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WHITE PAPER
Introduction
The Problem We Are Addressing:
Currently extremely high levels of air pollution
plague the state of Texas, like most parts of the United States.
Repeated violations of Federal clean air standards have placed
Federal highway funds available to Texas in jeopardy. Reformulated
fuels are causing diminished auto performance, increased fuel
consumption, and prematurely clogged catalytic converters on many
cars. Improper disposal of clogged catalytic converters in city
landfills poses a dangerous hazard of toxins leaching into ground
water. MTBE, a fuel additive designed to reduce airborne pollution,
has contaminated drinking water supplies, and has proved extremely
poisonous. Increased hydrocarbon emissions are contributing to the
destruction of our ozone layer and the resulting warming of our
global climate. And Texans, having rejected the Texas smog-testing
program, share a common public perception that reducing the smog
their vehicles produce must involve an unpleasant personal
sacrifice.
The Solutions We Will Discuss:
The development of pollution-free automobiles and
electric generation equipment is a very important component of any
long-term plan. However, to be of the most practical benefit, we
need to take into account the fact that fossil fuel burning,
internal combustion engines are not going away any time soon.
Therefore, a comprehensive plan to manage the reduction of pollution
must address the need for technology that makes these engines
operate as cleanly and efficiently as possible. And the technology
must be affordable, reliable and easy for consumers to obtain and
install.
The purpose of this White Paper is to introduce
high-tech solutions that address all of these concerns. Perma-Tune
Electronics, Inc. of Wylie, Texas makes high-energy ignition systems
that burn fuel - even reformulated, low-pollution fuels - with such
efficiency that not only is pollution greatly reduced and fuel
consumption reduced, but the consumer also enjoys improved vehicle
performance. Other solutions offered by Perma-Tune Electronics, Inc.
involve the development of pollution-free fuel cells that can be
used to power vehicles, as well as to generate electricity for
residential and industrial use.
Some of the material discussed in this White
Paper is the intellectual property of Perma-Tune Electronics, Inc.,
and is protected by US patents, patents pending, trademarks,
copyrights and trade secret laws. All rights reserved.
In the following material we
will cover these topics:
A Primer On Ignition Theory
> flame front propagation
> why this is key to reducing pollution
> why this is key to reducing fuel
consumption
> why this is key to improving performance
> non-Perma-Tune ignition technologies and
their drawbacks
Perma-Tune Technology and Why It Is Superior
> theory of operation for each type of Perma-Tune
unit (Basic, Coilless, Plasma Drive)
> how these types of units differ technically
> non-automotive applications (fuel cells,
petrochemical industry, etc.)
Product Availability
> distribution chain currently in place
> how consumers can locate, buy and install a
Perma-Tune unit
> which models are available now
> which new models have been designed, and
will be available in the near future
> expected retail price range
> Perma-Tune production capability
Summary
Attachments: Dynamometer test results and
Oscilloscope waveform plots
A Primer On Ignition Theory
Flame front propagation:
In a spark-ignited engine, the combustion
sequence that produces power begins with the atomization of fuel.
The engine combines fuel and air and then compresses this gaseous
mixture in the combustion chamber of the engine. When the gas
reaches the correct pressure to allow combustion, a spark is
introduced into the chamber via the spark plug. As the electrons of
the spark traverse the space between the electrodes of the spark
plug, they strike the fuel/air molecules that are in their path.
Molecules that are hit by electrons split apart and throw off other
particles that hit other fuel/air molecules. This chain reaction
spreads throughout the combustion chamber and is known as the “flame
front”.
The rapidly expanding gasses created by the flame
front drive the piston, thereby producing the kinetic energy of the
engine in the form of foot-pounds of torque. This process of
combustion is repeated many thousands of times per minute so that
the engine can produce a continuous supply
of torque. Since the process of combustion is not
efficient in the typical engine, unburned fuel remains mixed with
the byproducts of combustion. The unburned fuel represents a loss of
torque, higher rates of fuel consumption and an increase in exhaust
emissions.
By increasing combustion efficiency, more torque
and fewer emissions can be realized from any engine. Over the years,
engine designers have improved the way engines mix the fuel and air
together to increase combustion efficiency. The use of sophisticated
computer systems on modern engines has further improved combustion
efficiency by monitoring road and engine conditions, such as
temperature and altitude, and precisely controlling the timing of
the exact moment the spark occurs relative to the position of the
crankshaft. Even with these improvements, the internal combustion
engine is so inefficient at turning fuel into torque that the
addition of emission control equipment is needed to remove unburned
fuel from the exhaust.
