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An experimental and numerical work has been performed to characterize the performance of a medium-size spark-ignition engine and the related gas-dynamic noise emitted at the intake mouth. The noise attenuation of the main component of the intake system, namely the air flow box, has been experimentally measured and compared to the numerical results obtained using a tri-dimensional code. Then, the 3D-CFD code has been used to improve the noise attenuation of the above component through the introduction of a Helmholtz and a column resonator along the inflow pipe. Both the base and the modified air box have been coupled to the engine, installed inside a vehicle. An experimental analysis has been carried out to measure the engine performance and the gasdynamic noise at the intake. Some comparisons have been then reported with the numerical results derived from a one-dimensional analysis of the whole engine.

The paper details recent results concerning the design of a new intake system for a 1.4 liter displacement ELASIS-FIAT engine. A classical approach, based on theoretical one-dimensional characterization of the whole system, is presented. This approach, however, requires a relevant number of geometrical information which are usually unavailable in the first phase of the design process. For this reason, a statistical analysis on a number of existing devices was also carried out to the aim of providing such initial data as a function of prescribed levels of pressure losses and noise emission for the device. The methodology allows then to define a base configuration of the system, to start the 1D analyses. The base geometry is further refined taking into account the layout constraints and the presence of resonators for the reduction of the noise emission. Experimental data collected on a prototype of the designed system have confirmed the robustness of the whole design procedure.