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New European emissions legislation (Euro5) specifies a limit for Particle Number (PN) emissions and therefore drives measurement of PN during vehicle development and homologation. Concurrently, the use of biofuel is increasing in the marketplace, and Euro5 specifies that reference fuel must contain a bio-derived portion. Work was carried out to test the effect of fuels containing different levels of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) on particle number, size, mass and composition. Measurements were conducted with a Cambustion Differential Mobility Spectrometer (DMS) to time-resolve sub-micron particles (5-1000nm), and a Horiba Solid Particle Counting System (SPCS) providing PN data from a Euro5-compliant measurement system. To ensure the findings are relevant to the modern automotive business, testing was carried out on a Euro4 compliant passenger car fitted with a high-pressure common-rail diesel engine and using standard homologation procedures.

In this paper, a model-based diagnostic system was developed to detect and isolate the dosing fault and the outlet NOx sensor fault for the SCR system. The dosing fault is treated as an actuator additive fault, while the outlet NOx sensor drift and/or offset fault is treated as a sensor additive fault. First, a 0-D SCR model was developed to facilitate the model-based approach. A parity equation residual generator was designed based on the linearized SCR model and the fault transfer function matrix. The diagnostic algorithm is then implemented in the Matlab/Simulink environment for validation. A high fidelity nonlinear 1-D SCR model is used to generate system outputs and to simulate the plant. The simulation results show that the model-based fault diagnosis system succeeds in detecting and isolating the outlet NOx sensor and dosing faults with good sensitivity and robustness

Controlled auto ignition (CAI) is a form of combustion which uses an auto-ignited homogeneous air/fuel mixture but is controlled (or moderated) by regulating the quantity of internal exhaust gas residuals. In this paper, using a fully variable valve train and a newly developed exhaust valve control strategy, we substituted EGR with hot nitrogen or hot air. We found that the internal exhaust gas residuals have both thermal and chemical effects on CAI combustion. To investigate the thermal effect, nitrogen was used as it is a chemically inert gas. Although its temperature was raised to that of the internal exhaust gas residuals during testing, CAI combustion could not be promoted without assistance from a spark in a form of hybrid CAI, thus indicating that exhaust gas residuals have a chemical effect as well.

Controlled Auto Ignition (CAI) uses compression heat to auto ignite a homogeneous air/fuel mixture. Using internal exhaust gas recirculation (IEGR) as an indirect control method, CAI offers superior fuel economy and pollutant emission reductions. Practically, this can readily be achieved by a method of early exhaust valve closure and late inlet valve opening to trap exhaust gas residuals within the cylinder from one cycle to the next. In order to understand the combustion mechanism, we did a comprehensive investigation on CAI fuelled with iso-octane. Test data was gathered from a single cylinder research engine equipped with Lotus' Research Active Valve Train (AVT) System, and the modelling study was based on detailed chemical kinetics. It was found that CAI can only occur when the thermal energy of the engine charge, which is a mixture of air / fuel and IEGR, reaches a certain level.

Valve timing strategies aimed at producing internal exhaust gas re-circulation in a conventional spark ignition, SI, engine have recently demonstrated the ability to initiate controlled auto-ignition, CAI. Essentially the exhaust valves close early, to trap a quantity of hot exhaust gases in-cylinder, and the fresh air-fuel charge is induced late into the cylinder and then mixing takes place. As a logical first step to understanding the fluid mechanics, the effects of the standard and modified valve timings on the in-cylinder flow fields under motored conditions were investigated. Laser Doppler anemometry has been applied to an optical engine that replicates the engine geometry and different valve cam timings. The cycle averaged time history mean and RMS velocity profiles for the axial and radial velocity components in three axial planes were measured throughout the inlet and compression stroke.

This paper reports on an investigation into the potential for a thermoelectric generator (TEG) to improve the fuel economy of a mild hybrid vehicle. A simulation model of a parallel hybrid vehicle equipped with a TEG in the exhaust system is presented. This model is made up by three sub-models: a parallel hybrid vehicle model, an exhaust model and a TEG model. The model is based on a quasi-static approach, which runs a fast and simple estimation of the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The model is validated against both experimental and published data. Using this model, the annual fuel saving, CO2 reduction and net present value (NPV) of the TEG’s life time fuel saving are all investigated. The model is also used as a flexible tool for analysis of the sensitivity of vehicle fuel consumption to the TEG design parameters. The analysis results give an effective basis for optimization of the TEG design.