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The worldwide trend to increasingly stringent exhaust emissions standards, together with consumer requirements, are forcing both vehicle and engine manufacturers, as well as manufacturers of ancilliary equipment, to introduce new and often novel technology in order to produce clean, quiet and socially acceptable transport at affordable prices. The combustion process lies at the heart of the engine and the quality of the combustion determines the acceptability of the product to a very large extent. The fuel injection system plays a large role in the combustion process and in consequence, the fuel system type and capabilities strongly influence the performance of the combustion system. There has never been such a range of fuel injection systems available at one time as there is today. High pressure hydraulically actuated systems /1/ compete with cam driven fuel injection systems /2/ to deliver the injection requirements demanded by the vehicles both of today and in the future.

Further fuel efficiency improvements are mandatory in order to achieve the CO2 emission limits envisaged in the future. Electrification of the powertrain is seen as one of the key technologies to achieve these future goals. However, electrification of the power train typically goes with a massive cost increase of the overall system itself which is especially crucial for cost sensitive markets like India. AVL's approach to cost reduction for comparable performance and fuel consumption target values is an integration of functions. This paper demonstrates that, through a deeper interaction of the single powertrain components, further fuel efficiency optimization may be gained. System optimization at a powertrain level enables the achievement of future powertrain targets with respect to fuel efficiency and performance with only minimal and reduced requirements at a component level (i.e. combustion engine, electric drive, transmission and battery).

Gasoline direct injection is one of the main issues of actual worldwide SI engine development activities. It requires a comprehensive system approach from the basic considerations on optimum combustion system configuration up to vehicle performance and driveability. The general characteristics of currently favored combustion system configurations are discussed in this paper regarding both engine operation and design aspects. The engine performance, especially power output and emission potential of AVL's DGI engine concept is presented including the interaction of advanced tools like optical diagnostics and 3D-CFD simulation in the combustion system development process. The application of methods like tomographic combustion analysis for investigations in the multicylinder engine within further stages of development is demonstrated. The system layout and operational strategies for fuel economy in conjunction with exhaust gas aftertreatment requirements are discussed.

Recent developments have raised increased interest on the concept of gasoline direct injection as the most promising future strategy for fuel economy improvement of SI engines. The general requirements for mixture preparation and combustion systems in a GDI engine are presented in view of known and actual systems regarding fuel economy and emission potential. The characteristics of the actually favored injection systems are discussed and guidelines for the development of appropriate combustion systems are derived. The differences between such mixture preparation strategies as air distributed fuel and fuel wall impingement are discussed, leading to the alternative approach to the problem of mixture preparation with the fully air distributing concept of direct mixture injection.

This paper describes development challenges for Heavy-Duty (HD) on-highway Diesel Direct Injection (DDI™) engines to meet the extremely advanced US-EPA 2010 (later named US 2010) emission limits while further increasing power density in combination with competitive engine efficiency. It discusses technologies and solutions for lowest engine-out emissions in combination with most competitive fuel consumption values and excellent dynamic behavior. To achieve these challenging targets, base engine hardware requirements are described. In detail the development of EGR systems, especially the challenges of running high EGR rates over the whole engine speed range also at high load, the dynamic EGR control for transient engine operation to achieve lowest NOx emissions at the smoke limit with excellent load response is discussed. Also the effect of the turbo-machinery on power density and transient engine behavior is shown.

In relation to further tightening of the emissions legislation for on-road heavy duty Diesel engines, the future potential of cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) as a result of developments in the cooling systems of such engines has been evaluated. Four basic engine concepts were investigated: an engine with SCR exhaust gas aftertreatment for control of the nitrogen oxides (NOx), an engine with cooled EGR and particulate (PM) filtration, an engine with low pressure EGR and PM filtration and an engine with two stage low temperature cooled EGR also with a particulate filter. A 10.5 litre engine was calibrated and tested under conditions representative for each concept, such that 1.7 g/kWh (1.3 g/bhp-hr) NOx could be achieved over the ESC and ETC. This corresponds to emissions 15% below the Euro 5 legislation level.

The limitation of global warming to less than 2 °C till the end of the century is regarded as the main challenge of our time. In order to meet COP21 objectives, a clear transition from carbon-based energy sources towards renewable and carbon-free energy carriers is mandatory. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) allow an energy-efficient, resource-efficient and emission-free conversion of regenerative produced hydrogen. For these reasons fuel cell technologies emerge in stationary, mobile and logistic applications with acceptable cruising ranges as well as short refueling times. In order to perform applied research in the area of PEMFC systems, a highly integrated fuel cell analysis infrastructure for systems up to 150 kW electric power was developed and established within a cooperative research project by HyCentA Research GmbH and AVL List GmbH in Graz, Austria. A novel open testing facility with hardware in the loop (HiL) capability is presented.

