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The introduction of alternative fuels is crucial to limit greenhouse gases. CNG is regarded as one of the most promising clean fuels given its worldwide availability, its low price and its intrinsic properties (high knocking resistance, low carbon content...). One way to optimize dedicated natural gas engines is to improve the CNG slow burning velocity compared to gasoline fuel and allow lean burn combustion mode. Besides optimization of the combustion chamber design, hydrogen addition to CNG is a promising solution to boost the combustion thanks to its fast burning rate, its wide flammability limits and its low quenching gap. This paper presents an investigation of different methane/hydrogen blends between 0% and 40 vol. % hydrogen ratio for three different combustion modes: stoichiometric, lean-burn and stoichiometric with EGR.

The regulations for mobile applications will become stricter in Euro 6 and further emission levels and require the use of active aftertreatment methods for NOX and particulate matter. SCR and LNT have been both used commercially for mobile NOX removal. An alternative system is based on the combination of these two technologies. Developments of catalysts and whole systems as well as final vehicle demonstrations are discussed in this study. The small and full-size catalyst development experiments resulted in PtRh/LNT with optimized noble metal loadings and Cu-SCR catalyst having a high durability and ammonia adsorption capacity. For this study, an aftertreatment system consisting of LNT plus exhaust bypass, passive SCR and engine independent reductant supply by on-board exhaust fuel reforming was developed and investigated. The concept definition considers NOX conversion, CO2 drawback and system complexity.

Since the mechanisms leading to cyclic combustion variabilities in direct injection gasoline engines are still poorly understood, advanced computational studies are necessary to be able to predict, analyze and optimize the complete engine process from aerodynamics to mixing, ignition, combustion and heat transfer. In this work the Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) turbulence model is used in combination with a parameterized lagrangian spray model for the purpose of predicting transient in-cylinder cold flow, injection and mixture formation in a gasoline engine. An existing CFD model based on FLUENT v15.0 [1] has been extended with a spray description using the FLUENT Discrete Phase Model (DPM). This article will first discuss the validation of the in-cylinder cold flow model using experimental data measured within an optically accessible engine by High Speed Particle Image Velocimetry (HS-PIV).

Electric power steering systems (EPS) are characterized by high inertia and therefore by a considerably damped transmission behaviour. While this is desirable for comfort-oriented designs, EPS do not provide enough feedback of the driving conditions, especially for drivers with a sporty driving style. The systematic actuation of the electric motor of an EPS makes it possible to specifically increment the intensity of the response. In this context, the road-sided induced forces of the tie rod and the steering rack force provide all the information for the steering system’s response. Former concepts differentiate between use and disturbance information by defining frequency ranges. Since these ranges overlap strongly, this differentiation does not segment distinctively. The presented article describes a method to identify useful information in the feedback path of the steering system depending on the driving situation.

Adoption of high-pressure common-rail (HPCR) fuel systems, which subject diesel fuels to higher temperatures and pressures, has brought into question the veracity of ASTM International specifications for biodiesel and biodiesel blend oxidation stability, as well as the lack of any stability parameter for diesel fuel. A controlled experiment was developed to investigate the impact of a light-duty diesel HPCR fuel system on the stability of 20% biodiesel (B20) blends under conditions of intermittent use and long-term storage in a relatively hot and dry climate. B20 samples with Rancimat induction periods (IPs) near the current 6.0-hour minimum specification (6.5 hr) and roughly double the ASTM specification (13.5 hr) were prepared from a conventional diesel and a highly unsaturated biodiesel. Four 2011 model year Volkswagen Passats equipped with HPCR fuel injection systems were utilized: one on B0, two on B20-6.5 hr, and one on B20-13.5 hr.

Two optical techniques were developed and combined with a CFD simulation to obtain spatio-temporally resolved information on air/fuel mixing in the cylinder of a methane-fueled, fired, optically accessible engine. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of anisole (methoxybenzene), vaporized in trace amounts into the gaseous fuel upstream of the injector, was captured by a two-camera system, providing one instantaneous image of the air/fuel ratio per cycle. Broadband infrared (IR) absorption by the methane fuel itself was measured in a small probe volume via a spark-plug integrated sensor, yielding time-resolved quasi-point information at kHz-rates. The simulation was based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach with the two-equation k-epsilon turbulence model in a finite volume discretization scheme and included the port-fuel injection event. Commercial CFD software was used to perform engine simulations close to the experimental conditions.

