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The turbulent flow field inside the cylinder plays a major role in spark ignition (SI) engines. Multiple phenomena that occur during the high pressure part of the engine cycle, such as early flame kernel development, flame propagation and gas-to-wall heat transfer, are influenced by in-cylinder turbulence. Turbulence inside the cylinder is primarily generated via high shear flows that occur during the intake process, via high velocity injection sprays and by the destruction of macro-scale motions produced by tumbling and/or swirling structures close to top dead center (TDC) . Understanding such complex flow phenomena typically requires detailed 3D-CFD simulations. Such calculations are computationally very expensive and are typically carried out for a limited number of operating conditions. On the other hand, quasi-dimensional simulations, which provide a limited description of the in-cylinder processes, are computationally inexpensive.

Autoignition correlations are widely used to predict knock in internal combustion engines as opposed to detailed kinetics mechanisms involving hundreds of reactions due to computational cost. Several autoignition correlations exist in the literature for different fuels, and their functional form depends on the operating parameters like fuel type and temperature range, among other things. In the literature different types of correlations are proposed for gasoline fuel, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge none of these correlations can be used for gasoline-ethanol blends with varying levels of ethanol percentage and a wide range of equivalence ratios and temperatures. In this paper, a new empirical correlation is developed to predict the autoignition of gasoline-ethanol blends over a wide range of temperatures including Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) region.

An S.I. combustion model has been developed for application in phenomenological engine simulations. The model is based on a turbulent flame concept, linked to an in-cylinder flow and turbulence calculation. The flame front is assumed to spread from the spark plug and propagate through the cylinder, while interacting with the combustion chamber geometry. The model predictions were compared to combustion rate measurements made in a single cylinder four valve passenger car engine. The data spanned a wide range of operating conditions, from an idle timing sweep, to part load EGR and mixture ratio sweeps, to a wide open throttle speed sweep. The results of the comparisons showed a generally good agreement. Some difficulties were encountered at idle, where cycle-to-cycle variability makes modeling difficult especially at early timing settings.

A model for oil consumption due to in-cylinder evaporation of oil in reciprocating engines, has been developed. The model is based on conservation of mass and energy on the surface of the oil film left on the cylinder by a piston ring pack, at the oil/gas interface, and also conservation of energy within the oil film and cylinder/coolant interface. The model is sensitive to in-cylinder conditions and is part of an integrated model of ring pack performance, which provides the geometry of the oil film left by the ring pack on the cylinder. Preliminary simulation results indicate that a relatively small but not insignificant fraction (2-5%) of the total oil consumption may be due to evaporation losses for a heavy duty diesel at the rated condition. The evaporation rate was shown to be sensitive to oil grade and upper cylinder temperature. Much of these losses occur during the non-firing half of the cycle.

A combustion bomb has been developed which allows simulation of diesel combustion without the need to heat the bomb to high temperatures. Simulation of the compression stroke is achieved by burning a lean precharge composed of acetylene, oxygen and nitrogen. By controlling the initial partial pressures of these constituents it is possible to burn them to a state with an oxygen concentration, temperature and pressure representative of conditions in a diesel engine at the start of fuel injection. Diesel fuel injected into these gases autoignites and burns in a manner typical of combustion in diesel engines. This paper describes the design and operation of such a bomb. Experimental results are presented to illustrate its salient features. Particular attention is devoted to various means of obtaining optical access to the flow and the advantages offered over rapid compression machines or heated bombs.

A set of heat flux data was obtained in a Cummins single cylinder NH-engine coated with zirconia plasma spray. Data were acquired at two locations on the head, at several speeds and several load levels, using a thin film Pt-Pt/Rh thermocouple plated onto the zirconia coating. Careful attention was given to the probe design and to data reduction to assure high accuracy of the measurements. The data showed that the peak heat flux was consistently reduced by insulation and by the increasing wall temperature. The mean heat flux was also reduced. The results agree well with a previously developed flow-based heat transfer model. This indicates that the nature of the heat transfer process was unchanged by the increased wall temperature. Based on these results, the conclusion is drawn that insulation and increasing wall temperatures lead to a decrease in heat transfer and thus contribute positively to thermal efficiency.

