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Transient behavior of the engine is one of the most crucial factors for motorcycle features. Characterization of the fuel film with port fuel injection (PFI) is necessary to enhance this feature with keeping others, such as high output, low emissions and good fuel consumption. In order to resolve the complicated phenomena in real engine condition into simple physical issues, a simulated intake port was used in our research with Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique to allow accurate measurement of the fuel film thickness, complemented by visualization of the film development and spray behavior using high-speed video imaging. Useful results have been conducted from the parametric studies with various sets of conditions, such as injection quantity, air velocity and port backpressure.

In a motorcycle gasoline engine, the port fuel injection system is rapidly spread. Compared to an automotive engine, the injected fuel does not impinge on the intake valve due to space restriction to install the injector. In addition, as the air flow inside the intake pipe may become very fast and has large cycle-to-cycle variation, it is not well found how the injector should be installed in the intake pipe to prepare “good” fuel-air mixture inside the intake pipe. In this study, the formation process of the fuel-air mixture is measured by using ILIDS system that is a 2-D droplets' size and velocity measurement system with high spatial resolution. Experiments with changing conditions such as flow speed and injection direction are carried out. As a result, the effects of injection direction, ambient flow speed and wall roughness on the fuel-air mixture formation process was examined, considering the three conditions of cold start, light to medium load operation and high load operation.

A detailed comparison of cylinder pressure derived combustion performance and engine-out emissions is made between an all-metal single-cylinder light-duty diesel engine and a geometrically equivalent engine designed for optical accessibility. The metal and optically accessible single-cylinder engines have the same nominal geometry, including cylinder head, piston bowl shape and valve cutouts, bore, stroke, valve lift profiles, and fuel injection system. The bulk gas thermodynamic state near TDC and load of the two engines are closely matched by adjusting the optical engine intake mass flow and composition, intake temperature, and fueling rate for a highly dilute, low temperature combustion (LTC) operating condition with an intake O2 concentration of 9%. Subsequent start of injection (SOI) sweeps compare the emissions trends of UHC, CO, NOx, and soot, as well as ignition delay and fuel consumption.

This paper investigates flow and combustion in a full-cycle simulation of a four-stroke, three-valve HCCI engine by visualizing the flow with pathlines. Pathlines trace massless particles in a transient flow field. In addition to visualization, pathlines are used here to trace the history, or evolution, of flow fields and species. In this study evolution is followed from the intake port through combustion. Pathline analysis follows packets of intake charge in time and space from induction through combustion. The local scalar fields traversed by the individual packets in terms of velocity magnitude, turbulence, species concentration and temperatures are extracted from the simulation results. The results show how the intake event establishes local chemical and thermal environments in-cylinder and how the species respond (chemically react) to the local field.

In the current investigation, the authors identified conditions under which increased in-cylinder turbulence can be used to improve diesel emissions. Two separate regimes of engine operation were identified; one in which combustion was constrained by mixing and one in which it was not. These regimes were dubbed under-mixed and over-mixed, respectively. It was found that increasing mixing in the former regime had a profound effect on soot emission. Fuel injection characteristics were found to be extremely important in determining the point at which mixing became inadequate. In addition, the ratio of the fuel injection momentum flux relative to that of the gas injection was found to be important in determining how increasing mixing would effect soot emissions.

This article presents nondestructive neutron computed tomography (nCT) measurements of Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) as a method to measure ash and soot loading in the filters. Uncatalyzed and unwashcoated 200cpsi cordierite DPFs exposed to 100% biodiesel (B100) exhaust and conventional ultra low sulfur 2007 certification diesel (ULSD) exhaust at one speed-load point (1500 rpm, 2.6 bar BMEP) are compared to a brand new (never exposed) filter. Precise structural information about the substrate as well as an attempt to quantify soot and ash loading in the channel of the DPF illustrates the potential strength of the neutron imaging technique.

An investigation of the effect of microflow machining on the spray characteristics of diesel injectors was undertaken. A collection of four VCO injector tips were tested prior to and after an abrasive flow process using a high viscosity media. The injector nozzles were tested on a spray fixture. Rate of injection measurements and high-speed digital images were used for the quantification of the air entrainment rate. Comparisons of the spray characteristics and A/F ratios were made for conditions of before and after the abrasive flow process. Results showed a significant decrease in the injection-to-injection variability and improvement of the spray symmetry. A link between the quantity of air entrained and potential differences in spray plume internal chemical composition and temperature is proposed via equilibrium calculations.

