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Diesel particulate filters are designed to reduce the mass emissions of diesel particulate matter and have been proven to be effective in this respect. Not much is known, however, about their effects on other unregulated chemical species. This study utilized source dilution sampling techniques to evaluate the effects of a catalyzed diesel particulate filter on a wide spectrum of chemical emissions from a heavy-duty diesel engine. The species analyzed included both criteria and unregulated compounds such as particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), inorganic ions, trace metallic compounds, elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other organic compounds. Results showed a significant reduction for the emissions of PM mass, CO, HC, metals, EC, OC, and PAHs.

The effect of the ring pack storage mechanism on the hydrocarbon (HC) emissions from an air-cooled utility engine has been studied using a simplified ring pack model. Tests were performed for a range of engine load, two engine speeds, varied air-fuel ratio and with a fixed ignition timing using a homogeneous, pre-vaporized fuel mixture system. The integrated mass of HC leaving the crevices from the end of combustion (the crank angle that the cumulative burn fraction reached 90%) to exhaust valve closing was taken to represent the potential contribution of the ring pack to the overall HC emissions; post-oxidation in the cylinder will consume some of this mass. Time-resolved exhaust HC concentration measurements were also performed, and the instantaneous exhaust HC mass flow rate was determined using the measured exhaust and cylinder pressure.

Many recent studies have shown that the Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) combustion strategy can achieve high efficiency with low emissions. However, it has also been revealed that RCCI combustion is difficult at high loads due to its premixed nature. To operate at moderate to high loads with gasoline/diesel dual fuel, high amounts of EGR or an ultra low compression ratio have shown to be required. Considering that both of these approaches inherently lower thermodynamic efficiency, in this study natural gas was utilized as a replacement for gasoline as the low-reactivity fuel. Due to the lower reactivity (i.e., higher octane number) of natural gas compared to gasoline, it was hypothesized to be a better fuel for RCCI combustion, in which a large reactivity gradient between the two fuels is beneficial in controlling the maximum pressure rise rate.

There is significant potential for connected and autonomous vehicles to impact vehicle efficiency, fuel economy, and emissions, especially for hybrid-electric vehicles. These improvements could have large-scale impact on oil consumption and air-quality if deployed in large Mobility-as-a-Service or ride-sharing fleets. As part of the US Department of Energy's current Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVCT), EcoCAR: The Mobility Challenge, Mississippi State University’s EcoCAR Team is redesigning and doing the development work necessary to convert a conventional gasoline spark-ignited 2019 Chevy Blazer into a hybrid-electric vehicle with SAE Level 2 autonomy. The target consumer segments for this effort are the Mobility-as-a-Service fleet owners, operators and riders. To accomplish this conversion, the MSU team is implementing a P4 mild hybridization strategy that is expected to result in a 30% increase in fuel economy over the stock Blazer.

Although turbocharging can extend the high load limit of low temperature combustion (LTC) strategies such as reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI), the low exhaust enthalpy prevalent in these strategies necessitates the use of high exhaust pressures for improving turbocharger efficiency, causing high pumping losses and poor fuel economy. To mitigate these pumping losses, the divided exhaust period (DEP) concept is proposed. In this concept, the exhaust gas is directed to two separate manifolds: the blowdown manifold which is connected to the turbocharger and the scavenging manifold that bypasses the turbocharger. By separately actuating the exhaust valves using variable valve actuation, the exhaust flow is split between two manifolds, thereby reducing the overall engine backpressure and lowering pumping losses. In this paper, results from zero-dimensional and one-dimensional simulations of a multicylinder RCCI light-duty engine equipped with DEP are presented.

The use of a hydraulic drive system with accumulator energy storage has the potential of providing large gains in fuel economy of internal combustion engine passenger automobiles. The improvement occurs because of efficient regenerative braking and the practicality of decoupling the engine operation from the driving cycle demands. The concept under study uses an engine-driven pump supplying hydraulic power to individual wheel pump/motors (P/M's) and/or an accumulator. Available P/M's have high efficiencies (e.g., 95%) at the ideal point of operation, but the efficiency falls off considerably at combinations of pressure, speed, and displacement that are significantly away from ideal. In order to maximize the fuel economy of the automobile, it is necessary to provide the proper combination of components, system design, and control policies that operate the wheel P/M's as close as possible to their maximum efficiency under all types of driving and braking conditions.

Two-Color imaging optics were developed and used to observe soot emission processes in a modern heavy-duty diesel engine. The engine was equipped with a common rail, electronically-controlled, high-pressure fuel injection system that is capable of up to four injection pulses per engine cycle. The engine was instrumented with an endoscope system for optical access for the combustion visualization. Multidimensional combustion and soot modeling results were used for comparisons to enhance the understanding and interpretation of the experimental data. Good agreement between computed and measured cylinder pressures, heat release and soot and NOx emissions was achieved. In addition, good qualitative agreement was found between in-cylinder soot concentration (KL) and temperature fields obtained from the endoscope images and those obtained from the multidimensional modeling.

