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The requirements for emission control, lower fuel consumption and higher engine output have changed the engine valve train system to 4-valve/cylinder and higher cam lift designs, and these changes make the cam/tappet lubrication conditions more severe than before. Under such a working condition, there is a high possibility that cam/tappet surface damages such as scuffing, pitting and wear may occur. Among the damages, the wear of cam/tappet is the most difficult to predict since the wear mechanism still remains unclear. To understand the lubrication condition and therefore, the wear mechanism at the cam/tappet contact, friction was measured with a newly developed apparatus. Measurement results showed that the lubrication condition between cam and tappet is predominantly in the mixed and boundary lubrication conditions.

A new concept for diesel combustion has been investigated by means of engine experiments and combustion observations in order to realize a simultaneous reduction of NOx and particulate emissions. The concept is based on pre-mixed compression ignition combustion combined with multiple injection. In this method, some part of fuel is injected at an early stage of the process to form a homogeneous lean pre-mixture, then the remaining fuel is injected at around the TDC in the same manner as a conventional diesel injection. The emissions, ROHR (rate of heat release), and combustion pictures of conventional combustion, pilot injection combustion, and this new combustion concept were compared and analyzed. Engine tests were carried out using a single cylinder research engine equipped with a common rail injection system.

The objective of this study is to improve fuel economy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions in diesel-electric hybrid automotive powertrains by developing an exhaust gas turbine generator system which utilizes exhaust gas energy from the turbocharger waste gate. The design of the exhaust gas turbine generator was based on a conventional turbocharger for a direct-injection diesel engine. Data from steady-state bench tests using air indicates about 50% of the turbine input energy can be converted to electric energy. Turbine generator output averaged 3 kW, while a maximum of about 6 kW was observed. Based on this data, we estimate that energy consumption in a vehicle could be reduced between 5% and 10%. Engine tests were conducted under both steady-state and transient conditions. These tests revealed that optimal performance occurred under high-speed, high-load conditions, typical of highway or uphill driving, and that performance at low-speed, low-loads was relatively poor.

Historically the high speed diesel engine for commercial vehicles has been developed along with its combustion system in compliance with political and economical changes. After the 1970's, stricter exhaust emission regulations and fuel economy requirements induced combustion developments and application of turbocharged and inter cooled engines. From the late 1980's, high pressure fuel injection has been investigated and recognized as an essential tool for lowering emissions especially of particulate matter. Although turbulence effects on both in-cylinder air motion and during the combustion process are quite effective, they show different phenomena in conventional and advanced high pressure fuel injection systems. In the 1990's, multiple injection with high pressure has been attempted for further reduction of NOx and particulate matter.

Hino has developed new J-series medium-duty diesel engines for trucks and buses. The new J-series comprises four, five and six-cylinder engines with the same cylinder bore and stroke and with both naturally aspirated and charge air cooled. Both output and torque have been enhanced along with fuel efficiency in an engine that is lighter and more compact than ever and reaches new heights of durability and reliability. J-series engine features a 4-valve system and OHC valve train design, which achieved an uniform combustion by a centered nozzle and combustion chamber design. This decreases the maximum combustion temperature and hence improved the NOx,smoke and PM emissions. And a reduced pumping loss results in improving the fuel consumption. J-series engines thus meet the Japanese 1994 emission regulations. Another feature is a fully electronically controlled common-rail fuel injection system, which is equipped in a specified engine of naturally aspirated 6 cylinder.

A new concept for diesel combustion was investigated by means of numerical simulation, engine experiment, and combustion observation in order to realize a simultaneous reduction of NOx and particulate emission. This concept (HiMICS: Homogeneous charge intelligent Multiple Injection Combustion System) is based on pre-mixed compression ignition combustion combined with multiple injection. Combustion characteristics of HiMICS concept was investigated by comparing with both a standard single injection and a pilot injection. In HiMICS concept, the pre-mixture is formed by a preliminary injection performed during a period from the early stage of the induction stroke to the middle stage of the compression stroke. Modified KIVA-II code was used to predict engine performances and emissions of each injection method. The simulation results show a capability of considerable improvement in the trade-off relation between NOx emissions and fuel consumption of HiMICS.

