Search Results

A quasidimensional engine simulation which uses the concepts of fractal geometry to model the effects of turbulence on flame propagation in a homogeneous charge SI engine has been developed. Heat transfer and blowby/crevice flow submodels are included in this code and the submodels chosen are found to be reasonable. The model predictions of cylinder pressure histories are then compared with experimental data over a range of loads, equivalence ratios, and engine speeds. The model is not adjusted in any manner to yield better agreement with the data, other than by tuning the simple turbulence model used so as to yield agreement with data for the nonreacting flow. However, current information about the flame wrinkling scales in an engine is inadequate. Therefore, predictions are made for three different assumptions about the flame wrinkling scales which span the range of physically possible scales.

A quasi-dimensional model for a direct injection diesel engine was developed based on experiments at Sandia National Laboratory. The Sandia researchers obtained images describing diesel spray evolution, spray mixing, premixed combustion, mixing controlled combustion, soot formation, and NOx formation. Dec [1] combined all of the available images to develop a conceptual diesel combustion model to describe diesel combustion from the start of injection up to the quasi-steady form of the jet. The end of injection behavior was left undescribed in this conceptual model because no clear image was available due to the chaotic behavior of diesel combustion. A conceptual end-of-injection diesel combustion behavior model was developed to capture diesel combustion throughout its life span. The compression, expansion, and gas exchange stages are modeled via zero-dimensional single zone calculations.

We present a multidimensional numerical model that calculates turbulent premixed flame propagation, assuming the flames have fractal geometries. Two scaling transformations, previously developed for laminar flames, are used to incorporate the fractal burning model in KIVA-II1, a numerical hydrodynamics code for chemically reactive flows. In this work the model is implemented for propane/air mixtures. For applications to internal combustion engines, we have also developed a fractal model for early flame kernel growth. Our multidimensional model can be used in experimental comparisons to test postulated fractal parameters, and we begin this task by comparing calculated results with measurements of propane/air combustion in a spark ignition engine. Good agreement is obtained between computed and measured flame positions and pressures in all cases except a low engine speed case.

It is a very challenging problem to reliably ignite extremely lean mixtures, especially for the low speed, high load conditions of large-bore natural gas engines. If these engines are to be use for the distributed power generation market, it will require operation with higher boost pressures and even leaner mixtures. Both place greater demands on the ignition system. The railplug is a very promising ignition system for lean burn natural gas engines with its high-energy deposition and high velocity plasma arc. It requires care to properly design railplugs for this new application, however. For these engines, in-cylinder pressure and mixture temperature are very high at the time of ignition due to the high boost pressure. Hot spots may exist on the electrodes of the ignitor, causing pre-ignition problems. A heat transfer model is proposed in this paper to aid the railplug design. The electrode temperature was measured in an operating natural gas engine.

This paper determines the impact of ambient temperature on energy consumption of a variety of vehicles in the laboratory. Several conventional vehicles, several hybrid electric vehicles, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and a battery electric vehicle were tested for fuel and energy consumption under test cell conditions of 20°F, 72°F and 95°F with 850 W/m₂ of emulated radiant solar energy on the UDDS, HWFET and US06 drive cycles. At 20°F, the energy consumption increase compared to 72°F ranges from 2% to 100%. The largest increases in energy consumption occur during a cold start, when the powertrain losses are highest, but once the powertrains reach their operating temperatures, the energy consumption increases are decreased. At 95°F, the energy consumption increase ranges from 2% to 70%, and these increases are due to the extra energy required to run the air-conditioning system to maintain 72°F cabin temperatures.

An On-Board Distillation System (OBDS) was developed to extract, from gasoline, a highly volatile crank fuel that allows the reduction of startup fuel enrichment and significant spark retard during cold starts and warm-up. This OBDS was installed on a 2001 Lincoln Navigator to explore the emissions reductions possible on a large vehicle with a large-displacement engine. The fuel and spark calibration of the PCM were modified to exploit the benefits of the OBDS startup fuel. Three series of tests were performed: (1) measurement of the OBDS fuel composition and distillation curve per ASTM D86, (2) measurement of real-time cold start (20 °C) tailpipe hydrocarbon emissions for the first 20 seconds of engine operation, and (3) FTP drive cycles at 20 °C with engine-out and tailpipe emissions of gas-phase species measured each second. Baseline tests were performed using stock PCM calibrations and certification gasoline.