With the implementation of EURO VI and similar emission legislation, the industry assumed the pace and stringency of new legislation would be reduced in the future. The latest announcements of proposed and implemented legislation steps show that future legislation will be even more stringent. The currently leading announced legislation, which concerns a large number of global manufacturers, is the legislation from the United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Both announced new legislation for CO2, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Phase II. CARB is also planning additional Ultra Low NOx regulations. Both regulations are significant and will require a number of technologies to be used in order to achieve the challenging limits. AVL published some engine related measures to address these legislation steps.

The combined requirement of achieving CAFE values between 32 to 38 mpg plus LEV/ULEV emission standards to comply with US legal requirements between 1995 and 2000 represents the most demanding challenge for engine engineering. Thus all possible methods of engine improvement towards fuel economy and emissions have to be considered. Besides using new ideas also the methods of engine development have to be modernized to cope with the challenge. The paper presents advanced combustion and exhaust gas aftertreatment systems which combine high power output, favourable torque characteristics and high fuel economy with the potential for obtaining LEV/ULEV emission values, as well as improved development techniques.

The need to improve the engine performance and fuel consumption subject to ever more stringent emission standard spar the interest in the aspects of understanding and quantifying the thermal behavior of engine components and systems. Considering these points during the design of the vehicle thermal management system based on test would consume far too many resources. Fortunately, the simulation tools have become more prominent in the pre-prototype phase of the vehicle development process and they had reached a mature stage; where they can contribute successfully to a significant extend to meet the vehicle development targets. In this work, a methodology to model the Vehicle Thermal Management System (VTMS) in order to understand and quantify its behavior has been developed. The partial systems under consideration are: the gas circuit, the cooling circuit, the lubrication circuit and the thermal capacitance of the engine structure under the vehicle driving conditions.

Future limits on emissions for both gasoline and Diesel engines require adequate and advanced systems for the after-treatment of the exhaust gas. Computer models as a complementary tool to experimental investigations are an indispensable part to design reliable after-treatment devices such as catalytic converters and Diesel particulate filters including their influence on the power-train. Therefore, the objective of this contribution is to present an integrated 1D to 3D simulation workflow of of catalytic converters and Diesel particulate filters. The novelty of this approach is that parameters or set of parameters, obtained by a fast and efficient 1D-gas exchange and cycle simulation code for power-trains (AVL (2002a)), are readily transferable onto a 3D general purpose simulation code (AVL (2002b)). Thus, detailed aspects such as spatial distribution of temperatures or heat losses are investigated with only a single effort to estimate parameters.

A methodology to simulate the injection process in the internal combustion (IC) engines by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is presented. Entire sequence of the gasoline injection processes, starting with a transient injector-flow simulation and continuing with break-up and spray propagation using AVL FIRE, is shown. In the first part, a multidimensional model for the cavitating flow in a multi-hole gasoline injector is presented, based on the two-fluid model and capable to simulate N-phase systems. Considered fluid components are liquid fuel and fuel vapor. Momentum and mass exchange between the two phases are accounted for. In the second part of the work, the link between nozzle flow and spray formation is established performing simulations including the break-up model. This calculates the initial conditions for the spray droplets, e.g., size and velocity, based on the local turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), velocity and phase distribution at the nozzle orifice.

Best fuel efficiency is one of the core requirements for commercial vehicles in India. Consequently it is a central challenge for commercial vehicle OEMs to optimize the entire powertrain, hence match engine, transmission and rear axle specifications best to the defined application. The very specific real world driving conditions in India (e.g. traffic situations, road conditions, driver behavior, etc.) and the large number of possible commercial powertrain combinations request an efficient and effective development methodology. This paper presents a methodology and tool chain to specify and develop commercial powertrains in a most efficient and effective way. The methodology is based on the measurement of real world driving scenarios, identification of representative Real World Driving Profiles and vehicle system simulation which allows extended analysis of the road topography, the traffic situation as well as the driver behavior.

