Search Results

Growing concerns about the emissions of internal combustion engines have forced the adoption of aftertreatment devices to reduce the adverse impact of diesel engines on health and environment. Diesel particulate filters are considered as an effective means to reduce the particle emissions and comply with the regulations. Research activity in this field focuses on filter configuration, materials and aging, on understanding the variation of soot layer properties during time, on defining of the optimal strategy of DPF management for on-board control applications. A model was implemented in order to simulate the filtration and regeneration processes of a wall-flow particulate filter, taking into account the emission characteristic of the engine, whose architecture and operating conditions deeply affect the size distribution of soot particles.

Diesel particulate filters are well known for their efficiency and reliability in trapping particulate matter out of diesel engines. In the last years, many efforts have been done to improve their performances, leading to the employment of new materials and architectures, as well as sophisticated regeneration and management strategies. A lumped parameter model has been developed by the authors able to ensure good accuracy and fast processing for DPF control applications. In this paper, the attention is at first addressed towards the loading process; the evolution with time of pressure drop inside the filter structure is computed and basing on the engine operative condition, a parametrization of the deposited soot layer profile is proposed, in which the effect of the flow distribution at the cross section of the filter is accounted for. The regeneration process is then investigated and temperature profile inside the filter channel is analyzed.

This paper presents a lumped parameter (LP) model to compute diesel soot morphology, in terms of radii of gyration and fractal diameters, starting from the engine operating conditions. The global soot production inside the combustion chamber is evaluated, too. Such a model represents an enhancement of a previously developed LP approach in which the loading and regeneration processes inside a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) are investigated. The performance of the DPF during loading is evaluated according to soot layer thickness and pressure drop; the characteristics of soot morphology and particulate deposit are accounted for during the regeneration. Results are presented and validated by means of comparison to those obtained by experimental measures and 3D CFD simulations.

Many efforts are being currently devoted to the development of diagnostic techniques based on nonintrusive measurements aimed at defining the injection parameters able to optimize the combustion process. Previous papers of the authors have demonstrated a direct relationship between in-cylinder pressure and engine block vibration signals. Besides, it was also shown sensitivity of the engine surface vibration to variation of injection parameters, when the accelerometer is placed in sensitive location of the engine block. Moreover, in the accelerometer signal, a frequency band in which such a relationship is very strict has been selected. The aim of the present work is to establish a reliable relation between the main characteristics of the in-cylinder pressure curve and the vibration trend, by means of a deeper insight into the engine block signal. The final objective is to monitor the combustion behavior by means of a non-intrusive transducer.

A methodology has been developed by the authors, in which non-intrusive measurements (engine block vibration) are used for diagnostic purposes of combustion process in Diesel engines. A previous paper of the authors has been devoted to demonstrate the direct relationship between in-cylinder pressure and accelerometer signals, when the vibration transducer is placed in sensitive location. Moreover, in the engine block vibration a frequency band in which such a relationship is very strong has been selected. The aim of this work is to provide a deeper insight into the effects of injection parameters on engine block vibration, in order to investigate the possibility of detecting modification of the in-cylinder pressure evolution by means of the accelerometer signal with the final objective of optimizing the combustion process by means of non-intrusive transducer.

The present work aims at developing and setting up a methodology in which non-intrusive measurements (engine block vibration) are used for monitoring combustion characteristics (combustion diagnosis, combustion development). The engine block vibration appears as a very complex signal in which different sources can be identified, since every moving component or physical process involved in the operation of the engine produces a vibration signal (exhaust valve open/close, inlet valve open/close, fuel injection, combustion, piston slap). Aimed at monitoring the engine running condition, the information carried by the vibration signal has to be broken down into its various contributions and then they have to be related to their respective excitation sources. Concerning combustion-induced vibration, experimental measures has been at first devoted to the selection of the best location where to place the piezoelectric accelerometer.

A previously developed injection system model has been enhanced including a quasi-dimensional, multi-zone, direct injection (DI) diesel combustion model, with the aim of taking into account the actual injection process, the spray formation and the droplet heating-vaporization processes. Such a goal is obtained by means of the integration of different modeling approaches. In a commercial simulation environment, a lumped parameter mechanical-hydraulic scheme is used to model the injection process, in terms of fuel flow rate and injection pressure. The spray formation processes and the droplet vaporization phenomena are then implemented in a self developed computation code, accounting for finite thermal conductibility of the liquid phase fuel.

