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A Retrofittable Fuel Usage Monitor and Economizer
Title: Principal Research Scient
Phone: (434) 973-1215
Email: burkholder@bainet.com
Title: General Manager
Phone: (434) 973-1215
Email: barron@bainet.com
An affordable, retrofittable vehicle performance and fuel economy maximization system would have widespread application to military tactical and non-tactical ground vehicles as well as commercial vehicles. Barron Associates, Inc. and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) conducted a successful Phase I effort to demonstrate the feasibility of the Fuel Usage Monitor and Economizer (FUME) – an intelligent, open architecture vehicle monitoring and fuel efficiency optimization system. FUME will feature two primary components: (1) vehicle and engine health monitoring and (2) real-time operational guidance to maximize fuel efficiency and extend equipment life. Key underlying technologies include mathematical modeling of dynamic systems, real-time adaptive parameter estimation, model-based diagnostics, and intelligent usage monitoring. Integration of these technologies will result in a FUME architecture that unequivocally satisfies the stated SBIR objectives. The overarching objectives of the Phase II effort are to mature the FUME technology and to demonstrate a prototype FUME in a hardware-in-the-loop laboratory environment that includes a real engine and a real-time vehicle dynamics emulator. FUME will feature vehicle performance and fuel economy optimization algorithms that learn online, adapt to changing environments, tolerate inter-vehicle variations, and self-calibrate to accommodate inter-sensor variations. FUME will improve reliability, maximize fuel efficiency, and enable a cost-saving condition-based maintenance program.
* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *