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The performance of energy flow management strategies is essential for the success of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which are considered amongst the most promising solutions for improving fuel economy as well as reducing exhaust emissions. The heavy duty HEVs engaged in cycles characterized by start-stop configuration has attracted widely interests, especially in off-road applications. In this paper, a fuzzy equivalent consumption minimization strategy (F-ECMS) is proposed as an intelligent real-time energy management solution for heavy duty HEVs. The online optimization problem is formulated as minimizing a cost function, in terms of weighted fuel power and electrical power. A fuzzy rule-based approach is applied on the weight tuning within the cost function, with respect to the variations of the battery state-of-charge (SOC) and elapsed time.

In recent years urea selective catalytic reduction (SCR) has become the principal method of NOx abatement within heavy duty (HD) diesel exhaust systems; however, with upcoming applications demanding NOx reduction efficiencies of above 96 % on engines producing upwards of 10 g·kWh−1 NOx, future diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) dosing systems will be required to operate stably at significantly increased dosing rates. Developing a dosing system capable of meeting the increased performance requirements demands an improved understanding of how DEF sprays interact with changing exhaust flows. This study has investigated four production systems representing a diverse range of dosing strategies in order to determine how performance is influenced by spray structure and identify promising strategies for further development. The construction of an optically accessible hot-air flow rig has enabled visualisation of DEF injection into flows representative of HD diesel exhaust conditions.

Natural gas as an alternative fuel offers the potential of clean combustion and emits relatively low CO2 emissions. The main constitute of natural gas is methane. Historically, the slow burning speed of methane has been a major concern for automotive applications. Literature on experimental methane-gasoline Dual Fuel (DF) studies on research engines showed that the DF strategy is improving methane combustion, leading to an enhanced initial establishment of burning speed even compared to that of gasoline. The mechanism of such an effect remains unclear. In the present study, pure methane (representing natural gas) and PRF95 (representing gasoline) were supplied to a constant volume combustion vessel to produce a DF air mixture. Methane was added to PRF95 in three different energy ratios 25%, 50% and 75%. Experiments have been conducted at equivalence ratios of 0.8, 1, 1.2, initial pressures of 2.5, 5 and 10 bar and a temperature of 373K.

A control strategy has been designed for a city bus equipped with a pneumatic hybrid propulsion system. The control system design is based on the precise management of energy flows during both energy storage and regeneration. Energy recovered from the braking process is stored in the form of compressed air that is redeployed for engine start and to supplement the engine air supply during vehicle acceleration. Operation modes are changed dynamically and the energy distribution is controlled to realize three principal functions: Stop-Start, Boost and Regenerative Braking. A forward facing simulation model facilitates an analysis of the vehicle dynamic performance, engine transient response, fuel economy and energy usage.

Powertrain thermal encapsulation has the potential to improve fuel consumption and CO2 via heat retention. Heat retained within the powertrain after a period of engine-off, can increase the temperature of the next engine start hours after key-off. This in turn reduces inefficiencies associated with sub-optimal temperatures such as friction. The Ambient Temperature Correction Test was adopted in the current work which contains two World-wide harmonised Light duty Test Procedure (WLTP) cycles separated by a 9-hour soak period. A coupled 1D - 3D computational approach was used to capture heat retention characteristics and subsequent warm-up effects. A 1-D powertrain warm-up model was developed in GT-Suite to capture the thermal warm-up characteristics of the powertrain. The model included a temperature dependent friction model, the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of the cooling and lubrication circuits as well as parasitic losses associated with pumps.

The two-dimensional, frictional tyre-road contact interaction is investigated. A transient contact algorithm is developed, consisting of an analytical belt model, a non linear sidewall structure and a discretized viscoelastic tread foundation. The relationship between the magnitude/shape of the predicted two-dimensional pressure distribution and the corresponding belt deformation is identified. The effect of vertical load and the role of sidewall non linearity are highlighted. The modal expansion/reduction method is proposed for the increase of the computational efficiency and the effect of the degree of reduction on the simulation accuracy is presented. The qualitative results are physically explained through the participation of certain modes in the equilibrium solution, offering directions for the application of the modal reduction method in shear force oriented tyre models.

