Search Results

A multi-step acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) phenomenological soot model was proposed and implemented into KIVA-3V Release 2 code. Experiments were conducted in an optical constant volume combustion chamber to investigate the combustion and soot emission characteristics under the conditions of 1000 K initial temperature with various oxygen concentrations (21%, 16%, 11%). Multi-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted in conjunction under the same operation conditions. The predicted soot mass traces showed good agreement with experimental data. As ambient oxygen decreased from 21% to 11%, ignition delay retarded and the distribution of temperature became more homogenous. Compared to 21% ambient oxygen, the peak value of total soot mass at 16% oxygen concentration was higher due to the suppressed soot oxidation mechanism.

Low temperature combustion (LTC) is an advanced combustion mode, which can achieve low emissions of NOx and PM simultaneously, and keep relatively high thermal efficiency at the same time. However, one of the major challenges for LTC is the cold condition. In cold conditions, stable compression ignition is hard to realize, while thermal efficiency and emissions deteriorate, especially for gasoline or fuel with high octane number. This study presents using pressure sensor glow plugs (PSG) to realize Glow plug assisted compression ignition (GA-CI) at cold conditions. Further, a glow plug control unit (GPCU) is developed, a closed-loop power feedback control algorithm is introduced based on GPCU. In the experiment, engine coolant temperature is swept. Experimental results show that GA-CI has earlier combustion phases, larger combustion duration and higher in-cylinder pressure. And misfire is avoided, cycle-to-cycle variations are greatly reduced.

In heavy truck driveline system, the components often include clutch, transmission, transfer case, drive shaft, etc. A fluid torque converter could be equipped in front of the transmission in order to improve the starting performance. Meanwhile, a hydraulic retarder could be introduced for auxiliary braking so as to adapt the truck to the brake on long downgrade in mountainous regions. Thus, the driveline heat load would have a notable increase. Both the fluid torque converter and the hydraulic retarder would produce a large quantity of heat, and a special cooling system is needed for adjusting the transmission fluid temperature with which the gains are potentially very large [1]. The heat load for driveline is often calculated based on empirical formula. For the heavy truck, however, if the heat value is underestimated, driveline components would suffer from overheated damage.

A novel non-destroy repeatable-use impact theory based total cylinder sampling system has been established. This system is mainly composed of a knocking body and a sampling valve. The knocking body impacts the sampling valve with certain velocity resulting in huge force to open the sampling valve and most of the in-cylinder gas has been dumped to one sampling bag for after-treatment. The feasibility and sampling response characteristics of this impact theory based total cylinder sampling system were investigated by engine bench testing. Within 0 to 35°CA ATDC (Crank Angle After Top Dead Center) sample timing 50 percent to 80 percent of in-cylinder mass would be sampled, which was a little less compared with the traditional system. The half decay period of pressure drop was 10 to 20 degrees crank angle within 0 to 60°CA ATDC sample timing, which was about 2-3 times of the traditional system.

Low Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI), also referred to as superknock or mega-knock is an undesirable turbocharged engine combustion phenomenon limiting fuel economy, drivability, emissions and durability performance. Numerous researchers have previously reported that the frequency of Superknock is sensitive to engine oil and fuel composition as well as engine conditions in controlled laboratory and engine-based studies. Recent studies by Toyota and Tsinghua University have demonstrated that controlled induction of particles into the combustion chamber can induce pre-ignition and superknock. Afton and Tsinghua recently developed a multi-physics approach which was able to realistically model all of the elementary processes known to be involved in deposit induced pre-ignition. The approach was able to successfully simulate deposit induced pre-ignition at conditions where the phenomenon has been experimentally observed.

In order to improve centrifugal compressor performance predictive capability, an improved recirculation loss model in two-zone modeling system is presented in this paper. The new loss model correlates Reynolds number of the impeller with the recirculation loss. Performance prediction by the improved model is carried out on two turbochargers with different sizes based on COMPAL mode of the code Concepts. The result shows that predictive performance by improved model is in high accordance with experimental measurement. On the other hand, compared with the larger size compressor, the small one has a performance which is more likely to be influenced by Reynolds number.

