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The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech participated in the three-year EcoCAR Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition organized by Argonne National Laboratory, and sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy. The team established goals for the design of a plug-in, range-extended hybrid electric vehicle that meets or exceeds the competition requirements for EcoCAR. The challenge involved designing a crossover SUV powertrain to reduce fuel consumption, petroleum energy use, regulated tailpipe emissions, and well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions. To interface with and control the hybrid powertrain, the team added a Hybrid Vehicle Supervisory Controller, which enacts a torque split control strategy. This paper builds on an earlier paper [1] that evaluated the petroleum energy use, criteria tailpipe emissions, and greenhouse gas emissions of the Virginia Tech EcoCAR vehicle and control strategy from the 2nd year of the competition.

Their high fuel economy is making light-duty vehicles with spark-ignition direct-injection (SIDI) engines attractive. However, the implications for exhaust emissions and the effects of fuel quality on emissions are not clear for this type of engine. A Mitsubishi Legnum with a 1.8-L GDI™ engine was tested on federal test procedure (FTP) and highway fuel economy cycles. The results were compared with those for a production Dodge Neon vehicle with a 2.0-L port fuel-injection (PFI) engine. The Mitsubishi was tested with Indolene, Amoco Premium Ultimate, and a low-sulfur gasoline. The Neon was tested only with Indolene. Both engine-out and tailpipe emissions were measured. Second-by-second emissions and hydrocarbon speciation were also evaluated. The SIDI engine provided up to 24% better fuel economy than the PFI engine on the highway cycle. Tailpipe emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from the SIDI vehicle using low-sulfur fuel were 40% less than those when using Indolene.

The potential exists to displace a portion of the petroleum diesel demand with butanol and positively impact engine-out particulate matter. As a preliminary investigation, 20% and 40% by volume blends of butanol with ultra low sulfur diesel fuel were operated in a 1999 Mercedes Benz C220 turbo diesel vehicle (Euro III compliant). Cold and hot start urban as well as highway drive cycle tests were performed for the two blends of butanol and compared to diesel fuel. In addition, 35 MPH and 55 MPH steady-state tests were conducted under varying road loads for the two fuel blends. Exhaust gas emissions, fuel consumption, and intake and exhaust temperatures were acquired for each test condition. Filter smoke numbers were also acquired during the steady-state tests. The results showed that for the urban drive cycle, both total hydrocarbon (THC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions increased as larger quantities of butanol were added to the diesel fuel.

A new type of approval procedure for light-duty vehicles, the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), developed by an initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, will come into force by the end of 2017. The current European type-approval procedure for energy consumption and CO2 emissions of cars, the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), includes a number of tolerances and flexibilities that no longer accurately reflect state-of-the-art technologies. Indeed, on the basis of an analysis of real-world driving data from the German website spritmonitor.de, the ICCT concluded that the differences between official laboratory and real-world fuel consumption and CO2 values were around 7% in 2001. This discrepancy has been increasing continuously since then to around 30% in 2013, with notable differences found between individual manufacturers and vehicle models.

In automotive industry it has been a challenge to retain diesel-like thermal efficiency while maintaining low emissions. Numerous studies have shown significant progress in achieving low emissions through the introduction of common-rail injection systems, multiple injections and exhaust gas recirculation and by using a high octane number fuel, like gasoline, to achieve adequate premixing. On the other hand, low temperature combustion strategies, like HCCI and PCCI, have also shown promising results in terms of reducing both NOx and soot emissions simultaneously. With the increasing capacity of computers, multi-dimensional CFD engine modeling enables a reasonably good prediction of combustion characteristics and pollutant emissions, which is the motivation behind the present research. The current research effort presents an optimization study of light-duty compression ignition engine performance, while meeting the emission regulation targets.

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech participated in the three-year EcoCAR Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition organized by Argonne National Laboratory, and sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy. The team established goals for the design of a plug-in, range-extended hybrid electric vehicle that meets or exceeds the competition requirements for EcoCAR. The challenge involved designing a crossover SUV powertrain to reduce fuel consumption, petroleum energy use, regulated tailpipe emissions, and well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions. To interface with and control the hybrid powertrain, the team added a Hybrid Vehicle Supervisory Controller, which enacts a torque split control strategy. This paper builds on an earlier paper [1] that evaluated the petroleum energy use, criteria tailpipe emissions, and greenhouse gas emissions of the Virginia Tech EcoCAR vehicle and control strategy from the 2nd year of the competition.

SunDiesel fuel is a biomass-to-liquid (BTL) fuel that may have certain attributes different from conventional diesel. In this investigation, 100% SunDiesel was tested both in a Mercedes A-Class (MY1999) diesel vehicle and a single-cylinder heavy-duty compression-ignition direct-injection engine. The SunDiesel's emissions and fuel consumption were significantly better than conventional diesel fuel, especially in nitrogen oxides (NOx) reduction. In the vehicle U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Test Procedure 75 (FTP-75), and New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) tests, the carbon dioxide emissions on a mile basis (g/mile) from SunDiesel fuel were almost 10% lower than the conventional diesel fuel. Similarly, in the single-cylinder engine steady-state tests, the reductions in brake specific NOx, carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM) are equally significant. Combustion analysis, though not conclusive, indicates that there are differences deserving further research.

