GDCI

For years, spark plugs have been used to ignite the compressed fuel-air mix inside the cylinders of a gasoline engine to produce power. Now a new prototype engine is promising a future in which a gasoline engine behaves like a diesel engine, self-igniting the fuel as it is injected into the cylinder instead of using a sparking plug. Called Gasoline Direct-injection Compression Ignition (GDCI), the process results in engines that are low in particulate emissions and high in efficiency. Similar to the way in which diesel engines work, GDCI engines compress air within the cylinder before...