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A growing number of electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) in the present market depicts the rapid growing demand for energy storage systems. The battery’s main peculiarities must be the power density and reliability over time. The temperature strongly affects battery performance for low and high intensity. In particular, the management of the heat generated by the battery itself is one of the main aspects to handle to preserve the performance over time. The objective of this paper is to compare the surface temperature of the lithium-ion polymer battery at different discharging rates by infrared thermography. Thermal imaging is performed to detect the battery surface temperature distribution, focusing on its variation over time and the local inhomogeneity. Temperature measurements are then used to estimate the contributions of the different heat transfer mechanisms for the dissipation of the heat generated by the battery.

In recent years, the increase of gasoline fuel injection pressure is a way to improve thermal efficiency and lower engine-out emissions in GDI homogenous combustion concept. The challenge of controlling particulate formation as well in mass and number concentrations imposed by emissions regulations can be pursued improving the mixture preparation process and avoiding mixture inhomogeneity with ultra-high injection pressure values up to 100 MPa. The increase of the fuel injection pressure in GDI homogeneous systems meets the demand for increased injector static flow, while simultaneously improves the spray atomization and mixing characteristics with consequent better combustion performance. Few studies quantify the effects of high injection pressure on transient gasoline spray evolution. The aim of this work was to simulate with OpenFOAM the spray morphology of a commercial gasoline injected in a constant volume vessel by a prototypal GDI injector.

A growing interest towards heavy-duty engines powered with NG, dictated by stringent regulations in terms of emissions, has made it essential to study a specific Three-Way Catalyst (TWC). Oxygen storage phenomena characterize the catalytic converter efficiency under real world driving operating conditions and, consequently, during strong dynamics in Air-to-Fuel ratio (AFR). A numerical “quasi-steady” model has been set-up to simulate the chemical process inside the reactor. A dedicated experimental campaign has been performed in order to evaluate the catalyst response to a defined λ variation, thus providing the data necessary for the numerical model validation. In fact, goal of the present research activity was to investigate the effect of very fast composition transitions of the engine exhaust typical of the mentioned driving conditions (including fuel cutoffs etc.) on the catalyst performance and on related emissions.

The stringent worldwide exhaust emission legislations for CO2 and pollutants require significant efforts to increase both the combustion efficiency and the emission quality of internal combustion engines. With this aim, several solutions are continuously developed to improve the combustion efficiency of spark ignition engines. Among the various solutions, EGR represents a well-established technology to improve the gasoline engine performance and the nitrogen-oxides emissions. This work presents the results of an experimental investigation on the effects of the EGR technique on combustion evolution, knock tendency, performance and emissions of a small-size turbocharged PFI SI engine, equipped with an external cooled EGR system. Measurements are carried out at different engine speeds, on a wide range of loads and EGR levels. The standard engine calibration is applied at the reference test conditions.

The interest in Natural Gas (NG) as alternative fuel for transportation is constantly growing, mostly due to its large availability and lower environmental impact with respect to gasoline or diesel fuel. In this scenario, the application of the Dual Fuel (DF) Diesel- Natural Gas (NG) combustion concept to light duty engines can represent an important route to increment the diffusion of natural gas use. Many studies have proven the benefits of DF with respect to conventional diesel combustion in terms of CO2, NOx, PM and PN emissions, with the main drawback of high unburned hydrocarbon, mainly at low/partial engine loads. This last aspect still prevents the application of DF mode to small displacement engines. In the present work, a 2.0 L Euro 5 compliant diesel engine, equipped with an advanced electronic closed-loop combustion control (CLCC) system, has been set up to operate in DF mode and tested on a dyno test bench.

Knock occurrence and fuel enrichment, which is required at high engine speed and load to limit the turbine inlet temperature, are the major obstacles to further increase performance and efficiency of down-sized turbocharged spark ignited engines. A technique that has the potential to overcome these restrictions is based on the injection of a precise amount of water within the mixture charge that can allow to achieve important benefits on knock mitigation, engine efficiency, gaseous and noise emissions. One of the main objectives of this investigation is to demonstrate that water injection (WI) could be a reliable solution to advance the spark timing and make the engine run at leaner mixture ratios with strong benefits on knock tendency and important improvement on fuel efficiency.

Diesel particulate filter (DPF) is the most effective emission control device for reducing particle emissions (both mass, PM, and number, PN) from diesel engines, however many studies reported elevated emissions of nanoparticles (<50 nm) during its regeneration. In this paper the results of an extensive literature survey is presented. During DPF active regeneration, most of the literature studies showed an increase in the number of the emitted nanoparticles of about 2-3 orders of magnitude compared to the normal operating conditions. Many factors could influence their amount, size distribution, chemical-physical nature (volatiles, semi-volatiles, solid) and the duration of the regenerative event: i.e. DPF load and thermodynamic conditions, lube and fuel sulfur content, engine operative conditions, PN sampling and measurement methodologies.

