Internal combustion engine catalytic converter

Abstract

In the Air Standard model for any Internal Combustion Engine it is assumed that the Air/Fuel Mixture combusts instantaneously and the thermal energy is delivered immediately. However in real world applications a certain amount of time is needed for the reactants to combust. Therefore, as the reactants combust more rapidly, the performance of the engine approaches the Air Standard Model. In an Internal Combustion Engine which burns petroleum based fuel, a catalytic coating of platinum in the combustion chamber will cause the A/F mixture to burn more rapidly and causing the flames speed to increase. This will increase the Internal Combustion Engine's Mean Effective Pressure (MEP). This rapid burning of the reactants (A/F mixture) brings Internal Combustion Engines closer to the Air Standard Otto Cycle, the Air Standard Diesel Cycle, and the Air Standard Duel Cycle in Piston Engines and the Air Standard Brayton Cycle in Gas Turbine Engines. Because the catalyst actually lowers the activation energy of the reactants (Air/Fuel mixture) the incidents of Piston Engines “missing” and “flameout” in Gas Turbine Engines will be reduced. In Spark Ignition Engines, because fuel will burn more rapidly the “unburned mixture” which can ignite and cause knocking will have less time to ignite before they are consumed by the flame front. Because of the increase in flame speed a greater percentage of the A/F will be converted into carbon dioxide and water, less “unburned mixture” will be left over from the exhaust stroke to cause knocking.

1 . Platinum, by catalytic action reduces the activation energy of the Air/Fuel mixture causing the rate of combustion to greatly increase.  
     
     
         2 . Lower activation energy also reduces the incidents of “missing” in Piston Engines and “flameout” in Gas Turbine Engines. If “flameout” does occur, the lower activation energy of the Air/Fuel mixture in the presence of the catalyst will facilitate relighting.  
     
     
         3 . The reactants, the A/F mixture will burn more rapidly, increasing the engine's mean effective pressure and increasing the amount of heat yielded by the fuel. These two effects bring the performance of the Internal Combustion Engines closer to the Air Standard Models.  
     
     
         4 . Increasing the engine's mean effective pressure increases the engine's specific power output. (More torque throughout the power band, more trust for jet engines.)  
     
     
         5 . Because the engine's specific output increases without an increasing the amount of reactants (A/F mixture) or enriching the A/F mixture the specific fuel consumption will be reduced.  
     
     
         6 . Because the Mean Effective Pressure increase more of the heat created by the combustion process will be converted into mechanical work, thus increasing thermal efficiency.  
     
     
         7 . Because the combustion will be more rapid a higher percentage of the A/F mixture will burn and the exhaust gasses will be cleaner.  
     
     
         8 . In spark ignition engines, because of more complete and rapid combustion this device will allow for greater ignition advance or a higher compression ratio. (Advancing the ignition timing is the better option because it increases the Mean Effective Pressure and the Electronic Control Module can adjust the settings automatically.) This will result in more complete combustion eliminating most flat spots in an Internal Combustion Engine's power band.