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Recent engine design trends towards increasing power, reducing weight, advancing of injection timing and increasing of injection rate and pressure could result in increased incidence of liner pitting. Liner pitting due to coolant cavitation is a complex function of many engine design parameters and operating conditions as described in reference [1]*. Traditionally, liner cavitation problems were not detected early in the development cycle. Traditional liner vibration and coolant pressure measurements in conjunction with a numerous amount of expensive engine endurance tests were then needed to resolve cavitation problems. A method newly developed by the author and described in reference [2] for cavitation intensity measurements was successfully utilized to map out engine operating condition and develop limit curves. This method could also be applied in a non intrusive fashion.

Cavitation corrosion is a very complex phenomenon that is governed by a formidable amount of factors and parameters. The phenomenon is a multi-disciplinary one which involves several aspects of physical sciences and engineering. This process is a slow progressive phenomenon with its detrimental effects being felt after severe damage has already occurred. A real time detection method for the severity of fluid cavitation and bubble collapse is described. The results are correlated to dynamic instantaneous pressure fluctuation measurements. The method is fast, reliable, and less restrictive of the sensing location. It has been tested and verified through a specially designed cavitation test rig and instrumentation setup. The method can be used for cavitation studies on ultrasonic bench rig tests and for cavitation measurements on running engines. The method was used to shed some light on characteristic cavitation differences between water and glycol which is used in engine coolants.

A dynamic simulation of a school bus powertrain has been constructed for the purpose of assisting in the development of engine control strategies. With some extensions, this model can also be used as a first approximation to support the development of transmission shift control strategies, predict vehicle performance and drivability as well as estimate transient loads on the powertrain components. The simulation was constructed using the Matlab* computing environment along with the Simulink* toolbox, a package for the graphical development of dynamic simulation models. The vehicle model was validated against test data measured in the target vehicle powered by a natural gas engine to ensure that the simulation model yielded sensible predictions of the dynamic powertrain behavior. Equipped with a validated model, the control engineer can now use the simulation tool to assist in algorithm development. Sample applications are illustrated.

Inter-ring gas pressure and piston ring motion are considered important for the control of oil consumption, particulate emissions, and reduced friction. For this reason, inter-ring gas pressure was measured on a diesel engine. Two different ring pack configurations were tested (positive and negative twist second rings). A significant difference in measured inter-ring pressure was observed. The measurements were compared to the predictions of a cylinder kit model with favorable results. Predictions showed that the observed difference between measured inter-ring pressures is caused by a significant difference in ring motion. The reasons for these differences are explained in this paper.

Natural gas presents several challenges to engine manufacturers for use as a heavy-duty, lean burn engine fuel. This is because natural gas can vary in composition and the variation is large enough to produce significant changes in the stoichiometry of the fuel and its octane number. Similarly, operation at high altitude can present challenges. The most significant effect of altitude is lower barometric pressure, typically 630 mm Hg at 1600 m compared to a sea level value of 760 mm. This can lower turbocharger boost at low speeds leading to mixtures richer than desired. The purpose of this test program was to determine the effect of natural gas composition and altitude on regulated emissions and performance of a Cummins B5.9G engine. The engine is a lean-burn, closed loop control, spark ignited, dedicated natural gas engine. For fuel composition testing the engine was operating at approximately 1600 m (5,280 ft) above sea level.

A semiempirical, mathematical model describing the formation of nitric oxide in direct-injection diesel engines is derived. The model is used in conjunction with injection and thermodynamic cycle simulation programs. This approach enables prediction of nitric oxide emissions from design dimensions and operating parameters only, without the use of experimental data. Predicted results are compared with experiments for typical naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines. The accuracy of prediction is very good except under light-load naturally aspirated conditions. The model is used in an extensive parametric study, together with experimental verification. The agreement between prediction and experiments is excellent, except under conditions of excessive smoke or of high swirl.

