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Reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) has been shown to be capable of providing improved engine efficiencies coupled with the benefit of low emissions via in-cylinder fuel blending. Much of the previous body of work has studied the benefits of RCCI operation using high injection pressures (e.g., 500 bar or greater) with common rail injection (CRI) hardware. However, low-pressure fueling technology is capable of providing significant cost savings. Due to the broad market adoption of gasoline direct injection (GDI) fueling systems, a market-type prototype GDI injector was selected for this study. Single-cylinder light-duty engine experiments were undertaken to examine the performance and emissions characteristics of the RCCI combustion strategy with low-pressure GDI technology and compared against high injection pressure RCCI operation. Gasoline and diesel were used as the low-reactivity and high-reactivity fuels, respectively.

With the development of advanced ABE fermentation technology, the volumetric percentage of acetone, butanol and ethanol in the bio-solvents can be precisely controlled. To seek for an optimized volumetric ratio for ABE-diesel blends, the previous work in our team has experimentally investigated and analyzed the combustion features of ABE-diesel blends with different volumetric ratio (A: B: E: 6:3:1; 3:6:1; 0:10:0, vol. %) in a constant volume chamber. It was found that an increased amount of acetone would lead to a significant advancement of combustion phasing whereas butanol would compensate the advancing effect. Both spray dynamic and chemistry reaction dynamic are of great importance in explaining the unique combustion characteristic of ABE-diesel blend. In this study, a semi-detailed chemical mechanism is constructed and used to model ABE-diesel spray combustion in a constant volume chamber.

A transport equation residual model incorporating refined G-equation and detailed chemical kinetics combustion models has been developed and implemented in the ERC KIVA-3V release2 code for Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine simulations for better predictions of flame propagation. In the transport equation residual model a fictitious species concept is introduced to account for the residual gases in the cylinder, which have a great effect on the laminar flame speed. The residual gases include CO2, H2O and N2 remaining from the previous engine cycle or introduced using EGR. This pseudo species is described by a transport equation. The transport equation residual model differentiates between CO2 and H2O from the previous engine cycle or EGR and that which is from the combustion products of the current engine cycle.

The ability to make fully resolved turbulent scalar field measurements has been demonstrated in an internal combustion engine using one-dimensional fluorobenzene fluorescence measurements. Data were acquired during the intake stroke in a motored engine that had been modified such that each intake valve was fed independently, and one of the two intake streams was seeded with the fluorescent tracer. The scalar energy spectra displayed a significant inertial subrange that had a −5/3 wavenumber power dependence. The scalar dissipation spectra were found to extend in the high-wavenumber regime, to where the magnitude was more than two decades below the peak value, which indicates that for all practical purposes the measurements faithfully represent all of the scalar dissipation in the flow.

The focus of this paper is to discuss the modeling and control of intake plenum pressure on the Powertrain Control Research Laboratory's (PCRL) Single-Cylinder Engine (SCE) transient test system using a patented device known as the Intake Air Simulator (IAS), which dynamically controls the intake plenum pressure, and, subsequently, the instantaneous airflow into the cylinder. The IAS exists as just one of many devices that the PCRL uses to control the dynamic boundary conditions of its SCE transient test system to make it “think” and operate as though it were part of a Multi-Cylinder Engine (MCE) test system. The model described in this paper will be used to design a second generation of this device that utilizes both continuously and discretely actuating valves working in parallel.

Diesel sprays injected into a combustion chamber of a small sized high-speed CI engine impinge surely on a piston surface and a cylinder wall. As a consequence, their vaporization, mixture formation and combustion processes are affected by impingement phenomena. And the other important factors affecting on the processes is the injection pressure. Then, the distribution of the vapor concentration in a single diesel spray impinging on a flat and hot wall was experimented by the exciplex fluorescence method, as a simple case. The injection pressure was varied in the range from 55 MPa to 120 MPa. It is found that the distribution of the vapor concentration in this case is much leaner than that in the case of the low injection pressure of 17.8MPa.

The role of mixture stratification on combustion rate has been investigated in a constant volume combustion vessel in which mixtures of different equivalence ratios can be added in a spatially and temporally controlled fashion. The experiments were performed in a regime of low fluid motion to avoid the complicating effects of turbulence generated by the injection of different masses of fluid. Different mixture combinations were investigated while maintaining a constant overall equivalence ratio and initial pressure. The results indicate that the highest combustion rate for an overall lean mixture is obtained when all of the fuel is contained in a stoichiometric mixture in the vicinity of the ignition source. This is the result of the high burning velocity of these mixtures, and the complete oxidation which releases the full chemical energy.

