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Biodiesel has been widely accepted as an alternative for fossil-derived diesel fuel for use in compression ignition (CI) engines. Poor oxidative stability and cold flow properties restrict the use of biodiesel beyond current B20 blend levels (20% biodiesel in 80% ULSD) for vehicle applications. Maintaining the properties of B20 as specified by ASTM D7476-08 is important because, once out of spec, B20 may cause injector coke formation, fuel filter plugging, increased exhaust emissions, and overall loss of engine performance. While the properties of fresh B20 may be within the specifications, under engine operating and longer storage conditions B20 could deteriorate. In a diesel engine, the fuel that goes to the injector and does not enter the cylinder is recycled back to the fuel tank. The re-circulated fuel returns to the fuel tank at an elevate temperature, which can cause thermal oxidation.

The use of butanol as an alternative biofuel blend component for conventional diesel fuel has been under extensive investigation. However, some fuel properties such as cetane number and lubricity fall below the accepted values as described by the ASTM D 975 diesel specifications. Blending 10% butanol with #2 ULSD decreases the cetane number by 7% (from 41.6 to 39.0). At higher butanol blend levels, i.e., 20% v/v, the cetane number decrease cannot be compensated for; even with the addition of a 2000 ppm level commercial cetane improver. The decreased cetane number, or in other words, increased ignition delay, can be attributed to the increased blend level of low cetane butanol as well as the critical physical properties for better atomization of fuels during auto ignition such as viscosity. The kinematic viscosity dropped sharply with increasing butanol blend level up to 25 % v/v, then increased with further increase of butanol blend level.

Under the borderline autoignition conditions experienced during cold-starting of diesel engines, the amount and composition of residual gases may play a deterministic role. Among the intermediate species produced by misfiring and partially firing cycles, formaldehyde (HCHO) is produced in significant enough amounts and is sufficiently stable to persist through the exhaust and intake strokes to kinetically affect autoignition of the following engine cycle. In this work, the effect of HCHO addition at various phases of autoignition of n-heptane-air mixtures is kinetically modeled. Results show that HCHO has a retarding effect on the earliest low-temperature heat release (LTHR) phase, largely by competition for hydroxyl (OH) radicals which inhibits fuel decomposition. Conversely, post-LTHR, the presence of HCHO accelerates the occurrence of high-temperature ignition.

Fuel consumption reduction on medium-duty tactical truck has and continues to be a significant initiative for the U.S. Army. The Crankshaft-Integrated-Starter-Generator (C-ISG) is one of the parallel hybrid propulsions to improve the fuel economy. The C-ISG configuration is attractive because one electric machine can be used to propel the vehicle, to start the engine, and to be function as a generator. The C-ISG has been implemented in one M1083A1 5-ton tactical cargo truck. This paper presents the experimental assessments of the C-ISG hybrid truck characteristics. The experimental assessments include all electric range for on- and off-road mission cycles and fuel consumption for the high voltage battery charging. Stationary tests related to the charging profile of the battery pack and the silent watch time duration is also conducted.

Fatigue behavior of aluminum alloys under multiaxial loading was investigated with both cast aluminum A356-T6 and wrought alloy 6063-T6. The dominant multiaxial fatigue crack preferentially nucleates from flaws like porosity and oxide films located near the free surface of the material. In the absence of the flaws, the cracking/debonding of the second phase particles dominates the crack initiation and propagation. The number of cracked/debonded particles increases with the number of cycles, but the damage rate depends on loading paths. Among various loading paths studied, the circle loading path shows the shortest fatigue life due to the development of complex dislocation substructures and severe stress concentration near grain/cell boundaries and second phase particles.

Lithium-ion polymer battery has been widely used for vehicle onboard electric energy storage ranging from 12V SLI (Starting, Lighting, and Ignition), 48V mild hybrid electric, to 300V battery electric vehicle. Formulation on cell parameters acquired from minimum numbers of experiments, the modeling and simulation could be an effective approach in predicting battery performance, thermal effectiveness, and degradation. This paper describes the modeling, simulation, and validation of Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt-Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) based cell with 3.6V nominal voltage and 20Ah capacity. Constant current 20A, 40A, 60A, and 80A discharge tests are conducted in the computer-controlled cycler and temperature chamber. Discharging voltage curves and cell surface temperature distributions are recorded in each discharging test. A three-dimensional cell model is constructed in the COMSOL multi-physics platform based on the cell parameters.