Volkswagen is the first automobile manufacturer to supply a passenger car with a direct fuel injection diesel engine to the US market, starting 1996. To meet the stringent US exhaust gas legislation the very successful European 1.9 liter TDI engine has been further developed for the 1996 and 1997 Passat. This TD1 incorporates a number of innovations in advanced diesel technology. Emissions-reducing innovations include: reduced crevice volume higher injection pressures upgraded injection management integrated EGR manifold system EGR cooling diesel catalytic converter This TDI engine configuration is also to be offered in the 1997 Golf and Jetta class and the new Passat in model year 1998. Over the coming years the TDI engine concept will be further optimized by utilizing variations of the above innovations.

Several different possibilities will be described and discussed on the processes of reducing NOx in lean-burn gasoline and diesel engines. In-company studies were conducted on zeolitic catalysts. With lean-burn spark-ignition engines, hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas act as a reducing agent. In stationary conditions at λ = 1.2, NOx conversion rates of approx. 45 % were achieved. With diesel engines, the only promising variant is SCR technology using urea as a reducing agent. The remaining problems are still the low space velocity and the narrow temperature window of the catalyst. The production of reaction products and secondary reactions of urea with other components in the diesel exhaust gas are still unclarified.

Over the next decades to come, fossil fuel powered Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) will still constitute the major powertrains for land transport. Therefore, their impact on the global and local pollution and on the use of natural resources should be minimized. To this end, an extensive fundamental and practical study was performed to evaluate the potential benefits of simultaneously co-optimizing the system fuel-and-engine using diesel as an example. It will be clearly shown that the still unused co-optimizing of the system fuel-and-engine (including advanced exhaust after-treatment) as a single entity is a must for enabling cleaner future road transport by cleaner fuels since there are large, still unexploited potentials for improvements in road fuels which will provide major reductions in pollutant emissions both in vehicles already in the field and even more so in future dedicated vehicles.

Laser-based measurements of charge temperature and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) ratio in an homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine are demonstrated. For this purpose, the rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy technique (CARS) was used. This technique allows temporally and locally resolved measurements in combustion environments through only two small line-of-sight optical accesses and the use of standard gasoline as a fuel. The investigated engine is a production-line four-cylinder direct-injection gasoline engine with the valve strategy modified to realize HCCI-operation. CARS-measurements were performed in motored and fired operation and the results are compared to polytropic calculations. Studies of engine speed, load, valve timing, and injection pressure were conducted showing the strong influence of charge temperature on the combustion timing.

With the introduction of the New Beetle, Volkswagen is offering the next generation of the 1.9l TDI engine. Several evolutionary changes have been made to the TDI concept to further improve its emissions, efficiency and performance. Emissions performance is improved with increased fuel injection pressure, optimized fuel injectors, calibration modifications, EGR cooling and reduced crevice volume in the combustion chamber. Efficiency is improved with new oil pump, vacuum pump and water pump drive systems and the elimination of an auxiliary driveshaft. Performance and efficiency is improved with the addition of a variable geometry turbocharger, which increases torque at lower engine speeds while preserving performance at higher engine speeds. This paper describes the many enhancements found in this latest generation TDI and gives a brief lookout to the future trends in diesel engine development such as a high pressure injection system with unit injectors.

In one-dimensional engine simulation programs the simulation of engine performance is mostly done by parameter fitting in order to match simulations with experimental data. The extensive fitting procedure is especially needed for emissions formation - CO, HC, NO, soot - simulations. An alternative to this approach is, to calculate the emissions based on detailed kinetic models. This however demands that the in-cylinder combustion-flow interaction can be modeled accurately, and that the CPU time needed for the model is still acceptable. PDF based stochastic reactor models offer one possible solution. They usually introduce only one (time dependent) parameter - the mixing time - to model the influence of flow on the chemistry. They offer the prediction of the heat release, together with all emission formation, if the optimum mixing time is given.

An investigation was conducted to elucidate, how the latest turbocharged, direct injection Volkswagen diesel engine generation with cylinder pressure based closed loop control, to be launched in the US in 2008, reacts to fuel variability. A de-correlated fuels matrix was designed to bracket the range of US market fuel properties, which allowed a clear correlation of individual fuel properties with engine response. The test program consisting of steady state operating points showed that cylinder pressure based closed loop control successfully levels out the influence of fuel ignition quality, showing the effectiveness of this new technology for markets with a wide range of fuel qualities. However, it also showed that within the cetane range tested (39 to 55), despite the constant combustion mid-point, cetane number still has an influence on particulate and gaseous emissions. Volatility and energy density also influence the engine's behavior, but less strongly.

Among the existing concepts that help to improve the efficiency of spark-ignition engines at part load, Controlled Auto-Ignition™ (CAI™) is an effective way to lower both fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. This combustion concept is based on the auto-ignition of an air-fuel-mixture highly diluted with hot burnt gases to achieve high indicated efficiency and low pollutant emissions through low temperature combustion. To minimize the costs of conversion of a standard spark-ignition engine into a CAI engine, the present study is restricted to a Port Fuel Injection engine with a cam-profile switching system and a cam phaser on both intake and exhaust sides. In a 4-stroke engine, a large amount of burnt gases can be trapped in the cylinder via early closure of the exhaust valves. This so-called Negative Valve Overlap (NVO) strategy has a key parameter to control the amount of trapped burnt gases and consequently the combustion: the exhaust valve-lift profile.

