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The heat rejection rates and skin temperatures of a liquid cooled exhaust manifold on a 3.5 L Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDI) engine are determined experimentally using an external cooling circuit, which is capable of controlling the manifold coolant inlet temperature, outlet pressure, and flow rate. The manifold is equipped with a jacket that surrounds the collector region and is cooled with an aqueous solution of ethylene-glycol-based antifreeze to reduce skin temperatures. Results were obtained by sweeping the manifold coolant flow rate from 2.0 to 0.2 gpm at 12 different engine operating points of increasing brake power up to 220 hp. The nominal coolant inlet temperature and outlet pressure were 85 °C and 13 psig, respectively. Data were collected under steady conditions and time averaged. For the majority of operating conditions, the manifold heat rejection rate is shown to be relatively insensitive to changes in manifold coolant flow rate.

An operational scheme with fuel-lean and exhaust gas dilution in spark-ignited engines increases thermal efficiency and decreases NOx emission, while these operations inherently induce combustion instability and thus large cycle-to-cycle variation in engine. In order to stabilize combustion variations, the development of an advanced ignition system is becoming critical. To quantify the impact of spark-ignition discharge, ignitability tests were conducted in an optically accessible combustion vessel to characterize the flame kernel development of lean methane-air mixture with CO₂ simulating exhaust diluent. A shrouded fan was used to generate turbulence in the vicinity of J-gap spark plug and a Variable Output Ignition System (VOIS) capable of producing a varied set of spark discharge patterns was developed and used as an ignition source. The main feature of the VOIS is to vary the secondary current during glow discharge including naturally decaying and truncated with multiple strikes.

For spark-ignition gasoline engines operating under the wide speed and load conditions required for light duty vehicles, ignition quality limits the ability to minimize fuel consumption and NOx emissions via dilution under light and part load conditions. In addition, during transients including tip-outs, high levels of dilution can occur for multiple combustion events before either the external exhaust gas can be adjusted and cleared from the intake or cam phasing can be adjusted for correct internal dilution. Further improvement and a thorough understanding of the impact of the ignition system on combustion near the dilution limit will enable reduced fuel consumption and robust transient operation. To determine and isolate the effects of multiple parameters, a variable output ignition system (VOIS) was developed and tested on a 3.5L turbocharged V6 homogeneous charge direct-injection gasoline engine with two spark plug gaps and three ignition settings.

As a renewable energy source, the ethanol fuel was employed with a diesel fuel in this study to improve the cylinder charge homogeneity for high load operations, targeting on ultra-low nitrogen oxides (NOx) and smoke emissions. A light-duty diesel engine is configured to adapt intake port fuelling of the ethanol fuel while keeping all other original engine components intact. High load experiments are performed to investigate the combustion control and low emission enabling without sacrificing the high compression ratio (18.2:1). The intake boost, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and injection pressure are independently controlled, and thus their effects on combustion and emission characteristics of the high load operation are investigated individually. The low temperature combustion is accomplished at high engine load (16~17 bar IMEP) with regulation compatible NOx and soot emissions.

Variable nozzle turbine (VNT) technology has become a popular technology for diesel engine application. To pivot the nozzle vane and adjust the turbine operating condition, nozzle clearances are inevitable on both the hub and shroud side of turbine housing. Leakage flow formed inside the nozzle clearance leads to extra flow loss and makes the nozzle exit flow less uniform, thus further affects downstream aerodynamic performance of the rotor. As the leakage mixing with nozzle wake flow, the process is highly unsteady, which increases the fluctuation amplitude of transient load on the rotating turbine wheels. In present paper, firstly steady CFD analysis of a turbocharger turbine was performed at different nozzle openings. Then unsteady simulation of the turbine was carried out to investigate the interaction between the leakage flow through nozzle clearance and the main flow. Nozzle clearance's effect on turbine performance was investigated.

Alkali and alkaline earth metal impurities found in diesel fuels are potential poisons for diesel exhaust catalysts. Using an accelerated aging procedure, a set of production exhaust systems from a 2011 Ford F250 equipped with a 6.7L diesel engine have been aged to an equivalent of 150,000 miles of thermal aging and metal exposure. These exhaust systems included a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst, and diesel particulate filter (DPF). Four separate exhaust systems were aged, each with a different fuel: ULSD containing no measureable metals, B20 containing sodium, B20 containing potassium and B20 containing calcium. Metals levels were selected to simulate the maximum allowable levels in B100 according to the ASTM D6751 standard. Analysis of the aged catalysts included Federal Test Procedure emissions testing with the systems installed on a Ford F250 pickup, bench flow reactor testing of catalyst cores, and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA).