In this paper, a parametric analysis on the main engine calibration parameters applied on gasoline Partially Premixed Combustion (PPC) is performed. Theoretically, the PPC concept permits to improve both the engine efficiencies and the NOx-soot trade-off simultaneously compared to the conventional diesel combustion. This work is based on the design of experiments (DoE), statistical approach, and investigates on the engine calibration parameters that might affect the efficiencies and the emissions of a gasoline PPC. The full factorial DoE analysis based on three levels and three factors (33 factorial design) is performed at three engine operating conditions of the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Cycles (WLTC). The pilot quantity (Qpil), the crank angle position when 50% of the total heat is released (CA50), and the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) factors are considered. The goal is to identify an engine calibration with high efficiency and low emissions.

In order to meet the increasingly strict emission regulations, several solutions for NOx and PM emissions reduction have been studied. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology has become one of the more used methods to accomplish the NOx emissions reduction. However, actual control strategies do not consider, in the definition of optimal EGR, its effect on particle size and density. These latter have a great importance both for the optimal functioning of after-treatment systems, but also for the adverse effects that small particles have on human health. Epidemiological studies, in fact, highlighted that the toxicity of particulate particles increases as the particle size decreases. The aim of this paper is to present a Neural Network model able to provide real time information about the characteristics of exhaust particles emitted by a Diesel engine.

Advanced numerical techniques, such as fuzzy logic and neural networks have been applied in this work to digital images acquired on a mono-component fuel spray (iso-octane), in order to define, in a stochastic way, the gas-liquid interface evolution. The image is a numerical matrix and so it is possible to characterize geometrical parameters and the time evolution of the jet by using deterministic, statistical stochastic and other several kinds of approach. The algorithm used works with the fuzzy logic concept to binarize the shades gray of the pixel, depending them, by using the schlieren technique, on the gas density. Starting from a primary fixed threshold, the applied technique, can select the ‘gas’ pixel from the ‘liquid’ pixel and so it is possible define the first most probably boundary lines of the spray.

In this paper, the effect of the oxygen addition on engine performance and exhaust emissions was investigated. The experimental study was carried out in a small single-cylinder PFI SI four-stroke engine. The addition of the 5% vol and 10% vol of oxygen was performed in the intake duct. Typical urban driving operating conditions were investigated. The engine emissions were characterized by means of gaseous analyzers and a smokemeter. Particle size distribution function was measured in the size range from 5.6 to 560 nm by means of an Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer (EEPS). An improvement in terms of engine power output, without BSFC penalty, and HC emissions with oxygen addition was observed at all the investigated operating conditions. On the other hand, NOx and PM emissions increase.

Considering the generalized diversification of the energy mix, the use of alcohols as gasoline replacement is proposed as a viable option. Also, alternative control strategies for spark ignition engines (SI) such as lean operation and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) are used on an ever wider scale for improving fuel economy and reducing the environmental impact of automotive engines. In order to increase the stability of these operating points, alternative ignition systems are currently investigated. Within this context, the present work deals about the use of plasma assisted ignition (PAI) in a direct injection (DI) SI engine under lean conditions and cooled EGR, with gasoline and n-butanol fueling. The PAI system was tested in an optically accessible single-cylinder DISI engine equipped with the head of a commercial turbocharged power unit with similar geometrical specifications (bore, stroke, compression ratio).

The present paper describes the results of a research activity aimed at studying the potential offered by the use of Hydrocracked fossil oil (HCK) and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) blends as premium fuels for next generation diesel engines. Five fuels have been tested in a light duty four cylinder diesel engine, Euro 5 version, equipped with closed loop control of the combustion. The set of fuels comprises four experimental fuels specifically formulated by blending high cetane HVO and HCK streams and oneEN590-compliant commercial diesel fuel representative of the current market fuel quality. A well consolidated procedure has been carried out to estimate, for the tested fuels, the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) vehicle performance by means of the specific emissions at steady-state engine operating points.

Ethanol is the most promising alternative fuel for spark ignition (SI) engines, that is blended with gasoline, typically. Moreover, in the last years great attention is paid to the dual fueling, ethanol and gasoline are injected simultaneously. This paper aims to analyze the better methods, blending or dual fueling in order to best exploit the potential of ethanol in improving engine performance and reducing pollutant emissions. The experimental activity was carried out in a small displacement single cylinder engine, representative of 2-3 wheel vehicle engines or of 3-4 cylinder small displacement automotive engines. It was equipped with a prototype gasoline direct injection (GDI) head. The tests were carried out at 3000, 4000, and 5000 rpm full load. The investigated engine operating conditions are representative of the European homologation urban driving cycle.