In the Japanese heavy duty truck market, demands of improved fuel economy and lighter vehicles to increase load capacity, and further improvements in emissions are constantly increasing. To satisfy these requirements, basically a smaller sized and higher boosted diesel engine is effective, because such an engine has a compact size and light weight, and shows improved fuel consumption due to a relatively lower frictional loss. On the basis of this concept Hino introduced the original EP100 in 1981 as the first Japanese turbocharged and air to air charge-cooled engine. Since then Hino has made many efforts to improve the engines and develop new technologies.

Recently, a long distance Inter City Bus Network has been developed in Japan. The maxi mum traveling distance is approximately 1,000 km. The driver and passengers must endure long periods of sitting in the same seat. Therefore, the ride comfort ability is the most important characteristic for the Inter City Bus. Noise and vibration level have the greatest effect on ride comfort, therefore they must be considerably reduced to realize the good comfortability. This paper presents the methods of analysis and improvement to reduce the bus body vibration excited by road surface roughness. Modal Analysis Method and Finite Element Method are applied to the bus body construction. Further more, the relationship between the bus body vibration and engine suspension system characteristics are investigated.

This paper describes the experimental studies of turbocharged and intercooled diesel engines with particular emphasis on combustion characteristics following increase of boost pressure. Through these studies, it has become possible to determine the optimum air quantity for minimizing fuel consumption at each engine speed range under the restrictive conditions of NOx emission, exhaust smoke and maximum cylinder pressure. Discussed also is the lack of air quantity in the low engine speed range of high-boost turbocharged diesel engines. Various turbocharging systems to improve air quantity in this speed range are introduced herein. Practically the engine performance of conventional turbocharging, waste gate control turbocharging and variable geometry turbocharging are discussed from the viewpoint of torque recovery in the low engine speed range.

The running direction of a vehicle can be controlled by not only wheel steer but also torque steer. This paper introduces the tractive torque steer effect produced by a newly developed electropneumatic control system, the limited-slip differential for large-sized vehicles. This system enhances the vehicle's running stability and controllability by controlling the tractive force of the drive axle. The tractive force maintains a stable running course against disturbances such as road roughness and wind gusts, thereby enhancing the steering response and providing a better feeling of handling to the driver. The system also improves mobility. especially on low-μ roads. It is expected that a single axle equipped with this system will exhibit good performance comparable to that of tandem axle.

A driving simulator system for developing steering road feel has been developed. A new steering gear box or an electronic steering system is installed on the simulator and its road feel and control algorithm are developed according to the characteristics of any vehicle which has been programed into the engineering work-station. The vehicle model programed into the engineering work station runs according to the driver's operations, which are fed through the new steering system to be tested. The steer-restoring torque of the vehicle programed into the engineering work-station is produced by an actuator, and gives the impression through the new system of having been fed back from an actual road.

Vehicle responsiveness to the driver's steering maneuvers and external turbulences caused by irregularities in the road surface and wind gusts are two opposing factors to be studied for better stability and controllability of vehicles. The cruising speeds of vehicles on freeways have been becoming higher, and wider physiological differences in the driving ability of drivers are appearing with the increase in elderly drivers. Therefore, to meet the requirements of higher cruising speeds and the expanding physiological differences between drivers, an electro-hydraulic feedforward control power steering system has been developed for trucks and buses. This is a parallel operating system consisting of a mechanical route and an electronic route, and improves vehicle responsiveness so as to absorb the physiological differences of drivers.

The spark-assisted methanol engine has disadvantages like poor fuel economy especially at light load and low spark plug durability affected by combustion characteristics. Investigations of combustion characteristics of the spark ignition system and the autoignition system in the methanol engine and discharge characteristics of a spark plug are described in this paper. It is clear that effective autoignition was accomplished by increasing the compression ratio and adopting an EGR system in the spark-assisted methanol engine. This new improved methanol engine which is named HAMS achieved good fuel economy at light load, a low NOx emission and longer spark plug life. And a heat insulated piston with a stainless steel cap is being investigated for further improvement of autoignition combustion characteristics.

Gaseous emission measurements of a diesel engine including hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxide of nitrogen (NOx) are made in accordance with the procedures specified in the Federal Register. However, it is very difficult to maintain constantly the accuracy of these emission measurements due to failure of the emission analyzer. The authors have thus developed the Pre-Alarm Diagnostic System for a Diesel Emission Analyzer. Firstly, the authors have carried out analysis of all failure modes that are classified into initial failure, random failure and wearing-out failure, plus tolerance level for prediction of failures and method of predicting failures. Next, the authors have developed the Pre-Alarm Diagnostic System that is able to easily discover these failures before the exhaust emission test. In this system, 40 sensors, such as pressure, temperature, voltage etc, are laid in each pipe line of connection between exhaust emission sampling pump and analyzer.