The present work investigates a multi-cylinder Diesel engine with integrated automatic transmission and gearbox, equipped with a common rail injection system for mini-car sector application. Previous research work has been devoted to examine the engine NVH characteristics; the attention has been addressed to the analysis of the direct relationship existing between in-cylinder pressure and engine block vibration signals with the final purpose of developing and setting up a methodology able to monitor and optimize the combustion process by means of non-intrusive measurements. The aim of this paper is to improve the performance of the engine in different operating conditions by means of both experimental and numerical approaches. Experimental tests have been conducted on the engine in a dynamic test bed in order to account for the actual loading conditions.

This paper presents the results of an experimental analysis on a multi-cylinder diesel engine, in which in-cylinder pressure and accelerometer transducers are used with the purpose of developing and setting up a methodology able to monitor and optimize the combustion behavior by means of non-intrusive measurements. Previously published results have demonstrated the direct relationship existing between in-cylinder pressure and engine block vibration signals, as well as the sensitivity of the engine surface vibration to variation of injection parameters when the accelerometer is placed in sensitive location of the engine block. Moreover, the accelerometer trace has revealed to be able to locate in the crank-angle domain important phenomena characterizing the combustion process (the start of pre-mixed combustion, the crank angle value corresponding to the beginning of diffusive combustion and to the in-cylinder pressure maximum value).

The paper concerns with gas exchange and combustion process in a 2T high speed gasoline engine and presents the results of a numerical-experimental investigation, in which zero-dimensional, one dimensional and three dimensional calculation schemes are used and the tuning between numerical and experimental results is performed. The different flow patterns from which the efficiency of the scavenging strongly depends are analysed, the variation with time of the spatial distribution of the fresh charge and combustion product in the cylinder is evaluated. The combustion process is simulated and the influence of geometric parameters of the ports on the scavenging efficiency, on the emission of hydrocarbons in the exhaust system and on the performance of the combustion process is investigated.

A predictive technique aimed at investigating the behaviour of intake and exhaust systems of internal combustion engine and at evaluating their influence on engine breathing and radiated noise is herewith presented. Such a technique is based on coupling a time domain gas dynamic model (composed of zero-dimensional, one-dimensional and three-dimensional methods) with a frequency domain linear acoustic analysis (transfer matrix method); thus a realistic prediction of complete engine systems is realised by adopting in each region the most appropriate method, according to the main features of the phenomena involved. The whole procedure has been applied to the intake system of an automotive engine and the results regarding different operative conditions are presented.

The paper deals with the implementation of a diagnosis procedure able to reveal if anomalies in the combustion process of a spark ignition engine appear and then to identify the responsible cylinder. The procedure, based on the processing of the exhaust pressure signal in both time and frequency domains, has been developed aimed at overcoming the lacks others diagnostic methodologies have exhibited when the malfunction appears during some particular engine operative conditions. At first, the effectiveness of the method has been shown by considering steady-state conditions: experimental measurements have been carried out on a spark ignition engine running in a test cell by fixing different conditions of engine speed and load. In this paper the attention has been devoted to steady conditions in which the engine operating is characterized by a large amount of irregularity; engine transient conditions have been analysed, too. The results of both steady and transient tests are presented.

The performances of high pressure fuel-injection systems and their effects on diesel engine combustion are strongly influenced by the injector characteristics and the set up of the whole equipment control system. High-pressure system based on the common-rail architecture allows a multi-stage injection, which is of paramount importance in controlling combustion noise, fuel consumption, operation roughness and exhaust pollutant emissions. Common rail fuel injection equipment for automotive diesel engine, together with its control system have been analysed by using AMESim environment; both standard library elements and self-developed sub-models have been adopted. At first the different components have been considered one by one; in this way the behaviour of high pressure pump (radial-jet), pressure regulator, rail, injectors, system control (e. c. u.) has been investigated; the results have been compared with experimental measurements.