The incomplete combustion and misfire of diesel engine during starting result in unwanted white smoke. The histories of combustion and emission in different phases under different start conditions were studied in this paper. The optimization of the fuel injection control strategy under start conditions was performed. When the diesel engine is started under low temperature, the control strategy adapted to start the engine with a certain constant fuel mass injected per cycle, there may be misfire cycles in the initial period or in the transitional process, which is mainly caused by the mismatch between the fuel mass injected per cycle and the instantaneous engine speed. Therefore, an optimized control strategy was put forward, namely, the engine starts with high fuel mass injection in the first several cycles and then decreases step by step during the transitional period until it operates at idle condition. This strategy was validated to decrease significantly the misfire cycles.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), because of its low cost, high H/C ratio, and high octane number, has great potential in automotive industry, especially for heavy-duty commercial vehicles. However, relative slow flame speed of natural gas leads to long combustion duration and low thermal efficiency and tends to cause knock combustion at high load, which will aggravate engine thermal load and reliability. Enhancing turbulence intensity in combustion chamber is an effective way to accelerate flame propagation speed and improve combustion performance. In this study, the flow simulations of several piston bowls with different inner-convex forms were carried out using three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D-CFD) software CONVERGE. The numerical results showed the piston bowls with inner-convex could disturb the charge swirl motion and enhance turbulence of different intensity. A hexagram geometry bowl was proved to have the best function in strengthening turbulence intensity.

The hydraulic retarder is a significant auxiliary braking device [1] for the heavy duty vehicle. Traditionally, cooling circulatory system of the hydraulic retarder was coupled with the engine cooling system [2], and the thermal energy of the transmission medium would be cooled by the engine radiator ultimately. For this scheme, radiator's spare heat removal capacity could be fully utilized whereas the cooling system is very complicated and is hard to maintain. Furthermore, the corresponding of thermal management system lags behind the power change of the retarder. In this research, integrated cooling evaporation system is developed for the hydraulic retarder, which makes the cooling water contact with the transmission medium through the stator wall, so that it can rapidly response to the thermal variation of the retarder, keep the stability of the oil temperature and meanwhile reduce the risk of cooling medium leakage.

An integrated simulation platform for turbocharged internal combustion engines has been developed. Multi-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) codes are integrated into the system to model the turbocharging circuit, gas circuit, in-cylinder circuit, coolant and oil circuits. As the turbocharger is a critical factor for the IC engine, a turbocharger through-flow model based on mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations has been developed and added in the integrated platform. Compared with the traditional MAP method, the through-flow model can solve the problems of transient matching and lack of numerous experimental maps during the pre-prototype engine design. Partial systems in the integrated platform, such as the in-cylinder flow and combustion circuit, can be modeled by 3-D CFD codes for the investigation of the detailed flow patterns.

Operating level of a metal-belt CVT mainly rest with the ECU. Conventional control strategies which were obtained from tests or PID controller can not correspond to the driver’s intention or provide various driving environments. It is considered that control targets of metal-belt CVT could be distinguished by a speed ratio, line pressure and starting element till now. Running performance of automobile with a CVT mainly depends on the speed ratio control. An adapted fuzzy logic ratio control algorithm is suggested and optimized. A throttle position and its changing rate will be inputs of the FLC to meet the driver’s intention and make the intelligent control come true. A fuzzy logic line pressure control algorithm is also suggested and optimized corresponding to the complicated high line pressure control.

The basic theory of statistical energy analysis (SEA) is introduced, a commercial heavy duty truck cab is divided into 35 subsystems applying SEA method, and a three dimensional SEA model of the commercial heavy duty truck cab is created. Three basic parameters including modal density, damping loss factor and coupling loss factor are calculated with analytical and experimental methods. The modal density of the regular wall plate of the cab is calculated with traditional formula. The damping loss factors of the regular and complicated plates are obtained using analytical method and steady energy stream method. Meanwhile, the coupling loss factors of structure-structure, structure-sound cavity, and cavity-cavity are also calculated. Four kinds of excitations are in the SEA model, including sound radiation excitation of engine, engine mount vibration excitation, road excitation and wind excitation.

This paper presents an investigation of cold starts based on a cycle-by-cycle control strategy in an LPG EFI engine. Experiments were carried out in a four-stroke, water-cooled, single cylinder, 125cc SI engine with an EFI system. Effects of the first injection pulse width and the first combustion cycle on the characteristics of the cold-start were analyzed based on the histories of transient engine speeds and cylinder pressures. The study focuses on how to realize the controllable ignition cycle and the single-cycle and multi-cycle combustions were tested based on the single starting injection pulse width. Test results show that the first combustion cycle has an important effect on HC emission and combustion stability of following cycles at cold-start. The injection pulse width is the key factor determining the characteristics of an ignition cycle during the cold-start.

