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Biofuel usage is increasingly expanding thanks to its significant contribution to a well-to-wheel (WTW) reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition, stringent emission standards make mandatory the use of Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) for the particulate emissions control. The different physical properties and chemical composition of biofuels impact the overall engine behaviour. In particular, the PM emissions and the related DPF regeneration strategy are clearly affected by biofuel usage due mainly to its higher oxygen content and lower low heating value (LHV). More specifically, the PM emissions and the related DPF regeneration strategy are clearly affected by biofuel usage due mainly to its higher oxygen content and lower low heating value, respectively. The particle emissions, in fact, are lower mainly because of the higher oxygen content. Subsequently less frequent regenerations are required.

The development of PM and NOx reduction system with the combination of DOC included DPF and SCR catalyst in addition to the AOC sub-assembly for NH3 slip protection is described. DPF regeneration strategy and manual regeneration functionality are introduced with using ITH, HCI device on the EUI based EGR, VGT 12.3L diesel engine at the CVS full dilution tunnel test bench. With this system, PM and NOx emission regulation for JPNL was satisfied and DPF regeneration process under steady state condition and transient condition (JE05 mode) were successfully fulfilled. Manual regeneration process was also confirmed and HCI control strategy was validated against the heat loss during transient regeneration mode. Presenter Seung-il Moon

The original Table 2 includes incorrect data under the "Primary Energy" column for "multi-strike", "continuous" and "plasma" system types.

Noise concerns regarding snowmobiles have increased in the recent past. Current standards, such as SAE J192 are used as guidelines for government agencies and manufacturers to regulate noise emissions for all manufactured snowmobiles. Unfortunately, the test standards available today produce results with variability that is much higher than desired. The most significant contributor to the variation in noise measurements is the test surface. The test surfaces can either be snow or grass and affects the measurement in two very distinct ways: sound propagation from the source to the receiver and the operational behavior of the snowmobile. Data is presented for a known sound pressure speaker source and different snowmobiles on various test days and test surfaces. Relationships are shown between the behavior of the sound propagation and track interaction to the ground with the pass-by noise measurements.

The present paper describes some results of a research project aimed at studying the impact of alternative fuels blends on the emissions and fuel consumption of an Euro 5 automotive diesel engine. Two alternative fuels were chosen for the experiments: RME and GTL. The tests were done in the three most important operating conditions for the engine emission calibration. Moreover, the NOx-PM trade-off by means of EGR sweep was performed in the same operating conditions, in order to evaluate the engine EGR tolerability when burning low sooting fuels as the RME. The investigations put in evidence that the impact of the alternative fuels on modern diesel engines remains significant. This also depends on the interaction between the alternative fuel characteristics and the engine-management strategies, as described in detail in the paper.

The evaluation of vehicles real emissions circulating in urban areas is a basic activity for planning and management of implemented traffic measures aiming at emission control and air quality improvement. National, region, and city emission inventories require overall average emission estimation based on modeling technique with a few input parameters such as fleet composition and mission profile, represented by average speed. But in the field of emission modeling an important open issue is the very expensive costs of experimental campaigns needed to obtain driving cycle statistically representative of driving behavior, also if only in a specific link of a network. A possible approach to deal with this problem is represented by the use of traffic microscopic simulation models which are capable to simulate individual car motion on the basis of traffic conditions, road characteristics and management rules.

The present paper reassumes the results of an experimental study focused on the effects of the nozzle injector's coking varying the flow number (FN); the performance and emissions of an automotive Euro5 diesel engine have been analyzed using diesel fuel. As the improvement of the diesel engine performance requires a continuous development of the injection system and in particular of the nozzle design, in the last years the general trend among OEMs is lowering nozzle flow number and, as a consequence, nozzle holes size. The study carried out moves from the consideration that a reduction of the nozzle holes diameter could increase the impact of their coking process. For this purpose, an experimental campaign has been realized, testing the engine in steady state in three partial load operating points, representative of the European homologation driving cycle, and in full load conditions.

