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A vehicle fleet test has been conducted to determine if octane advantages due to selected cooling system variables persist with stabilized deposits. The variables tested were reduced coolant temperatures, a direct substitution of aluminum for the iron cylinder head and an aluminum head with Unique Cooling. Octane requirements, octane requirement increase (ORI), emissions and fuel economy results are presented and discussed. Engine tests to determine the sensitivity of octane to independently controlled engine temperatures confirmed the primary dependence upon coolant temperature. Additional tests identified some of the variables which cause octane differences among the cylinders of one engine and between engine families.

The performance of three way and NOx catalysts was evaluated on vehicles utilizing non-feedback fuel control and electronic feedback fuel control. The vehicles accumulated 80,450 km (50,000 miles) using fuels representing the extremes in hydrogen-carbon ratio available for commercial use. Feedback carburetion compared to non-feedback carburetion improved highway fuel economy by about 0.4 km/l (1 mpg) and reduced deterioration of NOx with mileage accumulation. NOx emissions were higher with the low H/C fuel in the three way catalyst system; feedback reduced the fuel effect on NOx in these cars by improving conversion efficiency with the low H/C fuel. Feedback had no measureable effect on HC and CO catalyst efficiency. Hydrocarbon emissions were lower with the low H/C fuel in all cars. Unleaded gasoline octane improver, MMT, at 0.015g Mn/l (0.06 g/gal) increased tailpipe hydrocarbon emissions by 0.05 g/km (0.08 g/mile).

This is the third and final communication in this series of laboratory evaluation of three-way catalysts. The effect of inlet NO concentration and temperature on the NH3 formation over fresh, pulsator-aged and dynamometer-aged three-way catalysts of the current generation has been investigated under temperatures and exhaust compositions of practical interest. In spite of differences in aging procedures employed, both the pulsator and dynamometer-aged catalysts show similar selectivity behavior. The effect of SO2 in feed-gas on gross NO conversion and NH3 formation was studied over Pt-Rh and Pt-Rh-Ru types of three-way catalysts. A strong dependence of the gross NO conversion on the SO2 concentration in exhaust gas mixtures was noted. A simultaneous suppression of gross NO conversion and NH3 formation, in presence of SO2 in feed-gas, is attributed to the poisoning of Pt sites on aged three-way catalysts.

Unregulated emissions, i.e., emissions which are not currently regulated by EPA, have been measured from a 7.5 L (460 CID) PROCO engine powered vehicle operating at 50 kph on a chassis dynamometer. A dilution tube was used. Emphasis was on particulate emissions, which were characterized physically and chemically. A comparison is made to recent similar measurements on Diesel and conventional gasoline powered vehicles.

A fundamental thermodynamic model of the complete spark-ignited, homogeneous charge engine cycle has been used in several parametric analyses to predict the effects of engine design and operating alternatives on fuel consumption and emissions of NOx and unburned hydrocarbons (HC). The simulation includes sub-models for wall heat transfer, NOx and HC emissions, and the engine breathing processes. This work demonstrates the power and utility of a comprehensive engine simulation by presenting several independent parametric studies that were carried out in response to genuine engine design and/or operating strategy questions. Included in this compilation are the effects of cycle heat loss, exhaust port heat loss, combustion duration, and charge dilution (EGR and/or lean air-fuel ratio). In addition, the influence of the design variables associated with bore-stroke ratio, intake and exhaust valve lift, and cam timing are considered.

Flight tests of a new 13% General Aviation Airfoil - the GA(W)-2 - gloved full span onto the existing wing of a Beech Sundowner have generated chordwise pressure distributions and wake surveys. Section lift, drag and moment coefficients derived from these measurements verify wind tunnel data and theory predicting the performance of this airfoil. The effect of steps, rivets and surface coatings upon the drag of the GA(W)-2 was also evaluated.

A Headlight Evaluation Model has been developed which provides a broader and more comprehensive method for characterizing the performance of headlamps than is possible in traditional headlight seeing distance field tests. The Headlamp Evaluation Model accepts as input the candlepower patterns of the headlamp system being evaluated and provides a measure of driver visual performance based on a large number of simulated seeing distance tests and glare discomfort checks on a standardized test route. The output of the Model, termed the Figure of Merit, is the percentage of the distance traveled by the simulated driver on the standardized test route in which the seeing distance to pedestrians and pavement lines, and the discomfort glare levels experienced by opposing drivers, simultaneously meet certain acceptance criteria.

The emission index (grams of species per kilogram of fuel) field within a regenerative turbine combustor has been mapped using a water-cooled sampling probe. The probe employed a choked orifice to simultaneously determine the local temperature. Derived from measurements are: air-fuel ratio, combustion efficiency, average fuel velocity and fuel distribution factor. Methods of averaging the discrete data are developed. A comparison of the data obtained when the combustor was operated on each of two fuels revealed that the use of methanol leads to lower nitric oxide but higher carbon monoxide emission than does the use of diesel fuel.

The design of an automotive instrument panel has become an increasingly complex job as product evolution in terms of customer safety, mechanical improvements, optional features and customer wants have altered the content of the automotive vehicle, and added substantially to the design requirements that must be observed in this area of the vehicle. To provide a perspective of the total job required to accommodate the changing and diverse standards and engineering requirements, this report will tell the story of the Ford Motor Company instrument panel design process. The report will cover all of the major considerations that affect the finished appearance of the design as well as the considerations required for customer convenience, and instrument panel serviceability.

This paper discusses the possible impact of the FM tape recorder and servo-hydraulic actuators on the testing of automotive structures. The use of tape recorders and automatic data reduction systems will permit more accurate definition of service conditions and properly “set-the-stage” for laboratory testing. Servo-hydraulic strokers should encourage better laboratory simulation because of their great flexibility. Test set-up time is reduced, fixtures can be simplified and load control is more precise. Simultaneous multiple inputs can be controlled as to amplitude and phase relationships.

For the past seven years, the Ford Motor Company has been working on the development of catalytic exhaust treating systems designed to minimize the emission of certain vehicle exhaust gas constituents. In 1959, the development of a low-temperature, catalytic-converter system for the oxidation of exhaust gas hydrocarbons was described in a paper presented to the SAE. That system, which used vanadium pentoxide as the catalyst, has since been extensively developed in a program that included 250,000 miles of converter evaluation on vehicles. Many of the basic system requirements and problems covered in those tests are relevant in vehicle applications of a catalytic converter system with any type of catalyst. With the insertion of a carbon monoxide limit in the California Exhaust Standard, work on the low-temperature, catalytic converter system was discontinued since this system did not, and was not designed to, oxidize carbon monoxide.