Analog and digital simulations of the Cummins unit diesel injector have been developed. The mathematical models are derived and the computer results compared with experimental data. The simulations are used to investigate critical aspects of injector behavior.

Fundamental aspects of performance and regeneration of a porous ceramic particulate trap are described. Dimensionless correlations are given for pressure drop vs. flow conditions for clean and loaded traps. An empirical relationship between estimated particulate deposits and a loading parameter that distinguishes pressure drop changes due to flow variations from particulate accumulation is presented. Results indicate that trapping efficiencies exceed 90% under most conditions and pressure drop doubles when particulate accumulation occupies only 5% of the available void volume. Regeneration was achieved primarily by throttling the engine intake air. For various combinations of initial loading level, trap inlet temperature and oxygen concentration, it was found that regeneration rate peaked after 45 seconds from initiation.

Some results of a systematic numerical study of the effects of injection characteristics on the transient evaporating spray mixing process in a diesel like environment are presented. The study uses an existing two-dimensional stochastic thick spray model. It was found that, for a fixed injection quantity, changes in the nozzle hole number, nozzle hole size, and injection duration changed significantly the evaporation and mixing processes of a transient evaporating spray. In particular, It is found that, for a fixed nozzle geometry, reduced injection duration is most effective in increasing the mixing rate. The results also show that the injection rate shape greatly influences the mixing process of a transient spray, especially during the injection period. After the end of injection, the global effect of injection rate shape can be characterized by the mass averaged injection pressure alone. The higher the mass averaged injection pressure, the faster the mixing rate.

A study was undertaken to establish what happens to engine emissions, and to turbocharger and injection pressure requirements, as the specific output is raised. For any given engine package, increasing specific output increases injection pressures while reducing air/fuel ratios. Thus, if the highly rated engine must satisfy the same design constraints, then raising the engine operating torque by only 10% resulted in more than 30% increase in total particulates! However, the same emission levels may be maintained if increases in specific output are accompanied by changes to engine design so as to maintain the air-fuel mixing parameters, specifically air/fuel ratio and injection pressures, throughout the entire engine operating conditions.

The complementary use of flow visualization and computational fluid mechanics has been demonstrated for the development of cylinder head cooling jackets. Flow visualization was shown to allow the detailed characterization of fluid flow through the complex geometry of a cooling jacket. The use of high speed photography further aided in visualizing the details of the flow, and was used to quantify local fluid velocities. Computationally modeling portions of the cooling jacket allowed the extension of the flow visualization results to the fluid conditions of an operating engine. The computational model also provided an effective tool to assess the impact of modifications to the cooling jackets, without the complexity of modifying the flow visualization test rig for each iteration.

Diesel engine manufacturers have traditionally done most engine noise development work under steady: state operating conditions. However, truck driveby noise tests are acceleration tests, and engines exhibit different noise behavior under accelerating conditions. Acceleration noise can be affected by engine performance parameters which may have no influence on steady state noise levels. In this study, a test cell simulation of the truck driveby procedure has been developed and evaluated. Test cell simulation and truck driveby results are compared for a naturally-aspirated and a turbocharged engine. This simulation procedure has been shown to predict reliably results measured in vehicles. As a result, the simulation can be used to evaluate engine modifications during the development process without requiring a vehicle installation.

A new technique has been developed to allow engine performance engineers to visualize and communicate a wide range of thermodynamic issues and constraints in a single diagram. The technique, called Visual Thermodynamics, is the presentation of engine cycle data in logarithmic pressure and logarithmic temperature space, log(p)-log(T). Visual Thermodynamics is a thought organization and concept visualization tool. It is not intended to provide high-precision numerical results. The utility of the technique is in comparing engine concepts, assessing trends, identifying boundaries of operation and building a general understanding of engine system behavior. The technique provides a powerful mechanism for communicating engine thermodynamic issues to both technical and non-technical colleagues.