Fabrication and Testing of an Enhanced Ignition System to Reduce Cold-Start Emissions in an Ethanol (E85) Light-Duty Truck Engine

This report describes an experimental investigation of the potential for an enhanced ignition system to lower the cold-start emissions of a light-duty vehicle engine using fuel ethanol (commonly referred to as E85). Plasma jet ignition and conventional inductive ignition were compared for a General Motors 4-cylinder, alcohol-compatible engine. Tests were aimed at identifying the degree to whichcalibration strategies such as mixture enleanment and retarded spark timing could lower engine-out hydrocarbon emissions and raise exhaust temperatures, as well as determining how such calibration changes would affect the combustion stability of the engine.