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Millions of small displacement single-cylinder engines are used for the propulsion of scooters, motorcycles, small boats and others. These SI-engines represent the basis of an affordable mobility in many countries, but at the same time their efficiency is quite low. Today, the limited fossil fuel resources and the anthropogenic climate require a sustainable development of combustion engines, the reduction of fuel consumption being an important factor. A variety of different strategies (turbo-charging, cylinder deactivation, direct injection, etc.) are investigated here to increase the efficiency of multi-cylinder engines. In the case of small displacement single-cylinder engines, other strategies are required because of their special design and the high pressure on costs. In the context of this paper different layout parameters which have an influence on the working process are investigated, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of small displacement single-cylinder engines.

One of the most significant current discussions worldwide is the anthropogenic climate change accompanying fossil fuel consumption. Sustainable development in all fields of combustion engines is required with the principal objective to enhance efficiency. This certainly concerns the field of hand-held power tools as well. Today, two-stroke SI engines equipped with a carburetor are the most widely used propulsion technology in hand-held power tools like chain saws and grass trimmers. To date, research tended to focus on two-stroke engines with rich mixture setting. In this paper the advantages and challenges of leaner and/or lean operation are discussed. Experimental investigations regarding the influence of equivalence ratio on emissions, fuel consumption and power have been performed. Accompanying 3D-CFD simulations support the experiments in order to gain insight into these complex processes. The investigations concentrate on two different mixture formation processes, i.e.

The automotive industry has made great efforts in reducing fuel consumption. The efficiency of modern spark ignition (SI) engines has been increased by improving the combustion process and reducing engine losses such as friction, gas exchange and wall heat losses. Nevertheless, further efficiency improvement is indispensable for the reduction of CO2 emissions and the smart usage of available energy. In the previous years the Atkinson Cycle, realized over the crank train and/or valve train, is attracting considerable interest of several OEMs due to the high theoretical efficiency potential. In this publication a crank train-based Atkinson cycle engine is investigated. The researched engine, a 4-stroke 2 cylinder V-engine, basically consists of a special crank train linkage system and a novel Mono-Shaft valve train concept.

Small combustion engines can be found in various applications in daily use (e.g. as propulsion of boats, scooters, motorbikes, power-tools, mobile power units, etc.) and have predominated these markets for a long time. Today some upcoming competitive technologies in the field of electrification can be observed and have already shown great technical advances. Therefore, small combustion engines have to keep their present advantages while concurrently minimizing their disadvantages in order to remain the predominant technology in the future. Whereas large combustion engines are most efficient thermal engines, small engines still suffer from significantly lower efficiencies caused by a disadvantageous surface to volume ratio. Thus, the enhancement of efficiency will play a key role in the development of future small combustion engines. One promising possibility to improve efficiency is the use of a longer expansion than compression stroke.

CFD has been widely used to predict the flow behavior inside 2-stroke engines over the past twenty years. Usually a mass flow profile or a simple 0D model is used for the inlet boundary condition, which replaces the complete intake geometry, such as reed valve, throttle, and air box geometries. For a CFD simulation which takes into account the exact reed valve geometry, a simulation of all above mentioned domains is required, as these domains are coupled together and thus interact. As the high speed of the engine affects the opening dynamic and closure of the reed valve, the transient data from the crank case volume and the section upstream the reed valve have an important influence on the reed petal dynamic and therewith on the sucked fresh air mass of the engine. This paper covers a methodology for the transient CFD simulation of the reed petals of a 2-stroke engine by using a 2D model.

The exhaust system design has an important influence on the charge mass and the composition of the charge inside the cylinder, due to its gas dynamic behavior. Therefore the exhaust system determines the characteristics of the indicated mean effective pressure as well. The knowledge of the heat transfer and the post-combustion process of fuel losses inside the exhaust system are important for the thermodynamic analysis of the working process. However, the simulation of the heat transfer over the exhaust pipe wall is time consuming, due to the demand for a transient simulation of many revolutions until a cyclic steady condition is reached. Therefore, the exhaust pipe wall temperature is set to constant in the conventional CFD simulation of 2-stroke engines. This paper covers the discussion of a simulation strategy for the exhaust system of a 2-cylinder 2-stroke engine until cyclic steady condition including the heat transfer over the exhaust pipe wall.

This publication covers investigations on different 3D CFD models for the description of the spray wall and droplet-fluid interaction and the influence of these models on the mixture formation calculation results. Basic experimental investigations in a spray chamber and a flow tunnel as well as the corresponding 3D CFD simulation were conducted in order to clarify the prediction quality of the physical phenomena of spray-wall and spray-fluid interaction by the simulation. Influencing parameters such as the piston top temperature, piston bowl geometry, soot deposits on the piston top as well as flow velocity are investigated. This paper provides a direct link between the underlying simulation models of the mixture formation and actual real world combustion system development processes - underlining the importance of a close interaction of the model calibration and the development process.

In the course of the last few years a continuous increase of the injection pressure level of gasoline direct injection systems appeared. Today's systems use an injection pressure up to 200bar and the trend shows a further increase for the future. Although several benefits go along with the increased injection pressure, the disadvantages such as higher system costs and higher energy demand lead to the question of the lowest acceptable injection pressure level for low cost GDI combustion systems. Lowering injection pressure and costs could enable the technological upgrading from MPFI to GDI in smaller engine segments, which would lead to a reduction of CO2 emission. This publication covers the investigation of a low pressure GDI system (LPDI) with focus on small and low cost GDI engines. The influence of the injection pressure on the fuel consumption and emission behavior was investigated using a 1.4l series production engine.