A broad variety of new technologies for improving fuel economy is currently under development or investigation. The general statement is that always a compromise between fuel economy benefit and engine oncost has to be found. This paper describes a new way for improving fuel economy based on existing technologies used in a refined way. It is shown that with very simple and robust measures on the intake and exhaust ports and on the valve train mechanism 2 valve and 4 valve engines can show a significant improvement in fuel consumption without having a great cost penalty for production. The basic system consists of a single cam phaser and a special port arrangement on a 2 valve engine with a single camshaft operated at stoichiometric air/fuel ratio utilizing internal EGR and a reverse “Miller-Cycle”. Variable charge motion is generated using a shared flow through the intake and the exhaust port by varying cam timing.

The application of lightweight materials for new crankcase concepts implies comprehensive design considerations to achieve weight reductions as close as possible to the potential of the selected material. A specific approach for inline and V-engine crankcase concepts is discussed in detail. Engine weight reduction can also be achieved through "Downsizing." Modern technologies applied to existing engine concepts increase the power-weight ratio, the engine''s capability and therefore its marketing value. The use of lightweight materials for diesel and gasoline engines within one engine family allows a combined production and a less costly machining. Aluminum and magnesium alloys are, due to their high relative strength (tensional strength and e-modulus divided by their material densities), suitable for weight-reduced components which need to be designed for a specific target strength.

Both linear (frequency domain) and non-linear (time domain) prediction codes are used for the simulation of duct acoustics in exhaust systems. Each approach has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage of the linear method is that information about the engine as an acoustic source is needed in order to calculate the insertion loss of mufflers or the level of radiated sound. The source model used in the low frequency plane wave range is the linear time invariant 1-port model. This source characterization data is usually obtained from experimental tests where multi-load methods and especially the two-load method are most commonly used. These measurements are time consuming and expensive. However, this data can also be extracted from an existing 1-D non-linear CFD code describing the engine gas exchange process.

This paper gives insights in the theoretical measurement uncertainty of E-Drive rotor position dependent results, like Id and Iq calculations, done by a modern propulsion power analyzer (PA). The calculation of Id and Iqis fundamental to perform control optimization and application tasks for an E-Drive system. To optimize the E-Drive system application towards e.g., best efficiency, best performance, or improved NVH the importance of the testing toolchain is described: a power analyzer delivering the required results, an automation system, and a Design of Experiment tool to set improved target values. Consequently, inverters applications featuring field-oriented control (FOC) with permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) are updated with a chosen control strategy. For achieving a certain behavior of an E-Drive, different degrees of freedom in the Inverter Control Unit are available; Lookup tables Id and Iq represent two fundamental application labels to be considered.

An advanced multi-layer material model has been developed to simulate the complex behavior in case-carburized gears where hardness dependent strength and elastic-plastic behavior is characterized. Also, an advanced fatigue model has been calibrated to material fatigue tests over a wide range of conditions and implemented in FEMFAT software for root bending fatigue life prediction in differential gears. An FEA model of a differential is setup to simulate the rolling contact and transient stresses occurring within the differential gears. Gear root bending fatigue life is predicted using the calculated stresses and the FEMFAT fatigue model. A specialized rig test is set up and used to measure the fatigue life of the differential over a range of load conditions. Root bending fatigue life predictions are shown to correlate very well with the measured fatigue life in the rig test.

With upcoming emission regulations particle emissions for GDI engines are challenging engine and injector developers. Despite the introduction of GPFs, engine-out emission should be optimized to avoid extra cost and exhaust backpressure. Engine tests with a state of the art Miller GDI engine showed up to 200% increased particle emissions over the test duration due to injector deposit related diffusion flames. No spray altering deposits have been found inside the injector nozzle. To optimize this tip sooting behavior a tool chain is presented which involves injector multiphase simulations, a spray simulation coupled with a wallfilm model and testing. First the flow inside the injector is analyzed based on a 3D-XRay model. The next step is a Lagrangian spray simulation coupled with a wallfilm module which is used to simulate the fuel impingement on the injector tip and counter-bores.

One main general goal during product development in the passenger car industry as well as in the commercial vehicle industry is to reduce time to market. The customer wants to get the newest product and is not accepting the risk of any product call backs. This means the minimization of the risk of field claims for the manufacturer. The challenge to reach this goal is a capable volume production of each new product. To create a competitive, innovative product it is the task for design and simulation engineers in the development phase to design the product in view of function, efficiency, fatigue strength, optimized weight and optimized product costs. Additionally an agreement between design and industrial production planning is required. An early involvement of production engineers into the development of a product ensures design for manufacturing from the very beginning.