Renewable sources of energy need to be developed to fulfill future energy demands in areas such as the Maldives where traditional sources of raw materials are limited or non-existent. This paper explores the use of an alternative fuel derived from coconut oil that can be produced in the Maldives and can be used in place of diesel fuel. The main advantage of this particular fuel is that it is a highly saturated oil with a calorific value close to standard diesel fuel. The viscosity of the crude coconut oil is much higher than standard diesel fuel. To reduce the viscosity and to make the oil more suitable for conventional diesel engines methyl esters were produced using the transesterification process (1). The engine performed well on the coconut oil methyl esters although there was a small reduction in power consistent with the lower calorific value of the alternative fuel. Comparative performance data together with the emission levels for the two fuels are presented.

Hydrogen crossover and membrane hydration are significant issues for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC). Hydrogen crossover amounts to a quantity of unspent fuel, thereby reducing the fuel efficiency of the cell, but more significantly it also gives rise to the formation of hydrogen peroxide in the cathode catalyst layer which acts to irreversibly degenerate the polymer electrolyte. Membrane hydration not only strongly governs the performance of the cell, most noticeable through its effect on the ionic conductivity of the membrane, it also influences the onset and propagation of internal degradation and failure mechanisms that curtail the reliability and safety of PEFCs. This paper focuses on how hydrogen crossover and membrane hydration are affected by; (a) characteristic cell geometries, and (b) operating conditions relevant to automotive fuel cells.

This work describes the application of Non-Linear Autoregressive Models with Exogenous Inputs (NLARX) in order to predict the NOx emissions of heavy-duty diesel engines. Two experiments are presented: 1.) a Non-Road-Transient-Cycle (NRTC) 2.) a composition of different engine operation modes and different engine calibrations. Data sets are pre-processed by normalization and re-arranged into training and validation sets. The chosen model is taken from the MATLAB Neural Network Toolbox using the algorithms provided. It is teacher forced trained and then validated. Training results show recognizable performance. However, the validation shows the potential of the chosen method.

This paper explores design methods for a vehicle handling dynamics state estimator based on a linear vehicle model. The state estimator is needed because there are some states of the vehicle that cannot be measured directly, such as sideslip velocity, and also some which are relatively expensive to measure, such as roll and yaw rates. Information about the vehicle states is essential for vehicle handling stability control and is also valuable in chassis design evaluation. The aim of this study is to compare the performance of a Kalman filter with that of a robust filter, under conditions which would be realistic and viable for a production vehicle. Both filters are thus designed and tested with reference to a higher order source model which incorporates nonlinear saturating tyre force characteristics. Also, both filters rely solely on accelerometer sensors, which are simulated with expected noise characteristics in terms of amplitude and spectra.

Growing concerns about the environmental impact of road vehicles will lead to a reduction in the aerodynamic drag for all passenger cars. This includes Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and light trucks which have relatively high drag coefficients and large frontal area. The wind tunnel remains the tool of choice for the vehicle aerodynamicist, but it is important that the benefits obtained in the wind tunnel reflect improvements to the vehicle on the road. Coastdown measurements obtained using a Land Rover Freelander, in various configurations, have been made to determine aerodynamic drag and these have been compared with wind tunnel data for the same vehicle. Repeatability of the coastdown data, the effects of drag variation near to zero yaw and asymmetry in the drag-yaw data on the results from coastdown testing are assessed. Alternative blockage corrections for the wind tunnel measurements are examined.

The TC48 project is developing a state-of-the-art, exceptionally low cost, 48V Plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) demonstration drivetrain suitable for electrically powered urban driving, hybrid operation, and internal combustion engine powered high speed motoring. This paper explains the motivation for the project, and presents the layout options considered and the rationale by which these were reduced. The vehicle simulation model used to evaluate the layout options is described and discussed. The modelling work was used in order to support and justify the design choices made. The design of the vehicle's control systems is discussed, presenting simulation results. The physical embodiment of the design is not reported in this paper. The paper describes analysis of small vehicles in the marketplace, including aspects of range and cost, leading to the justification for the specification of the TC48 system.

The worldwide introduction of new emission standards and new, more encompassing, legislating cycles have led to a need to increase both a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system’s capacity and conversion efficiency. To this end, it is important for an SCR system to operate to the extremes of its temperature range which in many systems is currently limited by the temperature at which diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) can easily decompose without the formation of deposits. This paper analyses a new system for low-temperature ammonia provision to the SCR reaction. Ammonia Creation and Conversion Technology (ACCT) uses pressure controlled thermal decomposition of DEF followed by re-formation to form a fluid with greater volatility and the same ammonia density as DEF conforming to ISO 22241. A dosing strategy can then be employed where any combination of DEF or ACCT solution can be used to provide ammonia as a reductant over the whole activity temperature range of a catalyst.

