Orbital Corporation Limited

Orbital Corporation Limited (Asx|OEC, OTCBB|OBTLY) is an Australian company that invented and developed a technology that it claims to reduce air pollution from internal combustion engines and improve fuel efficiency. Formerly known as Orbital Engine Corporation Limited, the company is headquartered in Balcatta, Western Australia, near Perth. The company's principal activity is promoting its direct injection fuel system for two-stroke and four-stroke engines.

In 2003, Orbital Engine Limited won a prestigious Banksia Award for it's innovative combustion technology which allows two stroke motorcycles to meet stringent emission regulations while delivering a reduction in fuel consumption. Following the European market success of this technology, Orbital now has programs in India and other parts of Asia, where motorcycle pollution is a major issue. [ [http://www.banksiafdn.com/print.php?page=67 Category 9: Leadership in Sustainable Product Design] ]

System description

The company's technology injects a mixture of fuel and compressed air directly into the combustion chamber instead of through ports, the most common system. This is also known as Direct In-cylinder (DI) fuel injection.The generic term is gasoline direct injection.

The compressed mixture rapidly expands as it enters the combustion chamber and this breaks up the fuel into very small droplets which are more completely and efficiently burned compared to carburetor and other fuel systems. This is especially true for two-stroke engines.

Fuel consumption

Independent testing has shown that the Orbital Combustion Process reduces two-stroke fuel consumption by 35 percent. [Based on studies by [http://www.envirofit.org Envirofit] , a non-profit corporation sponsored by Colorado State University.] Pollution from two-stroke engines is due to their traditional method of fuel delivery. Carbureted two-stroke engines use an air/fuel mixture to force exhaust products from the engine, a process referred to as scavenging. During this process over 35 percent of the fuel escapes into the exhaust and is thus never burned. As a result, hydrocarbon emissions are high. To achieve a more stable combustion, conventional two-stroke engines generally operate in a fuel rich mode, contributing to high levels of carbon monoxide emissions. Finally, conventional two-stroke exhaust is high in particulate matter due to over-oiling and unstable combustion.

DI fuel injection results in a more complete combustion of fuel, resulting in better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. In a DI engine only air is used for scavenging, as the fuel is injected directly into the cylinder later in the compression cycle. Scavenging losses are virtually eliminated, resulting in much lower hydrocarbon emissions and more efficient fuel consumption. Due to electronic oiling control as well as improved combustion stability, particulate emissions are reduced, and the engine can be programmed to run in a less fuel rich mode, resulting in reduced carbon monoxide emissions.

Applications

The Asia Development Bank estimates there are 100-million two-stroke vehicles in South and Southeast Asia - each producing the pollution equivalent of 50 modern automobiles. The combined emissions of these 100 million vehicles equates to 10 times the emissions of all of the automobiles in the world.Fact|date=December 2007 Envirofit is using Orbital's OCP technology in retrofit kits to convert millions of two-stroke taxis to direct injection in the Philippines. Three-wheel taxis used in that country, which are roofed sidecars attached to motorcycles, are blamed for much of the heavy air pollution in Manila and other major cities in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Envirofit says its OCP kits reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 76 percent, carbon dioxide by 26 percent (one ton per retrofit per year), and hydrocarbon emissions by 89 percent, and two-stroke oil consumption is reduced by 35 percent, The heavy exhaust smoke disappear using this systems. Moreover, the 35 percent increase in fuel efficiency results in annual savings of ~$470 to the taxi drivers; thus, the ~$350 kit pays for itself within a year, and thereafter the drivers' incomes are increased substantially (~40 percent) for the remaining 15-20 year life of their vehicles.

The OCP two-stroke system is also used in Mercury's Optimax DFI outboard engines, in Tohatsu's TLDI DFI outboard engines, in Bombardier's SeaDoo personal watercraft, and in motorscooters manufactured by Aprilia, Piaggio, Peugeot and Kymco.

References

* [http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/orbital-turns-to-its-next-big-hope--rickshaws/2005/10/25/1130239522684.html Sydney Morning Herald, October 26, 2005. Orbital turns to its next big hope - rickshaws. By Matt O'Sullivan]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4385/is_200412/ai_n15287743 Powersports Business, December, 2004 Orbital expects improvement in 2005.]
* [http://www.hoovers.com/orbital-corporation/--ID__48017--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml Hoover's – Factsheet on Orbital Corporation Limited]
* [http://www.scooteringusa.com/bajaj/ Scootering USA – December 10, 2007. Bajaj Provides Update on the Launch of the Direct Injection Autorickshaw]

External links

* [http://www.orbitalcorp.com.au/ Orbital Corporation Limited] Official site.