Search Results

Mixture preparation is a key contributor to both the combustion and emissions in automotive gasoline engines. The air-fuel ratio near the spark plug may have an effect on combustion characteristics since it is related to early flame development. Therefore, cycle resolved measurements of equivalence ratio near the spark plug is particularly important for better understanding of its contribution on combustion and emissions. This paper describes how we determined the in-cylinder equivalence ratio from the measured hydrocarbon concentration near the spark plug using a Fast Response Flame Ionization Detector (FRFID). The procedures established were then applied to a limited range of engine operating conditions, and the cycle resolved equivalence ratio near the spark plug was determined from the measured hydrocarbon concentration.

An experimental study was carried out to develop a new knock-detection method using cylinder pressure, block vibration and sound pressure signals from a spark-ignition (SI) engine. As a first step for knock detection, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd harmonic knock frequencies were determined by analyzing the cylinder pressure signals under a wide range of engine operating conditions. Since these knock frequencies were found to be independent of engine operating conditions and the standard deviations of these knock frequencies were small, three narrow band-pass filters were designed and applied to process the raw signals from the engine. Then a new method, called the Sum of Divided Band-Pass (SDBP) filtering method, was proposed to determine knock intensity, and it was shown to be better than the other methods in terms of knock detection sensitivity and background noise removal. Knock intensity greatly varies with engine operating conditions, knock sensor locations and fuel characteristics, etc.

To properly respond to demands to reduce national energy consumption and meet greenhouse gas emission targets based on environment policy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy of Korea formed a research consortium consisting of government agencies and academic and research institutions to establish the first fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) commercial vehicles. The standards are expected to be introduced in 2017 as Phase 1 of the plan and will regulate trucks with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 3.5 tons and buses with a carrying capacity of more than 16 persons. Most MHD commercial vehicles are custom-made and manufactured in diversified small-quantity batch production systems for commercial or public use, resulting in difficulties in utilizing mandatory vehicle tests for fuel efficiency evaluations.