A three-dimensional numerical investigation into aerodynamic feature of the turbocharger turbine under pulsating flow conditions is conducted in this paper. Dual time stepping approach is applied to solve the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations, while the Jameson central scheme is brought in for spatial discretization, and Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model is employed in order to get good viscous resolution, accuracy and computing efficiency. The quasi-steady and unsteady performance of the turbine is given and compared. Five blade passage cross sections are chosen to analyze the structure of the secondary flow at 4 key instants. The developments of different vortex, especially the tip leakage vortex, passage vortex are discussed. The results have shown that the unsteady performance deviates substantially from quasi-steady performance, and the secondary flow structure varies tremendously under the pulsating flow conditions.

The calibration of the electronic throttle unit and the pedal unit was made. Based on it, an electronic control system of electronic throttle was designed and installed on a 4G18 engine. Engine experiment was made especially for its transient working condition. Engine performance at transient working condition was investigated. The test results indicate that the optimum way of opening the throttle valve is to open the throttle valve to the target location at once, when 4G18 engine transit from 2000r/min to 3000r/min without load. And its optimum calibration for the electronic throttle control unit is made based on the test results. The control system, the experiment, the test results and the calibration were introduced in this paper.

The ignition of lubricating oil droplet has been proved to be the main factor for pre-ignition and the following super-knock in turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine. In this paper, the ignition process of lubricating oil droplet in combustible ambient gaseous mixture was investigated in a rapid compression machine (RCM). The pre-ignition induction by oil droplet of the ambient gaseous mixture was analyzed under different initial droplet volume and effective temperature conditions. The oil droplet was suspended on a tungsten fiber in the combustion chamber and the ignition process was recorded by a high-speed camera through the quartz window mounted at the end of the combustion chamber. The pressure traces were also obtained by a sensor in order to get the ignition delay and analyze the combustion process in detail.

Based on a 125cm3 single cylinder SI engine, the designated idle speed was controlled by adjusting of cycle ignition advance angle. By analyzing the effects of different idle speed and throttle open position on three way catalyst (TWC) light-off time and conversion efficiency of HC and CO emissions, combined with the corresponding total HC and CO emissions level, the optimum idle speed and throttle open position at engine's warm-up phase were found by the matching optimum. The present method for engine control strategy is helpful to optimize the warm-up phase emission levels in SI engine with LPG fuel.

Early injection timing is an effective measure of pre-mixture formation for diesel low-temperature combustion. Three algebraic subgrid models (Smagorinsky model, dynamic Smagorinsky model and WALE model) and one-equation kinetic energy turbulent model using modified TAB breakup model (MTAB model) have been implemented into KIVA3V code to make a detailed large eddy simulation of the atomization and evaporation processes of early injection timing in a constant volume chamber and a Ford high-speed direct-injection diesel engine. The results show that the predictive vapor mass fraction and liquid penetration using LES is in good agreement with the experiment results. In combustion chamber, the sub-grid turbulent kinetic energy and viscosity using LES are less than with the RANS models, and following the increasing time, the sub-grid turbulent kinetic energy and viscosity also increase and are concentrated on the spray area.

When driving a vehicle, reliable braking system ensures maximum human safety. Increasing vehicle speed under driving conditions generate heat due to the friction between rotating disc and pads. Elevated temperatures accelerate brake disc contact surface thermal deformation and shortens the service life. The particles formed as a result of high temperature and friction coefficient on the contact surface of the brake disc must not be emitted into the atmosphere. The ventilation system ensures that particles do not escape into the atmosphere by installing a car air filter system in the outdoor air flow duct. Minimizing the amount of heat and temperature on the contact surface of the brake disc in the ventilation system leads to an increase in the service life of the brake disc. The present research is essentially dealing with the modeling and analysis of solid and ventilated disc brake using ventilation system test rig.

The heavy duty trucks have large engine power and drive continuously in mountainous area, so the heat dissipation of engine is very important. In the traditional cooling system with fixed transmission ratio fan, the cooling capacity is insufficient and the engine is easy to be over-heated when the engine is working in low speed and heavy load conditions. Owning to the bigger size of electric motor compared to the hydraulic motor, it is not suitably applied to the heavy duty trucks. Contrasted with the electric motor, the hydraulic drive cooling system is widely applied in heavy duty trucks due to smaller size, larger power, continuous speed modulation and flexible installation location. However, the low transmission efficiency of the pump-motor system results in high power consumption of the cooling system. In this paper, the mathematical and simulation model of hydraulic-driven fan cooling system is established for the specific engine.