In this study, experiments were carried out in an optical single-cylinder Direct Injection Spark Ignition engine fuelled with n-butanol and gasoline, alternatively. The engine is equipped with the head of a commercial turbocharged engine with similar geometrical specifications (bore, stroke, compression ratio). The head has four valves and a centrally located spark device with surface charge ignition. A conventional elongated hollow Bowditch piston is used and an optical crown, accommodating fused-silica window, is screwed onto it. The injector is side mounted and features 6 holes oriented to guide the jets towards the piston crown. During the experimental activity, the injection pressure was maintained at 100 bar for all conditions; the injection timing and the number of injections were adjusted to investigate their influence on combustion and emissions.

Autoignition delay times of two full blend gasoline fuels (high and low RON) were explored in a rapid compression machine. CO2 dilution by mass was introduced at 0%, 15%, and 30% levels with the O2:N2 mole ratio fixed at 1:3.76. This dilution strategy is used to represent exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) substitution in spark ignition (SI) engines by using CO2 as a surrogate for major EGR constituents(N2, CO2, H2O). Experiments were conducted over the temperature range of 650K-900K and at 10 bar and 20 bar compressed pressure conditions for equivalence ratios of (Φ =) 0.6-1.3. The full blend fuels were admitted directly into the combustion chamber for mixture preparation using the direct test chamber (DTC) approach. CO2 addition retarded the autoignition times for the fuels studied here. The retarding effect of the CO2 dilution was more pronounced in the NTC region when compared to the lower and higher temperature range.

Battery temperature variations have a strong effect on both battery aging and battery performance. Significant temperature variations will lead to different battery behaviors. This influences the performance of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) energy management strategies. This paper investigates how variations in battery temperature will affect Lithium-ion battery aging and fuel economy of a HEV. The investigated energy management strategy used in this paper is the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) which is a well-known energy management strategy for HEVs. The studied vehicle is a Honda Civic Hybrid and the studied battery, a BLS LiFePO4 3.2Volts 100Ah Electric Vehicle battery cell. Vehicle simulations were done with a validated vehicle model using multiple combinations of highway and city drive cycles. The battery temperature variation is studied with regards to outside air temperature.

The study of spray-wall interaction is of great importance to understand the dynamics that occur during fuel impingement onto the chamber wall or piston surfaces in internal combustion engines. It is found that the maximum spreading length of an impinged droplet can provide a quantitative estimation of heat transfer and energy transformation for spray-wall interaction. Furthermore, it influences the air-fuel mixing and hydrocarbon and particle emissions at combusting conditions. In this paper, an analytical model of a single diesel droplet impinging on the wall with different inclined angles (α) is developed in terms of βm (dimensionless maximum spreading length, the ratio of maximum spreading length to initial droplet diameter) to understand the detailed impinging dynamic process.

Electronic Stop-Start (ESS) system automatically stops and restarts the engine to save energy, improve fuel economy and reduce emissions when the vehicle is stationary during traffic lights, traffic jams etc. The stop and start events cause unwanted vibrations at the seat track which induce discomfort to the driver and passengers in the vehicle. These events are very short duration events, usually taking less than a second. Time domain analysis can help in simulating this event but it is difficult to see modal interactions and root cause issues. Modal transient analysis also poses a limitation on defining frequency dependent stiffness and damping for multiple mounts. This leads to inaccuracy in capturing mount behavior at different frequencies. Most efficient way to simulate this event would be by frequency response analysis using modal superposition method.

Growing concerns about the emissions of internal combustion engines have forced the adoption of aftertreatment devices to reduce the adverse impact of diesel engines on health and environment. Diesel particulate filters are considered as an effective means to reduce the particle emissions and comply with the regulations. Research activity in this field focuses on filter configuration, materials and aging, on understanding the variation of soot layer properties during time, on defining of the optimal strategy of DPF management for on-board control applications. A model was implemented in order to simulate the filtration and regeneration processes of a wall-flow particulate filter, taking into account the emission characteristic of the engine, whose architecture and operating conditions deeply affect the size distribution of soot particles.

The paper reports an experimental study on the effect of compression ratio variation on the performance and pollutant emissions of a single-cylinder light-duty research diesel engine operating in DF mode. The architecture of the combustion system as well as the injection system represents the state-of-the-art of the automotive diesel technology. Two pistons with different bowl volume were selected for the experimental campaign, corresponding to two CR values: 16.5 and 14.5. The designs of the piston bowls were carefully performed with the 3D simulation in order to maintain the same air flow structure at the piston top dead center, thus keeping the same in-cylinder flow characteristics versus CR. The engine tests choice was performed to be representative of actual working conditions of an automotive light-duty diesel engine.

