Date of Award

Spring 4-1-2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Industrial Engineering

First Advisor

Michael Hayden

Second Advisor

Marion Schafer

Third Advisor

Terry Nicoletti

Abstract

This research investigated fuel consumption during the warm up cycle of a gasoline engine using 87-octane gasoline blended with 0%, 10%, and 20% ethanol. The purpose of this research was to determine ifthere is a significant statistical difference in fuel consumption among the ethanol-gasoline blends controlling for temperature. The experiment identified three properties of ethanol blending: (1) energy (fuel) potential, (2) determination of the speed (time intervals) of the energy consumption within the engine, and (3) indirect effects on coolant temperature. The researcher selected the two-way ANOVA (analysis of variance between variables), covariant, and post hoc to analyze the raw data collected from the experiment. SPSS student version software was used to determine the degree of correlation between the independent variables (ethanol percentage, time), the dependent variable (fuel consumption), and the covariance (coolant temperature). The research involved utilizing an eight-cylinder gasoline engine attached to a dynamometer, an Owatonna Tool Corporation (OTC) automotive computer scan tool, and My Weigh digital scales. The research included two trial test runs and five test runs on three different blends of ethanol and gasoline. In summary, the results of the research and studied statistics identify that the blending of ethanol in percentages of 10% and greater does significantly affect the test engine's fuel consumption and the temperature covariate was not significant.

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