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The present production General Motors 2-Mode Hybrid system for full-size SUVs and pickup trucks integrates truck utility functions with a full hybrid system. The 2-mode hybrid system incorporates two electro-mechanical power-split operating modes with four fixed-gear ratios. The combination provides fuel savings from electric assist, regenerative braking and low-speed electric vehicle operation. The combination of two power-split modes reduces the amount of mechanical power that is converted to electric power for continuously variable transmission operation, meeting the utility required for SUVs and trucks. This paper describes how fuel economy functionality was blended with full-size truck utility functions. Truck functions described include: Manual Range Select, Cruise Control, 4WD-Low and continuous high load operation.

This paper describes the development work that went into the creation of the SAE J3052 “Brake Hydraulic Component Flow Rate Measurement at High Delta Pressure”, and also shows some example applications. The SAE J3052 recommended practice is intended to measure flow characteristics through brake hydraulic components and subsystems driven by pressure differentials above 1 bar, and was anticipated by the task force to be invoked for components and subsystems for which pressure response characteristics are critical for the operation of the system (such as service brake pressure response and stopping distance, or pressure rise rate of a single hydraulic circuit in response to an Electronic Stability Control command). Data generated by this procedure may be used as a direct assessment of the flow performance of a brake hydraulic component, or they may be used to build subsystem or system-level models.

The purchase of a new automobile is unquestionably a significant investment for most customers, and with this recognition, comes a correspondingly significant expectation for quality and reliability. Amongst automotive systems -when it comes to considerations of reliability - the brakes (perhaps along with the tires) occupy a rarified position of being located in a harsh environment, subjected to continuous wear throughout their use, and are critical to the safe performance of the vehicle. Maintenance of the brake system is therefore a fact of life for most drivers - something that almost everyone must do, yet given the potentially considerable expense, it is something that of great benefit to minimize.

This study emphasizes the fact that there lies value and potential savings in harmonizing some of the inherent differences between the USA, EU, and China regulations with respect to the role of vehicle mass and lightweighting within Fuel Economy (FE) and Green House Gas (GHG) regulations. The definition and intricacies of FE and mass regulations for the three regions (USA, EU, and China) have been discussed and compared. In particular, the nuances of footprint-based, curb-mass-based, and stepped-mass-based regulations that lead to the differences have been discussed. Lightweighting is a customer benefit for fuel consumption, but in this work, we highlight cases where lightweighting, as a CO2 enabler, has incentives that do not align with rational customer values. A typical vehicle’s FE performance sensitivity to a change in mass on the standard regional certification drive cycles is simulated and compared across the three regions.

This paper describes the development of the GM Allison 10-Speed Heavy Duty (HD) Transmission. The trend of increased towing capacity and engine horsepower in the automotive heavy-duty truck segment has been steadily climbing for the past 10 years. The development of 10-Speed HD Transmission is designed to be best in class in for towing performance in the 2500/3500 series segment while optimizing fuel economy. The 10-Speed HD Transmission also gives the customers the option to order an integrated power take-off (PTO) unit that benefits downstream installation of utility accessories such as hydraulic pumps, generators, etc.

Modeling and simulation are crucial in the development of advanced energy efficient control strategies. Utilizing real-world driving data as the underlying basis for control design and simulation lends veracity to projected real-world energy savings. Standardized drive cycles are limited in their utility for evaluating advanced driving strategies that utilize connectivity and on-vehicle sensing, primarily because they are typically intended for evaluating emissions and fuel economy under controlled conditions. Real-world driving data, because of its scale, is a useful representation of various road types, driving styles, and driving environments. The scale of real-world data also presents challenges in effectively using it in simulations. A fast and efficient simulation methodology is necessary to handle the large number of simulations performed for design analysis and impact evaluation of control strategies.

In a hydraulic system, parameter variation, contamination, and/or operating conditions can lead to instabilities in the pressure response. The resultant erratic pressure profile reduces performance and can lead to hardware damage. Specifically, in a transmission control system, the inability to track pressure commands can result in clutch or variator slip which can cause driveline disturbance and/or hardware damage. A variator is highly sensitive to slip and therefore, it is advantageous to identify such pressure events quickly and take remedial actions. The challenge is to detect the condition in the least amount of time while minimizing false alarms. A Neyman-Pearson and an energy detector (based on auto-correlation) are evaluated for the detection of pressure disturbances. The performance of the detectors is measured in terms of speed of detection and robustness to measurement noise.

An investigation of high speed direct injection (DI) compression ignition (CI) engine combustion fueled with gasoline (termed GDICI for Gasoline Direct-Injection Compression Ignition) in the low temperature combustion (LTC) regime is presented. As an aid to plan engine experiments at full load (16 bar IMEP, 2500 rev/min), exploration of operating conditions was first performed numerically employing a multi-dimensional CFD code, KIVA-ERC-Chemkin, that features improved sub-models and the Chemkin library. The oxidation chemistry of the fuel was calculated using a reduced mechanism for primary reference fuel combustion. Operation ranges of a light-duty diesel engine operating with GDICI combustion with constraints of combustion efficiency, noise level (pressure rise rate) and emissions were identified as functions of injection timings, exhaust gas recirculation rate and the fuel split ratio of double-pulse injections.

