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The next steps of the current European and US legislation, EURO 6c and LEV III, and the incoming new test cycles will impose more severe restrictions on pollutant emissions for Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines. In particular, soot emission limits will represent a challenge for the development of this kind of engine concept, if injection and after-treatment systems costs are to be minimized at the same time. The paper illustrates the results obtained by means of a numerical and experimental approach, in terms of soot emissions and combustion stability assessment and control, especially during catalyst-heating conditions, where the main soot quantity in the test cycle is produced. A number of injector configurations has been designed by means of a CAD geometrical analysis, considering the main effects of the spray target on wall impingement.

Future regulations on pollutant emissions will impose a drastic cut on Diesel engines out-emissions. For this reason, the development of closed-loop combustion control algorithms has become a key factor in modern Diesel engine management systems. Diesel engines out-emissions can be reduced through a highly premixed combustion portion in low and medium load operating conditions. Since low-temperature premixed combustions are very sensitive to in-cylinder thermal conditions, the first aspect to be considered in newly developed Diesel engine control strategies is the control of the center of combustion. In order to achieve the target center of combustion, conventional combustion control algorithms correct the measured value varying main injection timing. A further reduction in engine-out emissions can be obtained applying an appropriate injection strategy.

While the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) is actually a quasi-standard equipment in the European Diesel passenger cars market, an interesting solution to fulfill NOx emission limits for the next EU 6 legislation is the application of a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system on the exhaust line, to drastically reduce NOx emissions. In this context, one of the main issues is the performance of the SCR system during cold start and warm up phases of the engine. The exhaust temperature is too low to allow thermal activation of the reactor and, consequently, to promote high conversion efficiency and significant NOx concentration reduction. This is increasingly evident the smaller the engine displacement, because of its lower exhaust system temperature (reduced gross power while producing the same net power, i.e., higher efficiency).