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Due to the increasingly stricter emission legislation and growing demands for lower fuel consumption, there have been significant efforts to improve combustion efficiency while satisfying the emission requirements. Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combined with turbo/supercharging on gasoline engines provides a particularly promising and, at the same time, a challenging approach. Naturally aspirated (n.a.) HCCI has already shown a considerable potential of about 14% in the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) compared with a conventional 4-cylinder 2.0 liter gasoline Port Fuel Injection (PFI) engine without any advanced valve-train technology. The HCCI n.a. operation range is air breathing limited due to the hot residuals required for the self-ignition and to slow down reaction kinetics, and therefore is limited to a part-load operation area.

The main objective of the FVV-project “Cylinder Module” was the development of a profoundly modular designed concept for object-oriented modeling of in-cylinder processes of internal combustion engines. It was designed in such a way, that it can either be used as a stand-alone real working-process calculation tool or in tools for whole vehicle simulations. It is possible to run the “Cylinder Module”-code inside the FVV-“GPA”-software for transient vehicle and driving cycle simulations and it is possible to use the graphical user interface “ATMOS” of the “GPA”-project. The code can also be used as a user-subroutine in 1-D-flow simulation codes. Much effort was spent on the requirements of flexibility and expandability in order to be well prepared to cope with the diversity of both today's and future tasks. The code is freely available for members of the German Research Association for Combustion Engines (FVV).

In the present paper the results of a set of experimental investigations on LSPI are discussed. The ignition system of a test engine was modified to enable random spark advance in one of the four cylinders. LSPI sequences were successfully triggered and exhibited similar characteristics compared to regularly occurring pre-ignition. Optical investigations applying a high speed camera system enabling a visualization of the combustion process were performed. In a second engine the influence of the physical properties of the considered lubricant on the LSPI frequency was analyzed. In addition different piston ring assemblies have been tested. Moreover an online acquisition of the unburned hydrocarbon emissions in the exhaust gas was performed. The combination of these experimental techniques in the present study provided further insights on the development of LSPI sequences.

The industry is working intensively on the precision of thermal management. By using complex thermal management strategies, it is possible to make engine heat distribution more accurate and dynamic, thereby increasing efficiency. Significant efforts are made to improve the cooling efficiency of the engine water jacket by using 3D CFD. As well, 1D simulation plays a significant role in the design and analysis of the cooling system, especially for considering transient behaviour of the engine. In this work, a practice-oriented universal method for creating a 1D water jacket model is presented. The focus is on the discretization strategy of 3D geometry and the calculation of heat transfer using Nusselt correlations. The basis and reference are 3D CFD simulations of the water jacket. Guidelines for the water jacket discretization are proposed. The heat transfer calculation in the 1D-templates is based on Nusselt-correlations (Nu = Nu(Re, Pr)), which are derived from 3D CFD simulations.

The fuel-independent particulate emissions of a direct injection gasoline engine were investigated. This was done by running the engine with reference gasoline at four different loads and then switching to hydrogen or methane port fuel operation and comparing the resulting particulate emissions and their size distribution. Differences in the combustion characteristics of hydrogen and gasoline were accounted for by diluting the inlet air with nitrogen and matching the pressure or heat release traces to those of gasoline operation. Methane operation is expected to generate particulate emissions lower by several orders of magnitude compared to gasoline and hydrogen does not contribute to carbon soot formation because of the lack of carbon atoms in the molecule. Thus, any remaining particulate emissions at hydrogen gas operation must arise from non fuel related sources, e.g. from lubrication oil, metal abrasion or inlet air.

The most significant operation limit prohibiting the further reduction of the CO2 emissions of gasoline engines is the occurrence of knock. Thus, being able to predict the incidence of this phenomenon is of vital importance for the engine process simulation - a tool widely used in the engine development. Common knock models in the 0D/1D simulation are based on the calculation of a pre-reaction state of the unburnt mixture (also called knock integral), which is a simplified approach for modeling the progress of the chemical reactions in the end gas where knock occurs. Simulations of thousands of knocking single working cycles with a model representing the Entrainment model’s unburnt zone were performed using a detailed chemical reaction mechanism. The investigations showed that, at specific boundary conditions, the auto-ignition of the unburnt mixture resulting in knock happens in two stages.

