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In the conventional approval test method of fuel consumption for heavy-duty diesel vehicles currently in use in Japan, the fuel consumption under the transient test cycle is calculated by integrating the instantaneous fuel consumption rate referred from a look-up table of fuel consumptions measured under the steady state conditions of the engine. Therefore, the transient engine performance is not considered in this conventional method. In this study, a highly accurate test method for fuel consumption in which the map-based fuel consumption rate is corrected using the transient characteristics of individual engines was developed. The method and its applicability for a heavy-duty diesel engine that complied with the Japanese 2009 emission regulation were validated.

The use of biomass fuels for vehicles has been a focus of attention all over the world in terms of prevention of global warming, effective utilization of resources and local revitalization. For the purpose of beneficial use of unused biomass resources, the movement of the use of bioethanol and biodiesel made from them has spread in Japan. In Japan, biodiesel is mainly made from waste cooking oil collected by local communities or governments, and in terms of local production for local consumption, it is used as neat fuel (100% biofuel) or mixed with diesel fuel in high concentration for the vehicles. On the other hand, extremely low emission level must be kept for not only gasoline vehicles but also diesel vehicles in the post new long-term regulation implemented from 2009 in Japan.

Application of biodiesel fuel (BDF) to diesel engine is very effective to reduce CO2 emission, because biodiesel is carbon neutral in principle. However, biodiesels yield an increase in NOx emission from conventional diesel engine, compared with diesel fuel case. Therefore, some strategies are needed for meeting the future emission regulations when using biodiesel. In this study, rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME) was applied to diesel engine equipped with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system and NOx storage reduction (NSR) catalyst. NOx reduction rate of NSR catalyst was drastically decreased by using RME, even if injection quantity of RME for rich spike was enhanced. However, an increase in EGR rate could reduce NOx emission without the deterioration in smoke and PM emissions.

The biomass fuel is expected to solve the global warming due to a carbon neutral. A rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME) as biomass fuel was selected, and also a low sulfur diesel fuel is tested as reference fuel in this study. The experiments were carried out to improve diesel emissions and engine performance using high boost and high rate EGR system and a common rail injection system in a single cylinder engine. The diesel emissions and engine performance have been measured under the experimental conditions such as charging boost pressure from atmospheric pressure to 401.3kPa maximum and changing EGR rate from 0% to 40% maximum. RME contain about 10 mass % oxygen in the fuel molecule. Furthermore, RME does not contain aromatic hydrocarbons in the fuel. Due to these chemical properties, RME can be used at 40% high EGR condition.

The use of biodiesel fuels as an alternative fuel for petroleum diesel fuel is very effective for the reduction of CO2 emission, because biodiesel is produced from renewable biomass resources. Biodiesel is usually blended to conventional diesel fuel in various proportions. It is possible that this biodiesel blending causes the problems on emission characteristics of modern diesel engine, because it could be confirmed that the application of neat biodiesel to modern diesel engines whose control parameters were optimized for conventional diesel fuel deteriorated the emission performances. It is necessary to clarify the effect of biodiesel blending on exhaust emissions of modern diesel engine. Rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME) was selected as a biodiesel used in this study.

The application of biodiesel as an alternative fuel for petroleum diesel fuel is very effective for the reduction of CO₂ emission, because biodiesel is produced from renewable biomass resources. In Japan, neat biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil has often been applied to commercial vehicles. However, it is possible that the difference of fuel properties between conventional diesel fuel and biodiesel causes the problems on exhaust emission characteristics of diesel engine. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the effect of biodiesel fuelling on exhaust emissions from commercial vehicles. Light-duty garbage trucks and heavy-duty diesel buses which were actually fueled with biodiesel in Kyoto, Japan, were used for test vehicles in this study. The exhaust emissions from these vehicles during JE05 mode tests were compared between biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil and conventional diesel fuel.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) is effective for the simultaneous reduction of soot and NOx emissions from diesel engine. In general, high octane number and volatility fuels (gasoline components or gaseous fuels) are used for HCCI operation, because very lean mixture must be formed during ignition delay of the fuel. However, it is necessary to improve fuel injection systems, when these fuels are used in diesel engine. The purpose of the present study is the achievement of HCCI combustion in DI diesel engine without the large-scale improvements of engine components. Various high octane number fuels are mixed with diesel fuel as a base fuel, and the mixed fuels are directly applied to DI diesel engine. At first, the cylinder pressure and heat release rate of each mixed fuel are analyzed. The ignition delay of HCCI operation decreases with an increase in the operation load, although that of conventional diesel operation does not almost varied.

