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Speciated HC emissions from the exhaust system of a production engine without an active catalyst have been obtained with 3 sec time resolution during a 70°F cold start using two control strategies. For the conventional cold start, the emissions were initially enriched in light fuel alkanes and depleted in heavy aromatic species. The light alkanes fell rapidly while the lower vapor pressure aromatics increased over a period of 50 sec. These results indicate early retention of low vapor pressure fuel components in the intake manifold and exhaust system. Loss of higher molecular weight HC species does occur in the exhaust system as shown by experiments in which the exhaust system was preheated to 100° C. The atmospheric reactivity of the exhaust HC emissions for photochemical smog formation increases as the engine warms.

The recent development of TiAl-based alloys by the aerospace community has provided an excellent material alternative for hot components in automotive engines. The low density combined with an elevated temperature strength similar to that of Ni-base superalloys make TiAl-based alloys very attractive for exhaust valve applications. Lighter weight valvetrain components improve performance and permit the use of lower valve spring loads which reduce noise and friction and enhance fuel economy. However, difficult fabricability and a perception that TiAl alloys are high cost, low volume aerospace materials must be overcome in order to permit consideration for use in high-volume automotive applications. This paper provides a comparison of properties for several exhaust valve alternative materials. The density of TiAl alloys is lower than Ti alloys with creep and fatigue properties equivalent to IN-751, a current high performance exhaust valve material.

A small airflow rate at engine idle is required to maintain a low engine speed and to save fuel consumption. Since the throttle plate is almost closed at idle, the plate and bore tolerance becomes important in determining the plate open area and thus the airflow rate. The objective of this work is to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis as a tool to aid throttle body design and to find out how the tolerance affects the airflow rate. Also, the conventional equation for calculating the throttle plate open area is modified to include the leakage area which is no longer negligible at idle. Throttle bodies with plate closed angles of 4.0 and 4.5 degrees under tight and loose fit conditions were studied. The flow regions above and below the plate are connected by a narrow region between the plate and the bore. This sudden change in flow area creates a big pressure loss across the plate.

Thermal reactor systems have been designed to assist in the development of a low emission concept vehicle to meet exhaust emission goals of 0.82 gm/mile hydrocarbon, 7.1 gm/mile carbon monoxide, and 0.68 gm/mile nitrogen oxides established by the Inter-Industry Emission Control (IIEC) Program. The reactor includes design features required for acceptable life characteristics, together with the quick warm-up necessary to achieve the emission targets. Exhaust gas recirculation and enrichened carburetion are used to reduce the oxides of nitrogen. Associated problems defined during development of several thermal reactor systems are described. The primary problem was achieving durability at the typically high operating exhaust gas temperatures (1600-1800 F) necessary for concurrent HC, CO, and NOx control.

The salt spray test has been an industry wide standard corrosion test since its conception in 1914. A literary review of its history shows that it has· always been thought of as inconsistent and unreliable but, for a variety of reasons, has continued to be used. A study of more than 55 salt spray cabinets was performed using a controlled lot of parts and questionnaires on cabinet operation. Although the tested parts varied from mildly corroded to extremely rusted no factor could be found to account for the differences. Although the test has its uses it should be studied by an industry formed committee which should make recommendations as to further standardization and corrections to the test. A lengthy chronological bibliography aids the reader in further study and reference.

The pulse flame combustor was adapted by researchers at Ford Motor Company in the early 1970s in order to produce exhaust gas simulating the combustion products of the internal combustion engine for the evaluation of automotive catalysts. Over the years, the pulse flame combustor has found application in a wide variety of research oriented tasks associated with automotive catalysts and emissions. More recent research and development efforts which have resulted due to elevated demands toward lower vehicle emission levels have prompted continuing refinements of the apparatus and effected innovative approaches to the study of emerging automotive catalyst and emission control issues with the pulse flame combustor. This report provides an overview of the operation and design evolution of the pulse flame combustor. In addition, recent applications of this laboratory device for studying automotive catalysts, alternative fuels, and other automotive emission control topics are reviewed.

