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The use of a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) in conjunction with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) is now a well-established aftertreatment system design for on-road heavy duty diesel. For non-road applications, the DOC must respond to the need for performance under more diverse and less favorable conditions, such as operation at low loads in cold weather. To choose a DOC technology for such applications, one must have practical and meaningful tests that address the specific catalytic functions of interest such as hydrocarbon oxidation to produce heat for regenerating DPF. This paper describes the development of an engine test protocol that focuses on resistance to the phenomenon known as quenching, the cessation of hydrocarbon (HC) oxidation that occurs when the exhaust temperature decreases below the light-off temperature of the catalyst. During development, the sensitivity and repeatability of the test were carefully scrutinized.

HiSiMo cast irons are frequently used as material for high temperature components in engines as e.g. exhaust manifolds and turbo chargers. These components must withstand severe cyclic mechanical and thermal loads throughout their life cycle. The combination of thermal transients with mechanical load cycles results in a complex evolution of damage, leading to thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) of the material and, after a certain number of loading cycles, to failure of the component. In Part I of the paper, a fracture mechanics model for TMF life prediction was developed based on results of uniaxial tests. In this paper (Part II), the model is formulated for three-dimensional stress states, so that it can be applied in a post-processing step of a finite-element analysis. To obtain reliable stresses and (time dependent plastic) strains in the finite-element calculation, a time and temperature dependent plasticity model is applied which takes non-linear kinematic hardening into account.

HiSiMo cast irons are frequently used as material for high temperature components in engines as e.g. exhaust manifolds and turbo chargers. These components must withstand severe cyclic mechanical and thermal loads throughout their service life. The combination of thermal transients with mechanical load cycles results in a complex evolution of damage, leading to thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) of the material and, after a certain number of loading cycles, to failure of the component. In this paper (Part I), the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) and TMF properties of HiSiMo are investigated in uniaxial tests and the damage mechanisms are addressed. On the basis of the experimental results a fatigue life model is developed which is based on elastic, plastic and creep fracture mechanics results of short cracks, so that time and temperature dependent effects on damage are taken into account.

Driven by the desire to implement low-cost, high-efficiency NOx aftertreatment systems, such as Three Way Catalysts (TWC) or Lean NOx Traps (LNT), a novel 6-Stroke engine cycle was explored to determine the feasibility of implementing such a cycle on a compression ignition engine while continuing to deliver fuel efficiency. Fundamental questions regarding the abilities and trade-offs of a 6-stroke engine cycle were investigated for near-stoichiometric and lean operation. Experiments were performed on a single-cylinder 15-liter (equivalent) research engine equipped with flexible valvetrain and fuel injection systems to allow direct comparison between 4-stroke and 6-stroke performance across multiple hardware configurations. 1-D engine simulations with predictive combustion models were used to support, iterate on, and explore the 6-stroke operation in conjunction with the experiments.

The winter of 2013-2014 provided an opportunity to operate off-road vehicles in cold weather for extended time as part of a vehicle/tier 4 diesel engine validation program. An unexpected area of study was the performance of high efficiency, on engine, fuel filters during continuous vehicle operation in cold weather. During the program we observed unexpected premature fuel filter plugging as indicated by an increase in pressure drop across the filter while in service. Field and laboratory testing was completed at John Deere and Donaldson to understand the cause of filter plugging. Although conditions were found where winter fuel additives could cause plugging of high efficiency filters, premature filter plugging occurred even when testing with #1 diesel fuel. This fuel contained no additives and was used at temperatures well above its cloud point.

An aqueous urea solution is used as the source of ammonia for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx to reduce the emissions of NOx in the exhaust of diesel vehicles. However, the decomposition of urea into ammonia is not always complete, resulting in solid urea deposit formation in the decomposition tube or on the SCR catalyst. These solid deposits can impede the flow of the exhaust gases (and uniformity of NH3 supply) and reduce SCR catalyst performance over time. To minimize the formation of urea deposit and to meet EPA NOx emission regulations, it is important to understand the chemistry of formation or removal of the deposit in the decomposition tube and SCR catalyst. In this report, IR spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and elemental analysis have been used to determine the chemical composition of the solid urea deposits formed by the thermal decomposition of urea.

Sensor selection for the control of modern powertrains is a recognised technical challenge. The key question is which set of sensors is best suited for an effective control strategy? This paper addresses the question through probabilistic modelling and Bayesian analysis. By quantifying uncertainties in the model, the propagation of sensor information throughout the model can be observed. The specific example is an abstract model of the slip behaviour of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) DeNOx aftertreatment systems. Due to the ambiguity of the sensor reading, linearization-based approaches including the Extended Kalman Filter, or the Unscented Kalman Filter are not successful in resolving this problem. The stochastic literature suggests approximating these nonlinear distributions using methods such as Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), which is able in principle to resolve bimodal or multimodal results.

