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The Indian automotive industry has migrated from BS IV (Bharat stage IV) to BS VI (Bharat Stage VI) emission norms from 1st April 2020. This two-step migration of the emission regulations from BS IV to BS VI demands significant engineering efforts to design and integrate highly complex exhaust after-treatment system (EATS). In the present work, the methodology used to evaluate the EATS of a high power-density 1.5-liter diesel engine is discussed in detail. The EATS assembly of the engine consists of a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), a diesel particulate filter with selective catalytic reduction coating (sDPF), urea dosing module and urea mixer. Typically, all these components that are needed for emission control are integrated into a single canning of shell thickness ~1.5mm. Moreover, the complete EATS is directly mounted onto the engine with suitable mounting brackets on the cylinder block and cylinder head.

The excitation to a vehicle is from two sources, road excitation and powertrain excitation. Vehicle Suspension is designed to isolate the road excitation coming to passenger cabin. Powertrain mounts play a vital role in isolating the engine excitation. The current study focuses on developing an analytical approach using Low-Fidelity computer programs to design the Powertrain Mount layout and stiffness during the initial stage of product development. Three programs have been developed as a part of this study that satisfy the packaging needs, NVH requirements and static load bearing requirements. The applications are capable of providing the Kinetic Energy Distribution and Static Analysis (Powertrain Enveloping and Mount Durability) for 3-point and 4-point mounting systems and the ideal mount positions and stiffness for 3-point mounting systems.

Vibrational fatigue is a metal fatigue caused by the forced vibrations which are purely random in nature. The phenomenon is predominantly important for the components/systems which are subjected to extreme vibration during its operation. In a vehicle, an engine is the main source of vibration. The vibrational fatigue, therefore, plays a key role in the deterioration of engine mounted components. Multiple test standards and methodologies are available for validating engine mounted parts of an automobile. These might not be appropriate in the case of an off- road vehicle as the vibrational exposure of engine mounted components of an off-road vehicle is entirely different. In the case of an off-road vehicle, the engine mounted components are subjected to a comparatively higher level of vibration for a longer duration of time as compared to the passenger cars.

The emission norms around the world are continuously changing and getting stringent with every revision. India is on its way to make its emission norms at par with that prevailing in the developed nations. The cold-start condition is an important factor affecting vehicle emissions from gasoline direct injection (GDI) and port fuel injection (PFI) vehicles. In this paper, the effects of change in torque converter losses on emissions are experimentally investigated in a TGDI AT vehicle. The instant engagement of the torque converter puts a sudden load on the engine and thus affects its stability. Thus, to overcome the stability issue, Engine Torque has to be simultaneously increased for smooth engagement. As a result, the likelihood of the slightly leaner air-fuel mixture in the cylinder, which results in higher NOx formation, is much greater in an AT vehicle than that of a similar MT vehicle.

Lubrication system is a critical factor for engine health. But it creates parasitic load and increased fuel consumption of the engine. The oil demand of an engine depends on engine speed, load, bearing clearances, operating temperature and engine's state of wear. Ideally, the oil pump should adapt the delivery volume flow to actual engine oil demand and should avoid unnecessary pumping of oil which causes increased power and fuel consumption. However in a conventional mechanical oil pump, there is no control on the oil flow and it is purely a function of operating speed. A variable discharge oil pump (VDOP) is an approach to reduce the parasitic losses wherein the oil flow is regulated based on the mechanical needs of the engine. This study is based on the results of a two stage VDOP installed on a 1.2 litre, 3 cylinder MPFI engine. The oil supply is regulated by a solenoid control which receives command from Engine Control Unit (ECU). The study was done in two stages.

To comply with the stringent future emission mandates of light-duty diesel engines, it is essential to deploy a suitable combination of emission control devices like diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), diesel particulate filter (DPF) and DeNOx converter (LNT or SCR). Arriving at optimum size and layout of these emission control devices for a particular engine through experiments is both time and cost-intensive. Thus, it becomes important to develop suitable well-tuned simulation models that can be helpful to optimize individual emission control devices as well as arrive at an optimal layout for achieving higher conversion efficiency at a minimal cost. Towards this objective, the present work intends to develop a one-dimensional Exhaust After Treatment Devices (EATD) model using a commercial code. The model parameters are fine-tuned based on experimental data. The EATD model is then validated with experiment data that are not used for tuning the model.

One of the major challenges for automotive industry today is to reduce tailpipe emission without compromising on fuel economy especially with the EURO 6, RDE, LEV III emissions and CO2 norms coming up. In case of diesel engines, with the emission norms becoming stringent more and more, it's difficult to improve tradeoff between NOx and PM emissions. After treatment systems give some edge in terms of tail pipe emission reduction but not on the cost, fuel economy and system simplicity front. For diesel engines the compression ratio and design of the bowl geometry plays a crucial role in controlling emission and CO2. The target was to achieve EURO 6 tailpipe emissions with minimum dependency on after treatment. With the target after treatment conversion efficiency the engine out targets were framed. A study of different bowl geometries were made that would help achieve this target of improving reduced engine out emissions.

