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As part of the P2000 hydrogen fueled internal combustion engine (H2ICE) vehicle program, an engine dynamometer research project was conducted in order to systematically investigate the unique hydrogen related combustion characteristics cited in the literature. These characteristics include pre-ignition, NOx emissions formation and control, volumetric efficiency of gaseous fuel injection and related power density, thermal efficiency, and combustion control. To undertake this study, several dedicated, hydrogen-fueled spark ignition engines (compression ratios: 10, 12.5, 14.5 and 15.3:1) were designed and built. Engine dynamometer development testing was conducted at the Ford Research Laboratory and the University of California at Riverside. This engine dynamometer work also provided the mapping data and control strategy needed to develop the engine in the P2000 vehicle.

This paper describes the details of converting a gasoline powered 427 Shelby Cobra to run on gaseous hydrogen. The purpose of this project was to design a vehicle capable of beating the current land speed record for hydrogen powered vehicles. The vehicle uses a modified 427 Ford FE engine as the powerplant with a specially designed electronic fuel injection system for metering the hydrogen. The engine was designed to produce near zero emissions (<10 ppm NOx) at approximately 270 HP using a lean burn, “quality controlled”, fueling strategy (no pollution control devices are utilized).

Although studies have shown benefits in both emissions and fuel renewability for hydrogen fuelled vehicles, implementation of such a vehicle has been slow due, in part, to a limited hydrogen infrastructure. This situation, along with the proven benefits associated with natural gas and natural gas/hydrogen fuelled vehicles resulted in the need to develop a vehicle capable of operating on any blend of natural gas/hydrogen, at anytime. Such a vehicle dubbed; Variable Gaseous Fuel (VGF) vehicle, in principle, could use a thermal conductivity sensing device developed at the University of California, Riverside, College of Engineering - Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) to directly measure the composition of a natural gas/hydrogen blend. The resulting electrical signal from this device can, in turn, be used as an input to “multiple map” engine control module to control fuel injection and ignition timing.