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An air-assisted fuel vaporiser (AAFV), designed to replace the conventional fuelling system has been tested on a 3.0-litre development engine under simulated cold-Start conditions. Providing the cold engine with pre-vaporised fuel removed the need for an enriched mixture during start-up. Comparisons between the AAFV and standard fuelling systems were performed. Engine-out hydrocarbon (HC) exhaust emissions were measured during cold-start and the ensuing two minutes. Fuel spray characterisation was also conducted using a steady flow test rig designed to mimic inlet port conditions of air flow and manifold pressure over a wide range of engine operation.

A method of predicting HC, CO and NOx emissions and fuel-used over drive cycles has been developed. This has been applied to FTP-75 and ECE+EUDC drive cycles amended to include cold-start and warm-up. The method requires only fully-warm steady state indicated performance data to be available for the engine. This is used in conjunction with a model of engine thermal behaviour and friction characteristics, and vehicle/drive cycle specifications enabling engine brake load/speed variations to be defined. A time marching prediction of engine-out emissions and fuel consumption is carried out taking into account factors which include high engine friction and poor mixture preparation after cold-start. Comparisons with experimental data indicate that fuel consumption and emissions can be predicted to quantitative accuracy. The method has been applied to compare and contrast the importance of various operating regimes during the two cycles.

A four-stroke, spark-ignition engine is described that seeks to achieve high expansion ratio and low throttling losses at light load, whilst retaining good knock resistance at full load operation and without the need for expensive mechanical changes to the engine. The engine does, however, incorporate a second inlet (transfer) valve and associated transfer port linked to the intake port. The timing of the transfer valve is different from that of the main inlet valve. Load modulation is achieved by control of the gas outflow from the transfer port. A computer model of the engine is first validated against measured data from a conventional engine. Comparisons are made of incylinder pressure at part load conditions, total air flowrate through the engine and intake port air velocities as a function of crank angle position.