Gas distribution of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is mainly decided by flow field of bipolar plate. The improper design of distributing channel, nonuniform gas flow distribution and current density distribution among different straight channels are the leading factors that could tremendously undermine the performance and life expectancy of the cell. However, there is lack of research focusing on distributing channel in straight-parallel flow field. In this work, a three-dimensional numerical model of PEMFC cathode flow field is developed with CFD method to investigate the effects of configuration type and width of the distributing channel on pressure distribution in distributing channel and on reactant flow distribution, pressure drop and concentration distribution in multiple straight channel. Effects of electrochemical reaction and formation of water on the flow distribution are taken into consideration.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), which convert the chemical energy into electrical energy directly through electrochemical reactions, are widely considered as one of the best power sources for new energy vehicles (NEV). Some of the major advantages of a PEMFC include high power density, high energy conversion efficiency, minimum pollution, low noise, fast startup and low operating temperature. The Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) is one of the core components of fuel cells, which composes catalyst layers (CL) coated proton exchange membrane (PEM) and gas diffusion layers (GDL). The performance of MEA is closely related to mass transportation and the rate of electrochemical reaction. The MEA plays a key role not only in the performance of the PEMFCs, but also for the reducing the cost of the fuel cells, as well as accelerating the commercial applications. Commercialized large-size MEA directly plays a major role in determining fuel cell stack and vehicle performance.

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel, the whole energy conversion process almost has no negative impact on the environment. The PEM fuel cell stack with the advantages of low-operating temperature, high current density and fast start-up ability is considered to be the next generation of new electric vehicle power. However, due to the limited current output, it is difficult for a single cell to meet the practical application requirements. The actual fuel cell stack is formed by many single cells assembled together. The assembly process is often related to load transfer, material transfer, energy exchange, multi-phase flow, electrochemical reaction and other factors. The performance of MEA (Membrane Electrode Assembly), sealing gaskets and other components will change during the assembly process, which makes the fuel cell stack assembly process more complex.

In this paper, a low-speed pre-ignition (LSPI) diagnostic strategy is designed based on the ion current signal. Novel diagnostic and re-injection strategies are proposed to suppress super-knock induced by pre-ignition within the detected combustion cycle. A parallel controller system that integrates a regular engine control unit (ECU) and CompactRIO (cRIO) from National Instruments (NI) is employed. Based on this system, the diagnostic and suppression strategy can be implemented without any adaptions to the regular ECU. Experiments are conducted on a 1.5-liter four-cylinder, turbocharged, direct-injected gasoline engine. The experimental results show two kinds of pre-ignition, one occurs spontaneously, and the other is induced by carbon deposits. Carbon deposits on the spark plug can strongly interfere with the ion current signal. By applying the ion current signal, approximately 14.3% of spontaneous and 90% of carbon induced pre-ignition cycles can be detected.

Use of ethanol as gasoline replacement can contribute to the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon oxide (CO) emissions. Depending on ethanol production, significant reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions is possible. Concentration of certain species, such as unburned ethanol and acetaldehyde in the engine-out emissions are known to rise when ratio of ethanol to gasoline increases in the fuel. This research explores on hydrous ethanol fueled port-fuel injection (PFI) spark ignition (SI) engine emissions that contribute to photochemical formation of ozone, or so-called ozone precursors and the precursor of peroxyacetyl nitrates (PANs). The results are compared to engine operation on gasoline. Concentration obtained by FTIR gas analyzer, and mass-specific emissions of formaldehyde (HCHO), acetaldehyde (MeCHO) and methane (CH4) under two engine speed, four load and two spark advance settings are analyzed and presented.

The noise and vibration of electric vacuum pump (EVP) become a major problem for electric vehicles when the vehicle is stationary. This paper aims at the EVP’s abnormal noise of an electric vehicle when stationary. Driver’s right ear (DRE) noise was tested and spectrogram analysis was carried out to identify the noise sources. In order to attenuate this kind of abnormal noise, a new EVP rubber mount with a segmented structure was introduced, which optimized the transfer path of vibration. Then dynamic stiffness and fatigue life of the EVP mount with different rubber hardness were calculated through finite element analysis (FEA) approach. Bench tests of fatigue life and DRE noise were performed to validate the FEA results. Test data of the sample mount shows that sound pressure level of DRE was dramatically attenuated and thus passengers’ ride comfort was enhanced.

Due to the advantages of low weight, low emissions and good fuel economy, downsized turbocharged gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines are widely-applied nowadays. However, Low-Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI) phenomenon observed in these engines restricts their improvement of performance. Some researchers have shown that auto-ignition of lubricant in the combustion chamber has a great effect on the LSPI frequency. To study the auto-ignition characteristics of lubricant, an innovative single droplet auto-ignition test system for lubricant and its mixture is designed and developed, with better accuracy and effectiveness. The experiments are carried out by hanging lubricant droplets on the thermocouple node under active thermo-atmosphere provided by a small “Dibble burner”. The auto-ignition process of lubricant droplets is recorded by a high-speed camera.