Effects of n-butanol on the combustion process in a direct injection spark ignition engine were investigated through flame visualization and spectroscopy. An optically accessible engine was equipped for the trials with a commercial cylinder head and wall guided injection system. Injection pressure (100 bar) and engine speed (2000 rpm) were fixed while injection timing and duration were changed to realise stoichiometric and lean fuelling in homogenous charge conditions. Specifically, UV-visible digital imaging was applied in order to study the flame front inception and propagation with particular interest in the early combustion stages. UV-visible natural emission spectroscopy was applied to investigate the formation and the evolution of the main chemical compounds characterizing the spark ignition and combustion processes. Detailed image processing allowed to correlate the morphology and the local flame front curvature with thermodynamic data.

The aim of the paper is the comparison of the performance, gaseous and particle emissions from different injection configurations and fuels. The engine was operated in port fuel injection (PFI), direct injection (DI) and dual fuel (DF). For DF, ethanol DI-gasoline PFI and gasoline DI-gasoline PFI strategies were performed to discern the effect of injection strategy from the effect of the fuel. The experimental activity was carried out in a small displacement single cylinder engine, representative of 2-3 wheel vehicle engines or of 3-4 cylinder small displacement automotive engines. It was equipped with a prototype gasoline direct injection (GDI) head. The tests were carried out at 3000 rpm, 4000 rpm and 5000 rpm full load. The investigated engine operating conditions are representative of the homologation urban driving cycle. The gaseous and particle emissions were measured at the exhaust by means of a gas analyzer and a smoke meter.

Liquids with stable suspensions of nanoscale materials are defined as nanofluids. As reported in recent scientific literature, a very small amount of suspended nanostructures has the potential to enhance the thermo physical, transport and radiative properties of the base fluid. One of the main applications of this technology is in the field of combustion and fuels. In fact, adding nanomaterials (such as metals, oxides, carbides, nitrides, or carbon-based nanostructures) to liquid fuels is able to enhance ignition and combustion. The focus of this research is to gain a fundamental understanding of the characteristics of a nanofluid fuel prepared using carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dispersed in butanol. This study starts with the investigation of the optical properties of the mixtures. The transmission spectra of the nanofluids are measured in a wide wavelength range from UV (250 nm) to near IR (800 nm).

This paper reports an experimental and numerical investigation on the spatial and temporal liquid- and vapor-phase distributions of diesel fuel spray under engine-like conditions. The high pressure diesel spray was investigated in an optically-accessible constant volume combustion vessel for studying the influence of the k-factor (0 and 1.5) of a single-hole axial-disposed injector (0.100 mm diameter and 10 L/d ratio). Measurements were carried out by a high-speed imaging system capable of acquiring Mie-scattering and schlieren in a nearly simultaneous fashion mode using a high-speed camera and a pulsed-wave LED system. The time resolved pair of schlieren and Mie-scattering images identifies the instantaneous position of both the vapor and liquid phases of the fuel spray, respectively. The studies were performed at three injection pressures (70, 120, and 180 MPa), 23.9 kg/m3 ambient gas density, and 900 K gas temperature in the vessel.

The present paper reassumes the results of an experimental study focused on the effects of the nozzle injector's coking varying the flow number (FN); the performance and emissions of an automotive Euro5 diesel engine have been analyzed using diesel fuel. As the improvement of the diesel engine performance requires a continuous development of the injection system and in particular of the nozzle design, in the last years the general trend among OEMs is lowering nozzle flow number and, as a consequence, nozzle holes size. The study carried out moves from the consideration that a reduction of the nozzle holes diameter could increase the impact of their coking process. For this purpose, an experimental campaign has been realized, testing the engine in steady state in three partial load operating points, representative of the European homologation driving cycle, and in full load conditions.

In recent years, due to the growing problem of environmental pollution and climate change internal combustion engine stroke volume size has been reduced. The use of down-sized engines provides benefit for reducing emissions and fuel consumption especially at the inner city driving conditions. However, when the engine demands additional power, utilizing a turbocharging system is required. This study is a joint work of Istituto Motori CNR with Automotive Laboratory of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and the objective of this study was devoted to increase the understanding of various engine operating conditions on emissions, especially at low load. The trade-off between Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions in a Diesel engine has been examined depending on turbocharging rates and the rate of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) applied.