Multi-dimensional computational efforts using comprehensive and skeletal kinetics have been made to investigate the cool flame region in HCCI combustion. The work was done in parallel to an experimental study that showed the impact of the negative temperature coefficient and the cool flame on the start of combustion using different fuels, which is now the focus of the simulation work. Experiments in a single cylinder CFR research engine with n-butane and a primary reference fuel with an octane number of 70 (PRF 70) were modeled. A comparison of the pressure and heat release traces of the experimental and computational results shows the difficulties in predicting the heat release in the cool flame region. The behavior of the driving radicals for two-stage ignition is studied and is compared to the behavior for a single-ignition from the literature. Model results show that PRF 70 exhibits more pronounced cool flame heat release than n-butane.

Reduction in the cycle-to-cycle variation (CCV) of combustion in internal combustion engines is required to reduce fuel consumption, exhaust emissions, and improve drivability. CCV increases at low load operations and lean/dilute burn conditions. Specifically, the factors that cause CCV of combustion are the cyclic variations of in-cylinder flow, in-cylinder distributions of fuel concentration, temperature and residual gas, and ignition energy. However, it is difficult to measure and analyze these factors in a production engine. This study used an optically accessible single-cylinder engine in which combustion and optical measurements were performed for 45 consecutive cycles. CCVs of the combustion and in-cylinder phenomena were investigated for the same cycle. Using this optically accessible engine, the volume inside the combustion chamber, including the pent-roof region can be observed through a quartz cylinder.

Detailed characteristics of morphology, nanostructures, and sizes were analyzed for particulate matter (PM) emissions from low-temperature combustion (LTC) modes of a single-cylinder, light-duty diesel engine. The LTC engines have been widely studied in an effort to achieve high combustion efficiency and low exhaust emissions. Recent reports indicate that the number of nucleation mode particles increased in a broad engine operating range, which implies a negative impact on future PM emissions regulations in terms of the nanoparticle number. However, the size measurement of solid carbon particles by commercial instruments is indeed controversial due to the contribution of volatile organics to small nanoparticles. In this work, an LTC engine was operated with various biofuel blends, such as blends (B20) of soy bean oil (soy methyl ester, SME20) and palm oil (palm methyl ester, PME20), as well as an ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel.

An overall diesel engine and aftertreatment system model has been created that integrates diesel engine, exhaust system, engine emissions, and diesel particulate filter (DPF) models using MATLAB Simulink. The 1-D engine and exhaust system models were developed using WAVE. The engine emissions model combines a phenomenological soot model with artificial neural networks to predict engine out soot emissions. Experimental data from a light-duty diesel engine was used to calibrate both the engine and engine emissions models. The DPF model predicts the behavior of a clean and particulate-loaded catalyzed wall-flow filter. Experimental data was used to validate this sub-model individually. Several model integration issues were identified and addressed. These included time-step selection, continuous vs. limited triggering of sub-models, and code structuring for simulation speed. Required time-steps for different sub models varied by orders of magnitude.

A procedure has been developed to build system level predictive models that incorporate physical laws as well as information derived from experimental data. In particular a soot model was developed, trained and tested using experimental data. It was seen that the model could fit available experimental data given sufficient training time. Future accuracy on data points not encountered during training was estimated and seen to be good. The approach relies on the physical phenomena predicted by an existing system level phenomenological soot model coupled with ‘weights’ which use experimental data to adjust the predicted physical sub-model parameters to fit the data. This approach has developed from attempts at incorporating physical phenomena into neural networks for predicting emissions. Model training uses neural network training concepts.

Accurate and useful mathematical models of physical processes can be made when we understand all of the phenomena involved. This paper reviews our understanding of the fluid flow, heat transfer and thermodynamic processes occurring in engines and the status of mathematical models expressing this understanding. Thermodynamic single system rate models are found to be extremely useful in predicting power and fuel consumption performance but of limited value in predicting emission performance. Multiple-zone, nonequilibrium models are essential for predicting emissions but are limited in accuracy by computer capacity and our understanding of engine phenomena which vary rapidly both with space and time. The need for and ability of new types of instrumentation, primarily optical, to increase our understanding of engine phenomena and improve our models is discussed.