The electrical principle of operation, the geometrical and electrical circuit constraints on the design of, and the electrical and in-engine performance of a multigap spark plug developed for automotive applications are described. The electrical principle of operation is based on successively breaking down an array of spark gaps through the use of a resistive ladder network. The measurements evaluating the electrical performance of various multigap designs indicate that these plugs can deliver up to twice the energy of a single gap plug to the arcs, using the same ignition system. The increased amount of energy is also delivered in a shorter time than for single gap plugs.

In this study, the particle emission characteristics of 10% alternative diesel fuel blends (Rapeseed Methyl Ester and Gas-to-Liquid) were investigated through the tests carried out on a light duty common-rail Euro 4 diesel engine. Under steady engine conditions, the study focused on particle number concentration and size distribution, to comply with the particle metrics of the European Emission Regulations (Regulation NO 715/2007, amended by 692/2008 and 595/2009). The non-volatile particle characteristics during the engine warming up were also investigated. They indicated that without any modification to the engine, adding selected alternative fuels, even at a low percentage, can result in a noticeable reduction of the total particle numbers; however, the number of nucleation mode particles can increase in certain cases.

Speciation of sulfurous acid, sulfuric acid and ammonium sulfate collected from the aerosol phase on a Fluoropore filter has been readily accomplished using techniques of chemical ionization mass spectrometry combined with thermal separation. Thermal separation of ammonium hydrogen sulfate from ammonium sulfate was not possible. Spectral separation of these species by selective ionization is proposed. Analysis of sulfate aerosols collected from ambient air and catalyzed vehicle emissions is described. It was found that sulfuric acid aerosol was rapidly converted to ammonium sulfate or ammonium hydrogen sulfate in the presence of ambient concentrations of ammonia. Ambient samples collected in the Detroit metropolitan area have been found to contain only trace quantities of sulfuric aicd. Sulfate samples collected from a dilution tube into which catalyzed vehicle exhaust was injected were found to contain significant quantities of ammonium sulfate in addition to sulfuric acid.

As the compliance with noise legislation became more difficult, Ford exhaust system development engineers increasingly encountered variances not only from vehicle-to-vehicle, but on the same vehicle tested in different locations. As a result, a series of tests were conducted to establish the correlation among various sites for vehicle exterior noise measurements. The purpose of this paper is to present the results and the method developed to achieve the correlation in terms of the following: 1. Ford and site equipment differences 2. Driver differences 3. Differences between site physical qualities Seven sites were evaluated in the program where seven vehicles were used with a good spread in exterior noise levels. A representative correlation plot is also presented which can be used to predict the expected noise level of any vehicle at any one of these test sites knowing the level obtained at the Ford site.

This paper describes an analysis of the induction and exhaust processes of the spark ignited engine. The analysis has been combined with an overall engine simulation to provide greater flexibility in studying the effects of induction/exhaust related parameters on engine emissions and fuel economy. Results are presented to illustrate the use of the engine model in predicting engine behavior in non-conventional configurations such as engine load control using an early intake valve closing technique.

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.

THIS paper describes the development and utilization of a new Ford free-piston power-plant, the model 519. Mr. Noren traces the development of the engine from the initial idea to the point where commercial utilization could be considered. Mr. Erwin describes one commercial use: in the Typhoon tractor. The ratio of size and weight to horsepower is favorable for farm tractors, being smaller and lighter than equivalent diesel engines. The performance of the tractor has been satisfactory thus far, operating smoothly and being practically vibration-free, with little noise. The advantages of the free-piston gasifier, as reported by the authors, are: flexibility, fuel economy, no need for auxiliary starting engine, economical manufacture of a wide range of engine sizes, adaptability to a wide range of fuels, and good torque characteristics.

The Ford PROCO stratified charge engine combines the desirable characteristics of premixed charge and Diesel engines. The outstanding characteristics of premixed charge engines are their high specific output, wide speed range, light weight and easy startability but they exhibit only modest fuel economy and relatively high exhaust emissions. The desirable characteristic of the Diesel engine is its outstanding fuel economy. However, the disadvantages of the Diesel, which include noisy operation, limited speed range, exhaust odor, smoke, hard startability, and particulate emissions have tended to limit their acceptance. In the gasoline fueled, PROCO stratified charge engine, direct cylinder fuel injection permits operation at overall lean mixture ratios and higher compression ratio. These features enable the PROCO engine to achieve brake specific fuel consumption values in the range of prechamber diesel engines.