This literature review considers the problem of finding a suitable configuration of sensors and actuators for the control of an internal combustion engine. It takes a look at the methods, algorithms, processes, metrics, applications, research groups and patents relevant for this topic. Several formal metric have been proposed, but practical use remains limited. Maximal information criteria are theoretically optimal for selecting sensors, but hard to apply to a system as complex and nonlinear as an engine. Thus, we reviewed methods applied to neighboring fields including nonlinear systems and non-minimal phase systems. Furthermore, the closed loop nature of control means that information is not the only consideration, and speed, stability and robustness have to be considered. The optimal use of sensor information also requires the use of models, observers, state estimators or virtual sensors, and practical acceptance of these remains limited.

Previous research has highlighted that the formation of a sustained friction film, desired for stable and predictable friction performance, is highly dependent upon the region of the substrate (CMC) being examined. In attempt to improve the friction performance, notably bedding-in, research at LU has been developing coatings aimed at ensuring friction film development across the substrate. This paper focuses on the performance of one of these coating formulations, and examines the performance of this on a laboratory scale dynamometer. Subsequently, the coating has then been applied to a full size brake disc, as used on a prestige vehicle, for dynamometer testing at an industry scale for comparative purposes. On both lab and full scale samples the bedding performance shows improvements over the standard material, and at the full scale the coating indicates improved stability of subsequent friction performance through a modified AK Master test schedule.

For diesel engines, fuel path control plays a key role in achieving optimal emissions and fuel economy performance. There are several fuel path parameters that strongly affect the engine performance by changing the combustion process, by modifying for example, start of injection and fuel rail pressure. This is a multi-input multi-output problem. Linear Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a good approach for such a system with optimal solution. However, fuel path has fast dynamics. On-line optimisation MPC is not the good choice to cope with such fast dynamics. Explicit MPC uses off-line optimisation, therefore, it can be used to control the system with fast dynamics.

On future Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) it is envisaged that the power requirements of all on-board electrical systems will increase. Whilst, in most flight (mission) situations the installed generation capacity will have adequate capacity to operate the systems, it is possible that during certain abnormal situations the generators on-board may be forced to operate under very high load conditions. The main failure mechanism for a generator is overheating and subsequent disintegration of windings, hence the research problem being addressed here is that of modelling the thermal dynamics of a generator in such a way that the model can be used to predict future temperatures given knowledge of the future mission requirements. The temperature predictions will be used to allow prioritising of the mission actions in order to allow maximum utilisation of power generation capacity without overheating.

Low temperature combustion (LTC) in diesel engines offers attractive benefits through simultaneous reduction of nitrogen oxides and soot. However, it is known that the in-cylinder conditions typical of LTC operation tend to produce high emissions of unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) and carbon monoxide (CO), reducing combustion efficiency. The present study develops from the hypothesis that this characteristic poor combustion efficiency is due to in-cylinder mixture preparation strategies that are non-optimally matched to the requirements of the LTC combustion mode. In this work, the effects of three key fuel path parameters - injection fuel quantity ratio, dwell and injection timing - on CO and HC emissions were examined using a Central Composite Design (CCD) Design of Experiments (DOE) method.

Methyl esters derived from vegetable oils by the process of transesterification (commonly referred as ‘biodiesel’), can be used as an alternative fuel in compression ignition engines. In this study, three different vegetable oils (rape, soy and waste oil) were used to produce biodiesel fuels that were then tested in a four cylinder direct injection engine, typically used in small diesel genset applications. Engine performance and emissions were recorded at five load conditions and at two different speeds. This paper presents the results obtained for measurements of NOx and smoke opacity at the different speed and load conditions for the three biodiesels, and their blends (5 and 50% v/v) with mineral diesel. A simple combustion analysis was also performed where ignition delay, position and magnitude of peak cylinder pressure and heat release rate were examined to asses how the variation of chemical structure and blend percentage affects engine performance.

There is a great deal of interest in new technologies to assist in reducing the CO2 output of passenger vehicles, as part of the drive to meet the limits agreed by the EU and the European Automobile Manufacturer's Association ACEA, itself a result of the Kyoto Protocol. For the internal combustion engine, the most promising of these include gasoline direct injection, downsizing and fully variable valve trains. While new types of spray-guided gasoline direct injection (GDI) combustion systems are finally set to yield the level of fuel consumption improvement which was originally promised for the so-called ‘first generation’ wall- and air-guided types of GDI, injectors for spray-guided combustion systems are not yet in production to help justify the added complication and cost of the NOx trap necessary with a stratified combustion concept.