Ford Motor Company

About: Ford Motor Company is a company organization based out in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Internal combustion engine & Signal. The organization has 36123 authors who have published 51450 publications receiving 855200 citations. The organization is also known as: Ford Motor & Ford Motor Corporation.

Gasoline Fuel Injector Spray Measurement and Characterization – A New SAE J2715 Recommended Practice

Abstract: With increasingly stringent emissions regulations and concurrent requirements for enhanced engine thermal efficiency, a comprehensive characterization of the automotive gasoline fuel spray has become essential. The acquisition of accurate and repeatable spray data is even more critical when a combustion strategy such as gasoline direct injection is to be utilized. Without industry-wide standardization of testing procedures, large variablilities have been experienced in attempts to verify the claimed spray performance values for the Sauter mean diameter, Dv90, tip penetration and cone angle of many types of fuel sprays. A new SAE Recommended Practice document, J2715, has been developed by the SAE Gasoline Fuel Injection Standards Committee (GFISC) and is now available for the measurement and characterization of the fuel sprays from both gasoline direct injection and port fuel injection injectors. A primary motivation for the development of the standardized procedures for test configuration, data acquisition, data reduction and reporting was to achieve significant reductions in the test-to-test and laboratory-to-laboratory variabilities of such reported spray data. All of the major areas of fuel injector spray testing and characterization are addressed in detail in the document, including spray imaging, high-resolution patternation and drop sizing by both phase-Doppler interferometry and laser diffraction. Valuable lessons regarding the definitions and interpretations of commonly-used spray parameters were learned during the development of the J2715 document, and these are presented and discussed. Based upon the five years of committee discussions and consensus decisions, five key recommendations on fuel spray measurement and characterization are made to the worldwide automotive industry. The first, and most important, recommendation is that the Recommended Practices in SAE J2715 be utilized by the spray laboratories of all automotive companies and injector 2008-01-1068 Gasoline Fuel Injector Spray Measurement and Characterization – A New SAE J2715 Recommended Practice

Investigation of the radical product channel of the CH3C(O)O2 + HO2 reaction in the gas phase

Abstract: The reaction of CH3C(O)O2 with HO2 has been investigated at 296 K and 700 Torr using long path FTIR spectroscopy, during photolysis of Cl2/CH3CHO/CH3OH/air mixtures. The branching ratio for the reaction channel forming CH3C(O)O, OH and O2 (reaction (3c)) has been determined from experiments in which OH radicals were scavenged by addition of benzene to the system, with subsequent formation of phenol used as the primary diagnostic for OH radical formation. The dependence of the phenol yield on benzene concentration was found to be consistent with its formation from the OH-initiated oxidation of benzene, thereby confirming the presence of OH radicals in the system. The dependence of the phenol yield on the initial peroxy radical precursor reagent concentration ratio, [CH3OH]0/[CH3CHO]0, is consistent with OH formation resulting mainly from the reaction of CH3C(O)O2 with HO2 in the early stages of the experiments, such that the limiting yield of phenol at high benzene concentrations is well-correlated with that of CH3C(O)OOH, a well-established product of the CH3C(O)O2 + HO2 reaction (via channel (3a)). However, a delayed source of phenol was also identified, which is attributed mainly to an analogous OH-forming channel of the reaction of HO2 with HOCH2O2 (reaction (17c)), formed from the reaction of HO2 with product HCHO. This was investigated in additional series of experiments in which Cl2/CH3OH/benzene/air and Cl2/HCHO/benzene/air mixtures were photolysed. The various reaction systems were fully characterised by simulations using a detailed chemical mechanism. This allowed the following branching ratios to be determined: CH3C(O)O2 + HO2 → CH3C(O)OOH + O2, k3a/k3 = 0.38 ± 0.13; → CH3C(O)OH + O3, k3b/k3 = 0.12 ± 0.04; → CH3C(O)O + OH + O2, k3c/k3 = 0.43 ± 0.10: HOCH2O2 + HO2 → HCOOH + H2O + O2, k17b/k17 = 0.30 ± 0.06; → HOCH2O + OH + O2, k17c/k17 = 0.20 ± 0.05. The results therefore provide strong evidence for significant participation of the radical-forming channels of these reactions, with the branching ratio for the title reaction being in good agreement with the value reported in one previous study. As part of this work, the kinetics of the reaction of Cl atoms with phenol (reaction (14)) have also been investigated. The rate coefficient was determined relative to the rate coefficient for the reaction of Cl with CH3OH, during the photolysis of mixtures of Cl2, phenol and CH3OH, in either N2 or air at 296 K and 760 Torr. A value of k14 = (1.92 ± 0.17) × 10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 was determined from the experiments in N2, in agreement with the literature. In air, the apparent rate coefficient was about a factor of two lower, which is interpreted in terms of regeneration of phenol from the product phenoxy radical, C6H5O, possibly via its reaction with HO2.

Neural progenitor cells treated with EPO induce angiogenesis through the production of VEGF.

Abstract: Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) induces neurogenesis and angiogenesis. Using a coculture system of mouse brain endothelial cells (MBECs) and neural progenitor cells derived from the subventricular zone of adult mouse, we investigated the hypothesis that neural progenitor cells treated with rhEPO promote angiogenesis. Treatment of neural progenitor cells with rhEPO significantly increased their expression and secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and activated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2). Selective inhibition of the Akt and ERK1/2 signaling pathways significantly attenuated the rhEPO-induced VEGF expression in neural progenitor cells. The supernatant harvested from neural progenitor cells treated with rhEPO significantly increased the capillary-like tube formation of MBECs. SU1498, a specific VEGF type-2 receptor (VEGFR2) antagonist, abolished the supernatant-enhanced angiogenesis. In addition, coculture of MBECs with neural progenitor cells treated with rhEPO substantially increased VEGFR2 mRNA and protein levels in MBECs. These in vitro results suggest that EPO enhances VEGF secretion in neural progenitor cells through activation of the PI3K/Akt and ERK1/2 signaling pathways and that neural progenitor cells treated with rhEPO upregulate VEGFR2 expression in cerebral endothelial cells, which along with VEGF secreted by neural progenitor cells promotes angiogenesis.

Take a Closer Look: Biofuels Can Support Environmental, Economic and Social Goals

Abstract: The US Congress passed the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) seven years ago. Since then, biofuels have gone from darling to scapegoat for many environmentalists, policy makers, and the general public. The reasons for this shift are complex and include concerns about environmental degradation, uncertainties about impact on food security, new access to fossil fuels, and overly optimistic timetables. As a result, many people have written off biofuels. However, numerous studies indicate that biofuels, if managed sustainably, can help solve pressing environmental, social and economic problems (Figure 1). The scientific and policy communities should take a closer look by reviewing the key assumptions underlying opposition to biofuels and carefully consider the probable alternatives. Liquid fuels based on fossil raw materials are likely to come at increasing environmental cost. Sustainable futures require energy conservation, increased efficiency, and alternatives to fossil fuels, including biofuels.