Testing the burn at AE
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• A new low emission combustion system, that may bypass the need for catalysts, is currently under test to determine whether exhaust emission regulations can be met.
The system, developed jointly by AE and Sonex, uses a convex, semicircular cavity just below the piston crown. This, in conjunction with revised manifolding, and an air proportioning valve, triggers chemical and acoustic reactions, cleaning up emissions, and suppressing detonation, which allows lower octane fuel to be used.
A 1.6 litre European Ford Escort has been modified with the system, and tests at Soflex have shown levels of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxides, and nitrous oxides below those of the US Federal CVS3, and European ECE1504 limits.
The vehicle is shortly to be returned to AE for confirmatory tests at the industry proving ground, MIRA. Although the system may not be in commercial production for at least five years, AE's chairman John Coilyear says that if the tests prove successful, the market potential is enormous.