MW-SPARKER: Volumetric Microwave Ignition That Replaces the Spark Plug and Retrofits Existing Engines
- 1ARBOK Strategic Research Institute
Abstract
The spark plug ignites the fuel-air mixture at a single point, and the flame then has to travel through the whole chamber while the piston is already moving. This is the root of unburned fuel and soot, thermal nitrogen oxides, and the need to compensate with timing, enrichment and turbulence. We describe MW-SPARKER, a microwave volumetric ignition system in which distributed emitters in the combustion chamber ionize the mixture throughout its volume and create many sites of low-temperature plasma, so that ignition occurs everywhere at once and, in a diesel, replaces compression ignition. The system is a retrofit: an insulated emitter housing in the cylinder head and power from the standard 12 V or 24 V vehicle electrical system. Reported parameters: combustion completeness up to 98%, power 30% higher, fuel consumption up to 67% lower on gasoline and 62% lower on diesel, CO2 lower by 60-70%, nitrogen oxides by 50-60%, particulates by about 90%, more than 100,000 km between emitter service. Every 10% of road fuel saved is worth about USD 60 bln per year in the USA and USD 200 bln per year worldwide.
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BibTeX
@misc{vischmidt2026mwsparker,
title = {{MW-SPARKER: Volumetric Microwave Ignition That Replaces the Spark Plug and Retrofits Existing Engines}},
author = {Michael Vischmidt and Dmitry Ponomarenko},
howpublished = {Zenodo},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23457386},
url = {https://zenodo.org/records/23457386},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - MW-SPARKER: Volumetric Microwave Ignition That Replaces the Spark Plug and Retrofits Existing Engines
AU - Michael Vischmidt
AU - Dmitry Ponomarenko
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/18
PB - Zenodo
DO - 10.5281/zenodo.23457386
UR - https://zenodo.org/records/23457386
AB - The spark plug ignites the fuel-air mixture at a single point, and the flame then has to travel through the whole chamber while the piston is already moving. This is the root of unburned fuel and soot, thermal nitrogen oxides, and the need to compensate with timing, enrichment and turbulence. We describe MW-SPARKER, a microwave volumetric ignition system in which distributed emitters in the combustion chamber ionize the mixture throughout its volume and create many sites of low-temperature plasma, so that ignition occurs everywhere at once and, in a diesel, replaces compression ignition. The system is a retrofit: an insulated emitter housing in the cylinder head and power from the standard 12 V or 24 V vehicle electrical system. Reported parameters: combustion completeness up to 98%, power 30% higher, fuel consumption up to 67% lower on gasoline and 62% lower on diesel, CO2 lower by 60-70%, nitrogen oxides by 50-60%, particulates by about 90%, more than 100,000 km between emitter service. Every 10% of road fuel saved is worth about USD 60 bln per year in the USA and USD 200 bln per year worldwide.
ER -