MEMS Fuel Injection:
Future high performance engines will need very small drops of fuel to achieve
rapid combustion with low emissions. MEMS devices (similar to the head of an
ink-jet printer) can produce such small drops, require only small amounts of
power, and provide a very wide ranging and precise control over the rate of
fuel injection.
TDA Research has
teamed with the University of Colorado at Boulder to develop a MEMS-based atomizer
that can produce these small droplets and still meet practical requirements
of high temperature operability (500 °F), low pressure drop (< 50 psid),
high-speed on/off pulsing with zero-drip closure and
high fuel flow rate (0.5 lbm/s).
Although MEMS atomizers are being developed primarily for propulsion purposes, many other applications will benefit from the development of this technology. For example, portable power generation units and small portable heaters and stoves have little power available for fuel delivery and atomization. TDA’s MEMS atomizer can provide a solution.
Links:
Download a brief summary of TDA's MEMS Atomizer