A modular and scalable Dense Medium Plasma Water Purification Reactor was developed, which uses atmospheric-pressure electrical discharges under water to generate highly reactive species to break down organic contaminants and microorganisms. Key benefits of this novel technology include: (i) extremely high efficiency in both decontamination and disinfection; (ii) operating continuously at ambient temperature and pressure; (iii) reducing demands on the containment vessel; and (iv) requiring no consumables. This plasma based technology was developed to replace the catalytic reactor being used in the planned International Space Station Water Processor Assembly.

This paper describes an improved mathematical model to study the emission conversion effectiveness of a three-way catalytic converter, which employed detailed chemical reaction mechanism. The model also accounts for adsorption/release of oxygen in the catalyst monolith under non-stoichiometric A/F conditions. A commercial CFD code FLUENT was utilized to solve the governing equations for flow and pressure drop and to simulate the transient process in a three-way catalytic converter in a multi-dimensional manner. A comparison between simulation results and experimental data for a three-way catalyst was conducted and a good agreement was observed. Based on the improved model, some geometric parameters were studied for an elliptic monolith catalyst, which are widely used in today's converter systems because of its advantages in packaging.

An experimental study was performed to investigate diesel particulate filter (DPF) performance during filtration with the use of real-time measurement equipment. Three operating conditions of a single-cylinder 2.3-liter D.I. heavy-duty diesel engine were selected to generate distinct types of diesel particulate matter (PM) in terms of chemical composition, concentration, and size distribution. Four substrates, with a range of geometric and physical parameters, were studied to observe the effect on filtration characteristics. Real-time filtration performance indicators such as pressure drop and filtration efficiency were investigated using real-time PM size distribution and a mass analyzer. Types of filtration efficiency included: mass-based, number-based, and fractional (based on particle diameter). In addition, time integrated measurements were taken with a Rupprecht & Patashnick Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM), Teflon and quartz filters.

A hybrid approach utilizing the measured intake/exhaust port pressure traces and gas dynamics simulation was developed to process the instant fresh charge and RGF (Residual Gas Fraction) trapped in cylinder. The real time RGF, pumping losses and indicated thermal efficiency of an automotive gasoline engine under vehicle driving conditions are analyzed, cycle by cycle, and associated to the engine operating parameters including engine load, speed, VVT positions, manifold pressure and temperatures, as well as spark timing. In this way the inter-relationship among those parameters are established. The derived relationship could be used to determine the in-cylinder process for more accurate prediction of engine performance at the stage of concept simulation study, and applied to narrow the range of parameter tests in the engine calibration stage.

A study of partially premixed combustion (PPC) with non-oxygenated 91 pump octane number1 (PON) commercially available gasoline was performed using a heavy-duty (HD) compression-ignition (CI) 2.44 l Caterpillar 3401E single-cylinder oil test engine (SCOTE). The experimental conditions selected were a net indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) of 11.5 bar, an engine speed of 1300 rev/min, an intake temperature of 40°C with intake and exhaust pressures of 200 and 207 kPa, respectively. The baseline case for all studies presented had 0% exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), used a dual injection strategy a -137 deg ATDC pilot SOI and a -6 deg ATDC main start-of-injection (SOI) timing with a 30/70% pilot/main fuel split for a total of 5.3 kg/h fueling (equating to approximately 50% load). Combustion and emissions characteristics were explored relative to the baseline case by sweeping main and pilot SOI timings, injection split fuel percentage, intake pressure, load and EGR levels.

The premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) combustion in a compression ignition (Cl) engine is one of countermeasures against the very much severe regulation for exhaust gas of engine out. The authors have been proposed to use the fuel mixed with high volatility component and low volatility component to actualize PCCI combustion. This kind of fuel injected forms a fine and lean spray by the flash boiling phenomena which depends on the pressure and the temperature. The role of the former fuel is to decrease in the generation of particulate matters (PM) and that of the latter one is to break out the ignition. Thus, it is very much significant to find the distribution of vapor concentration of both fuels in a spray. This paper describes both distributions in a single diesel spray by use of the technique of laser induced fluorescence (LIF) in a constant volume chamber with high temperature at high pressure as the fundamental research.

A study of the combined use of split injections, EGR, and flexible boosting was conducted. Statistical optimization of the engine operating parameters was accomplished using a new response surface method. The objective of the study was to demonstrate the emissions and fuel consumption capabilities of a state-of-the-art heavy -duty diesel engine when using split injections, EGR, and flexible boosting over a wide range of engine operating conditions. Previous studies have indicated that multiple injections with EGR can provide substantial simultaneous reductions in emissions of particulate and NOx from heavy-duty diesel engines, but careful optimization of the operating parameters is necessary in order to receive the full benefit of these combustion control techniques. Similarly, boost has been shown to be an important parameter to optimize. During the experiments, an instrumented single-cylinder heavy -duty diesel engine was used.

