Sonex Research, Inc. 23 Hudson Street Annapolis, MD 21401
Tel: 410-266-5556 Fax: 410-266-5653

Click here to contact us by e-mail  info@sonex-na.com

Updated May 2008

Sonex Research, Inc. (“Sonex” or the “Company”), a small business located in Annapolis, Maryland, is developing and commercializing a patented proprietary technology, known as the Sonex Combustion System (SCS), which improves the combustion of fuel in internal combustion engines.  The SCS achieves in-cylinder control of ignition and combustion through chemical/turbulent enhancement using patented combustion chamber designs.  The SCS combustion chamber is defined by embodiments located in the piston in four-stroke direct injected engines and in the cylinder head in two-stroke spark-ignited (SI) engines.  SCS designs reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and permit adapted gasoline engines to run on safer diesel-type, kerosene-based, “heavy fuels” in military and commercial applications requiring lightweight engines and safe handling/storage of fuel, such as in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  The Company’s business objective is to execute broad agreements for industrial production of SCS components under license from Sonex. 

The SCS method for four-stroke engines is based on unthrottled air induction, direct fuel injection, and a modest compression ratio of 12.5:1.  The patented SCS piston design produces, retains, and expels chemical auto-ignition aids to cause controlled compression ignition after top-dead-center of the compression stroke in response to timed direct injection of the fuel.  Significantly, all of the fuel is delivered to the piston bowl and mixed with the air during the latter portion of the compression stroke.  Ignition occurs simultaneously at a high rate throughout the combustion volume after completion of injection.  This form of the SCS, known as Sonex Controlled Auto Ignition (SCAI), operates over the full range of rpm and loads.  The multi-fuel SCAI operates at reduced peak cylinder pressure to enable lightweight engine design.  The SCAI, which is considered a lean-burn combustion process, also has significant potential for commercial application in the automotive market for gasoline direct injected (GDI) engines to cost effectively improve fuel mileage 25% to 30%.  Sonex is seeking partners and other funding arrangements to support an SCAI-GDI program to produce compelling SCAI combustion process engine data for marketing to the automobile industry.

In the case of two-stroke SI engines, Sonex has established a viable heavy fuel engine (HFE) technology baseline by applying its patented SCS combustion chamber design and proprietary starting system to the conversion of single and multi-cylinder, lightweight, gasoline engines for use in military applications such as UAVs to start reliably, even in cold temperatures.  SCS embodiments in the cylinder head provide control of fuel vaporization late in the compression stroke such that a portion of the heavy fuel is then vaporized near the spark plug.  As the combustion event progresses it causes the fuel to fully vaporize and combust.  The SCS heavy fuel conversion maintains the gasoline engine’s stock carburetion or fuel injection system, intake and exhaust systems, spark ignition system, and compression ratio.  SCS HFEs^TM running on heavy fuels JP-5, JP-8 and D-2 diesel (with lubricant additive) retain the ignition precision of the SI process and knock-free combustion.  Compared to operation on gasoline, these HFEs achieve equal to or reduced fuel consumption (18%-28% less at cruise rpm) and produce no visible smoke.

In November 2006 Sonex signed an exclusive license agreement with Insitu, Inc. (www.insitu.com), a pioneer developer of long-range, unmanned, autonomous aircraft for military and commercial activities, for the SCS HFE^TM technology applicable to UAVs with HFEs that are twenty horsepower or less.   Insitu plans to be the first to market with an HFE in the Small Tactical Unmanned Aerial System class vehicle in 2008.  Sonex is free to license its HFE technology for use in UAVs using engines exceeding 20 hp, or on any size HFE for non-UAV use such as in all-terrain vehicles, pumps, outboard engines, small watercraft, and generator sets. 

The Sonex engineering and technological team is headed by the Company’s Founder, Dr. Andrew A. Pouring, a former Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Chairman of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy.  Dr. Pouring is a full-time consultant serving as the Company’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Technology Officer.  In addition the Company has five full-time employees, consisting of its Chief Financial Officer and Secretary George E. Ponticas, one engineer and three skilled technicians, and it engages the part-time services of Michael I. Keller, a consultant who serves as Director of Business Development and Program Manager. 