Detailed heat transfer measurements were made in the combustion chamber of a Cummins single cylinder NH-engine in two configurations: cooled metal and ceramic-coated. The first configuration served as the baseline for a study of the effects of insulation and wall temperature on heat transfer. The second configuration had several in-cylinder components coated with 1.25 mm (0.050″) layer of zirconia plasma spray -- in particular, piston top, head firedeck and valves. The engine was operated over a matrix of operating points at four engine speeds and several load levels at each speed. The heat flux was measured by thin film thermocouple probes. The data showed that increasing the wall temperature by insulation reduced the heat flux. This reduction was seen both in the peak heat flux value as well as in the time-averaged heat flux. These trends were seen at all of the engine operating conditions.

An experimental study was conducted to measure the heat transfer in a direct injection 2.3 ℓ single cylinder diesel engine. The engine was operated at speeds ranging from 1000 to 2100 RPM and at a variety of loads. The heat transfer was measured using a total heat flux probe, operating on the principle of a thin film thermocouple, sensitive to both the convective and radiative heat flux. The probe was located in the head at two locations: opposite the piston bowl and opposite the piston crown (squish region). The measurements showed about twice as large peak heat flux in the bowl location than in the crown location for fired conditions, while under motoring conditions the relationship was reversed and the peak heat flux was slightly higher in the crown position. The experimental profiles of total heat flux were compared to the predictions obtained using a detailed thermodynamic cycle code, which incorporates highly resolved models of convective and radiative heat transfer.

An experimental study was conducted of the heat radiation in a single-cylinder direct injection 142 diesel engine. The engine was operated at speeds ranging from 1000 to 2100 RPM and a variety of loads. The radiation was measured using a specially designed fiber-optics probe operating on the two-color principle. The probe was located in the head at two different locations: in one location it faced the piston bowl and in the other it faced the piston crown. The data obtained from the probe was processed to deduce the apparent radiation temperature and soot volume concentration as a function of crank angle. The resultant profiles of radiation temperature and of the soot volume concentrations were compared with the predictions of a zonal heat radiation model imbedded in a detailed two-zone thermodynamic cycle code. The agreement between the model and the measurements was found to be good, both in trends and in magnitudes.

The use of an optical proximeter to determine dynamic top center in a motored engine is demonstrated. Design criteria are formulated and a data reduction procedure is presented. The method is shown to have an accuracy of Δθ = ± 0.1°. Variations in dynamic top center with engine speed that can be attributed to structural flexing and finite bearing clearances are shown to be less than ± 0.05°. It is also shown that the compression ratio during gas exchange is slightly larger than during compression-expansion. Other methods of finding top center are discussed and contrasted with optical proximetry. In this context a rational means of examining pressure records is presented and shown to be accurate to within Δθ=±0.3°.

An increasing emphasis is being placed in the vehicle development process on transient operation of engines and vehicles, and of engine/vehicle integration, because of their importance to fuel economy and emissions. Simulations play a large role in this process, complementing the more usual test-oriented hardware development process. This has fueled the development and continued evolution of advanced engine and powertrain simulation tools which can be utilized for this purpose. This paper describes a new tool developed for applications to transient engine and powertrain design and optimization. It contains a detailed engine simulation, specifically focused on transient engine processes, which includes detailed models of engine breathing (with turbocharging), combustion, emissions and thermal warm-up of components. Further, it contains a powertrain and vehicle dynamic simulation.

Numerical simulation of in-cylinder processes can significantly reduce the development and refinement costs of engines. While it can be argued that higher fidelity models improve accuracy of prediction, it comes at the expense of high computational cost. In this respect, a 3D analysis of in-cylinder processes may not be feasible for evaluating large number of design and operating conditions. The situation can be more foreboding for transient simulations. In the current work a phenomenological combustion modeling approach is explored that can be implemented in a lower fidelity modeling framework and can approach the accuracy of higher dimensional models with significant reduction in computational cost. The proposed model uses transported probability density function (tPDF) method within a 0D framework to provide a computationally efficient solution while capturing the essential physics of in-cylinder combustion.