dan...Car (small).jpg

C:\Users\Dan...Car (small).jpg

© Transient Plasma Systems, Inc.

Improving Fuel Efficiency to Save Lives

•1 of 8 U.S. Army casualties in Iraq was the result of protecting fuel convoys*

• Improving fuel efficiency in ground and air based vehicles reduces the amount of fuel that needs to be transported

*http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/17/technology/military_energy/index.htm

• Increased loiter time with UAV’s

• Increased ability to detect mobile targets and carry weapons to destroy targets once detected

• Increased range of ground based vehicles

• 10% increase in fuel efficiency →

$550M/yr savings for the U.S. Navy alone

Additional Benefits of Improving Efficiency

Integratedaircraft systems(meets mil spec)

Retro‐fitautomotivesystems

Bench‐top nanosecond pulsed power

systemsfor R&D

What Does TPS Sell?

• Advanced, compact, and reliable electrical pulse generators that deliver ultra‐short, high‐voltage pulses

• Dramatically improves fuel efficiency in engines (20%+)

• Near term, retro‐fittable solutions for vehicles

Accessories

Warranties/Service

Sold now In development

Dan Singleton Jason Sanders Andy Kuthi Martin Gundersen

CEO CTO

Experience running start‐ups

In addition to a PhD in EE, completed MBA courses for a graduate business certificate

Subject‐matter 

20+ years experience in the field

Holds 30+ patents, published 30+ papers

World leader in the field

30+ years experience

350+ published papers

Experience leading technical teams

Subject‐matter expert

Michael Mann

Corporate Development

Actively engaged in corporate development in the high‐tech and aerospace sectors

Formerly CEO of both public and closely‐held companies

TechnicalAdvisor

TechnicalAdvisor

TPS Team

What Does Transient Plasma Do?

• Enables an engine to burn fuel more completely

• Less fuel is needed to get the same amount of power

Flame started withTransient Plasma

Flame started with aTraditional Spark

Time →

Volta

ge →

TPS IgnitionPulse

TraditionalIgnitionPulse

• Ultra‐short (nanoseconds) electrical pulses

How Does Transient Plasma Work?

• Energy goes into making energetic electrons rather than heat (a more efficient process)

• Energetic electrons collide with a fuel‐air mixture in a volume, breaking it down and making it easier to burn

Transient Plasma

• Ignites more quickly

• Gets more power from the fuel

• Easily ignites complex fuels

• Ignites leaner mixtures

• Burns faster

• Ignites faster moving mixtures

• Improves fuel efficiency and reduces emissions by more than 20% in some engines

Benefits of Transient Plasma

• More than 30% increase in pressure using less energy= Increased power when fuel/air mixture remains constant= Increased fuel efficiency when fuel/air mixture is leaned

C. Cathey, T. Tang, T. Shiraishi, T. Urushihara, A. Kuthi, and M. A. Gundersen, “Nanosecond Plasma Ignition for Improved 

Performance of an Internal Combustion Engine,” IEEE Trans on Plasma Sci, Dec. 

2007.

Transient Plasma in a Car Engine

• Single‐cylinder gasoline ICE (Nissan, 20% improvement in combustion efficiency)

• Four‐cylinder gasoline ICE(USC, 20% improvement in combustion efficiency)

• Single‐tube PDE’s with gaseous and liquid fuels(Navy and Air Force, up to 3 times improvement in thrust)

• Diesel engines (tests underway, USC, NPS)

• Gas turbines (test planned, pilot studies promising)

TPS Pulse Generato

rTPS Cable

TPS Electrode

What’s Involved?

Transient Plasma in Other Engines

• Transient plasma has been shown to improve efficiency of a wing by up to 30%• Plasma prevents flow separation via electrostatic body force

• Many other applications of TPS technology, including• A non‐invasive skin cancer treatment, improving wine quality, and dental 

sterilization 

S. Roy et al., “Effective Discharge Dynamics for Plasma Actuators,” AIAA 2006‐374J. Roth et al., “Optimization of the Aerodynamic Plasma Actuator as an Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) Electrical Device”, AIAA 2006‐1203

Plasma Off Plasma On

Another Application of Transient Plasma

• Transient plasma has shown potential in engines and lab bench experiments :

• 10‐30% increase in engine efficiency in natural gas, diesel, and gasoline

• Reduction in emissions (NOx)

• Reductions in ignition delay

• Lean burn capability

• Transient plasma uses the same amount of electrical energy as traditional ignition

• Cost driven by economy of scale

• Next steps include industry partners, demonstration in engines and further developing technology for use in commercial applications (longevity, varying conditions)

Transient Plasma Systems Summary

Transient Plasma Systems

Dan Singletondan@transientplasmasystems.comwww.transientplasmasystems.com

(650) 269‐2178

Platform technology

Improved fuel efficiency

“TPS  has  developed  a  singularly  unique  capability  in  the  area  of  pulsed  power.    This enables  systems with  unprecedented  performance  to  be  developed  and  delivered with highly reduced size, weight, and power characteristics.”

– Luis Hernandez, PhDDevelopment Manager, BAE Systems