The Company's approximately 6,000 square foot facility is equipped with emissions test equipment, advanced combustion analyzers and several engine dynamometers rated from 40 hp to 500 hp.  Substantial equipment is dedicated to the development and testing of small engines for UAVs, including dynamometers, static propeller thrust and torque test stands, air intake/exhaust system to support running engines, and an environmental chamber that allows testing of small engines at temperatures from -20 deg. C to 55 deg. C with air velocities of 50 knots.  Sonex small engine testing capabilities are available to customers desiring engineering and testing services, including evaluating and trouble shooting gasoline engines powering UAVs and assessing the potential for converting such engine to SCS HFEs.

The Company became subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) upon making an initial public offering in 1985.  In recent years its Common Stock traded in the over-the-counter market and was quoted on the Pink Sheets Electronic Quotation Service under the symbol “SONX”.  The Company, however, became delinquent in its annual and quarterly SEC reporting requirements primarily as a result of the effects of a failed restructuring in 2004.  In January 2007 the SEC notified Sonex that the registration of its stock would be subject to revocation if all required reports were not filed within 15 days of the date of the letter.  In February 2007 the Company submitted an Offer of Settlement (the “Offer”) to the SEC in anticipation of the proceedings that would have been instituted against Sonex by the SEC.  The Company agreed to enter into a Consent Order with the SEC pursuant to which the registration of its stock would be revoked.  On July 13, 2007, the SEC issued its order revoking the registration of the Company’s stock; as a result, the Company’s stock no longer trades publicly.

SCS heavy fuel technology for small engines

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) now requires engines used in UAVs and other military applications for which gasoline storage and use are undesirable, to operate on less volatile, kerosene-based heavy fuels (JP-5, JP-8 and D-2 diesel) to reduce the hazard associated with gasoline.  Under several technology development and demonstration projects, Sonex has established a viable heavy fuel engine (HFE) technology baseline.

In SI two-stroke engines, the SCS enables the combustion of heavy fuels through design modification of the cylinder heads to achieve a chemically/thermally enhanced combustion process while still relying on the spark to initiate combustion.  SCS embodies a unique cylinder head with combustion chamber insert housing the proprietary SCS technology and a glow plug starting system.  For gasoline engines that have the cylinder head and cylinder in a single casting, the stock cylinder head portion is removed by machining and the remaining cylinder casting is decked.  The SCS head assembly and cylinder are reattached to the crankcase by bolts.  The following figure shows an example of a disassembled SCS two-stroke HFE cylinder head assembly.

Disassembled SCS Two-Stoke HFE Components, from left to right:

Combustion chamber insert containing SCS design embodiments,

Cylinder head, including glow plug heater, and

Cylinder body with stock head removed

SCS embodiments in the cylinder head provide control of fuel vaporization late in the compression stroke such that a portion of the heavy fuel is then vaporized near the spark plug.  As the combustion event progresses it causes the fuel to fully vaporize and combust.  Adapted SCS two-stroke engines running on heavy fuels (with lubricant additive) retain the ignition precision of the SI process and knock-free combustion.  The SCS heavy fuel conversion maintains the gasoline engine’s stock carburetion or fuel injection system, intake and exhaust systems, spark ignition system, and compression ratio.  No modifications are made to the moving parts, including the piston. 

As described below, extensive prototype HFE development for a small (1 - 2 horsepower) gasoline engine has moved to the pre-production phase.  Other Sonex HFE designs in various stages of development are available for immediate application to commercially available SI gasoline engines.  For engine models not previously converted, Sonex will undertake development to achieve an optimized design.  The gasoline performance of an engine to be converted is thoroughly assessed using a baseline procedure to document thrust, fuel consumption, cooling and overall engine durability. The deliverable prototype HFE is achieved by applying the SCS engine design modifications in a two-step, best efforts process based on (1) a feasibility demonstration and (2) optimization of a prototype through design trade-off iterations to match the baselined gasoline power and improve fuel efficiency of the engine.

