DE VELO PMENT   Ignition

CORONA IGNITION SYSTEM FOR

HIGHLY EFFICIENT GASOLINE ENGINES
Many future gasoline engines will require higher air/fuel ratios and higher mean effective pressures to
further improve fuel efficiency. Federal-Mogul has taken up this challenge and has developed the
Advanced Corona Ignition System (ACIS) as a new solution to reliably ignite a mix with high AFR/EGR
and high MEP. During engine tests ACIS enabled a direct fuel economy improvement of up to 10 %.

38
 AUTHORS
DR. JOHN BURROWS, MIET,
is Electronics and Analysis
Manager – ACIS Ignition
at the ­Federal-Mogul Limited in
Manchester (Great Britain).
JIM LYKOWSKI
is Design and Development
Manager – ACIS Ignition
at Federal-Mogul in Plymouth,
Michigan (USA).
KRISTAPHER MIXELL, P.E.,
is Director Advanced Technology –
Ignition at Federal-Mogul
in Plymouth, Michigan (USA).
  06I2013   Volume 74
CHALLENGE TO THE IGNITION
The continuous improvement of gasoline
engine efficiency has already had many
impacts on engine sub-systems and com-
ponents. The next step on this path will
pose a challenge to the ignition. Future
high-efficiency engines will require
advanced lean-burn concepts and/or
greater use of charge stratification to
achieve even better fuel economy. In
combination with higher mean effective
pressures (MEPs) and more aggressive
charge dilution the traditional spark plug
may not suffice to provide a reliable igni-
tion during all operating conditions of
the engine.
The challenge is to a technology that
was developed under totally different
boundary conditions. In the days of a
more or less homogenous, stoichiometric
charge, or mild lean-burn concept at the
most, the restriction to a small ignition
source was not a problem. With aggres-
sive charge stratification, and much
higher lambda (λ) this restriction is
becoming a bottleneck. While the issue
of higher MEPs and potentially also a
slightly greater λ could still be overcome
by increasing the breakdown voltage and
arc duration, problems remain: If it takes
longer to ignite the charge, the point of
50 %-mass fraction burnt will also be
delayed. In addition, longer arc duration,
coupled with high energy, can increase
plug wear. More importantly, however,
nothing can be done about the location
of the spark. To overcome these limita-
tions, Federal-Mogul has developed an
ignition system that is based on multiple
long plasma jets instead of a single small
spark, ❶. This Advanced Corona Ignition
System (ACIS) enables more aggressive
optimisation concepts to increase a gaso-
line engine’s efficiency.
SYSTEM COMPONENTS AND
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
An ACIS solution consists of two main
components. The first is the two-piece
igniter assembly which is mounted in the
cylinder head very much like the tradi-
tional spark plug and ignition coil. The
igniter assembly contains the inductor at
the top and the firing tip at the bottom.
The second system component is a con-
troller which computes the trigger signal
from the engine control unit and con-
verts the 12 V DC electrical supply into
the required AC voltage at a resonant fre-
quency of around 1 MHz, which is fed
forward the igniter, ❷.
At this frequency the igniter emits a
strong electrical field with up to 72 kV at
the tips of the firing end. Originating at
❶ Corona discharges, originating at the
tips of the four ACIS igniter electrodes
39
DE VELO PMENT   Ignition
❷ Overview of the
ACIS components
the four electrodes of the igniter tip, the
field extends into a large volume of the
combustion chamber. The energy con-
tent of the electrical field excites the air
fuel mix near the electrodes until it turns
into a plasma with a high content of
charged particles (ions), a process that
only takes several nanoseconds as
❸ Comparison between the arc-lengths of a corona system (left) and a conventional plug (right)
40
opposed to up to 70 μs in the case of
spark ignition arc breakdown. When the
electron density reaches a sufficient
level, multiple long streams of ionised
gas extend into the combustion chamber
and ignite the charge, ❸. The name
corona ignition refers to these visible
streams of ionised gas. The air-fuel mix
is ignited in several areas at the same
time, which speeds up the burn rate and
results in a fast, harmonious combustion.
In contrast to the spark plug which
produces a single short arc, the four ion
streams originate from the tip of an elec-
trode and extend outward into the com-
bustion chamber, ❹. Due to the low cur-
rent and low heat discharge, there is no
electrical erosion. Therefore the ACIS is
not subject to the same level of wear as a
conventional plug. Potentially ACIS can
be developed to serve as a lifetime com-
ponent. Already at the moment its func-
tional principle offers a long life and
longer service intervals.
The biggest single ACIS benefit, how-
ever, is the vast volume which is reached
by the corona. In the case of a spark
plug, the electric arc is always limited to
the small gap between the two electrodes.
The only way to increase the energy of
this ignition source is to use a higher
current and to prolong the arc duration.
Both measures increase the energy con-
sumption of the ignition system and thus
the parasitic electrical load.
❺ shows a comparison between the
energy consumption of a spark plug and
an ACIS for different on-times. The re­­
sults were measured with a stoichiomet-
ric charge. Recent testing indicates that
an ACIS application requires an on-time