One of the factors preventing widespread use of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition or HCCI is the challenge of controlling the process under transient conditions. Current engine control technology does not have the ability to accurately control the individual cylinder states needed for consistent HCCI combustion. The material presented here is a new approach to engine control using a physics-based individual cylinder real time model to calculate the engine states and then controlling the engine with this state information. The model parameters and engine state information calculated within the engine controller can be used to calculate the required actuator positions so that the desired mass of air, fuel, and residual exhaust gas are achieved for each cylinder event. This approach offers a solution to the transient control problem that works with existing sensors and actuators.

An investigation has been carried out to examine the influence of up to 300 MPa injection pressure on engine performance and emissions. Experiments were performed on a 4 cylinder, 4 valve / cylinder, 4.5 liter John Deere diesel engine using the Ricardo Twin Vortex Combustion System (TVCS). The study was conducted by varying the injection pressure, Start of Injection (SOI), Variable Geometry Turbine (VGT) vane position and a wide range of EGR rates covering engine out NOx levels between 0.3 g/kWh to 2.5 g/kWh. A structured Design of Experiment approach was used to set up the experiments, develop empirical models and predict the optimum results for a range of different scenarios. Substantial fuel consumption benefits were found at the lowest NOx levels using 300 MPa injection pressure. At higher NOx levels the impact was nonexistent. In a separate investigation a Cambustion DMS-500 fast particle spectrometer, was used to sample and analyze the exhaust gas.

An experimental and modeling study was conducted to study the passive regeneration of a catalyzed particulate filter (CPF) by the oxidation of particulate matter (PM) via thermal and Nitrogen dioxide/temperature-assisted means. Emissions data in the exhaust of a John Deere 6.8 liter, turbocharged and after-cooled engine with a low-pressure loop EGR and a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) - catalyzed particulate filter (CPF) in the exhaust system was measured and used for this study. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the performance of the DOC, CPF and DOC+CPF configurations at various engine speeds and loads.

The swivel-type hinge mount specified in SAE J180 has been the standard alternator mounting for many years. However, in the mid-1990's on-highway applications began to experience vibration related failures due to casting excitation. This led to the eventual development of a stationary “pad mount” system in combination with an automatic belt tensioner. This paper will review the system component life and benefits of pad mount, and proposes an industry mounting standard for further application usage.

The use of a partial flow sampling system (PFSS) to measure nonroad steady-state diesel engine particulate matter (PM) emissions is a technique for certification approved by a number of regulatory agencies around the world including the US EPA. Recently, there have been proposals to change future nonroad tests to include testing over a nonroad transient cycle. PFSS units that can quantify PM over the transient cycle have also been discussed. The full flow constant volume sampling (CVS) technique has been the standard method for collecting PM under transient engine operation. It is expensive and requires large facilities as compared to a typical PFSS. Despite the need for a cheaper alternative to the CVS, there has been a concern regarding how well the PM measured using a PFSS compared to that measured by the CVS. In this study, three PFSS units, including AVL SPC, Horiba MDLT, and Sierra BG-2 were investigated in parallel with a full flow CVS.

This paper describes the advantage of the integrated simulation platform and presents the results of performance simulations and the feed-forward air-fuel ratio (AFR) controller design of a new concept stoichiometric compression ignition (SCI) engine based on this platform. In this integrated simulation environment, the SCI engine was modeled in GT-Power and a simplified production engine control module (ECM) is implemented in Simulink/Matlab for the performance simulation and AFR control. The integrated engine and controller model was used to investigate constant-speed load-acceptance (CSLA) performance. During performance simulation, searching for operating conditions is difficult but critical for performance analysis. Trial and error method would require a long time to do. Based on the integrated simulation, a proportional-integral (PI) controller was designed to find the accurate operating conditions.

Experimental studies have shown that knitted wiremesh mixers reduce the formation of solid deposits and improve ammonia homogenization in automotive SCR systems. However, their implementation in CFD models remains a major challenge due to the complex WM geometry. It was the aim of the current study to investigate droplet WM interaction. Essential processes, such as secondary droplet generation, wall film formation, and heat exchange, were analyzed in detail and a numerical model was set up. A box with heat resisting glass was used to study urea-water solution spray impingement on a WM under a wide range of operating conditions. High speed videography was used to identify the impingement regimes. Infrared thermography was applied to investigate WM cooling. In order to determine the impact of the WM on the spray characteristics, the droplet spectrum was measured both upstream and downstream of the WM using the laser diffraction method.