Business relationship with Insitu

Since 2005 the Company has worked on an application of the SCS HFE^TM technology with Insitu, Inc. of Bingen, Washington (website: www.insitu.com), a pioneer developer of long-range, unmanned, autonomous aircraft for military and commercial activities.  Insitu has developed the long endurance, low cost ScanEagle® UAV in partnership with The Boeing Company.  (ScanEagle® is a registered trademark of The Boeing Company.)  ScanEagle is been used to provide services for the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and Australian Defence Forces.  ScanEagle has logged more than 80,000 hours of flight time since it was first deployed with the Marines in 2004 and with the Navy in 2005, including more than 1,000 shipboard launch-recovery cycles from Navy ships.

Using computer aided design and rapid prototyping of castings, machined components and plastic fabrication, Sonex developed a prototype combustion system to convert the 3W-28i, two-stroke, SI gasoline engine used in the ScanEagle to heavy fuel operation.  A significant accomplishment has been the ability to reliably start the SCS HFE at cold temperatures.

Sonex signed an exclusive license agreement with Insitu in November 2006 for the SCS HFE technology applicable to UAVs with HFEs that are twenty horsepower or less.   Sonex is free to license its HFE technology for use in UAVs using engines exceeding 20 hp, or on any size HFE for non-UAV use such as in ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), pumps, outboard engines, small watercraft, and generator sets.

In January 2007 Insitu announced that it set an endurance flight mark for the ScanEagle by running its engine modified with HFE technology licensed from Sonex, along with other enhancements developed by Insitu engineers, on JP-5 heavy fuel for 28 hours and 44 minutes.  The previous longest flight on a ScanEagle was 22 hours and 10 minutes using gasoline.  The endurance flight on JP-5 was conducted in temperatures ranging from -6^o C to -16^o C with no observed problems.  At cruise power levels, the ScanEagle using the SCS HFE^TM consumed up to 28% less fuel than with the stock gasoline engine.

In April 2008 Insitu announced that it had flown HFE equipped ScanEagles in Iraq in a demonstration conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Navy in a real-world environment.  The announcement stated that the HFE was developed by Insitu in partnership with Boeing and Sonex.  As reported on its website, Insitu plans to be the first to market with an HFE in the Small Tactical Unmanned Aerial System class vehicle in 2008.  Insitu also announced the introduction of its new, larger UAV known as the Integrator^TM.  In an interview published in the August 20, 2007 print edition of Defense News, also available on Insitu’s website, Insitu President and CEO Steven Sliwa stated that the Integrator will start out with a gasoline engine and then move to heavy fuel using the SCS HFE technology.

Business relationship with Limbach

Sonex is the exclusive U.S. and Canadian distributor for two-stroke gasoline engines manufactured by Limbach Flugmotoren, GmbH & Co. KG of Konigswinter-Sassenberg, Germany (website: www.limflug.de).  Limbach produces high quality, lightweight, and reliable two- and four-stroke gasoline engines used in UAVs, powered gliders and very light aircraft.  Sonex and Limbach are seeking funding for development and qualification of Limbach SCS HFEs which are expected to have significantly lower fuel consumption than their gasoline fueled counterparts.

Sonex Four-Stroke Engine Technology/DARPA Agreement 

The SCS improves the combustion of fuels in four-stroke, direct injected (DI) engines through design modification of the pistons to achieve chemical/turbulent enhancement of combustion.  The SCS method for four-stroke engines is based on unthrottled air induction, direct fuel injection, and a modest compression ratio of 12.5:1.  The patented SCS piston design produces, retains, and expels chemical auto-ignition aids to cause controlled compression ignition after top-dead-center of the compression stroke in response to timed direct injection of the fuel.  Significantly, all of the fuel is delivered to the piston bowl and mixed with the air during the latter portion of the compression stroke.  Ignition occurs simultaneously at a high rate throughout the combustion volume after completion of injection.  This form of the SCS, known as Sonex Controlled Auto Ignition (SCAI), operates over the full range of rpm and loads.  The multi-fuel SCAI operates at reduced peak cylinder pressure to enable lightweight engine design.

