Artigo Completo:

Flexible fueled engines development represents one of the most successful engineering initiatives already implemented in Brazil. It stimulated local engines and fuel technology development in order to conquer market with innovative solutions. However, it is clear that a final solution for cold start phase was missed in the first generation. For this, research on fuel heating system has been done to improve customer satisfaction and overall vehicle response at cold phase. Based on positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor semi-conductor technology and high thermo transfer efficiency, a new cold start system (CSS) concept has been developed. This new technology allows fast and reliable start for flexible vehicles under cold temperatures, without the need of additional electronic control, typically used by current fuel heating systems. This paper presents vehicle tests results of this new technology in comparison to traditional fuel heating system.