❹ Close-up of the igniter tips
between 100 and 300 μs for λ = 1. The
conventional spark ignition had to be on
for 2000 to 3000 μs in comparison. The
notable difference is explained by the
physics and the high speed of the corona
principle. In terms of energy consump-
tions both solutions are on par. For lean
and diluted charges both systems require
longer on-times.
ENGINE INTEGRATION
AND FUEL BENEFITS
Once integrated in an engine, the ACIS
enables more aggressive measures to
increase thermodynamic efficiency. Sev-
eral boundaries, which currently apply
to gasoline engines with conventional
spark plug technology, can be pushed.
As described below the ACIS ignition is
much faster. While a specific ignition
event with a plug may last 3000 μs, the
same ignition event only requires 100 to
300 μs with an ACIS. This is a step
change which offers a much higher
degree of freedom to control ignition
timing. Also, the rapid ignition and quick
burning result in a better conversion of
fuel energy to mechanical energy.
In addition, owing to the multiple
streams of ions, which extend far into
the combustion chamber, the initial flame
development and subsequent burn rate is
faster so that the 50 %-mass fraction
burnt is achieved at 5 to 8 °CA earlier
than with a plug system. Also the lean
limit is pushed out further with ACIS.
  06I2013   Volume 74
MAXIMUM
VOLTAGE [V] CURRENT [A]
Spark (~ 3 ms) 14
ACIS (0.5 ms) 53
ACIS (0.25 ms) 53
❺ The ACIS fuel economy benefit is achieved at a very similar energy draw per ignition event as is the case
with spark ignition
While a spark plug permits ignition at
λ = 1.5 with a very high release of
energy, the ACIS achieves the same with
an air-fuel ratio approaching 2. A similar
improvement was found with the achiev-
able charge dilution. Where the best
spark system worked at up to 20 % dur-
ing customer testing, ACIS permitted
EGR levels in excess of 35 %. This par­
ticular benefit can be highly relevant to
control the level of NOx emissions in
direct injection gasoline engines.
Furthermore the ACIS corona is more
tolerant to high compression ratios than
previous corona systems were. ACIS can
help to control knock at high pressures
by adjusting ignition timing.
In terms of fuel consumption, the
immediate effect of an ACIS application
could be measured at between 5 and
10 % of fuel economy improvement. Up
to 10 % reduction of fuel consumption
were measured on a 1.6-l turbocharged
gasoline direct injection engine. How-
ever, these results do not tell the whole
story as ACIS is essentially an enabling
technology, which facilitates more com-
prehensive gasoline engine technology
paths that can, in total, result in fuel
economy benefits of around 30 %.
ADDED BENEFITS OF
THE NEW TECHNOLOGY
ACIS is optimised for ease of implemen-
tation in high-volume applications for
both current and future powertrain
architectures by designing it to package
within the space of a spark-ignition sys-
tem. The two-piece igniter design means
that the ACIS can be integrated in an
engine without significant redesign of
the engine or cylinder head. The igniter
simply replaces the spark plug, the in­­
ductor can either be integrated into the
igniter assembly or it is installed sepa-
rately where the ignition coil previously
was. The ACIS controller can be located
MAXIMUM MAXIMUM AVG. ENERGY/
POWER [W] IGNITION EVENT [MJ]
8.7 102 192
2 101 160
2 100 93
nearby. The igniter assembly uses mate-
rials that are already proven in automo-
tive applications to ensure durability
throughout the designed service life. In
particular the materials can be selected
for different fuels without compromises
for full time arcing requirements.
As the ACIS was specifically developed
for high MEP, high air-fuel ratios, high
charge dilution gasoline engine strategies,
the engine needs to be calibrated toward
these conditions. The limit for high-load
operation, which is at 25 to 30 bar with a
spark plug ignition, still needs to be con-
firmed, as the ongoing customer testing
of the ACIS is strongly focusing on part
load lean and diluted charge combustion.
SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK
While advanced spark plugs will continue
to be a solution for millions of gasoline
engines in the future, ACIS offers a new
technological option for high-performance
gasoline engine applications, which push
beyond the boundaries of spark-ignition
systems. In particular ACIS addresses lean
and stratified charges, high EGR rates and
high MEPs. For such high-efficiency pow-
ertrains ACIS is an enabling technology
for better fuel economy and lower NOx
emissions. The multiple ion streams pro-
vide a powerful ignition source which
reliably ignites a mix with an air-fuel ratio
of up to 2, and results in a faster burn rate
plus a more consistent combustion. As the
ignition process is particularly fast, ACIS
also increases the degree of freedom to
control ignition timing. If used as a
“screw-in” replacement and combined
with a suitable engine calibration ACIS
itself has been measured to improve the
en­­gine’s fuel economy by up to 10 %.
However, when ACIS is used as an ena-
bler for a more comprehensive package of
engine optimisation elements, it can help
to facilitate fuel efficiency improvements
of up to 30 %.
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