Improving the ignition process of spark-ignited
engines can also increase engine combustion efficiency. Since the
flame front of combustion is begun by the interaction of free
electrons and fuel/air molecules, increasing the number of those
reactions will result in an exponential increase in the propagation
of the flame front. The result is that more fuel is converted into
usable kinetic energy.
An ignition system only gets one chance to ignite
the flame front. Performing this task in an extremely powerful,
balanced way enables the creation of a stronger flame front that
more completely burns the fuel/air mixture. This results in three
major benefits: 1) reduced pollution due to reduced unburned fuel
and byproducts exiting the tailpipe, 2) reduced fuel consumption due
to completely using all available fuel in the combustion chamber
without waste, and 3) improved performance due to the conversion of
all available fuel to useable kinetic energy (torque).
Non-Perma-Tune Ignition Technologies,
and Their Drawbacks:
In addition to Perma-Tune’s patented technology,
there are two major methods currently used by ignition system
manufacturers to improve upon the ignition process. They are the
multiple spark system and the long duration spark system.
The multiple spark system functions by continuing
to automatically spark after the initial spark command is received
from the engine. The theory is that if all of the fuel is not burned
in the initial combustion, unburned fuel/air molecules that may
happen to randomly pass between the electrodes of the spark plug
while the combustion gasses expand, may be ignited by additional
sparks.
The long duration spark system works on the same
idea of scavenging unburned fuel. The difference is, instead of
multiple sparks, the long duration systems issue a continuous flow
of electrons across the spark plug electrodes lasting beyond the
actual propagation of the flame front. Both of these systems depend
on attempting to ignite fuel that is left unburned in the
combustion chamber due to inefficient flame front
propagation, before the end of the power cycle of the piston.
Perma-Tune does the job right the first time,
meaning there is almost no unburned fuel left to worry about. The
following section will explain how this is accomplished.
Perma-Tune Technology and Why It Is
Superior
Perma-Tune Electronics, Inc. currently
manufactures three levels of technology: the Basic Perma-Tune Unit,
the Coilless Unit and the Plasma Drive.
The Basic Perma-Tune Unit:
The original Perma-Tune is the basic unit the
company manufactures, and provides the design platform for the other
units we produce. When we say that Perma-Tune units “plug in”, we
mean that they have been researched and designed with the unique
circuitry necessary for compatibility with the rest of the car. The
Perma-Tune unit replaces the existing ignition and communicates
directly with the electronic control module of the car. It is
therefore both a repair part and a high performance enhancement.
All other after-market ignitions work off the
existing ignition, and send a false signal to the control module to
tell it that it is still receiving confirmation that ignition is
taking place. They do this because they do not have the technology
to be compatible with the computerized electronic control module in
each individual car. Tricking the control module into thinking it is
still dealing with the stock ignition is a bad situation, because
the control module does not know that the after-market ignition is
there, and cannot detect if there truly is a spark in the combustion
chamber. This can result in fuel continuing to be directed to the
engine even though ignition has been interrupted, which can cause an
exhaust system fire and/or explosion.
There have been many misleading claims about
ignition systems and what unit of measurement to use to measure
their effectiveness. Voltage or Amperage units of measurement can be
misleading, because a good ignition system must create a balance of
many elements, and cannot be measured by just one factor in
isolation. Most ignition system manufacturers now rate their systems
in terms of the Joule, because it calculates the interaction of
time, Voltage and Amperage. One Joule represents a great deal of
energy, and performance is most commonly expressed in fractions of a
Joule. Therefore, one will usually hear ignition system performance
expressed in milli-Joules (mJ).
In terms of advertising claims, the thinking of
other manufacturers is that the public perceives that “if some is
good, more must be better”. Therefore if the consumer’s stock
ignition system produces 30 mJ of power, then the consumer will
believe that a 60 mJ after-market ignition system must be twice as
good ... if 60 is twice as good, then 150 is better yet, and so on.
Then the concept of multiple spark ignition was introduced, based on
the erroneous idea that if one spark is good, more must be better.
The next development was the long duration spark system, which
assumed that not stopping between sparks is even better.
The flaw in this thinking is that only the first
electrons to cross the spark plug gap will connect with fuel/air
molecules to begin the combustion process. All subsequent electrons
that follow during the spark discharge will follow the ionized paths
of the spent fuel of the first electrons, and therefore will not
strike any other fuel/air molecules. The gains over stock ignition
by these systems are in reality the result of increasing the number
of electrons that begin the flow across the electrodes by brute
force as opposed to efficient waveform design.
These massive spark discharge systems have a
tendency to have faster Voltage rise times than the smaller
discharges of lesser ignitions. There are drag race engine ignitions
that boast 300 mJ or more, and they are, of course, impractical to
use on any other vehicle than a drag race engine that may only last
for one or two ¼ mile races. These other systems all have drawbacks
because of the high levels of energy used in the production of the
ignition spark. The high energy emits electromagnetic interference
and radio frequency emissions and causes breakdowns by eroding
distributor caps, rotors, spark plugs and spark plug wires.