India's high Air Pollution level is the focus of discussions as we grow. Plans to combat this menace and implement the latest Technologies are gathering pace. The increasingly stringent emission legislations provide a continuous challenge for the non-road market. Tractor manufacturers are evaluating the need for cost-effective technology to meet upcoming stringent emissions targets. Simply following global approach may not work for Indian market considering the customer usage pattern & perceptions. With an anticipation of upcoming emission norms being based on US-EPA TIER-4 final up to 75 Hp, major technology up gradation is expected for farm equipment sold in India. The enormous diversification of engines within the different power classes as well as the operation specific requirements regarding various duty cycles, robustness and durability, requires specific solutions to meet these legal limits.

The SAE J1100 based standard cargo volume index methods and predefined luggage objects are very specific to United States population. The European luggage volume calculation and standard luggage calculations are primarily based on DIN and ISO standards. Luggage volume declaration by manufacturers are based on any of these methods. The calculations are complicated and there is a possibility of declaring different values for similar luggage compartments. The major purchase decision of vehicle is based on its luggage capacity and current methods are very limited to make an intelligent decision by a customer. Market specific customer usage patterns for luggage requirements and protecting them in vehicle architecture upfront in concept stage is important to retain the market position and buying preference of customers. The usage patterns is collected from customer clinics and marketing inputs.

Powertrain complexity rapidly increasing to meet fast moving regulation requirements. The BS6 Phase-1 regulation norms were implemented in India from April 1, 2020 and replaced the previous BS4 norms. Phase-2 of the BS6 regulation norms were came into effect on April 1, 2023. To meet this stringent regulation requirement, need effective performance of after treatment systems like DOC, DPF and SCR demands critical hardware selection and implementation. In Indian market, LCV application is cost sensitive and highly competitive where operational cost is most critical factor. Naturally aspirated engine has less operating cost, which is the best for LCV applications, but is has its own challenges to meet BS6 norms like higher engine out NOx, dynamic temperature profiles etc. A robust DeNOx emissions strategy is developed in naturally aspirated engine LCV application to meet cycle emissions, real drive emissions and OBD requirements.

Air pollution caused by vehicular tail pipe emissions has become a matter of grave concern in major cities of the world. Hydrogen, a carbon free fuel is a clean burning fuel with only concern being oxides of nitrogen (NOx) formed. The present study focuses on the development of a hydrogen powered multi-cylinder engine with low NOx emissions. The NOx emissions were reduced using a combination of an in-cylinder control strategy viz. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and an after treatment method using hydrogen as a NOx reductant. In the present study, the low speed torque of the hydrogen engine was improved by 38.46% from 65 Nm to 90 Nm @ 1200 rpm by operating at an equivalence of 0.64. The higher equivalence ratio operation compared to the conventional low equivalence ratio operation lead to an increase in the torque generated but increased NOx as well.

This paper discusses the development of an all speed governed diesel-natural gas dual fuel engine for agricultural farm tractor. A 45 hp, 2.9 liters diesel-natural gas dual fuel engine with a novel closed loop secondary fuel injection system was developed. A frugal approach without any modification of the base mechanical diesel fuel injection system was followed. This approach helped to minimize the cost impact, while meeting performance and emissions at par with neat diesel operation. Additional cost on gas injection system is redeemed by cost savings on diesel fuel. The dual fuel technology developed by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., substitutes on an average approximately 40% of diesel with compressed natural gas, meeting the TREM III A emission norms for dual fuel while meeting all application requirements. The governing performance of the tractor was found to be superior than base diesel tractor.

Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is an effective strategy to control NOx emissions in diesel engines. EGR reduces NOx through lowering the oxygen concentration in the combustion chamber, as well as through heat absorption. The stringent emission norms have forced diesel engines to further improve thermal efficiency and reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx). Throttle control is adopted in diesel intake system to control the EGR & fresh charge flow and to meet the emissions norms. In three or lesser cylinder. diesel engines, predominantly single and two-cylinder diesel engines, there is a higher possibility of the exhaust gas reaching the intake throttle and Particulate matter getting deposited on the throttle body. This can significantly affect the idling stability and intake restriction in prolonged usage. In idling condition, the clogged throttle body stagnates the fresh charge from entering the cylinder. The work aims at the study of flow pattern for EGR reaching the throttle body.