Recently the analysis of air-fuel mixing and combustion has become important under the stringent emissions regulations of diesel engines. In the case of gasoline engines, the KIVA computer program has been developed and used for the analysis of combustion. In this paper, the calculations of combustion phenomena in DI diesel engines are performed by modifying the KIVA program so as to be applicable to multi-hole nozzles and arbitrary patterns of injection rate. The thermophysical and ther-mochemical properties of gasoline are altered to those diesel fuel. In order to investigate the ability of this modified program, the calculations are compared with the experiments on single cylinder engines concerning the pressure, flame temperature and mass change of chemical species in cylinders. Furthermore, the calculation for the heavy duty DI diesel engine is performed with this diesel combustion program.

Hino Motors is about to launch a new truck model FA as a family product of the model FB class 5 category trucks which have been sold since 1986, Model FA, a class 3 category cab-over-engine truck has a GVW of 13,500 Lbs. and is powered by a 3.8 liter direct injection turbocharged diesel engine which produces 125 HP in conformity with federal exhaust gas emission regulations for 50 states. The new truck was designed and developed to satisfy several principal design objectives such as excellent maneuverability, driving comfort, superior fuel economy as well as sufficient reliability and durability within the simplest possible structure. This paper describes its design objectives, features focusing on cab and engine and technologies devoted to the development.

For the 1990's diesel engines, particulate control has been an important problem. The purpose of this paper is to discuss emission control needs for heavy duty diesel truck engines for the 1990's. This paper will focus on the factors such as fuel injection pressure and fuel properties which most affect particulate emission. The characteristics of diesel spray in the atmosphere and also actual combustion of a turbocharged and charge-cooled H.D. D.I diesel engine were studied as a function of injection pressure ranging from 50 to 150 MPa. Experimental results show that high pressure injection improves the atomization and air entrainment. Though Bosch smoke level, fuel consumption and combustion period decreased with the rise of injection pressure, particulate emission in EPA transient test cycle did not decrease dut to an increase of SOF.

To reduce the vehicle fuel consumption at high speed, it is very effective to minimize the aerodynamic resistance of the vehicle, which forms most of the vehicle running resistance at high speed. This paper presents a reduction of the aerodynamic resistance of van type truck through the wind tunnel tests using 1/5 scaled model. Firstly, the aerodynamically desirable cab shape for cargo type truck is investigated by changing main cab shape factors such as corner curvatures. Secondly, several effective attachments for Van type truck are investigated, and lastly, the effect of these aerodynamic improvements on the fuel consumption are clearified by vehicle running test.

Experiments on a large number of soluble fuel additives were systematically conducted for diesel soot reduction. It was found that Ca and Ba were the most effective soot suppressors. The main determinants of soot reduction were: the metal mol-content of the fuel, the excess air factor, and the gas turbulence in the combustion chamber. The soot reduction ratio was expressed by an exponential function of the metal mol-content in the fuel, depending on the metal but independent of the metal compound. A rise in excess air factor or gas turbulence increased the value of a coefficient in the function, resulting in larger reductions in soot with the fuel additives. High-speed soot sampling from the cylinder showed that with the metal additive, the soot concentration in the combustion chamber was substantially reduced during the whole period of combustion. It is thought that the additive acts as a catalyst not only to improve soot oxidation but also to suppress soot formation.

Hino Motors, Ltd. has added to its line of charge-cooled engines for heavy duty trucks a higher power version which is called EP100-II. To meet the recent customers' demands for rapid transportation with better fuel economy, this engine was developed on the uprating program for the original EP100 which was introduced in 1981 as the first Japanese turbo-charged and air to air chrge-cooled engine. EP100-II has the same displacement as the original EP100, 8.8 liters, and is an in-line six cylinder engine with 228kW (310PS)/2,100rpm (JIS) output that provides the world's utmost level specific output of 25.8 kW (35.1PS)/ liter. Also this engine achieved a maximum BMEP of 16.8 bar/1,300 rpm and best BSFC of 199 gr/kWh at 1,500 rpm. This paper describes the advanced technology for increasing horsepower and improving fuel consumption such as the so-called multi harmonized inertia charging system, the electronically controlled waste gate valve of turbocharger.