Devising ways of increasing efficiency while cutting down the fuel consumption and consequently the carbon footprint has been the trend these days. And continuing this fashion, Bosch has taken a giant leap and by commercializing a technology that has rocked the automobile industry.
When we usually think of engine filled with water, sights of cars floating in flood waters come into mind. No one wants a water locked engine, neither a rusted one. But instead of spilling into your engine by the gallons, Bosch has devised a way to use injectors for delivering controlled bursts of distilled water mist into the engine’s intake, which then goes into the combustion chamber. They call this engine WaterBoost and it has been devised for Spark Ignition engines.
By doing this, the temperature inside the chamber is reduced, thus reducing the chance of knocking and increasing the thermal and combustion efficiency by allowing engines to operate at higher compression ratios.
The company claimed that their water injection system reduces fuel consumption by up to 13 percent under acceleration, which if proven to be true, will be quite an achievement. The water to be injected is held in a tank inside the vehicle, and stores enough water to last for at least 2,000 miles.
This water injection allows the engine to operate at higher compression ratios, which in turn increases efficiency. This increase in efficiency means that fuel consumption can be decreased by 13 percent during acceleration. WaterBoost can be fitted to most modern engines, as it is just an add-on modification that can significantly improve your engine’s performance. A distilled water tank is held in the engine compartment, and by Bosch’s estimations, it only needs to be refilled every 3000 km.
Water injection isn’t a new technology, and the theory behind the technology is quite well known to almost every mechanical engineer. BMW has been using it in their M4 GTS, and many military aviation engines also spray water to increase their efficiency. But no none has commercialized the product on this scale before, and certainly hasn’t claimed to get this much performance increase.
Would you be comfortable with water being sprayed into your car’s engine? Comment below!