As natural gas engines are designed to operate leaner and with increased boost pressure, durability of the spark plugs becomes problematic. Among the various new ignition devices that have been considered to solve some of the problems facing spark plugs, railplugs appear to hold clear advantages in some areas. There are two types of railplugs: coaxial rail and parallel rail. This paper reports the results of an experimental study of various parameters that affect the performance of parallel railplugs. Their performance was quantified by the distance that the arc traveled along the rails from the initiation point. Travel along the rails is thought to be an important performance metric because rail-travel limits excessive local wear and produces a distributed ignition source which can potentially reduce mixture inhomogeneity induced ignition problems.

The 2001 FutureTruck competition involved 15 universities from across North America that were invited to apply a wide range of advanced technologies to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas impact while producing near-zero regulated exhaust emissions in a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban. The modified vehicles designated as FutureTrucks demonstrated improvements in greenhouse gas emissions, tailpipe emissions, and over-the-road fuel economy compared with the stock vehicle on which they were based. The technologies represented in the vehicles included ICE-engines and fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle propulsion systems, a range of conventional and alternative fuels, advanced exhaust emissions controls, and light weighting technologies.

Research in plug in vehicles (PHEV and BEV) has of course been ongoing for decades, however now that these vehicles are finally being produced for a mass market an intense focus over the last few years has been given to proper evaluation techniques and standard information to effectively convey efficiency information to potential consumers. The first challenge is the development of suitable test procedures. Thanks to many contributions from SAE members, these test procedures have been developed for PHEVs (SAE J1711 now available) and are under development for BEVs (SAE J1634 available later this year). A bigger challenge, however, is taking the outputs of these test results and dealing with the issue of off-board electrical energy consumption in the context of decades-long consumer understanding of MPG as the chief figure of merit for vehicle efficiency.

A survey of the CNG compositions within NGV driving range of Houston was performed. It was found that the statistics for the Texas CNGs were very similar to those from a previous national survey Based upon the present survey results, two extremes of CNG composition were chosen for a study of the effects of composition on emissions, fuel economy, and driveability. Two other CNG compositions were also included to provide for comparisons with the recently completed Auto/Oil Air Quality Improvement Research Program (AQIRP) and to extend the AQIRP database. One of the vehicles used in the AQIRP study was also used in the present investigation. Correlations were investigated for the relationships between the CNG composition and tailpipe emissions, fuel economy, and driveability.

As one of the U.S Department of Energy's (DOE's) vehicle systems benchmarking partners, Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) has tested many plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) conversions and purpose-built prototype vehicles. The procedures for testing follow draft SAE J1711 and California Air Resources Board (CARB) test concepts and calculation methods. This paper explains the testing procedures and calculates important parameters. It describes some parameters, such as cycle charge-depleting range, actual charge-depleting range, electric range fraction, equivalent all-electric range, and utility factor-weighted fuel economy.

Two limited-production hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) - a 1988 Japanese model Toyota Prius and a 2000 Honda Insight - were tested at Argonne National Laboratory to collect data from vehicle component and systems operation. The test data are used to analyze operation and efficiency and to help validate computer simulation models. Both HEVs have FTP fuel economy greater than 45 miles per gallon and also have attributes very similar to those of conventional gasoline vehicles, even though each HEV has a unique powertrain configuration and operation control strategy. The designs and characteristics of these vehicles are of interest because they represent production technology with all the compromises for production included. This paper will explore both designs, their control strategies, and under what conditions high fuel economy was achieved.

To perform coastdown tests on heavy-duty trucks, both long acceleration and coasting distances are required. It is very difficult to find long flat stretches of road to conduct these tests; for a Class 8 truck loaded to 80,000 lb, about 7 miles of road is needed to complete the coastdown tests. In the present study, a method for obtaining coastdown coefficients from data taken on a road of variable grade is presented. To this end, a computer code was written to provide a fast solution for the coastdown coefficients. Class 7 and Class 8 trucks were tested with three different weight configurations: empty, “cubed-out” (fully loaded but with a payload of moderate density), and “weighed-out” (loaded to the maximum permissible weight).

In premixed turbulent combustion models, two mechanisms have been used to explain the increase in the flame speed due to the turbulence. The newer explanation considers the full range of turbulence scales which wrinkle the flame front so as to increase the flame front area and, thus, the flame propagation speed. The fractal combustion model is an example of this concept. The older mechanism assumes that turbulence enables the penetration of unburned mixtures across the flame front via entrainment into the burned mixture zone. The entrainment combustion or eddy burning model is an example of this mechanism. The results of experimental studies of combustion regimes and the flame structures in SI engines has confirmed that most combustion takes place at the wrinkled flame front with additional combustion taking place in the form of flame fingers or peninsulas.