A major challenge for combustion engine development is to optimize the engine for improved fuel economy, reduce greenhouse gases. Stringent CAFÉ and emission norms require the customer to pay higher capital on vehicles. To offset the cost of ownership- cheaper and alternative energy sources are being explored. Ethanol blend with regular Gasoline, and CNG are such alternative fuels. Reducing the consumption of Gasoline also helps India’s dependence on import of crude oil. The study was carried on turbo-charged gasoline direct injection engine. The effect of ethanol on engine and vehicle performance is estimated and simulated numerically. The work is split into three stages: first the base 1D engine performance model was calibrated to match the experimental data. In parallel, vehicle level Simulink model was built and calibrated to match the NEDC cycle performance.

In India, diesel engine powered vehicles are finding rising demand due to the subsidy offered on diesel. Currently, BS-IV emission norm (equivalent to E-IV in Europe) is in existence. To meet this emission norm, OEM look for improved engine design, use of common rail injection system, advanced after treatment. In the current article, a methodology is demonstrated by which the required emissions on multipurpose vehicle (MPV) powered with 2.2L common rail injection system was met with no need of EGR cooling. This was achieved by identifying the operating points from the BS-IV emission cycle where EGR cooling is beneficial. The next step involves assessing the loss of function due to its removal. The final step involves strategies which can bring the original optimized value of NOx-PM. Removal of EGR cooling avoids the cooling of intake charge and reduces the HC and CO emission. Also, it gets rid of complication in the under bonnet packaging and leads to maintenance free operation.

With the increase in the number of automobiles on road, there is a very strong emphasis on reducing the air pollution which led to evolution of stringent emission norms. To meet these stringent emission norms, the ideal solution is to optimize the engine hardware and the combustion system to reduce the emission at source thereby reducing the dependency on exhaust after treatment system. Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines are gaining popularity worldwide as they provide a balance between fun to drive and fuel efficiency. Controlling the particle emissions especially Particle Number (PN) is a challenge in GDI engines due to the nature of its combustion system. In this study, experiments were performed on a 1.2Litre 3-cylinder 250bar GDI engine to capture the effect of injection strategies on PN.

For meeting upcoming BS IV & BS V emission norms in Heavy Commercial Vehicles, most of the manufacturers are taking SCR after treatment route. Though SCR system is more complex and involves higher cost impact, an optimized SCR system can bring down the payback period to about one year due to improved fuel economy. For development of an SCR after treatment system, selection of a correct SCR catalyst and its position in the system is very important. NOX conversion efficiency of catalyst depends on exhaust gas temperature at the catalyst and the velocity distribution over the face of the catalyst. Generally catalysts are evaluated for the conversion efficiency in engine test bed. In a drive to have a first-time-right solution, a CFD analysis was carried out considering the low and high flow rate conditions. CFD simulation models and the corresponding results were used as a predictive tool in the exhaust system development process.

As the emission targets are getting tighter, efforts are made to improve the emission by all possible means. This work emphasis the potential of intercooler to reduce exhaust gas emissions (CO, HC, NOx and PM). A detailed analysis of experimental results on emissions is presented. The effect of intercooler efficiency on emissions is explained. A multi-utility vehicle equipped with common rail diesel engine was tested in NEDC cycle in chassis dynamometer. Ideally the vehicle emission lab should replicate a flat straight road condition & natural airflow. To obtain the airflow a variable velocity fan is used. The velocity of air emerging from the fan and relative position of the fan with vehicle has a significant role in intercooler efficiency and hence on emissions. This work explains the exercise carried out to correlate the intercooler efficiency and exhaust emissions with fan position and velocity.

In recent times diesel powered vehicles are becoming popular due to improved performance and reduced exhaust emission with this the market share of diesel passenger cars expected to approach 60 % over the next few years. In compliance with future emission standards for diesel powered vehicles, it is required to use diesel particulate filters (DPF) along with other exhaust emission control devices. There is a need for more optimized DPF cell structure to collect maximum soot load with low pressure drop and improved exhaust performance from diesel vehicles in Indian driving conditions. In this thesis paper a detailed parametric study have been carried out on different DPF cell structures like Square, Hexagonal and combined cell geometry. The performances of different cell structure has been evaluated for maximum soot loading capacity and regeneration rate, pressure drop, temperature distribution across cell structure.

The present scenario in automobile industry is formed on developing smart vehicles by introducing various feature towards fuel efficient, low emission, weight reduction, and advance safety feature with hybrid and micro-hybrid vehicles. One such feature gaining more popularity is the Belt Driven Starter Generator [1] for its contribution towards fuel efficiency, emission reduction [2], weight reduction and convenient packaging with engine/electrical interface. However this invention puts challenge of integration and increase in loading to various system like power steering pump and crank shaft pulley, as all these systems are interlinked with a common belt. In this interface links we observed the steering pump hub under risk of structural failure due to additional load to support Belt Driven Starter Generator. Failure to identify safe limits of hub load can affect safe vehicle operation [3].