A plasma ignition system was tested in a GDI engine with the target of combustion efficiency improvement without modifying engine configuration. The plasma was generated by spark discharge and successively sustained to enhance its duration up to 4 ms. The innovative ignition system was tested in an optically accessible single-cylinder DISI engine to investigate the effects of plasma on kernel stability and flame front propagation under low loads and lean mixture (λ≅1.3). The engine was equipped with the head of a commercial turbocharged engine with similar geometrical specifications (bore, stroke, compression ratio). All experiments were performed at 2000 rpm and 100 bar injection pressure. UV-visible 2D chemiluminescence was applied in order to study the flame front inception and propagation with particular interest in the early combustion stages. A bandpass filter allowed selecting luminous signal due to OH radicals.

As engines are equipped with an increased number of control actuators to meet fuel economy targets, they become more difficult to control and calibrate. The additional complexity created by a larger number of control actuators motivates the use of physics-based control strategies to reduce calibration time and complexity. Combustion phasing, as one of the most important engine combustion metrics, has a significant influence on engine efficiency, emissions, vibration and durability. To realize physics-based engine combustion phasing control, an accurate prediction model is required. This research introduces physics-based control-oriented laminar flame speed and turbulence intensity models that can be used in a quasi-dimensional turbulent entrainment combustion model. The influence of laminar flame speed and turbulence intensity on predicted mass fraction burned (MFB) profile during combustion is analyzed.

Significant reduction in Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions will be required to meet LEV III/Tier III Emissions Standards for Light Duty Diesel (LDD) passenger vehicles. As such, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are exploring all possible aftertreatment options to find the best balance between performance, durability and cost. The primary technology adopted by OEMs in North America to achieve low NOx levels is Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). The critical parameters needed for SCR to work properly are: an appropriate reductant such as ammonia (NH3) provided as Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), which is an aqueous urea solution 32.5% concentration in weight with water (CO(NH2)2 + H2O), optimum operating temperatures, and optimum nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to NOx ratios (NO2/NOx). The NO2/NOx ratio is most influenced by Precious Group Metals (PGM) containing catalysts upstream of the SCR catalyst.

As CAFE requirements increase, automotive OEMs are pursuing innovative methods to lightweight their Body In Whites (BIWs). Within FCA US, this lightweighting research and development activity often occurs through Decoupled Innovation projects. A Decoupled Innovation team comprised of engineers from the BIW Structures Group, in collaboration with Tier 1 supplier Magna Exteriors, sought to re-design a loadbearing component on the BIW that would offer significant weight savings when the current steel component was replaced with a carbon fiber composite. This paper describes the design, development, physical validation and partnership that resulted in a composite Rear Package Shelf Assembly solution for a high-volume production vehicle. As the CAFE requirements loom closer and closer, these innovation-driven engineering activities are imperative to the successful lightweighting of FCA US vehicles.

One of the remaining challenges in the simulation of the aerodynamics of ground vehicles is the modeling of the airflows around the spinning tires and wheels of the vehicle. As in most advances in the development of simulation capabilities, it is the lack of appropriately detailed and accurate experimental data with which to correlate that holds back the advance of the technology. The flow around the wheels and tires and their interfaces with the vehicle body and the ground is a critical area for the development of automobiles and trucks, not just for aerodynamic forces and moments, and their result on fuel economy and vehicle handling and performance, but also for the airflows and pressures that affect brake cooling, engine cooling airflows, water spray management etc.

Engine mount is one of the temperature sensitive components in the vehicle under-hood. Due to increasing requirements for improved fuel economy, the under-hood thermal management has become very challenging in recent years. In order to study the effects of material thermal degradation on engine mount performance and durability; it is required to estimate the temperature of engine mount rubber during various driving conditions. The effect of temperature on physical properties of natural rubber can then be evaluated and the life of engine mount can be estimated. In this paper, a bench test is conducted where the engine mount is exposed to a step change in the environment around it, and the temperature of the rubber section is recorded at several points till a steady state temperature is reached. A time response curve is generated, from which a time constant is determined.