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Meeting the particle number (PN) emissions limits in vehicle test sequences needs specific attention on each power variation event occurring in the internal combustion engine (ICE). ICE power variations arise from engine start onwards along the entire test drive. In hybrid systems, there is one further source for transient ICE response: each power shift between E-motor and ICE introduces gas flow variations with subsequent temperature response in the ICE and in the engine aftertreatment system (EAS). This bears consequences for engine out emissions as well as for the EAS efficiency and even for the durability of a catalytic converter. As system calibration engineers must decide on numerous actuator parameters, their decisions, finally, are crucial for meeting legislative limits under the boundary conditions given by the hybrid vehicle’s drive environment.

The three-way-catalyst (TWC) is an essential part of the exhaust aftertreatment system in spark-ignited powertrains, converting nearly all toxic emissions to harmless gasses. The TWC’s conversion efficiency is significantly temperature-dependent, and cold-starts can be the dominating source of emissions for vehicles with frequent start/stops (e.g. hybrid vehicles). In this paper we develop a thermal TWC model and calibrate it with experimental data. Due to the few number of state variables the model is well suited for fast offline simulation as well as subsequent on-line control, for instance using non-linear state-feedback or explicit MPC. Using the model could allow an on-line controller to more optimally adjust the engine ignition timing, the power in an electric catalyst pre-heater, and/or the power split ratio in a hybrid vehicle when the catalyst is not completely hot.

Non-combustible particles, commonly summarized as ash, influence the lifetime performance of wall flow filters. This study aims to investigate this influence by means of simulation. An existing transient 1D+1D wall flow filter model is extended by dedicated transport balances for soot and ash (1), by a discrete cake model describing changing soot and ash compositions over the cake height (2), by a phenomenological cake filtration model (3), by dedicated cake property models (4) and by a phenomenological model capturing the radial mobility of solids within the cake (5). Results of three different types of simulations are shown. First, the various sub-models are assessed in isolated simulation configurations. The combination of these shall serve as theoretical model validation. Second, isolated loading and passive regeneration simulations are performed.

The emissions from a parallel hybrid combustion engine and electric powertrain operated on a modified New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) was investigated in order to determine the relation between emissions and the road and engine load profile. The effect of simulated electric motor assistance during accelerations on emissions was investigated as a means to reduce particulate and gaseous emissions. The time resolved particulate number and size distribution was measured in addition to gaseous emissions. The combustion engine was a downsized, three cylinder spark ignited direct injection (SIDI) turbocharged engine fuelled with gasoline. Electric motor assistance during accelerations was simulated by reduction of the vehicle mass. This reduced engine load during accelerations. Fuel rich engine transients occurred during accelerations. NOx emissions were reduced with electric assistance due to a reduction in engine load.

With progressing electrification of automotive powertrains and demands to meet increasingly stringent emission regulations, a combination of an electric motor and downsized turbocharged spark-ignited engine has been recognized as a viable solution. The SI engine must be optimized, and preferentially downsized, to reduce tailpipe CO2 and other emissions. However, drives to increase BMEP (Brake Mean Effective Pressure) and compression ratio/thermal efficiency increase propensities of knocking (auto-ignition of residual unburnt charge before the propagating flame reaches it) in downsized engines. Currently, knock is mitigated by retarding the ignition timing, but this has several limitations. Another option identified in the last decade (following trials of similar technology in aircraft combustion engines) is water injection, which suppresses knocking largely by reducing local in-cylinder mixture temperatures due to its latent heat of vaporization.

Heavy-duty vehicles are primarily powered by diesel fuel, emitting CO2 emissions regardless of the exhaust after-treatment system. Contrastingly, a hydrogen engine has the potential to decarbonize the transportation sector as hydrogen is a carbon free, renewable fuel. In this study, a multi-physics 1D simulation tool (GT-Power) is used to model the gas exchange process and performance prediction of a two-stroke hydrogen engine. The aim is to establish a maximum torque-level for a four-stroke hydrogen engine and then utilize different methods for two-stroke modeling to achieve similar torque by optimizing the gas exchange process. A camless engine is used as base, enabling the flexibility to utilize approximately square valve lift profiles. The preliminary step is the GT-Power model validation, which has been done using diesel and hydrogen engines (single-cylinder heavy-duty) experiments at different operating points (871 rpm, 1200 rpm, 1259 rpm, and 1508 rpm).

