Anderson, Ind.-based I Power Energy Systems LLC didn’t have to go far in order to find racing technology to incorporate into its latest engine for power generators and agricultural pumps. Just a few miles south of the 66,000-square-foot engineering/research and development facility lies Indianapolis, the self-proclaimed racing capitol of the world. On the west side of the capital city sits Menard Engineering Ltd. (MEL), offering a full spectrum of automotive and motor sports solutions by providing integrated product and process capability to the transportation and racing industries. Proudly heralding the lineage of the new engine for I Power generators, I Power counts MEL, as well as Martin Technologies, of New Hudson, MI, as parents in its development.
I Power was formed in 2005, when the Hudson Group purchased Anderson Operations. Focusing on economics (reliability, durability, efficiency), regulatory issues (emissions, electrical interconnection) and niche markets (dairy, wastewater, well pumps), I Power manufactures unique integrated systems of power units, providing onsite cogeneration that can utilize multiple sources of energy (fuel) to produce efficient electricity in tandem with or independent of the utility grid system. Combined with innovative exhaust after-treatment and proprietary calibration of engine controller, the distributed power units offer maximum efficiencies and meet the strictest emissions levels. At the forefront of power systems development for power cogeneration equipment and power applications, I Power has developed a series of power plants based on engines derived from the 8.1-liter, medium-duty vehicle applications. Key features of I Power’s ENI 85 include durability, lower emissions, and reduced noise.
So what does racing have to do with power gens? “In an effort of continued evolvement of our systems,” explains John F. Welch Jr., technical product manager for I Power, “we found synergies [with racing]. Cylinder heads are typical critical components of the life cycle and durability of a system. If we can increase cylinder head life, we can save the customer money.”
MEL applied its racing technology to the problem. Bill Delve, MEL engine builder, explains that motor racing requires accuracy: It’s a “10,000ths-of-an-inch science.” That exactitude is being used to improve the quality and longevity with great precision. “They had trouble keeping the engine running a long time before they needed to recondition the cylinder heads. They had questions about why the heads weren’t living as long as they should. It was valve-train related. They had issues with dryness and lack of lubrication; natural gas is very dry.”
There were also issues with tolerances. “I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but another machine shop was working on the heads, and the tolerances simply fell out of spec. Valve seat concentricity was out of spec. We pointed out the situation: They were too sloppy on tolerances, so they fell out of spec. You can’t fall out of spec without problems.” MEL brought them back to spec by tightening the tolerances for longer life. “Our racing experience helped. In racing, we’re held to exact tolerances to survive a race. We have to run at high rpms for a long time; cylinder heads must hold perfect tolerances.”
“We need durability. They need robustness,” Welch elaborates. “We joined technologies.” Although they aren’t using the same cylinder head, he maintains that the heads are fundamentally the same, each utilizing a reciprocating engine, valve springs, push rods, etc. Delve agrees. “It’s a bigger engine, but the same principles apply. There’s no difference in the application.” In fact, he adds, it’s the same engine—a big block Chevy—he raced as a teenager in his flat-bottom racing boat. “I’m very familiar with this engine!”
Bottom line, Welch clarifies, is that MEL is helping I Power find durability issues and is offering racing-proven solutions. “We have a seven-step process for finding root causes, use Shanin Statistical Engineering tools, and simply talk to the parts. We then test and validate everything before making any changes,” first at the test facility in Indianapolis, then with select customers in the field. Delve indicates that MEL worked on “two or three” sets of cylinder heads in the shop, then put them on customers’ motors in the field—Texas and South Korea, specifically. “We go back to check on them; we can do two or three different things in the field.” I Power has spent four years developing and hardening the ENI 85.
The ENI Package
Welch presented the specs on the ENI 85 at the Third Annual Advanced Stationary Reciprocating Engine Meeting at the Argonne National Lab in June, where he explained that the ENI 85 is an onsite, continuous-duty electrical power generator featuring a spark-ignited GM 8.1-liter V8 internal combustion engine with a modified intake system. Designed to increase uptime performance, it operates at 31% efficiency, producing 85 kW of power and 518,000 BTUs of process hot water.
The engine control strategy system integrates the engine, throttle and a governor with closed-loop fuel control (stoich or lean burn), active ignition control coil over the plug, and closed-loop control within 1% utilizing a steady state Heated Universal Exhaust Gas Oxygen (HUEGO) sensor.
Other features include electronic engine control, onboard diagnostics, and active fuel system control using a Mega-jector and controller by EControls Inc., of San Antonio, TX, for optimizing emissions. “This meets all California requirements,” Welch assures. “We demonstrated in our Anderson facility that we can meet the 2007 California Air Resource Board emissions requirements.” California has some of the strictest requirements in the country.
Emissions control is a product development driver for I Power, he relates. “It’s a regulatory issue we must follow in order to be a player in this business.”
Menards: Racing and Beyond
Cylinder heads: That’s where MEL entered the picture, with the application of the same extended engine durability technology to this ENI engine that uses natural gas to generate cleaner, more efficient electrical power. Together, MEL and I Power developed prototype cylinder head improvements that the data supports at a 20,000-hour life-cycle span, which exceeds the service life schedule of heavy-duty products that use more expensive diesel-derivative engines. “The fact that we improved the durability in the 8.1-L cylinder heads so much separates us from others in the business. A 20,000-hour cylinder head, frankly, is unheard of in an 8.1-L engine,” Welch elaborates.