Internal combustion (IC) engines that meet Tier 4 Final emissions standards comprise of multiple engine operation and control parameters that are essential to achieve the low levels of NOx and soot emissions. Given the numerous degrees of freedom and the tight cost/time constraints related to the test bench, application of virtual engineering to IC engine development and emissions reduction programmes is increasingly gaining interest. In particular, system level simulations that account for multiple cycle simulations, incylinder turbulence, and chemical kinetics enable the analysis of combustion characteristics and emissions, i.e. beyond the conventional scope of focusing on engine performance only. Such a physico-chemical model can then be used to develop Electronic Control Unit in order to optimise the powertrain control strategy and/or the engine design parameters.

Diesel particulate filters with a quantity of ash corresponding to the service interval (4500 hours) are needed to verify that soot loading model predictions remain accurate as ash accumulates in the DPF. Initially, long-term engine tests carried out for the purpose of assessing engine and aftertreatment system durability provided ash-loaded DPFs for model verification. However, these DPFs were found to contain less ash than expected based on lube oil consumption, and the ash was distributed uniformly along the length of the inlet channels, as opposed to being in the form of a plug at the outlet end of those channels. Thus, a means of producing DPFs with higher quantities of ash, distributed primarily as plugs, was required. An engine test protocol was developed for this purpose; it included the following: 1) controlled dosing of lube oil into the fuel feeding the engine, 2) formation of a soot cake within the DPF, and 3) periodic active regenerations to eliminate the soot cake.

Mean value engine model (MVEM) is the basis of control design for advanced internal combustion engines. The engine performance transient process usually takes a few cycles. The MVEM provides an adequate accurate description of the engine dynamics with reasonable approximation by ignoring the heat loss and sub-cycle events. MVEM is very important for engine system control development, especially when the modern engine becomes more and more complicated when equipped with throttle, turbocharger and after-treatment systems. Usually the MVEM is developed based on data from engine tests, which is a costly and time consuming process. In this paper, the air path MVEM modeling method based on the 1D detail model is discussed for a turbocharged diesel engine. Simulation is applied to demonstrate the effectiveness of this new method. This approach could be used to get the MVEM for control design even before the prototype engine is available.

Accurate modeling of evaporating sprays is critical for diesel engine simulations. The standard spray and evaporation models in KIVA-3V tend to under-predict the vapor penetration, especially at high ambient pressure conditions. A sharp decrease of vapor penetration gradient is observed soon after the liquid spray is completely evaporated due to the lack of momentum sources beyond the liquid spray region. In this study, a gas particle model is implemented in KIVA-3V which tracks the momentum sources resulting from the evaporated spray. Lagrangian tracking of imaginary gas particles is considered until the velocity of the gas particle is comparable to that of the gas phase velocity. The gas particle continuously exchanges momentum with the gas phase and as a result the vapor penetrations are improved. The results using the present gas particle model is compared with experimental data over a wide range of ambient conditions and good levels of agreement are observed in vapor penetration.

Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler fouling has become a significant issue for compliance with NOX emissions standards and has negative impacts on cooler sizing and engine performance. In order to improve our knowledge of cooler fouling as a function of engine operating parameters and to predict and enhance performance, 19 tube-in-shell EGR coolers were fouled using a 5-factor, 3-level design of experiments with the following variables: (1) EGR flow rate, (2) EGR inlet gas temperature, (3) coolant temperature, (4) soot level, and (5) hydrocarbon concentration. A 9-liter engine and ULSD fuel were used to form the cooler deposits. Coolers were run until the effectiveness stabilized, and then were cooled down to room temperature and run for an additional few hours in order to measure the change in effectiveness due to shut down. The coolers were cut open and the mass per unit area of the deposit was measured as a function of distance down the tube.

Regulated and unregulated emissions (individual hydrocarbons, ethanol, aldehydes and ketones, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), nitro-PAH, and soluble organic fraction of particulate matter) were characterized in engines utilizing duplicate ISO 8178-C1 eight-mode tests and FTP smoke tests. Certification No. 2 diesel (400 ppm sulfur) and three ethanol/diesel blends, containing 7.7 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent ethanol, respectively, were used. The three, Tier II, off-road engines were 6.8-L, 8.1-L, and 12.5-L in displacement and each had differing fuel injection system designs. It was found that smoke and particulate matter emissions decreased with increasing ethanol content. Changes to the emissions of carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen varied with engine design, with some increases and some decreases. As expected, increasing ethanol concentration led to higher emissions of acetaldehyde (increases ranging from 27 to 139 percent).