The objective of this research was to study the effects of a CCRT®, henceforth called Diesel Oxidation Catalyst - Catalyzed Particulate Filter (DOC-CPF) system on particulate and gaseous emissions from a heavy-duty diesel engine (HDDE) operated at Modes 11 and 9 of the old Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 13-mode test cycle Emissions characterized included: total particulate matter (TPM) and components of carbonaceous solids (SOL), soluble organic fraction (SOF) and sulfates (SO4); vapor phase organics (XOC); gaseous emissions of total hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2); and particle size distributions at normal dilution ratio (NDR) and higher dilution ratio (HDR). Significant reductions were observed for TPM and SOL (>90%), SOF (>80%) and XOC (>70%) across the DOC-CPF at both modes.

SunDiesel™ is an alternative bio-fuel derived from wood chips that has certain properties that are superior to those of conventional diesel (D2). In this investigation, 100% SunDiesel was tested in a Mercedes A-Class (model year 1999), 1.7L, turbocharged, direct-injection diesel engine (EURO II) equipped with a common-rail injection system. By using an endoscope system, Argonne researchers collected in-cylinder visualization data to compare the engine combustion characteristics of the SunDiesel with those of D2. Measurements were made at one engine speed and load condition (2,500 rpm, 50% load) and four start-of-injection (SOI) points, because of a limited source of SunDiesel fuel. Significant differences in soot concentration, as measured by two-color optical pyrometry, were observed. The optical and cylinder pressure data clearly show significant differences in combustion duration and ignition delay between the two fuels.

The objective of this research was to study the effect of a catalyzed particulate filter (CPF) with a high loading of catalyst (50 gms/ft3) and ultra low sulfur fuel (ULSF -0.57 ppm of sulfur) on the emissions from a heavy duty diesel engine. The particulate emissions were measured using two different analytical methods, i.e., the gravimetric method and the thermal optical method (TOM). The results from the two different methods of analyses were compared. The experiments were performed at four different operating conditions chosen from the old Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 13-mode test cycle. A 1995 Cummins M11 heavy-duty engine with manually controlled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) was used to perform the emission characterization experiments. The emission characterization included total particulate matter (TPM), which is composed of the solids (SOL), soluble organic fractions (SOF) and sulfates (SO4) analyzed using the gravimetric method.

Turbocharging, in addition to increasing an engine's power output, can be effectively used to maintain exhaust emission levels while improving fuel economy. This paper presents the emission and performance results obtained from a turbocharged multicylinder spark ignition engine with thermal reactors and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) operated at steady-state, part-load conditions for four engine speeds. When comparing a turbocharged engine to a larger displacement naturally aspirated engine of equal power output, the emissions expressed in grams per mile were relatively unchanged both with and without EGR. However, turbocharging provided an average of 20% improvement in fuel economy both with and without EGR. When comparing the turbocharged and nonturbocharged versions of the same engine without EGR at a given load and speed, turbocharging increased the hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions and decreased oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions.

Particulate and gaseous emissions from a Mitsubishi Legnum GDI™ wagon were measured for FTP-75, HWFET, SC03, and US06 cycles. The vehicle has a 1.8-L spark-ignition direct-injection engine. Such an engine is considered a potential alternative to the compression-ignition direct-injection engine for the PNGV program. Both engine-out and tailpipe emissions were measured. The fuels used were Phase-2 reformulated gasoline and Indolene. In addition to the emissions, exhaust oxygen content and exhaust-gas temperature at the converter inlet were measured. Results show that the particulate emissions are measurable and are significantly affected by the type of fuel used and the presence of an oxidation catalyst. Whether the vehicle can meet the PNGV goal of 0.01 g/mi for particulates depends on the type of fuel used. Both NMHC and NOx emissions exceed the PNGV goals of 0.125 g/mi and 0.2 g/mi, respectively. Meeting the NOx goal will be especially challenging.

This paper presents the results of Argonne National Laboratory's assessment of the fuel-cycle energy and emissions impacts of 13 combinations of fuels and propulsion systems that are potential candidates for light-duty vehicles with tripled fuel economy (3X vehicles). These vehicles are being developed by the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). Eleven fuels were considered: reformulated gasoline (RFG), reformulated diesel (RFD), methanol, ethanol, dimethyl ether, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), biodiesel, Fischer-Tropsch diesel and hydrogen. RFG, methanol, ethanol, LPG, CNG and LNG were assumed to be burned in spark-ignition, direct-injection (SIDI) engines. RFD, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, biodiesel and dimethyl ether were assumed to be burned in compression-ignition, direct-injection (CIDI) engines. Hydrogen, RFG and methanol were assumed to be used in fuel-cell vehicles.

In 1990, Roy Douglas developed an analytical method to calculate the global air-to-fuel ratio of a two-stroke engine from exhaust gas emissions. While this method has considerable application to two-stroke engines, it does not permit the calculation of air-to-fuel ratios for oxygenated fuels. This study proposed modifications to the Roy Douglas method such that it can be applied to oxygenated fuels. The ISO #16183 standard, the modified Spindt method, and the Brettschneider method were used to evaluate the modifications to the Roy Douglas method. In addition, a trapped air-to-fuel ratio, appropriate for two-stroke engines, was also modified to incorporate oxygenated fuels. To validate the modified calculation method, tests were performed using a two-stroke carbureted and two-stroke direct injected marine outboard engine over a five-mode marine test cycle running indolene and low level blends of ethanol and iso-butanol fuels.