Avoiding Soot Formation at Fuel Injector Tip

1. REQUEST # 67512
Stay-clean Fuel Injector Tips
RESPONSE DUE DATE: December 2, 2011
MANAGER: David Feitler, Ph.D.
SOLUTION PROVIDER HELP DESK
EMAIL: PhD@ninesigma.com PHONE: +1-216-283-3901
Opportunity
Licensing, material acquisition, contract research, proof of
(click buttons above)
concept leading to scale up to manufacturing, joint development
agreement.
Timeline
Phase 1 – Proof of concept by January 2012
Phase 2 – Joint development of product(s) to be started by
March 2012
Financials
Licensing fees for successful technology will be reasonable and
customary. Support for sample preparation and development
work will be negotiated based on the scope of work. Up to
€50,000 can be allocated for early phase work.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION European Regulations). One source of these
NineSigma, on behalf of a Global Supplier of particulates has been traced to the buildup of
Automotive Technology invites proposals for carbon deposits on fuel injectors.
surface treatments to eliminate the formation of
carbon deposits on fuel injector tips. These porous carbon deposits act as reservoir
for fuel and causes a rich flame around these
The successful technology will: deposits. The source of the carbon is believed to
 Prevent the formation of porous carbon be tiny amounts of liquid with no forward
deposits on fuel injector tips as momentum left in the channel and at the tip when
determined by testing in bench gasoline the fuel injector valve (pintle) closes during each
engines cycle. Work continues on the physical design of
 Be compatible with existing Internal the fuel injector to minimize the residual liquid.
Combustion (IC) engines, Fuel injectors There has been some semi-successful work on
the use of coatings to reduce this problem, and
 Fulfill automotive standards for durability
these approaches rather than the physical design
o 15 year lifetime
of the injector are the focus of this request.
o 150,000 miles service life
o Pass accelerated aging tests with
Typically coatings projects can specify coating
multiple major aumotive companies
properties sought, such as surface energy, that
BACKGROUND serve as surrogates for performance in the
intended application. To date, no such surrogate
The fine particulates associated with diesel has been identified for this application, and only
exhaust are now well known to be a health test runs on bench gasoline engines have proven
hazard. Increasingly, particulates from gasoline useful for determining the effectivenss of the
engines are coming under scrutiny and treatment or design.
regulatory attention. (Summaries of the
regulatory requirements can be found here:
Offices: Cleveland - USA, Tokyo - Japan, Leuven - Belgium www.ninesigma.com
RFP format and graphics© Copyright 2011 NineSigma, Inc

2. NineSigma Request # 67512 Stay-clean Fuel Injector Tips Page 2
POSSIBLE APPROACHES you represent the developer of a coatings
Possible approaches might include, but are not technology that you believe is resistant to the
limited to: conditions of a modern IC engine and have
 Tip coatings or impregnation that encourage reason to believe would prevent carbon buildup.
burning of the carbon deposit (as found in
self-cleaning ovens for example) but that do RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST
NOT in turn act as fuel reservoir and The proposal template provides both an easy
recreate the same problem they are means of responding to this request and a
intended to solve framework for best presenting your response to
 Coatings to which carbon and/or gasoline NineSigma’s client. It also contains information
and gasoline additives do not stick, or fall off about how NineSigma presents responses to our
of easily. client.
APPROACHES TO AVOID Some items that will be especially important to
Undesired approaches include: present in your response are:
 Redesign of fuel injectors, or IC engines  Evidence for resistance to carbon buildup
 Changes to IC engine operating conditions  Capabilities for quality control
or fuel cycles  Capability to supply in large quantities
 Alternative fuels  Preferred business model
 Addition of any equipment to IC engines or  Intellectual property status
injector assemblies
NON-CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE
ANTICIPATED PROJECT PHASES OR PROJECT PLAN By submitting a Response you represent that the
Response does not and will not be deemed to contain
Phase 1 – In the case of a coating, you will apply
any confidential information of any kind whatsoever.
your coating to test injector parts provided by
client. In the case of materials, materials will be Your Response should be an executive summary (about
provided to client for fabrication of test injector 3 pages). The Response should briefly describe the
parts technical approach and provide information on
technology performance, background, and description of
the responding team and their related experience.
Phase 2 – Incorporation of technology into
production methods By submitting a Response, you acknowledge that
NineSigma’s client reserves the sole and absolute right
and discretion to select for award all, some, or none of
CRITERIA FOR MOVING FROM PHASE 1 TO PHASE 2
the Responses received for this announcement.
Performance that greatly reduces carbon NineSigma’s client also may choose to select only
deposits compared to the best existing injector specific tasks within a proposal for award. NineSigma's
client has the sole and absolute discretion to determine
systems, and can be demonstrated to reduce all award amounts.
particulates leaving the engine.
RESPONSE EVALUATION
APPROPRIATE RESPONDERS TO THIS REQUEST NineSigma’s client will evaluate the Response using the
following criteria:
Responses from companies (small to large),
academic researchers, other research institutes,  Overall scientific and technical merit of the
consultants, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, or proposed approach
inventors are welcome. For Example:  Approach to proof of concept or performance
 Potential for proprietary position (i.e., is the
You represent a company developing a turn- technology novel or protectable)
 Economic potential of concept
key solution to this problem  Respondent’s capabilities and related experience
Or  Realism of the proposed plan and cost estimates
You represent a company that has
demonstrated fouling resistant surface The client will contact respondents with highly
technology for fuel injector’s use in furnaces, responsive proposals for next steps.
turbines, jet engines etc.
Or
Offices: Cleveland - USA, Tokyo - Japan, Leuven - Belgium www.ninesigma.com