Synthetic fuels are expected to play an important role for future mobility, because they can be introduced seamlessly alongside conventional fuels without the need for new infrastructure. Thus, understanding the interaction of GTL fuels with modern engines, and aftertreatment systems, is important. The current study investigates potential benefits of GTL fuel in respect of diesel particulate filters (DPF). Experiments were conducted on a Euro 4 TDI engine, comparing the DPF response to two different fuels, normal diesel and GTL fuel. The investigation focused on the accumulation and regeneration behavior of the DPF. Results indicated that GTL fuel reduced particulate formation to such an extent that the regeneration cycle was significantly elongated, by ∼70% compared with conventional diesel. Thus, the engine could operate for this increased time before the DPF reached maximum load and regeneration was needed.

Internal combustion engines with lean homogeneous charge and auto-ignition combustion of gasoline fuels have the capability to significantly reduce fuel consumption and realize ultra-low engine-out NOx emissions. Group research of Volkswagen AG has therefore defined the Gasoline Compression Ignition combustion (GCI®) concept. A detailed investigation of this novel combustion process has been carried out on test bench engines and test vehicles by group research of Volkswagen AG and IAV GmbH Gifhorn. Experimental results confirm the theoretically expected potential for improved efficiency and emissions behavior. Volkswagen AG and IAV GmbH will utilize a highly flexible externally supercharged variable valve train (VVT) engine for future investigations to extend the understanding of gas exchange and EGR strategy as well as the boost demands of gasoline auto-ignition combustion processes.

Nowadays, due to the high competitiveness in the automotive market, the car manufacturers and the engine developers are concentrating as many efforts as possible in order to diminish the lead-time to production and to promote cost reductions of their engine developments. As a consequence, many systems and component tests are being substituted by numerical simulations, allowing a significant reduction in the amount of engine and bench tests. The integration of individual numerical simulation tools generates the philosophy of Virtual Engine Development, which is based on the concept of simulating as much as possible the entire engine as well as its components behaviors. This paper presents the application of Virtual Engine Development (VED) in a PSA 1.4l SI engine development. Theoretical results of engine performance as well as powercell components behavior such as piston, rings, conrod, bearings, liner, engine block and cylinder head, among others, are presented and discussed.

The need to reduce weight of large and heavy components used by the automotive and aerospace industries such as engine block, cylinder head cover and helicopter gearbox housing has led to the development of new Mg gravity casting alloys that provide adequate properties and cost effective solution. The new Mg gravity casting alloys are designed for high stressed components that operate at a temperature up to 300°C. These new alloys exhibit excellent mechanical properties and creep resistance in T-6 conditions. The present paper aims at introducing three new Mg gravity casting alloys designated MRI 201S, MRI 202S and MRI 203S, which were recently developed by the Magnesium Research Institute of DSM and VW. Apart from the excellent high temperature performance of these alloys, they provide adequate castability and dimension stability along with good weldability and corrosion resistance.

Flow control by fluidic devices - without moving parts - offers advantages of reliability and low cost. As an example of their automobile application based on authors'' long-time experience the paper describes a fluidic valve for switching exhaust gas flow in a NOx absorber into a by-pass during regeneration phase. The unique feature here is the fluidic valve being of monostable and of axisymmetric design, integrated into the absorber body. After development in aerodynamic laboratory, the final design was tested on engine test stand and finally in a car. This proved that the performance under high temperature and pulsation existing in exhaust systems is reliable and promising. Fluidic valves require, however, close matching with aerodynamic load. To optimize the exhaust system layout for the whole load-speed range and reaching minimum counter- pressure, both the components of exhaust system and control strategy have to be properly adopted.

The California LEV1 II program will be introduced in the year 2003 and requires a further reduction of the exhaust emissions of passenger cars. The cold start emissions represent the main part of the total emissions of the FTP2-Cycle. Cold start emissions can be efficiently reduced by injecting secondary air (SA) in the exhaust port making compliance with the most stringent standards possible. The thermochemical conditions (mixing rate and temperature of secondary air and exhaust gas, exhaust gas composition, etc) prevailing in the exhaust system are described in this paper. This provides knowledge of the conditions for auto ignition of the mixture within the exhaust manifold. The thus established exothermal reaction (exhaust gas post-combustion) results in a shorter time to light-off temperature of the catalyst. The mechanisms of this combustion are studied at different engine idle conditions.