Students, as members of Team Paradigm, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have designed a charge regulating, parallel hybrid electric Dodge Intrepid for the 1997 FutureCar Challenge (FCC97). The goals for the Wisconsin “FutureCow” are to achieve an equivalent fuel consumption of 26 km/L (62 mpg) and Tier 2 Federal Emissions levels while maintaining the full passenger/cargo room, appearance, and feel of a stock Intrepid. These goals are realized through drivetrain simulations, a refined vehicle control strategy, decreased engine emissions, and aggressive weight reduction. The vehicle development has been coupled with 8,000 km of reliability and performance testing to ensure Wisconsin will be a strong competitor at the FCC97.

An experimental and numerical characterization has been conducted of a high-pressure common rail diesel fuel injection system. The experimental study was performed using a common rail system with the capability of producing multiple injections within a single cycle. The injector used in the experiments had a single guided multi-hole nozzle tip. The diesel sprays were injected into a pressurized chamber with optical access at ambient temperature. The gas density in the chamber was representative of the density in an HSDI diesel engine at the time of injection. Single, pilot, and multiple injection cases were studied at different rail pressures and injection durations. Images of the transient sprays were obtained with a high-speed digital camera. From these images spray tip penetration and cone angles were obtained directly. Also spray droplet sizes were derived from the images using a light extinction method (LEM).

An experimental study was performed to investigate diesel particulate filter (DPF) performance during filtration with the use of real-time measurement equipment. Three operating conditions of a single-cylinder 2.3-liter D.I. heavy-duty diesel engine were selected to generate distinct types of diesel particulate matter (PM) in terms of chemical composition, concentration, and size distribution. Four substrates, with a range of geometric and physical parameters, were studied to observe the effect on filtration characteristics. Real-time filtration performance indicators such as pressure drop and filtration efficiency were investigated using real-time PM size distribution and a mass analyzer. Types of filtration efficiency included: mass-based, number-based, and fractional (based on particle diameter). In addition, time integrated measurements were taken with a Rupprecht & Patashnick Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM), Teflon and quartz filters.

The fuel film thickness resulting from diesel fuel spray impingement was measured in a chamber at conditions representative of early injection timings used for low temperature diesel combustion. The adhered fuel volume and the radial distribution of the film thickness are presented. Fuel was injected normal to the impingement surface at ambient temperatures of 353 K, 426 K and 500 K, with densities of 10 kg/m3 and 25 kg/m3. Two injectors, with nozzle diameters of 100 μm and 120 μm, were investigated. The results show that the fuel film volume was strongly affected by the ambient temperature, but was minimally affected by the ambient density. The peak fuel film thickness and the film radius were found to increase with decreased temperature. The fuel film was found to be circular in shape, with an inner region of nearly constant thickness. The major difference observed with temperature was a decrease in the radial extent of the film.

The University of Wisconsin - Madison Hybrid Vehicle Team has designed, fabricated, tested and optimized a four-wheel drive, charge sustaining, split-parallel hybrid-electric crossover vehicle for entry into the 2006 Challenge X competition. This multi-year project is based on a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox platform. Trade-offs in fuel economy, greenhouse gas impact (GHGI), acceleration, component packaging and consumer acceptability were weighed to establish Wisconsin's Vehicle Technical Specifications (VTS). Wisconsin's Equinox, nicknamed the Moovada, utilizes a General Motors (GM) 110 kW 1.9 L CIDI engine coupled to GM's 6-speed F40 transmission. The rear axle is powered by a 65 kW Ballard induction motor/gearbox powered from a 44-module (317 volts nominal) Johnson Controls Inc., nickel-metal hydride hybrid battery pack. It includes a newly developed proprietary battery management algorithm which broadcasts the battery's state of charge onto the CAN network.

Three distinct types of diesel particulate matter (PM) are generated in selected engine operating conditions of a single-cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine. The three types of PM are trapped using typical Cordierite diesel particulate filters (DPF) with different washcoat formulations and a commercial Silicon-Carbide DPF. Two systems, an external electric furnace and an in-situ burner, were used for regeneration. Furnace regeneration experiments allow the collected PM to be classified into two categories depending on oxidation mechanism: PM that is affected by the catalyst and PM that is oxidized by a purely thermal mechanism. The two PM categories prove to contribute differently to pressure drop and transient filtration efficiency during in-situ regeneration.

Optimal fuel injection strategies are obtained with a micro-genetic algorithm and an adaptive gradient method for a nonroad, medium-speed DI diesel engine equipped with a multi-orifice, asynchronous fuel injection system. The gradient optimization utilizes a fast-converging backtracking algorithm and an adaptive cost function which is based on the penalty method, where the penalty coefficient is increased after every line search. The micro-genetic algorithm uses parameter combinations of the best two individuals in each generation until a local convergence is achieved, and then generates a random population to continue the global search. The optimizations have been performed for a two pulse fuel injection strategy where the optimization parameters are the injection timings and the nozzle orifice diameters.

