Portable Ultracapacitor-Based Power Source for Emergency Starting of Internal Combustion Engines

An original ultracapacitor (UC) based compact electric power source is introduced in the paper. The device employs the synergy between rich energy content of vehicle lead-acid batteries and power capabilities of UCs to allow emergency starting of internal combustion engine in case of a weak battery. The UC-based power source is capable of charging at low rate from the battery and then providing current burst required for proper engine starting. A prototype is designed employing original power circuitry, and a dedicated algorithm for optimal UC charging is developed. The device is successfully used for diesel engine starting, as shown by experimental results.