A major car maker is joining forces with the University of Michigan to improve fuel efficiency in cars.

Professors and students are teaming up with engineers at the Hyundai-Kia America Technical Centre Inc. (HACTI) to increase fuel economy using what they call a “Dual Pre-Chamber lean-burn combustion system”.

The work will focus on optimising the flow of gases through engines by enhancing the shape of combustion chambers and domed pistons.

Initial studies will use advanced computer models to simulate gas flow and find improvements. Work will then be done using an optical engine – a piston running in a see through cylinder – to visualise the gas flows and make further enhancements. The graduates will support the optical engine study while HACTI engineers will build the prototype hardware, which they will test together.

Dr. Sung Hwan Cho, President of HATCI said: “Combining the unbridled enthusiasm and free-spirited thinking of graduate students from a world-class university with the talented technical minds found within HATCI, we can explore new ways in which to approach significant technological hurdles in the automotive industry.”