The 1997 Kyoto protocol came into effect in February, 2005 to reduce greenhouse gases within the period 2008-2012 by at least 5 % with respect to 1990 levels. Application of biodiesel fuel (BDF) to diesel engine is very effective to reduce CO2 emission, because BDF is carbon neutral in principle. The purpose of this project is to produce a light-duty biodiesel truck which can be suitable for emission regulation in next generation. The effect of BDF on the performance and emissions of modern diesel engine which was equipped with the aftertreatment for PM and NOx emissions was investigated without modifications of engine components and parameters, as a first step for research and development of biodiesel engine. Rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME) was selected in behalf of BDF, and combustion characteristics, engine performance and exhaust emissions were made a comparison between RME and petroleum diesel fuel by steady operation and Japan transient mode (JE05) tests.

A variable valve timing (VVT) mechanism was applied to achieve premixed diesel combustion at higher load for low emissions and high thermal efficiency in a light duty diesel engine. By means of late intake valve closing (LIVC), compressed gas temperatures near the top dead center are lowered, thereby preventing too early ignition and increasing ignition delay to enhance fuel-air mixing. The variability of effective compression ratio has significant potential for ignition timing control of conventional diesel fuel mixtures. At the same time, the expansion ratio is kept constant to ensure thermal efficiency. Combining the control of LIVC, EGR, supercharging systems and high-pressure fuel injection equipment can simultaneously reduce NOx and smoke. The NOx and smoke suppression mechanism in the premixed diesel combustion was analyzed using the 3D-CFD code combined with detailed chemistry.

In the previous study design of two-component normal paraffin fuel was attempted considering the components and blending ratio. Only the thermodynamic analysis of combustion and analysis of emission characteristics were performed to evaluate the design performance. In this study mixture formation behavior and combustion phenomena of pure and mixed n-paraffin fuels were investigated by direct visualization in an AVL engine with bottom view piston. The experiments included laser-illuminated high-speed photography of the fuel injection phase and combustion phase to investigate physical differences. The results obtained for the proposed fuels are compared with the results of conventional diesel fuel. It was found that the two component normal paraffin fuels with similar thermo physical properties have very similar spray development pattern but evaporation rates are different.

The use of biofuel is essential for the reduction of greenhouse gas emission. This study highlights the use of biodiesel as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emission from the diesel engine of heavy-duty vehicles. Biodiesel is fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) obtained through ester exchange reaction by adding methanol to oil, such as rapeseed oil, soybean oil, palm oil, etc. The CO2 emission from combustion of biodiesel is defined to be equivalent to the CO2 volume absorbed by its raw materials or plants in their course of growth. On the other hand, however, operation of diesel engine with biodiesel is known to increase the NOx emission when compared with that with conventional diesel fuel. Then suppressing this NOx increase is regarded as a critical issue. This paper consists of two parts: comprehending the factors of NOx emission increase and improving this emission performance in a diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel.

As a method for reducing exhaust emissions from diesel engines, we have experimented on a homogeneous charge diesel combustion technique (HCDC) whereby a portion of fuel is supplied into the intake port to form a homogeneous premixture, this is then fed into the cylinder from the intake port before ignition of the diesel fuel, which is injected directly into the cylinder. Our results have indicated possibilities of substantially reducing both NOx and smoke emissions. If diesel fuel is premixed with air, the premixture under-goes excessively early self-ignition, making it difficult to maintain ignition timing near top dead center and hence limiting the engine operating conditions. While an important target in emission reduction is to realize stable low-emission combustion during a high-load operation, the actual operation of diesel engines mostly involves partial-load conditions.

Widespread use of biofuels for automobiles would greatly reduce CO2 emissions and increase resource recycling, contributing to global environmental conservation. In fact, activities for expanding the production and utilization of biofuels are already proceeding throughout the world. For diesel vehicles, generally, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) made from vegetable oils is used as a biodiesel. In recent years, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) has also become increasingly popular. In addition, biomass to liquid (BTL) fuel, which can be made from any kinds of biomass by gasification and Fischer-Tropsch process, is expected to be commercialized in the future. On the other hand, emission regulations in each country have been tightened year by year. In accordance with this, diesel engines have complied with the regulations with advanced technologies such as common-rail fuel injection system, high pressure turbocharger, EGR and aftertreatment system.