The wear items for the ENI 85—intake/exhaust valves, valve seats and seals, springs, cams and spark plugs—are purchased from the same supply base that provides the large diesel derivative companies their best content.
MEL, owned by Wisconsin businessman John Menard, has more than 25 years’ experience in engine design at the highest level. Delve isn’t the only one who has experience with the big block Chevys; Menards currently serves as one of the GM-affiliated OEM engine builders that developed the Chevy V8 used in the Indy Racing League. Prior to that, Menard produced the turbo-charged V6 Buick that output 1,200 hp.
No longer involved with the IRL, team Menard’s current racing expertise extends to the NASCAR truck series, NHRA top fuel and Grand Am series. MEL continues to provide engineering support to teams and suppliers in the form of engine development, control systems, and thermal management.
MEL’s credentials were greatly expanded when it added TWR Group Ltd. to its retinue. A British automotive design, engineering, and manufacturing firm, TWR was instrumental in the creation of the Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquich, the Jaguar XJ220, Volvo C70, and Renaultsport Clio V6. Today, the combined company’s applications include commercial, industrial, recreational and military vehicles, luxury automobiles and competition cars and components.
A MEL spokesman indicates that the I Power project is the only one of its kind the company has worked on, but “we’re always looking for new business.” However, he stresses that the work done by Menard’s is merely prototype development. “We’re just doing a few heads to develop the technology. Our labor is too expensive to do the work on a production basis.”
Powerful Applications
The knowledge gleaned while earning a motor sports pedigree has contributed to making the ENI 85 an effective option, particularly for applications with a large heat load, such as apartment complexes, nursing homes and laundry facilities. Four have been installed in a San Diego school system to heat swimming pools, Welch relays. Available in a range of voltage (480, 208, 600, and 380), they interface with systems around the world.
It’s particularly useful for CHP (combined heat and power) and direct-drive markets, Welch reported to the Argonne Lab, using technology to address issues such as low emissions, energy efficiency, and durability. “It combines heat and power,” Welch explains, “to produce 0.518 MMBTUs of heat.” And, he adds, the units can be arranged in a single configuration. “You can configure up to 8 units in a string to increase the power density at a facility. It gives us the opportunity to compete with larger diesel units but with less upfront capital and more redundancy.”
His case study supports his contention that ENI 85s, arranged in a “Multi-Pak,” are less burdensome than containerized diesel derivatives.
Because of its small footprint, it’s also practical for indoor applications. Welch mentions one situated in a basement. The 10-by-4-foot units can be spaced 4 feet apart, taking up less real estate than comparable diesel derivative units of the same kW. Moreover, Welch adds, it’s aesthetically pleasing because everything is contained; only the switch gear is external.
Its size and aesthetics—as well as its quiet operation, producing only 70 decibels at 7 meters—make it a good fit for any application near a residential zone. “Schools, apartments and nursing homes prefer the quiet operation,” states Welch. “However, the system is not appropriate as an emergency backup system at a hospital because the main unit runs on natural gas, with which a startup in 10 seconds isn’t possible. Code requires a 10-second startup for critical loads.
Welch says the size of the ENI 85 also makes it a viable option for a 3-million-gallon wastewater treatment plant. “Instead of flaring the methane gas, which is wasteful, you make electricity and hot water. It’s an untapped market.” He says I Power is also “dipping into other niches,” such as dairy farms, landfills and agricultural well pumping. “Emissions requirements with agricultural well pumping have are just recently surfacing. We have already shipped our first ENP 8.1 to California.” In fact, he says, an ultra-low emissions unit certified for agricultural use is on the 2007 horizon.
Racing Toward Solutions
“Companies come to I Power with needs and we provide economic solutions,” Welch says, adding that natural gas and electricity prices are their competition. “Distributed generation is about economics,” he explains. “You have to have the right spark spread to get any payback on your investment: the cost of electricity minus the cost of gas times the heat rate (efficiency) of the generator. We have found the West Coast and the Northeastern Coast to be our markets with the most attractive spark spread here in the US.”
Mentioning a company in Michigan with no spark spread, I Power recently commissioned a configuration of four units to work as a standby and peak shaver. “There’s no economics in Michigan because of the low cost of electricity,” he says. “But, with peak-shaving, the customer was put on an interruptible rate, lowering the daily electricity rate. In Michigan, utility companies can do rolling blackouts or ‘incentivize’ private gensets with their interruptible rate, and the customer reaps the benefit of a seamless peak-shave transfer and emergency backup.”
Welch proudly proclaims that the innovation and creativity instilled in the ENI 85 can compete with diesel derivative units under 1MW. It’s cleaner burning than a coal-fired power plant, offers higher energy-efficiencies and puts the power in the customers’ control. “Not one of the Big Three (like Cummins) can get its arms around this project and design custom-build units like this that meet federal regulations and customer requirements.”
While checkered flags and trophies signify success in motor racing, the payoff for distributed generation is perhaps less glamorous but equally significant. “The more distributed generation, the less stress there is on the utilities,” Welch pronounces. “It’s our future.”
Indianapolis, IN-based LORI LOVELY writes on transportation and technical subjects.
DE - November/December 2006
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