While one probably tends to think that car radios were invented and developed in the United States during the early twenties, it was actually in Chelmsford, England, that the first mobile experiments took place. Designed by Guglielmo Marconi, the first mobile installation antenna on record goes back to 1897. On the other side of the Atlantic, the experiments of Guglielmo Marconi were continued by the Americans Lee Deforest and Edwin Armstrong, who set the foundations of radio early in the twentieth century. Lee DeForest had been one of the prime advocates of “automobiles as wireless stations.” Early in 1903, and as told by a magazine of that era, “he fitted his instruments to automobiles so that the electricity which propels the automobile while in motion can be used for wireless telegraphy when the automobile is at a standstill”.

The evolution and development of the automobile radio antenna is perhaps one of the most neglected success stories in the automotive industry. Born in the twilight of the last century, it evolved from a simple wire wrapped around a tree branch, to the current heated rear screen or backlite antenna. Part One (SAE No. 870090) described seven types of antennas in detail, covering the period 1897-1937. It was shown how the early radio engineers, struggling to develop a viable car antenna, had displayed a great degree of creativity and flexibility, from the “firecracker” experiments of Guglielmo Marconi in 1897, to the ingenious systems developed to overcome the problems created by the all-metal Turret-Top vehicles introduced by General Motors in 1934. In those pioneering days, the United States public was having a love affair with both the automobile and radio broadcasting, so it was no surprise that their marriage did not take long to arrive.

A laboratory study was performed to assess the effects of sulfur poisoning and desulfation temperature on the NO conversion of a LNT+(Cu/SCR) in-situ system. Four LNT+(Cu/SCR) systems were aged for 4.5 hours without sulfur at 600, 700, 750, and 800°C using A/F ratio modulations to represent 23K miles of desulfations at different temperatures. NO conversion tests were performed on the LNT alone and on the LNT+SCR system using a 60 s lean/5 s rich cycle. The catalysts were then sulfur-poisoned at 400°C and desulfated four times and re-evaluated on the 60/5 tests. This test sequence was repeated 3 more times to represent 100K miles of desulfations. After simulating 23K miles of desulfations, the Cu-based SCR catalysts improved the NO conversion of the LNT at low temperatures (e.g., 300°C), although the benefit decreased as the desulfation temperature increased from 600°C to 800°C.

The effect of port injected small fuel droplets was evaluated for several different modes of engine operation. The droplets were generated by an Air Forced Injector (AFI), Figure 1, which uses high velocity air through a nozzle to produce fuel droplets on the order of 10mm Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD). AFI results were compared to those from a standard production pintle injector. Steady state data, “motored cold start” data, and injector cut-out data were collected. All three data sets illustrate functional advantages of AFI over standard Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI). Steady state testing showed that the AFI delivers complete freedom for specifying injection timing with respect to HC emissions. This freedom is highly advantageous for transient conditions because open valve injection with small droplets causes much less port wall wetting. Therefore, less control system compensation is necessary, and more accurate air-fuel ratio control is achievable.

The variation in the decoupling effect of exhaust flexible couplings under a vertical preload caused by changes in the direction of the exhaust pipe routing was investigated. Both self-supporting and underbody flexible couplings were tested. The results indicate that, in general, a preload decreases the decoupling efficiency of both types of flexible couplings. In addition, the results indicate that the efficiency of the flexible coupling is effected by the following three conditions: the direction of preload with respect to gravity, the location of the preload relative to the coupling, and the stiffness of the various components of the flexible coupling.

Sound attenuation and flow loss reduction are often two competing demands in vehicle breathing systems. The present study considers a full vehicle exhaust system and investigates both the sound attenuation and the flow performance of production configurations including the catalyst, the resonator, and the muffler. Dynamometer experiments have been conducted with a firing Ford 3.0L, V-6 engine at wide-open throttle with speeds ranging from 1000 to 5000 rpm. Measurements including the flow rates, the temperatures and the absolute dynamic pressures of the hot exhaust gases at key locations (upstream and downstream of every component) with fast-response, water-cooled piezo-resistive pressure transducers facilitate the calculation of acoustic performance of each component, as well as the determination of flow losses caused by these elements and their influence on the engine performance.