Advanced high strength steels (AHSS) have been widely accepted as a material of choice in the automotive industry to balance overall vehicle weight and stringent vehicle crash test performance targets. Combined with efficient use of geometry and load paths through shape and topology optimization, AHSS has enabled vehicle manufacturers to obtain the highest possible ratings in safety evaluations by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In this study, vehicle CAE side impact models were used to evaluate three side impact crash test conditions (IIHS side impact, NHTSA LINCAP and FMVSS 214 side pole) and the IIHS roof strength test condition and to identify several key components affecting the side impact test performance. HyperStudy® optimization software and LS-DYNA® nonlinear finite element software were utilized for shape and gauge optimization.

A Ford 2.4-liter 115PS light-duty diesel engine was modified to allow solenoid control of the oil feed to the piston cooling jets, enabling these to be switched on or off on demand. The influence of the jets on piston temperatures, engine thermal state, gaseous emissions and fuel economy has been investigated. With the jets switched off, piston temperatures were measured to be between 23 and 88°C higher. Across a range of speed-load points, switching off the jets increased engine-out emissions of NOx typically by 3%, and reduced emissions of CO by 5-10%. Changes in HC were of the same order and were reductions at most conditions. Fuel consumption increased at low-speed, high-load conditions and decreased at high-speed, low-load conditions. Applying the results to the NEDC drive cycle suggests active on/off control of the jets could reduce engine-out emissions of CO by 6%, at the expense of a 1% increase in NOx, compared to the case when the jets are on continuously.

Reducing friction in crankshaft bearings during cold engine operation by heating the oil supply to the main gallery has been investigated through experimental investigations and computational modelling. The experimental work was undertaken on a 2.4l DI diesel engine set up with an external heat source to supply hot oil to the gallery. The aim was to raise the film temperature in the main bearings early in the warm up, producing a reduction in oil viscosity and through this, a reduction in friction losses. The effectiveness of this approach depends on the management of heat losses from the oil. Heat transfer along the oil pathway to the bearings, and within the bearings to the journals and shells, reduces the benefit of the upstream heating.

U.S. federal vehicle emission standards effective in 2007 require tight control of NOx and hydrocarbon emissions. For light-duty vehicles, the current standard of Tier 2 Bin 5 is about 0.07 g/mi NOx and 0.09 g/mi NMOG (non-methane organic gases) at 120,000 mi. However, the proposed future standard is 0.03 g/mi for NMOG + NOx (~SULEV30) at 150,000 mi. There is a significant improvement needed in catalyst system efficiencies for diesel vehicles to achieve the future standard, mainly during cold start. In this study, a less than 6000 lbs diesel truck equipped with an advanced urea Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system was used to pursue lower tailpipe emissions with an emphasis on vehicle calibration and catalyst package. The calibration was tuned by optimizing exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) fuel injection and cold start strategy to generate desirable engine-out emissions balanced with reasonable temperatures.

Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers are commonly used in diesel engines to reduce the temperature of recirculated exhaust gases in order to reduce NOx emissions. The presence of a cool surface in the hot exhaust causes particulate soot deposition as well as hydrocarbon and water condensation. Fouling experienced through deposition of particulate matter and hydrocarbons results in degraded cooler effectiveness and increased pressure drop. In this study, a visualization test setup is designed and constructed so that the effect of water condensation on the deposit formation and growth at various coolant temperatures can be studied. A water-cooled surrogate rectangular channel is employed to represent the EGR cooler. One side of the channel is made of glass for visualization purposes. A medium duty diesel engine is used to generate the exhaust stream.

Soot formation and distribution inside the cylinder of a light-duty direct injection diesel engine, have been predicted using Kiva-3v CFD software. Pathlines of soot particles traced from specific in-cylinder locations and crank angle instants have been explored using the results for cylinder charge motion predicted by the Kiva-3v code. Pathlines are determined assuming soot particles are massless and follow charge motion. Coagulation and agglomeration have not been taken into account. High rates of soot formation dominate during and just after the injection. Oxidation becomes dominant after the injection has terminated and throughout the power stroke. Computed soot pathlines show that soot particles formed just below the fuel spray axis during the early injection period are more likely to travel to the cylinder wall boundary layer. Soot particles above the fuel spray have lesser tendency to be conveyed to the cylinder wall.

The effect of compression ratio on sensitivity to changes in start of injection and air-fuel ratio has been investigated on a single-cylinder DI diesel engine at fixed low and medium speeds and loads. Compression ratio was set to 17.9:1 or 13.7:1 by using pistons with different bowl sizes. Injection timing and air-to-fuel ratio were swept around a nominal map point at which gross IMEP and NOx values were matched for the two compression ratios. It was found that CO, HC and ISFC were higher at low compression ratio, but the soot/NOx trade-off improved and this could be exploited to reduce the fuel economy penalty. Sensitivity to inputs is generally similar, but high compression ratio tended to have steeper response gradients. Reducing compression ratio to 13.7 gave rise to a marked degradation of performance at light load, producing high CO emissions and a fall in combustion efficiency. This could be eased by reducing rail pressure, but the advantage in smoke emission was lost.