Engine tests were conducted to study the effect of fuel-air mixture preparation on the combustion and emission performance of a two-stroke direct-injection engine. The in-cylinder mixture distribution was altered by changing the injection system, injection timing, and by substituting the air in an air-assisted injector with nitrogen. Two injection systems which produce significantly different mixtures were investigated; an air-assisted injector with a highly atomized spray, and a single-fluid high pressure-swirl injector with a dense penetrating spray. The engine was operated at overall A/F ratios of 30:1, where stratification was necessary to ensure stable combustion; and at 20:1 and 15:1 where it was possible to operate in a nearly homogeneous mode. Moderate engine speeds and loads were investigated. The effects of the burning-zone A/F ratio were isolated by using nitrogen as the working fluid in the air-assist injector.

A study of partially premixed combustion (PPC) with non-oxygenated 91 pump octane number1 (PON) commercially available gasoline was performed using a heavy-duty (HD) compression-ignition (CI) 2.44 l Caterpillar 3401E single-cylinder oil test engine (SCOTE). The experimental conditions selected were a net indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) of 11.5 bar, an engine speed of 1300 rev/min, an intake temperature of 40°C with intake and exhaust pressures of 200 and 207 kPa, respectively. The baseline case for all studies presented had 0% exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), used a dual injection strategy a -137 deg ATDC pilot SOI and a -6 deg ATDC main start-of-injection (SOI) timing with a 30/70% pilot/main fuel split for a total of 5.3 kg/h fueling (equating to approximately 50% load). Combustion and emissions characteristics were explored relative to the baseline case by sweeping main and pilot SOI timings, injection split fuel percentage, intake pressure, load and EGR levels.

The University of Wisconsin Hybrid Vehicle Team has implemented and optimized a four-wheel drive, charge sustaining, split-parallel hybrid-electric crossover vehicle for entry into the 2008 ChallengeX competition. This four year project is based on a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox platform. Fuel economy, greenhouse gas impact (GHGI), acceleration, component packaging and consumer acceptability were appropriately weighted to determine powertrain component selections. Wisconsin's Equinox, nicknamed the Moovada, is a split-parallel hybrid utilizing a General Motors (GM) 110 kW 1.9L CDTi (common rail diesel turbo injection) engine coupled to an F40 6-speed manual transmission. The rear axle is powered by a SiemensVDO induction motor/gearbox power-limited to 65 kW by a 40-module (288 volts nominal) Johnson Controls Inc, nickel-metal hydride battery pack.

This research explored methods to reduce regulated emissions in a small-bore, direct-injection diesel engine. Swirl was used to influence mixing of the spray plumes, and alternative fuels were used to study the effects of oxygenated and water microemulsion diesel fuels on emissions. Air/fuel mixing enhancement was achieved in the running engine by blocking off a percentage of one of the two intake ports. The swirl was characterized at steady-state conditions with a flowbench and swirl meter. Swirl ratios of 1.85, 2.70, and 3.29 were studied in the engine tests at full load with engine speeds of 1303, 1757, and 1906 rev/min. Increased swirl was shown to have negative effects on emissions due to plume-to-plume interactions. Blends of No. 2 diesel and biodiesel were used to investigate the presence of oxygen in the fuel and its effects on regulated emissions. Pure No. 2 diesel fuel, a 15% and a 30% biodiesel blend (by weight) were used.

The University of Wisconsin - Madison hybrid vehicle team has designed and constructed a four-wheel drive, charge sustaining, parallel hybrid-electric sport utility vehicle for entry into the FutureTruck 2003 competition. This is a multi-year project utilizing a 2002 4.0 liter Ford Explorer as the base vehicle. Wisconsin's FutureTruck, nicknamed the ‘Moolander’, weighs 2000 kg and includes a prototype aluminum frame. The Moolander uses a high efficiency, 1.8 liter, common rail, turbo-charged, compression ignition direct injection (CIDI) engine supplying 85 kW of peak power and an AC induction motor that provides an additional 60 kW of peak power. The 145 kW hybrid drivetrain will out-accelerate the stock V6 powertrain while producing similar emissions and drastically reducing fuel consumption. The PNGV Systems Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) model predicts a Federal Testing Procedure (FTP) combined driving cycle fuel economy of 16.05 km/L (37.8 mpg).

Using a low-speed high-torque (LSHT) pump/motor to provide the speed range and torque for a hydrostatic automobile offers a number of advantages over using a high-speed low-torque pump/motor, combined with a gear reducer. However, there appear to be no LSHT units commercially available that have true variable displacement capability. Because of this void, a variable displacement pump/motor has been designed and built that could provide a direct drive for each wheel of a hydrostatic automobile. The unit uses some components such as the cylinder block, piston and modified rotating case from a commercially available radial piston pump/motor. Initial preliminary testing of the pump/motor indicates that it has good efficiency and performance characteristics, and, with further development should be very attractive for automotive use. This paper focuses on the design and kinematics of the device.