48V mild hybrid powertrains are promising technologies for cost-effective compliance with future CO2 emissions standards. Current 48V powertrains with integrated belt starter generators (P0) with downsized engines achieve CO2 emissions of 95 g/km in the NEDC. However, to reach 75 g/km, it may be necessary to combine new 48V powertrain architectures with alternative fuels. Therefore, this paper compares CO2 emissions from different 48V powertrain architectures (P0, P1, P2, P3) with different electric power levels under various driving cycles (NEDC, WLTC, and RTS95). A numerical model of a compact class passenger car with a 48V powertrain was created and experimental fuel consumption maps for engines running on different fuels (gasoline, Diesel, E85, CNG) were used to simulate its CO2 emissions. The simulation results were analysed to determine why specific powertrain combinations were more efficient under certain driving conditions.

This paper presents results of a parametric CFD modeling study of a prototype Free Piston Engine (FPE), designed for application in a series hybrid electric vehicle. Since the piston motion is governed by Newton's second law, accounting for the forces acting on the piston/translator, i.e. friction forces, electrical forces, and in-cylinder gas forces, having a high-level control system is vital. The control system changes the electrical force applied during the stroke, thus obtaining the desired compression ratio. Identical control algorithms were implemented in a MATLAB/SIMULINK model to those applied in the prototype engine. The ignition delay and heat release data used in the MATLAB/SIMULINK model are predicted by the KIVA-3V CFD code which incorporates detailed chemical kinetics (305 reactions among 70 species).

Calibrating a vehicle’s powertrain for dynamic operation needs to focus on efforts to mitigate the risks of thermal overload which may arise in the stator or rotor components of an e-motor. Risks also may arise for expected NVH or durability targets, with torque and torque “oscillations” acting as primary sources for the vehicles’ NVH behavior. Both topics, temperature measurement of stator and rotor as well as dynamic torque measurements of the powertrain’s drive shaft are addressed with examples demonstrating the sensors applications in normal test bed and vehicle configurations.

This paper presents a feedback control strategy to minimize noise during dog clutch engagement in a hybrid transmission. The hybrid transmission contains an internal combustion engine(ICE) and 2 electric motors in P1 and P3 configurations. For efficiency during driving, at high vehicle speeds ICE is connected to wheels, via the dog clutch, hence shifting the vehicle from series to parallel hybrid mode. It is shown by experimental results that if the speed difference between the two sides of the dog clutch is below a certain level the engagement will be without clonk noise. In this paper the designed state feedback Linear Quadratic Integral (LQI) control provides the synchronization torque request to the P1 motor, hence matching the speed of one side of dog clutch with the other under the disturbance from combustion torque of the engine.

Non-exhaust emissions are clearly one of the focal points for the upcoming Euro 7 legislation. The new United Nations Global Technical Regulation (UN GTR) defining the framework for brake emission measurements is about to be officially published. The first amendment to this text is already on the way through the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) hierarchy for decision making. In real life, the final emission factor as the ultimate result of a test is influenced by inaccuracies of numerous parts of the measurement system as well as additional contributing factors like the performance of the particulate filter handling process, which might not be primarily related to equipment specifications.

Expansion chamber mufflers are commonly applied to reduce noise in HVAC. Dissipative materials, such as microperforated plates (MPPs), are often applied to achieve a more broadband mitigation effect. Such mufflers are typically characterized in the frequency domain, assuming time-harmonic excitation. From a computational point of view, transient analyses are more challenging. A transformation of the equivalent fluid model or impedance boundary conditions into the time domain induces convolution integrals. We apply the recently proposed finite element formulation of a time domain equivalent fluid (TDEF) model to simulate the transient response of dissipative acoustic media to arbitrary unsteady excitation. As most time domain approaches, the formulation relies on approximating the frequency-dependent equivalent fluid parameters by a sum of rational functions composed of real-valued or complex-conjugated poles.

Electric vehicles offer cleaner transportation with lower emissions, thus their increased popularity. Although, electric powertrains contribute to quieter vehicles, the shift from internal combustion engines to electric powertrains presents new Noise, Vibration, and Harshness challenges. Unlike traditional engines, electric powertrains produce distinctive tonal noise, notably from motor whistles and gear whine. These tonal components have frequency content, sometimes above 10 kHz. Furthermore, the housing of the powertrain is the interface between the excitation from the driveline via the bearings and the radiated noise (NVH). Acoustic features of the radiated noise can be predicted by utilising the transmitted forces from the bearings. Due to tonal components at higher frequencies and dense modal content, full flexible multibody dynamics simulations are computationally expensive.