The SCAI is a low emissions, high economy combustion process enabled by Sonex pistons with micro-chambers (MCs) and vents, shown schematically in the figure below, which provide an in-cylinder method for isolating and capturing a small portion of an unthrottled air-fuel charge in each combustion cycle.  The SCAI for DI features pistons containing strategically located MCs with connecting vents, having one MC per injector spray.  The fuel and air captured in the MCs produce reactive chemical species that are carried over to cause sparkless compression ignition in the next cycle at moderate compression ratios (12.5:1).  In-cylinder fuel injection timing provides engine performance control of peak cylinder combustion pressure, thereby assuring lightweight engines.  The Sonex pistons enhance in-cylinder turbulence via the MCs and vents to promote particulate reduction during the power stroke.  The development work is pursued using a two-piece piston assembly to facilitate design refinement.  As shown in the figure, the piston body and insert contain the patented Sonex design embodiments.

Cross Section of SCAI Piston for DI Engines

showing insert containing micro-chambers and vents 

The SCAI allows ignition and combustion of low cetane heavy fuels by controlled auto-ignition at moderate compression ratios, and operates at controlled peak cylinder pressures, which should allow the design of lighter weight HFEs rather than the heavy weight required by normal diesel engines.  In addition, the SCAI operating on heavy fuels has the potential to deliver fuel economy approaching that of a diesel engine, and 25% to 30% lower fuel consumption than a gasoline engine. 

From late 2002 to November 2007 the Company worked under an agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the development of a multi-cylinder, four-stroke, HFE combustion process for potential DoD applications.  This project was sponsored by DARPA as a technology feasibility demonstration of a means for lightweight piston engines to comply with the DoD policy directive that mandates heavy fuel for all engines.  Gasoline engines are typically 25% to 30% lighter than diesel engines; thus, fully qualified, adapted gasoline engine designs that could burn hard-to-ignite diesel and kerosene-based heavy fuels would address DoD performance, logistics and safety requirements.

The DARPA program at Sonex was aimed at adapting a lightweight, six-cylinder, normally aspirated, gasoline, spark-ignited (SI), Subaru 3.0 liter, 6-cylinder automotive engine being used in an unmanned helicopter development to operate unthrottled on kerosene-based fuel at a power level up to 400 hp.  Initial tasks demonstrated the Subaru engine has combustion chamber limitations due to the valve placement/arrangement in a pent roof head.

Sonex then adapted its 3-cylinder turbocharged diesel laboratory engine to compare a diesel-like combustion chamber to the gasoline-like combustion chamber of the first engine.  Sonex achieved the following laboratory results on this engine: (1) complete control of ignition by means of SCAI chemical ignition using fuel injection timing; (2) control of peak cylinder pressures consistent with lightweight aluminum engine design; and (3) demonstrated the advantages of the diesel-like combustion chamber at a compression ratio of 12.5:1 and turbocharging for high power output and low smoke with good fuel economy.

To develop a higher power piston, Sonex proposed to adapted a Mercedes-Benz 3.2-liter, turbocharged, in-line, 6-cylinder automotive diesel engine.  For the purposes of development work this engine provided the preferred combustion chamber that incorporates the SCAI piston with a bowl design to achieve the compression ratio of 12.5:1.  In July 2006 Sonex proposed a plan, which DARPA found acceptable, for schedule and cost risk reduction by lowering the power objective to 250 hp.  Characterization of the SCS process at the 250 hp level was expected to provide an indication that the calculations previously reported for a 400 hp HFE may be ultimately achievable in hardware.

In September 2007 Sonex successfully demonstrated to DARPA the laboratory SCAI HFE operating on JP-8 heavy fuel at power levels up to 250 hp with significant reductions in fuel consumption when compared to a gasoline engine.  In addition, exhaust emissions were reduced, validating the potential of the patented piston embodiments to manage levels of emissions in-cylinder.  The fully lean-burn SCAI process was run with full control over the entire operating range to 4,500 rpm, which is essential to a wide range of applications on any fuel.  Characterization of the SCAI near this power level provided an indication that a lightweight 400 hp HFE could be ultimately achievable.