In two stroke engines, the scavenging process has direct influence in the performance of combustion process and then retains great importance in the strategies oriented towards solutions characterized by improvements of fuel efficiency, engine power output and reductions of pollutant emissions. The authors have developed an integrated numerical-experimental predictive tool, based on a two-step procedure, in which zero-dimensional, one-dimensional and three-dimensional simulation models are applied. In this paper, the attention is focused on the analysis in detail of different flow patterns which contribute to determine the scavenging process in order to provide a better comprehension and then to get improvement of such complex process. Since the scavenging efficiency strongly depends on the geometry of the engine system, the effect of a variation of the geometrical parameters on the flow paths and on the distribution of the scavenge streams is investigated.

In automotive engines, combustion process substantially contributes to noise emission. The complex interaction between the excitation force (i.e. the cylinder pressure profile) and the characteristic response of the engine structure is responsible for engine block vibration and then for noise radiation. Aimed at obtaining a better understanding of the causes which mainly contribute to the combustion noise generation, a processing technique has been developed and set up, in which the trend of the mean frequency of the pressure trace in the cylinder is computed by using a sliding window of the signal. The analysis of such a trace retains great importance in the strategies devoted to control the combustion noise quantity and quality, since it allows to extract useful information to assess the contribution of the different phenomena which characterize the combustion process, in terms of their amplitude, frequency and time distribution.

The optimization of the combustion process in diesel engines is one of the challenges to improve performance, emissions, fuel consumption and NVH characteristics. This work constitutes one of the last steps of a comprehensive research program in which vibration sensors are used with the purpose of developing and setting up a methodology that is able to monitor and optimize the combustion process by means of non-intrusive measurements. Previously published results have demonstrated the direct relationship that exists between in-cylinder pressure and engine block vibration signals, as well as the sensitivity of the engine surface vibration to variation of injection parameters when the accelerometer is placed in a sensitive location of the engine block.

The paper presents a non-intrusive technique in which accelerometers are used to provide information about the metric of the in-cylinder pressure development, with the final aim of using their signal as feedback in a control algorithm for the injection control unit. Previous papers by the authors have been devoted to the evaluation of the potential of using vibration transducers; the analysis in both the time and frequency domain of the accelerometer and in-cylinder pressure signals has allowed for the separation of the vibration components caused by the combustion process from those due to other sources. The combustion related vibration has then been used to characterize the in-cylinder pressure development.

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the application of an engine block vibration transducer. The aim of the study was to accomplish a real time management of the control unit using the vibration signal as a feedback to correct the injection parameters setting. The continuously strengthened exhaust emission regulations and the constrains related to the fuel consumption and noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics, have determined increasing interest towards investigation of the potentiality of new combustion technologies and fuel blends capable of reducing particulate matter and NOx emissions. Focus has also been paid to non-intrusive techniques for the combustion process characterization by means of sensors, such as microphones and accelerometers.

To ensure compliance with emerging Diesel emission standards and demands for reduced fuel consumption, the optimization of the engine operation is imperative under both stationary and real operation conditions. This issue imposes a strict control of the combustion process that requires a closed-loop algorithm able to provide an optimal response of the engine system not only to warm-up, accelerations, changes in the slope of the road, etc., but also to engine aging and variations of fuel properties. In this paper, with the final purpose of accomplishing an innovative control strategy based on non intrusive measurement, the engine block vibration signal is used to extract useful information able to characterize the in-cylinder pressure development during the combustion process. In the previous research activity, the same methodology was applied to stationary operation of the engine.

Concerns about the harmful exhaust emissions of internal combustion engines have imposed the employment of aftertreatment devices to reduce their impacts both on health and environment. System modeling of engine and aftertreatment devices is required not only to provide an accurate assessment of the engine and aftertreatment devices performances as single elements but also to quantify the complex interaction of these components from a thermo fluid perspective. The work focuses on development of a model capable of predicting temporal and spatial evolution of thermo-fluid quantities and chemical species in a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC). The developed model allows to investigate the influence of thermal characteristics and gas composition on the evolution of the phenomena occurring in the device which deeply reflect on the particulate filter behavior during regeneration phase.