Heavy Fuel Engine / Low Friction Engine

Program Manager: Mr. Phil Hunt

Overview

The Heavy Fuel Engine/Low Friction Engine program will develop and demonstrate a heavy-fuel, lightweight, and efficient engine for air vehicles.  In the future, heavy fuel (diesel or JP-8) may be the only logistic fuel for the battlefield.  Conventional heavy fuel engines are too heavy for air vehicles and, at the desired size, not efficient enough.  Innovative and advanced diesel engine designs are being developed to achieve both efficiency and a significant reduction in weight.  Such engines will enable air vehicles increased maximum range and endurance while operating on diesel fuel.  Novel approaches to achieving challenging performance goals include an opposed piston, opposed cylinder (OPOC) concept and a low friction in-line opposed piston configuration.  The OPOC engine is designed to achieve sustained high power at high altitude and to minimize the impact of lapse rate.  The Low Friction Engine (LFE) is designed to operate without conventional piston rings which are a principal cause of internal combustion engine friction and diminish the amount of useful work that is available from an engine.  Detailed design, fabrication, and testing is being conducted to assess engine performance and reliability.  Initial engine technology transition planning identified the A160 air vehicle as a promising platform for a heavy fuel engine.  Integration of a lightweight heavy fuel engine could double flight endurance for a given weight of fuel. 

Last Updated: 02/18/08