The Sonex/DARPA agreement concluded in November 2007.  DARPA has declined to entertain proposals from Sonex for continuing SCAI HFE piston development; however, the Company is pursuing funding from other military and commercial sources.  Management believes the outcome of a focused SCAI HFE effort will enhance the utility of military UAVs, including powered parafoil-wings, as well as other applications.  The four-stroke SCS SCAI process for heavy fuel operation is based on unthrottled air flow and high rates of heat release which enable low rates of fuel consumption, particularly at less than peak power, to provide a trade-off in fuel weight relative to mission duration and/or sensor-data link payloads.

The outcomes from the DARPA project on heavy fuel also relate to the use of SCAI with gasoline and could have significant potential for commercial application in the automotive market, as described in the following section.

The SCAI Process for Improving Fuel Mileage on Gasoline

In December 2007 President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which increases the U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standard to 35 mpg by 2020.  This standard challenges the automotive industry to achieve significant technological advancements and to produce products desired by the vehicle-buying public.  Based on the recent accomplishments at Sonex, it appears the SCAI combustion process can contribute significantly to 35 mpg CAFÉ power plant strategies.

The SCAI sparkless, fully unthrottled, compression ignition combustion process has been advanced on kerosene-based fuel through a “task-driven” DARPA program over the past five years as described previously.  Sonex submits that its patented piston embodiments have the potential to a enable fuel mileage improvement of 25% to 30% in gasoline engines as well as to address the exhaust emissions challenges inherent to a new class of higher performance engines known as gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines.  (In GDI engines, the fuel injectors are located in the combustion chamber rather than in the intake manifold as in conventional gasoline engines.)  GDI engines are being introduced by automotive manufacturers to maximize power for a given displacement and reduce fuel consumption by 3%.  A reduction in fuel consumption of 25% to 30% in GDI engines, however, requires a cost-effective breakthrough in lean-burn combustion technology.  Sonex believes its SCAI combustion process provides the lean-burn breakthrough needed based on preliminary SCAI-GDI dynamometer data which show a reduction of at least 25%.

SCAI is enabled by a unique patented piston for engines using direct injection.  The unthrottled SCAI technology responds to the unmet objectives of GDI engine technology to operate at all engine speeds with wide-open throttle to overcome the part-throttle loss of classical gasoline engines at low power and steady speed and to overcome inherent exhaust emissions of high oxides of nitrogen and soot.  Additional, significant improvements in fuel economy are obtained from the compression ratio, SCAI rapid rate of heat release, combustion in a piston bowl (all after top-dead-center), and minimal interaction of the fuel with the cylinder wall during combustion.  Preliminary results of the SCAI operating in a laboratory 3-cylinder engine on low octane gasoline confirm the piston enabled, reactive chemical species ignition process and no-flame front combustion can be timed to occur after top-dead-center for maximum efficiency and high power output.

Sonex has designed a three-phase program, expected to cost $1 million, to pursue commercialization of the SCAI combustion process for gasoline engines.  In the first phase, Sonex believes it can accomplish a six-month program to produce compelling SCAI combustion process engine data of a fuel mileage improvement of 25% to 30% in GDI engines.  The compelling data will be the basis of marketing to the automotive industry as a patent and know-how licensing opportunity that yields significant financial return based on the U.S. market of 16 million new gasoline powered vehicles per year.

The three-phase program for achieving a fuel mileage improvement of 25% to 30% in GDI engines is outlined as follows:

1. Develop compelling data and conduct marketing to obtain manufacturer commitments for Phase 2.  (6 months)

2. Design, fabricate and qualify generic SCAI-GDI engines and Technical Design Package (TDP) for delivery to automotive manufacturers and other entities with development laboratories in the U.S. for a $1.5 million up-front payment for each TDP delivered.  (9 months)

3. Royalties derived from serial SCAI-GDI engine production.  The annual income from per engine royalties on up to 16 million vehicles per year (U.S. market only) could be significant

In Phase 1 of the proposed GDI venture, the SCAI-GDI piston design from Task 6 of the DARPA program will be refined to determine the ideal control parameters needed for SCAI-GDI engines with outstanding fuel consumption and emissions.  Sonex is seeking partners and other funding arrangements to support the SCAI-GDI program.  In a separate document available upon request, an SCAI-GDI investment structure is proposed which contemplates formation of an investment entity to enter into an agreement with Sonex to conduct the SCAI-GDI program.

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