The U.S. Marine Corps has just awarded a grant of $850,000 to a Wisconsin businessman and an engineering professor to develop a new high efficiency engine that can run on renewable biofuels and biogas, as well as ordinary diesel fuel. The new engine, called K6, is still in the design stage, and the grant will go to building and testing a prototype. If successful, K6 could be up to 30 percent more efficient – and far more quiet – than a conventional diesel engine. The engine also won’t require any modifications when different fuels are used.
K6 is the brainchild of entrepreneur Gerald Kashmerick, who has been collaborating with mechanical engineering professor Timothy Shedd of the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the project. The two expect their prototype to be up and running by the end of this year.
Jack Heinemann, director of the nonprofit Wisconsin Security Research Consortium, was instrumental in securing the grant for K6.
The Marine Corps is interested in the new technology because its hoping that it can help its operations to become more efficient, said Heinemann in an e-mail to TPM’s Idea Lab.
As modern armies rely on more and more electronic gear, the amount of diesel fuel needed for generators to charge batteries and power their equipment also increases, creating an enormous drag on operating efficiency.
Transporting fuel to forward bases is an expensive and risky business in theaters such as Afghanistan, where troops face increased risk of injury and death from guarding fuel convoys.
The problem is particularly acute for the Marine Corps, as a highly mobile force that often uses small diesel generators in the field.
According to a Marine Corps statement, the typical small diesel-fueled military generator often operates at less than its maximum load. That results in a buildup of carbon on the engine, which causes a significant loss of efficiency.
A more efficient engine would help to reduce the amount of fuel that needs to be trucked out to forward operating bases, and its ability to use different kinds of fuels would open up more options for the military.
“The military has aggressive goals to reduce their dependence on petroleum products. A multi-fuel engine will provide them with option on fuel choices in the future,” said Heinemann, who dubbed the K6 “fuel agnostic.”
Cleaner, quieter generators would also address an emerging goal of the U.S. military, which is to reduce air and noise pollution in forward operations. The benefits would include tactical improvements, healthier living conditions for troops, and better relations with local communities.
The hallmark of the K6 is a combustion chamber located outside of the piston cylinder, instead of internally. In addition to enabling the use of different fuels with the turn of a valve, the external combustion design reduces the potential for carbon buildup.
Along with military uses, the K6 design could have numerous domestic light-duty applications such as powering yard equipment and hybrid electric vehicles.
Professor Shedd emailed some additional details about the technology to TPM’s Idea Lab.
“The combustion process in this engine is much simpler than that of a traditional internal combustion engine,” he said. “There aren’t complicated timing issues and the combustion can take place over nearly two engine revolutions instead of a fraction of one revolution as in in-cylinder combustion engines. This long combustion time is one of the key features that enable the flexibilities in the fuels used and, hopefully, much cleaner combustion.”
Shedd made it clear that the project would not have moved from the drafting table without the financing from the Marine Corps, which was arranged under the federal SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program.
“The development of this engine would not have happened without the leadership of Jack Heinemann,” said Shedd, referring to Heinemann’s role in securing the grant. “This partnership with Jack and the WSRC has accelerated the development of this engine tremendously.”