The innovative perspective that drives our
designs is the understanding that waveform is more important to
engine ignition than raw power. We have proven that the basic Perma-Tune
design, with a rating of 120 mJ, generates 9% more horsepower than a
150 mJ multiple spark system. This is because our design uses the
120 mJ in a different way. The Joule involves a calculation
including time, Voltage and Amperage. Instead of spreading the
Voltage and Amperage out over time, our equation has a very short
time span, high Voltage and very high Amperage.
Our strategy takes advantage of one of the basic
laws of physics: two particles of matter cannot occupy the same
space at the same time. The rise time of the ignition coil primary
circuit of the Basic Perma-Tune Unit is from zero to 400 Volts in 75
nanoseconds; that is .000,000,075 seconds. This very fast rise time
forces more electrons to cross the electrode gap at the same time
and so they must spread out. This wide spread of electrons will
strike more fuel/air molecules to begin the flame front, thereby
resulting in more complete combustion. Because subsequent electrons
traversing the gap will only follow the ionized path in front of
them, they are sacrificed in our design to eliminate the energy
consumption and radio emissions problems they would otherwise
produce.
The Perma-Tune waveform is not just fast and
short, it is electrically clean as well. Here, “clean” means that
there are little unintended emissions resulting from the waveform.
The waveform produced by the Perma-Tune system goes straight up and
back down again, without crossing the zero point. All other ignition
system waveforms are followed by a ringing effect that contributes
to harmonic frequencies generated in the ignition coil secondary
circuit. These frequencies can reach that of radio transmission
bands. As the energy must travel from the ignition coil to the spark
plug via the spark plug wire, the energy being delivered to the
spark plug is robbed by these radio frequency emissions emanating
from the spark plug wire. These emissions also interfere with
onboard computers and radios. By virtue of the Perma-Tune waveform
design, it is immune to these problems. This is why high
reliability, copper core spark plug wires can be used with the Perma-Tune
design without the radio noise otherwise associated with using
copper core spark plug wires.
Perma-Tune’s Coilless Unit and Plasma Drives
further improve upon this basic unit theory of operation.
The Coilless Unit:
The Coilless unit is so-named because it
eliminates the external coil associated with ignition systems. It
is, in effect, an ignition system so powerful that it does not use
an external coil to step up its Voltage output. This design is
lightweight and compact compared to traditional systems. The
Coilless unit is rated at the same 120 mJ output as the Basic Perma-Tune
Unit, however, it provides better combustion efficiency than the
Basic Perma-Tune Unit. This is due to its unique design that
improves its waveform characteristics.
The Coilless system incorporates two
transformers, a wave forming device and a controller. The first
stage transformer steps up the voltage from 12 Volts to 350 Volts.
The second stage transformer steps up the 350 Volt output to 30,000
Volts. In the Perma-Tune Coilless unit, the transformers are located
in such close proximity that their magnetic fields merge to take
advantage of magnetic lines of force (known as “flux”) that are
wasted in the conventional, remotely located ignition coil design.
Flux that is normally wasted by an external coil
is directed within the Coilless unit to the first stage transformer
windings inducing current flow there. Then, flux from the first
stage transformer that normally would cut through empty space is
directed to the secondary transformer windings, inducing current
flow there as well. The circuitry between the transformers changes
the shape of the waveform of the energy transformed by the first
stage transformer before it enters the second stage transformer. The
controller orchestrates the timing of these events to produce a
waveform that has a Voltage rise time of 45 nanoseconds. This faster
rise time results in even more electrons traversing the spark plug
electrode gap simultaneously, thereby increasing the number of
interactions between electrons and fuel/air molecules within the
combustion chamber of the engine.
Increases of as much as 60% in torque and
reductions of as much as 80% in hydrocarbon emissions have been
documented using the Coilless ignition system. Reported but as yet
undocumented increases of up to 56% in fuel economy have been
experienced as a result of the installation of Coilless ignition
units.
The Plasma Drive:
Through the use of experimental physics, Perma-Tune
has developed new ways to ionize gaseous elements found in nature.
These ionized gases are called “plasma”, which is the fourth state
of matter after solid, liquid and gas. Combustion efficiency can be
further increased through ignition by beginning the flame front with
an explosion instead of a spark. This can be done by converting a
small portion of the gas inside the combustion chamber into plasma,
and then bombarding it with electrons.