In Metal V-belt type CVT, an elastic deformation of blocks determines the shifting speed and the pulley thrusts at transitional state. Both driving and driven pulley thrusts were calculated by considering the forces acting on blocks at a pulley entrance, which agreed with the experimental results at not only steady state but also transitional state. The frictional performance of CVT fluids and the frictional characteristics between blocks and a pulley were evaluated by applying the mean coefficient of friction as a friction parameter. It was found from the experiments that the estimated coefficient of friction of CVT fluids was not constant with respect to operating conditions. It changed due to relative sliding speed between blocks and the pulley, sliding direction and normal pressure acting on V-surface of the block.

It is unavoidable that a DI diesel engine exhausts a blue and white smoke at starting, especially in the cold atmosphere. In the experiments presented here, a small DI diesel engine started under the conditions of coolant and suction air whose minimum temperatures were 255 K and 268 K, respectively. The flame was photographed by high-speed photography, the temperature of flame and the soot concentration were measured by two-color method, and CO2 concentration was detected by luminous method. The engine cannot be started over several cycles when the coolant temperature is 255 K and suction air temperature is 268 K. As the temperature of coolant and suction air are decreasing, the maxima of the cylinder pressure, the flame temperature, the soot concentration and CO2 concentration are decreasing. Luminous small dots or small lumps of flame become scattered in the piston cavity.

A single cylinder, Cummins NH, direct-injection, diesel engine has been operated in order to evaluate the effects of aromatic content and aromatic structure on diesel engine particulates. Results from three fuels are shown. The first fuel, a low sulfur Chevron diesel fuel was used as a base fuel for comparison. The other fuels consisted of the base fuel and 10% by volume of 1-2-3-4 tetrahydronaphthalene (tetralin) a single-ring aromatic and naphthalene, a double-ring aromatic. The fuels were chosen to vary aromatic content and structure while minimizing differences in boiling points and cetane number. Measurements included exhaust particulates using a mini-dilution tunnel, exhaust emissions including THC, CO2, NO/NOx, O2, injection timing, two-color radiation, soluble organic fraction, and cylinder pressure. Particulate measurements were found to be sensitive to temperature and flow conditions in the mini-dilution tunnel and exhaust system.

In this study, a rapid compression and expansion machine(RCEM) with a pancake combustion chamber was designed to investigate fundamentally on the knocking phenomena in spark ignition(S.I) engines. This RCEM is intended to simulate combustion in an actual engine. The homogeneous pre-mixture of n-pentane and air was charged into a quiescent atmosphere of the chamber. Then, the combustion field become simpler in this machine than it in a real S.I. engine. Also, the combustion phenomena, that is a cylinder pressure history, the behavior of flame propagation and so on, with high reproducibility are realized in this machine. The phenomena caught in this experiment were so-called low speed knocking. And, this knocking characteristics such as a knock intensity and a knock mass fraction were revealed by the cylinder pressure analysis varying the charge pressure and the equivalence ratio of the mixture, a compression ratio and an ignition timing.

This paper presents an atomization mechanism of a spray injected into the low-pressure field, as the subject of injection system in a suction manifold of gasoline engine. Pure liquid fuel, which is n-Pentane or n-Hexane is injected into quiescent gaseous atmosphere at room-temperature and low- pressure through pintle type electronic control injector. Fuel sprays are observed by taking photographs for variation of the back pressure and the changes in spray characteristics with the back pressure below atmospheric pressure are examined in detail. In particular, in the case of the back pressure below the saturated vapor pressure of fuel, the atomization mechanism is discussed from a viewpoint of flash boiling phenomena, those are bubble growth rate and so on.

A system was developed which provides nutrients and water to plants while maintaining good aeration at the roots and preventing water from escaping in reduced gravity. The nutrient solution is circulated through porous tubes under negative pressure and moves through the tube wall via capillary forces into the rooting matrix, establishing a non-saturated condition in the root zone. Tests using prototypes of the porous tube water and nutrient delivery system indicate that plant productivity in this system is equivalent to standard soil and solution culture growing procedures. The system has functioned successfully in short-term microgravity during parabolic flight tests and will be flown on the space shuttle. Plants are one of the components of a bioregenerative life support system required for long duration space missions.