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Predictable and unpredictable forces will change the direction of the charge-air systems industry. The driver of diesel engine development will be the stringent emissions regulations of the 1990s. The drivers in the gasoline engine market will be improved fuel economy, performance, durability and emissions. Forces will also influence the charge-air marketplace, including changes in emission standards, national fiscal policies, political issues, fuel prices, alternate fuels and consumer tastes. The world community mandate for engines that are clean, quiet, durable and fuel efficient will be satisfied, increasingly, by first-tier component suppliers developing integrated systems solutions.

There is a strong interest around the world in natural gas as an alternative fuel. This paper is concerned with the option of converting diesel engines to spark ignition operation. Although this may appear to be an outrageous thermodynamic action, it is preferable to using natural gas in a low compression gasoline engine conversion. An investigation is described in which engine maps were produced for a 5.6 litre direct injection diesel engine converted to CNG. The diesel operating characteristics have been compared with those of the spark ignition conversion at compression ratios of 18:1 (the original diesel value), 15:1 and 13:1. Detailed data are presented for the 15:1 compression ratio. These test results are supplemented by results for other diesel conversions. The use of these engines in bus fleet operations is also discussed.

A survey of the in-service fuel consumption of passenger vehicles and derivatives in the Australian fleet was carried out in 1984-85. Seven hundred and four owners across Australia took part in the survey. Vehicle owners reported by questionnaire the amount of fuel used during four tank fills of normal operation, the distance travelled, and other details of the operating circumstances. The survey shows a clear downward trend in the fuel consumption of the Australian passenger fleet. The data also provides comparisons of actual fuel consumption obtained on the road, with laboratory derived values for fuel consumption. Vehicles in a sub-set of 40 were fitted with fuel flow meters during the survey and tested to Australian Standard 2077 for fuel consumption. The questionnaire method is shown to be a valid and accurate technique for determining in-service fuel consumption.

To improve the cold startability of methanol, methanol-butane mixed fuel was experimented. Engine performance and exhaust emissions are obtained with methanol-butane mixed fuel. These characteristics are compared with those of methanol and gasoline. The mixing ratios of methanol and butane are 50:50 (M50), 80:20 (M80), and 90:10 (M90) based on the calorific value. As a result, M90 produces more power than gasoline and more or less than methanol depending on the engine speed and the excess air ratio. Brake horse power of M90 is higher than that of gasoline by 5 - 10 %, and brake specific fuel consumption is smaller than that of gasoline by 17 % to the maximum based on the calorific value. NOx emission concentrations for M90 are lower than those for gasoline and higher than those for methanol because of the effect of butane, CO emission concentrations are somewhat lower than those for methanol and gasoline.

A procedure has been developed for evaluating equivalent drive cycle emission results from raw exhaust gas emissions data obtained from an engine under test on a computer controlled Vehicle Simulator Engine Dynamometer. The emitted species data is integrated with the air intake flow rate to determine the total mass of emissions, after correcting for the reduction in exhaust gas mass due to precipitation of the moisture of combustion. This procedure eliminates the need for the Constant Volume Sample (CVS) System attached to the vehicle exhaust while undergoing simulated drive testing on a chassis dynamometer to evaluate compliance of the test vehicle with the Australian Design Rules, ADR27 and ADR37. Sources of error with the procedure are examined by comparing the fuel consumption measured using a volumetric technique during the test with that evaluated by a carbon balance procedure as given in the Australian Design Rules.

The sequential fuel injection, in which fuel is injected into swirl being generated for mixture stratification, was used to pursue the potential of a lean burn engine for its performance improvement. As a result, it has been found that the most effective method to increase thermal efficiency while reducing NOx emission level is to combine a high-compression compact combustion chamber located on exhaust valve side in cylinder head with DICS (Dual induction Control System). This method was used to build a high-compression lean burn concept vehicle, which was evaluated for compliance to various emission standards. Testing showed that the concept vehicle can improve fuel economy by 10.5% on the Japanese 10-mode cycle, by 8.3% on the ECE mode cycle, and by 6.3% on the U.S. EPA test mode cycle while meeting respective emission standards.