EmiSense Technologies, LLC (www.emisense.com) is commercializing its electronic particulate matter (PM) sensor that is based on technology developed at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). To demonstrate the capability of this sensor for real-time PM measurements and on board diagnostics (OBD) for failure detection of diesel particle filters (DPF), independent measurements were performed to characterize the engine PM emissions and to compare with the PM sensor response. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was performed to characterize the hydrodynamics of the sensor's housing and to develop an improved PM sensor housing with reproducible hydrodynamics and an internal baffle to minimize orientation effects. PM sensors with the improved housing were evaluated in the truck exhaust of a heavy duty (HD) diesel engine tested on-road and on a chassis dynamometer at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) using their Mobile Emissions Laboratory (MEL).

Condensation of fuel vapor on the cold surfaces within the combustion chamber is investigated as a possible mechanism for increased HC emissions from SI engines during cold start. A one-dimensional, transient, mass diffusion analysis is used to examine the condensation of single-species fuels on the surfaces of the combustion chamber as the pressure within the cylinder rises during compression and combustion, and re-vaporization during expansion, blowdown, and exhaust. The effects of wall temperature, fuel volatility, and engine load and speed on this mechanism are also discussed. This analysis shows that low-volatility fuel components can condense on the surfaces of the combustion chamber when the surface temperatures are sufficiently low. This condensed fuel may re-vaporize during the power and exhaust strokes, or it may remain in the combustion chamber until surface temperatures rise, perhaps tens of seconds later.

The University of Texas Ethanol Vehicle Challenge team focused upon cold start/driveability, fuel economy, and emissions reduction for our 1999 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge entry. We replaced or coated all fuel system components that were not ethanol compatible. We used the stock PCM for all control functions except control of a novel cold-start system our team designed. The primary modifications for improved emissions control involved ceramic coating of the exhaust manifolds, use of close-coupled ethanol-specific catalysts, increased EGR for the operating conditions of the five longest cruises on the FTP, and our cold-start system that eliminates the need to overfuel the engine at the beginning of the FTP. This EGR control scheme should also benefit urban fuel economy. Additionally, we eliminated EGR at high load to improve power density.

The Rotating Liner Engine (RLE) is an engine design concept where the cylinder liner rotates in order to reduce piston assembly friction and liner/ring wear. The reduction is achieved by the elimination of the mixed and boundary lubrication regimes that occur near TDC. Prior engines for aircraft developed during WW2 with partly rotating liners (Sleeve Valve Engines or SVE) have exhibited reduction of bore wear by factor of 10 for high BMEP operation, which supports the elimination of mixed lubrication near the TDC area via liner rotation. Our prior research on rotating liner engines experimentally proved that the boundary/mixed components near TDC are indeed eliminated, and a high friction reduction was quantified compared to a baseline engine. The added friction required to rotate the liner is hydrodynamic via a modest sliding speed, and is thus much smaller than the mixed and boundary friction that is eliminated.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) can be designed and operated to satisfy many different operational missions. The three most common HEV types differ with respect to component sizing and operational capabilities. However, HEV technology offers design opportunities beyond these three types. This paper presents a detailed HEV categorization process that can be used to describe unique HEV prototype designs entered in college and university-level HEV design competitions. We explored possible energy management strategies associated with designs that control the utilization of the two on-board energy sources and use the competition vehicles to illustrate various configurations and designs that affect the vehicle's capabilities. Experimental data is used to help describe the details of the power control strategies which determine how the engine and electric motor of HEV designs work together to provide motive power to the wheels.

As vehicle technology progresses to new levels of sophistication, so too, vehicle test methods must evolve. This is true for analytical testing in a laboratory and for on-road vehicle testing. Every year since 1993, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sponsors have organized a series of competitions featuring advanced hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology to develop and promote DOE goals in fuel savings and alternative fuel usage. The competition has evolved over many years and has included many alternative fuels feeding the prime mover (including hydrogen fuel cells). EcoCAR turned its focus to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and it was quickly realized that to keep using on-road testing methods to evaluate fuel and electricity consumption, a new method needed to be developed that would properly weight depleting operation with the sustaining operation, using the established Utility Factor (UF) method.