The Plasma Drive is constructed in much the same
way as the Coilless ignition. The difference is that the internal
components of the Plasma Drive are capable of higher Voltages. The
orientation between the high Voltage and low Voltage transformers is
also different, resulting in much faster
rise times, measured at the electrodes connected
to the Plasma Drive. Voltage rise times as fast as 2 nanoseconds
from zero to 32,000 Volts have been reported during independent
laboratory testing of Plasma Drives.
The plasma state is created by an ultra-fast rise
time electrical charge applied to the gas by two electrodes inside
the combustion chamber of the engine. The sudden exposure to such a
high electrical potential causes electrons to be stripped from the
fuel/air molecules that are between the electrodes, converting the
molecules to their plasma state. The plasma will readily conduct the
electrons discharged from the collapsing field of the Plasma Drive
high voltage transformer. Since the fuel/air molecules are ionized,
there is an electromagnetic attraction between the fuel/air
molecules and the electrons, ensuring that each molecule of the
plasma will interact with electrons. The resultant flame front
created by this interaction creates extremely efficient combustion.
This plasma field is not the result of brute
force, but rather of elegant waveform design that is more energy
efficient.
The full consequences of the results of this
research have not yet been realized. It has so far yielded several
inventions that have found uses in high-energy particle physics
experiments (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and the US
Navy), the petrochemical industry (Bechtel Nevada), the newly
emerging fuel cell industry (Nuvera Fuel Cells, Division of Arthur
D. Little) and alternative fuels (US Magnegas).
Experiments have been carried out that prove this
technology can be used in the internal combustion engine to ignite
fuel. These experiments were conducted in the Perma-Tune laboratory,
as well as on one of the most demanding types of engines in terms of
ignition system requirements: a six cylinder, two stroke, 12,000 RPM
top-fuel drag boat (designed and built by Boatworks) that normally
uses twin magnetos for ignition. A system consisting of a Plasma
Drive box, Plasma Conduit and Plasma Electrodes were fitted to each
cylinder of the engine. A direct ignition after-market electronic
control unit was fitted to the boat to provide ignition timing. The
engine ran perfectly, even when the most difficult-to-ignite fuel
mixtures were used.
After three runs of about one hour sessions of
drag pulls on the water, the engine was dismantled for inspection.
The combustion chambers were so clean that the only evidence that
the motor was run was from the normal marks left by the piston and
piston rings on the cylinder walls.
Although the exhaust gasses were not analyzed for
their chemical content during this experiment, it is evident from
the lack of combustion byproducts in the cylinders that complete
combustion of the fuel/air mixture in the combustion chamber of the
engine occurred. Perma-Tune intends to do
complete and verifiable third party testing of
this technology as soon as funding permits. It is our intention to
adapt the Plasma unit to existing vehicles so that these vehicles
can run on multiple fuels without the use of a catalytic converter.
Product Availability
Perma-Tune Electronics, Inc. does not make retail
sales to end-users. We utilize a well-established network of large
wholesale warehouse distributors who sell our products to jobbers,
mechanics, specialty shops and the public. We also work directly
with specialty engine
builders, the chemical and petrochemical
industries, fuel cell manufacturers and the scientific community
(Lawrence Livermore National Labs, US Navy).
Consumers can obtain Perma-Tune units through
their mechanic or a specialty shop, or by directly contacting a
warehouse distributor, whose contact information is available on
Perma-Tune’s web site (www.perma-tune.com).
Perma-Tune units are currently available in
bolt-up, plug-in configurations for all Porsches up to 1996, and all
gas-powered Mercedes Benz models up to 1989. We make units that can
be adapted by a professional mechanic to almost any vehicle that
uses spark ignition.
The company has developed the specialized
circuitry necessary to manufacture units for all Toyota vehicles up
to 1998, all Honda and Acura vehicles up to 2000, all General Motors
vehicles up to 1995, all Ford vehicles up to 1999 and selected
Chrysler vehicles. The company is currently tooling up to
manufacture the necessary plug-in connectors for each of these
applications.
Details on these design changes as well as
production capacities and marketing plans are obviously highly
confidential. Serious inquiries for further detail from appropriate
individuals will be addressed following the execution of a
nondisclosure agreement, which will be provided upon request by
Perma-Tune Electronics’ corporate attorney.
Summary
Two of the areas of greatest concern in managing
the state of Texas’ pollution problem are vehicular exhaust
emissions and the polluting byproducts of electrical generation. In
this White Paper, Perma-Tune Electronics, Inc. has discussed the
physics of combustion, ignition and related solutions to make these
processes as clean and efficient as possible. Some of these
high-tech solutions are available today, and some are close to being
in production.
For further information about Perma-Tune
Electronics, Inc., its products, its design services, or
opportunities to invest in this exceptional technology, please contact Lonnie Lenarduzzi, President and Chief Design Engineer.
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