On the way to emission-free mobility, future fuels must be CO2 neutral. To achieve this, synthetic fuels are being developed. In order to better assess the effects of the new fuels on the engine process, simulation models are being developed that reproduce the chemical and physical properties of these fuels. In this paper, the fuel DMC+ is examined. DMC+ (a mixture of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and methyl formate (MeFo) mainly, characterized by the lack of C-C Bonds and high oxygen content) offers advantages with regard to evaporation heat, demand of oxygen and knock resistance. Furthermore, its combustion is almost particle free. With the aid of modern 0D/1D simulation methods, an assessment of the potential of DMC+ can be made. It is shown that the simulative conversion of a state-of-the-art gasoline engine to DMC+ fuel offers advantages in terms of efficiency in many operating points even if the engine design is not altered.

As a result of the R&D focus being shifted from internal combustion engines to electrified powertrains, resources for the development of internal combustion engines are restricted more and more. With that, the importance of highly efficient engine development tools is increased. In this context, 0D/1D engine simulation offers the advantage of low computational effort and fast engine model set-up. To ensure a high predictive ability of the engine simulation, a reliable burn rate model is needed. Considering the increasing interest in alternative fuels, the aspect of predicting the fuel influence on combustion is of special importance. To reach these targets, the change of engine combustion characteristics with changing fuels and changing air-fuel-ratios were investigated systematically in a first step. For this purpose, engine test bed data were compared with expected fuel-dependent flame wrinkling trends based on Markstein/Lewis number theory.

In this article a new zero-dimensional model is presented for simulating the cylinder pressure in direct injection diesel engines. The model enables the representation of current combustion processes considering multiple injections, high exhaust gas recirculation rates, and turbocharging. In these methods solely cycle-resolved, scalar input variables from the electronic control unit in combination with empirical parameters are required for modeling. The latter are adapted automatically to different engines or modified applications using measured cylinder pressure traces. The verification based on measurements within the entire operating range from engines of different size and type proves the universal applicability and high accuracy of the proposed method.

For a reliable and accurate simulation of SI engines reproduction of their operation limits (misfiring and knock limit) and in this context the knowledge of cyclic combustion variations and their influence on knock simulation are mandatory. For this purpose in this paper a real working-process simulation approach for the ability to predict cycle-to-cycle variations (ccv) of gasoline engines is proposed. An extensive measurement data base of four different test engines applying various operation strategies was provided in order to gain a better understanding of the physical background of the cyclic variations. So the ccv initiated by dilution strategies (internal EGR, lean operation), the ccv at full load and at the knock limit could be investigated in detail. Finally, the model was validated on the basis of three further engines which were not part of the actual development process.

Since 0D/1D-simulations of natural gas spark ignition engines use model theories similar to gasoline engines, the impact of changing fuel characteristics needs to be taken into consideration in order to obtain results of higher quality. For this goal, this paper proposes some approaches that consider the influence of binary fuel mixtures such as methane with up to 40 mol-% of ethane, propane, n-butane or hydrogen on laminar flame speed and knock behavior. To quantify these influences, reaction kinetics calculations are carried out in a wide range of the engine operation conditions. Obtained results are used to update and extend existing sub-models. The model quality is validated by comparing measured burn rates with simulation results. The benefit of the new sub-models are utilized by predicting the influence the fuel takes on engine operating limits in terms of knocking and lean misfire limits, the latter being determined by using a cycle-to-cycle variation model.

The development of future engine generations for Gasoline Direct Injection requires sophisticated combustion systems to reach reduced fuel consumption and future emission standards. The design process of these combustion systems has to be based on a fundamental knowledge of the interacting mixture preparation mechanisms. Beside the air motion inside the cylinder mixture preparation is mainly feeded by the fuel spray quality, injector performance respectively. The article therefore presents a fundamental analysis of the GDI mixture preparation and affords an insight into the injector development. Comprehensive experimental studies were performed in high pressure/temperature vessels using Phase Doppler Anemometry, Laser Induced Fluorescence and video techniques to define the significant fuel spray features for GDI. CFD-calculations were additionally applied to study the temporal behavior of the mixture preparation under injection parameter variation.

The contribution presents a new data driven modeling approach for diesel HCCI combustion. Input parameters of the combustion model are external actuating variables as for example the start of injection. The model incorporates experimental data of the engine in HCCI mode, in the standard diesel mode and in the transition region between both modes. New disclosed dependencies between characteristic values of the cylinder pressure and the fuel burn rate are used to linearize the combustion model for a given operating point. In this paper the validation of the combustion model is discussed based on dynamic measuring data of the urban part of the NEDC. Finally, the combustion model is integrated in a zero-dimensional diesel engine model.

