| Catalytic Glow
Plugs and Ignitors PCI is developing catalytic glow
plugs to improve the ignition performance of compression ignition engines. Catalytic glow
plugs may also prove to be useful in high compression (high efficiency) engines for
burning natural gas and other alternative low cetane fuels. These plugs have the
advantageous feature of being able to achieve ignition in conditions that are insufficient
for ignition with a non-catalytic plug. Under U.S. Army contracts focused on
cold-starting, a PCI catalytic glow plug improved the cold start capability of a diesel
engine, lowering the required temperature for cold starting while reducing the required
cranking time to engine start and reducing the battery power drain. The advantages of this
type of starting system as compared to other conventional systems are: improved
ignition effectiveness, lower energy requirement, fuel and fuel quality insensitivity,
simpler design and retrofit capability.
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