The largest contribution to engine rubbing friction is made by the piston and piston rings running in the cylinder liner. The magnitude and characteristics of the friction behaviour and the influence on these of factors such as surface roughness, piston design and lubricant properties are of keen interest. Investigating presents experimental challenges, including potential problems of uncontrolled build-to-build variability when component changes are made. These are addressed in the design of a new motored piston and floating liner rig. The design constrains transverse movement of a single liner using cantilevered mounts at the top and bottom. The mounts and two high stiffness strain gauged load cells constrain vertical movement. The outputs of the load cells are processed to extract the force contribution associated with friction. The liner, piston and crankshaft parts were taken from a EuroV-compliant, HPCR diesel engine with a swept capacity of 550cc per cylinder.

A new diesel engine, called the 6.7L Power Stroke® V-8 Turbo Diesel and code named "Scorpion" was designed and developed by Ford Motor Company for the full-size pickup truck and light commercial vehicle markets. A high pressure Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) layout in combination with a Variable Geometry Turbine (VGT) is used to deliver cooled EGR for in-cylinder NOx reduction. The cylinder-to-cylinder variation of EGR and swirl ratio is tightly controlled by the careful design of the EGR mixer and intake system flow path to reduce variability of cylinder-out PM and NOx emissions. 3D-CFD studies were used to quickly screen several EGR mixer designs based on mixing efficiency and pressure drop considerations. To optimize the intake system, 1D-3D co-simulation methodology with AVL-FIRE and AVL-BOOST has been used to assess the cylinder-to-cylinder EGR distribution and dynamic swirl.

A cold turbocharger test facility was designed and developed at The Ohio State University to measure the performance characteristics under steady state operating conditions, investigate unsteady surge, and acquire acoustic data. A specific turbocharger is used for a thermodynamic analysis to determine the capabilities and limitations of the facility, as well as for the design and construction of the screw compressor, flow control, oil, and compression systems. Two different compression system geometries were incorporated. One system allows compressor performance measurements left of the surge line, while the other incorporates a variable-volume plenum. At the full plenum volume and a specific impeller tip speed, the temporal variation of the compressor inlet and outlet and the plenum pressures as well as the turbocharger speed is presented for stable, mild surge, and deep surge operating points.

Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) is widely employed for joining relatively thick sheet steels in automotive body-in-white structures and frames. The GMAW process is very flexible for various joint geometries and has relatively high welding speed. However, fatigue failures can occur at welded joints subjected to various types of loads. Thus, vehicle design engineers need to understand the fatigue characteristics of welded joints produced by GMAW. Currently, automotive structures employ various advanced high strength steels (AHSS) such as dual-phase (DP) and transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steels to produce lighter vehicle structures with improved safety performance and fuel economy, and reduced harmful emissions. Relatively thick gages of AHSS are commonly joined to conventional high strength steels and/or mild steels using GMAW in current body-in-white structures and frames.

In the North American automotive industry, various advanced high strength steels (AHSS) are used to lighten vehicle structures, improve safety performance and fuel economy, and reduce harmful emissions. Relatively thick gages of AHSS are commonly joined to conventional high strength steels and/or mild steels using Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) in the current generation body-in-white structures. Additionally, fatigue failures are most likely to occur at joints subjected to a variety of different loadings. It is therefore critical that automotive engineers need to understand the fatigue characteristics of welded joints. The Sheet Steel Fatigue Committee of the Auto/Steel Partnership (A/S-P) completed a comprehensive fatigue study on GMAW joints of both AHSS and conventional sheet steels including: DP590 GA, SAE 1008, HSLA HR 420, DP 600 HR, Boron, DQSK, TRIP 780 GI, and DP780 GI steels.

There has been a substantial increase in the use of advanced high strength steel (AHSS) in automotive structures in the last few years. The usage of these materials is projected to grow significantly in the next 5-10 years with the introduction of new safety and fuel economy regulations. AHSS are gaining popularity due to their superior mechanical properties and use in parts for weight savings potential, as compared to mild steels. These new materials pose significant manufacturing challenges, particularly for welding and stamping. Proper understanding of the weldability of these materials is critical for successful application on future vehicle programs. Due to the high strength nature of AHSS materials, higher weld forces and longer weld times are often needed to weld these advanced strength steels.

Since the beginning the world automotive industry looks for new technologies to improve the passengers' life inside vehicles, to optimize the consumption of fuel and to minimize the emission of pollutant. In the present study improvements in the vehicle acclimatization system for better cabin environmental conditions and reduction of fuel consumption were accomplished. The study included improvements in the air chamber and in the refrigeration cycle and was accomplished in a off-road vehicle model, with a bi-fuel engine of 1600 cm3, endowed with an acclimatization system with capacity of 1 TR (usual in this type of automobile). The tests of the acclimatization system performance were executed initially with the conventional system of air conditioning, without any modification (reference system). Along the development of the work modifications were introduced for the determination of the impact of these modifications in the system performance.