In order to meet future requirements for emission reduction and fuel economy a variety of concepts are available for gasoline engines. In the recent past new pathways have been found using alternative fuels and fuel combinations to establish cost optimized solutions. The presented concept for a SI-engine consists of combined injection of gasoline and hydrogen. A hydrogen enriched gas mixture is being injected additionally to gasoline into the engine manifold. The gas composition represents the output of an onboard gasoline reformer. The simulations and measurements show substantial benefits to improve the combustion process resulting in reduced cold start and warm up emissions and optimized part load operation. The replacement of gasoline by hydrogen-rich gas during engine start leads to zero hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas.

Direct gasoline injection is one major approach in reducing fuel consumption to fulfill the stages of CO2 reduction commitments in Europe from today until 2008. One effort is to unthrottle the gasoline engine during idle and partial load utilizing charge stratification. This may be realized by using different combustion concepts. This paper shows the analysis of mixture preparation for three different types of direct injected gasoline engines. Each engine was driven with two injectors which have two different atomization concepts. The engine types draw a clear dividing line between their combustion concepts. The injectors were analyzed in a pressure chamber, in an optical engine, and in an actual 1-cylinder engine. The formation of wall-film in wall-guided combustion systems will be discussed. Several important injector and engine parameters for fuel direct injection are pointed out.

The present paper concentrates on the option of catalytic autothermal reforming of gasoline for fuel cell applications. Major parameters of this process are the “Steam to Carbon Ratio” S/C and the air to fuel ratio λ. Computations assuming thermodynamic equilibrium in the autothermal reactor outlet (ATR) were carried out to attain information about their proper choice, as failure in adjusting the parameters within narrow limits has severe consequences on the reforming process. In order to quantify velocity distribution just ahead the catalyst and to evaluate mixing uniformity we designed an ATR featuring an optical access: Thus flow visualization using PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) and LIF (Laser Induced Fluorescence) technique is possible. Preliminary PIV-results are presented and compared with CFD computations (Computational Fluid D ynamics).

The resonances of SI engine combustion chambers are slightly excited during normal combustion but strongly excited by knock. In order to avoid knocking combustions extensive knowledge about knock and its effects is necessary. In this paper the combustion chamber of a serial production engine is modeled by finite elements. Modal analyses are performed in order to gain information about the resonances, their frequencies, and their frequency and amplitude modulations. Simulation results are compared to measured data using a high-resolution time-frequency method. Furthermore, a connection between knock origin and the excitation of the resonances is postulated applying transient analyses.

Due to its high number of free parameters, the new generation of gasoline engines with direct injection require an efficient calibration process to handle the system complexity and to avoid a dramatic increase in calibration costs. This paper presents a concept of specific toolboxes within a standardized and automated calibration environment, supporting the complexity of GDI engines and establishing standard procedures for distributed development. The basic idea is the combination of a new and more efficient online DoE approach with the automatic and adaptive identification of the region of interest in the high dimensional parameter space. This guarantees efficient experimental designs even for highly non-linear systems with often irregularly shaped valid regions. As the main advantage for the calibration engineer, the new approach requires almost no pre-investigations and no specific statistical knowledge.

This study reports on laser-based diagnostics to temporally track the evolution of liquid and gaseous fuel in the cylinder of a direct injection production type Diesel engine. A two-dimensional Mie scattering technique is used to record the liquid phase and planar laser-induced fluorescence of Diesel is used to track both liquid and vaporised fuel. LIF-Signal is visible in liquid and gas phase, Mie scattering occurs only in zones where fuel droplets are present. Distinction between liquid and gaseous phase becomes therefore possible by comparing LIF- and Mie-Signals. Although the information is qualitative in nature, trends of spray evolution are accessible. Within this study a parametric variation of injection pressure, in-cylinder conditions such as gas temperature and pressure as well as piston geometry are discussed. Observations are used to identify the most sensitive parameters and to qualitatively describe the temporal evolution of the spray for real engine conditions.

In order to reduce the spark-ignition engine exhaust-gas emission and fuel consumption, it is essential that the required air/fuel ratio is maintained under all operating conditions. An important contribution to this claim is delivered by the injection valve by metering the fuel precisely and producing fine atomization. In this report experimental methods to get specific measuring information and methods for optimizing flow in injection valves are described. Original valves as well as large-scale models were used for the investigations concerning the steady and unsteady-flow characteristics, and were equipped with a number of different sensors. Holograms of the short-time recording of the spray cone are generated and used for the quantification of the atomization quality when injecting into atmospheric pressure and into vacuum, thus complying with the conditions encountered in the engine intake-manifold.