Hat-sections, single and double, made of steel are frequently encountered in automotive body structural components. These components play a significant role in terms of impact energy absorption during vehicle crashes thereby protecting occupants of vehicles from severe injury. However, with the need for higher fuel economy and for compliance to stringent emission norms, auto manufacturers are looking for means to continually reduce vehicle body weight either by employing lighter materials like aluminum and fiber-reinforced plastics, or by using higher strength steel with reduced gages, or by combinations of these approaches. Unlike steel hat-sections which have been extensively reported in published literature, the axial crushing behavior of hat-sections made of fiber-reinforced composites may not have been adequately probed.

The present work proposed to implement oxy-fuel combustion mode into a homogeneous charge compression ignition engine to reduce complexity in engine emissions after-treatment and lower carbon dioxide emission. The combination of oxy-fuel combustion mode with homogeneous charge compression ignition engine can be further optimized by the utilization of direct high temperature and pressure water injection to improve cycle performance. A retrofitted conventional diesel engine coupled with port fuel injection and direct water injection is utilized in this study. A self-designed oxygen and carbon dioxide mixture intake system with flexible oxygen fraction adjustment ability is implemented in the test bench to simulate the adoption of exhaust gas recirculation. Water injection system is directly installed in the combustion chamber with a modified high speed solenoid diesel injector.

The Automatic Parking System (APS) is consisted of environmental perception, path planning and path following. As one of the key technologies in APS, path following module controls the lateral movement of the vehicle during the parking process. A mature path following module should meet all the performance indexes of high precision, fast convergence, convenient tuning and good passenger comfort. However, the current path following control methods can only meet parts of the performance indexes, instead of all. In order to satisfy all the performance indexes above, a path following control method based on Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the linearization of the non-linear vehicle kinematic model was done to establish a linear system of the path following error. Secondly, LQR optimal control was used to achieve the closed-loop control of this linear system to guarantee its stability and fast convergence property.

Startup from subzero temperature is one of the major challenges for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) to realize commercialization. Below the freezing point (0°C), water will freeze easily, which blocks the reactant gases into the reaction sites, thus leading to the start failure and material degradation. Therefore, for PEMFC in vehicle application, finding suitable ways to reach successful startup from subfreezing environment is a prerequisite. As it’s difficult and complex for experimental studies to measure the internal quantities, mathematical models are the effective ways to study the detailed transport process and physical phenomenon, which make it possible to achieve detailed prediction of the inner life of the cell. However, review papers only on cold start numerical models are not available. In this study, an extensive review on cold start models is summarized featuring the states and phase changes of water, heat and mass transfer.

Based on the working model of a diesel engine, the influence of 2 Miller cycle strategies-Early Intake Valve Closure (EIVC) and Late Intake Valve Closure (LIVC) on the combustion and emissions of diesel engine was analyzed. Then the working condition of each Miller cycle strategies on the engine under the rated speed was optimized through the adjust of the valve timing, boost pressure and the injection timing. The research found that both delaying and advancing the closure timing of the intake valve can decrease the pressure and temperature during compression stroke, prolonging the ignition delay. However, due to the decrease of the working media inside the cylinder, the average in-cylinder temperature and soot emissions will increase, which can be alleviated by raising the boost pressure and the resulting compensation of the intake loss.

Internal combustion engines are required to achieve production goals of better fuel economy, improved fuel economy and reduced emissions in order to meet the current and future stringent standards. To achieve these goals, it is essential to control the combustion process using an in-cylinder combustion sensor and a system that produces a feedback signal to the ECU. This paper presents a system based on combustion ionization that includes a newly developed smart spark plug capable of sensing the whole combustion process. A unique feature of the smart spark plug system is its ability to sense the early stages of combustion and produce a complete ion current signal that accurately identifies and can be used for the control of the start of combustion.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has adopted the use of JP-8 under the “single battlefield fuel” policy. Fuel properties of JP-8 which are different from ULSD include cetane number, density, heating value and compressibility (Bulk modulus). While JP8 has advantages compared to ULSD, related to storage, combustion and lower soot emissions, its use cause a drop in the peak power in some military diesel engines. The engines that has loss in power use the Hydraulically actuated Electronic Unit Injection (HEUI) fuel system. The paper explains in details the operation of HEUI including fuel delivery into the injector and its compression to the high injection pressure before its delivery in the combustion chamber. The effect of fuel compressibility on the volume of the fuel that is injected into the combustion chamber is explained in details.