This paper will focus on the spray characteristics of a high pressure (up to 155 MPa) accumulator type injector in a high pressure (chosen density) quiescent spray chamber. The injector uses a standard single orifice nozzle which produces a full cone spray. Using this apparatus, we are examining the fundamental aspects of high pressure spray formation under controlled conditions. Experimental data was collected using high speed photography (10,000 frames per second) which used a pulsed copper-vapor laser as a light source. Two photographic techniques are being utilized. Direct attenuation allows measurement of tip penetration, spray cone angle, and injection duration. Scattering from a sheet of laser light perpendicular to the camera field of view is being developed in an attempt to resolve inner spray cone structure. In addition to the quantitative data from the high speed photography, injector accumulator pressure, supply pressure and injection rate histories were recorded.

Laser Doppler velocimetry has been used to measure velocity and turbulence intensity profiles in the wall boundary layer of a spark-ignited homogeneous-charge research engine. By using a toroidal contoured engine head it was possible to bring the laser probe volume to within 60 μm of the wall. Two different levels of engine swirl were used to vary the flow Reynolds number. For the high swirl case under motored operation the boundary layer thickness was less than 200 μm, and the turbulence intensity increased as the wall was approached. With low swirl the 700-1000 μm thick boundary layer had a velocity profile that was nearly laminar in shape, and there was no increase in turbulence intensity near the wall. When the engine was fired the boundary layer thickness increased for both levels of swirl.

An investigation of several diesel injector nozzles that produced different engine emissions performance was performed. The nozzle styles used were two VCO type nozzles that were manufactured using two different techniques, and two mini-sac nozzles that provided comparison. Fired experiments were conducted on a Detroit Diesel Series 50 engine. Optical access was obtained by substituting a sapphire window for one exhaust valve. Under high speed, high load, retarded injection timing conditions, it was discovered that each nozzle produced different specific soot and NOx emissions. High-speed film images were obtained. It was discovered that the temperature and KL factor results from the 2-color optical pyrometry showed significant differences between the nozzles. The authors propose the possibility that differences in air entrainment, caused by potential differences in CD due to surface finish, may contribute to the variance in emissions performance.

This paper reports visualization of behavior of spray, wall film, and initial flame propagation in an SI engine with port fuel injection system for motorcycle in order to directly investigate their influences on combustion and relations among them. Borescopes were used to visualize the flame propagation in the combustion chamber and wall film in the intake port. Various injection systems and injection parameters were tested: injection direction, timing, and size of droplets to investigate the effect of mixture formation. It is concluded that combustion stability under low load condition is greatly influenced by mixture inhomogeneity in the combustion chamber whose evidence is the luminous emission. It is caused by direct induction of considerable amount of liquid fuel with large size of droplets into combustion chamber or too inhomogeneous mixture in the intake port.

Recently the response of the engine speed at starting has more importance than ever for quick start satisfying rider’s needs, as well as exhaust emissions. We have developed a simulation for studying engine and starter specifications, engine control algorithm and other engine control parameters. This system can be utilized to realize appropriate starting time by considering air-fuel ratio under various conditions. This paper addresses what are taken account of in our method. Examples applying this to a conventional motorcycle engine are shown.

Cycle-to-cycle variation (CCV) of combustion in low load operation is a factor that may cause various problems in engine operation. Variable valve timing and variable ignition timing are commonly used as a means to reduce this variation. However, due to mountability and cost constraints, these methods are not feasible for use in motorcycle engines. Therefore, development of an engine with minimal CCV without utilizing complicated mechanisms or electronic control is required. CCV of combustion may be caused by fluctuations in in-cylinder flow, air-fuel mixture, temperature, residual gas and ignition energy. In this study, the relationship between CCV of combustion, in-cylinder flow fluctuation and air-fuel mixture fluctuation was the primary focus. In order to evaluate in-cylinder flow fluctuation, Time Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV) technique was utilized.