In light-duty direct-injection (DI) diesel engines, combustion chamber geometry influences the complex interactions between swirl and squish flows, spray-wall interactions, as well as late-cycle mixing. Because of these interactions, piston bowl geometry significantly affects fuel efficiency and emissions behavior. However, due to lack of reliable in-cylinder measurements, the mechanisms responsible for piston-induced changes in engine behavior are not well understood. Non-intrusive, in situ optical measurement techniques are necessary to provide a deeper understanding of the piston geometry effect on in-cylinder processes and to assist in the development of predictive engine simulation models. This study compares two substantially different piston bowls with geometries representative of existing technology: a conventional re-entrant bowl and a stepped-lip bowl. Both pistons are tested in a single-cylinder optical diesel engine under identical boundary conditions.

More stringent emissions regulations are continually being proposed to mitigate adverse human health and environmental impacts of internal combustion engines. With that in mind, it has been proposed that vehicular particulate matter (PM) emissions should be regulated based on particle number in addition to particle mass. One aspect of this project is to study different sample handling methods for number-based aerosol measurements, specifically, two different methods for removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). One method is a thermodenuder (TD) and the other is an evaporative chamber/diluter (EvCh). These sample-handling methods have been implemented in an engine test cell with a spark-ignited direct injection (SIDI) engine. The engine was designed for stoichiometric, homogeneous combustion.

The General Motors Reduced Scale Wind Tunnel Facility, which came into operation in the fall of 2015, is a new state-of-the-art scale model aerodynamic test facility that expands GM’s test capabilities. The new facility also increases GM’s aerodynamic testing through-put and provides the resources needed to achieve the growing demand for higher fuel economy requirements for next generation of vehicles. The wind tunnel was designed for a nominal model scale of 40%. The nozzle and test section were sized to keep wind tunnel interference effects to a minimum. Flow quality and other wind tunnel performance parameters are on par with or better than the latest industry standards. A 5-belt system with a long center belt and boundary layer suction and blowing system are used to model underbody flow conditions. An overhead probe traverse system is installed in the test section along with a model positioning robot used to move the model in an out of the test section.

Wheel bearing friction torque (“drag”) directly contributes to vehicle fuel economy and CO2 emissions. At the same time, one of the most important factors for long-term durability of wheel bearings is effective seal performance. Since these two factors are often in conflict, it is important to balance the desire for low friction with the need for optimal sealing. One factor that affects wheel bearing sealing performance is the distortion of the outer ring that occurs when the bearing is mounted to the steering knuckle with fasteners. Minimizing this distortion is not just important for sealing, however. This paper explores the relationship between the outer ring distortion and the resulting friction torque. A design of experiments (DOE) approach was used in order to study the effects of the fastening bolt torque, constant velocity joint (CVJ) fastening torque, and outer ring distortion on component-level drag.

There has been an increasing interest in exploring the potential to reduce energy consumption of future connected and automated vehicles. People have extensively studied various eco-driving implementations that leverage preview information provided by on-board sensors and connectivity, as well as the control authority enabled by automation. Quantitative real-world evaluation of eco-driving benefits is a challenging task. The standard regulatory driving cycles used for measuring exhaust emissions and fuel economy are not truly representative of real-world driving, nor for capturing how connectivity and automation might influence driving trajectories. To adequately consider real-world driving behavior and potential “off-cycle” impacts, this paper presents four collaborative evaluation methods: large-scale simulation, in-depth simulation, vehicle-in-the-loop testing, and vehicle road testing.

In the previous research1), the authors discovered that the sudden pressure increase phenomenon in diesel particulate filter (DPF) was a result of soot collapse inside DPF channels. The proposed hypothesis for soot collapse was a combination of factors such as passive regeneration, high humidity, extended soak period, high soot loading and high exhaust flow rate. The passive regeneration due to in-situ NO2 and high humidity caused the straw like soot deposited inside DPF channels to take a concave shape making the collapse easier during high vehicle acceleration. It was shown that even if one of these factor was missing, the undesirable soot collapse and subsequent back pressure increase did not occur. Currently, one of the very popular NOx reduction technologies is the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) on Filter which does not have any platinum group metal (PGM) in the washcoat.

Hybrid powertrain vehicles inherently create discontinuous sounds during operation. The discontinuous noise created from the electrical motors during transition states are undesirable since they can create tones that do not correlate with the dynamics of the vehicle. The audible level of these motor whines and discontinuous tones can be reduced via common noise abatement techniques or reducing the amount of regeneration braking. One electronic solution which does not affect mass or fuel economy is Masking Sound Enhancement (MSE). MSE is an algorithm that uses the infotainment system to mask the naturally occurring discontinuous hybrid drive unit and driveline tones. MSE enables a variety of benefits, such as more aggressive regenerative braking strategies which yield higher levels of fuel economy and results in a more pleasing interior vehicle powertrain sound. This paper will discuss the techniques and signals used to implement MSE in a hybrid powertrain equipped vehicle.

The objective of this research is a detailed investigation of particulate sizing and number count from a spark-ignited, direct-injection (SIDI) engine at different operating conditions. The engine is a 549 [cc] single-cylinder, four-valve engine with a flat-top piston, fueled by Tier II EEE. A baseline engine operating condition, with a low number of particulates, was established and repeatability at this condition was ascertained. This baseline condition is specified as 2000 rpm, 320 kPa IMEP, 280 [°bTDC] end of injection (EOI), and 25 [°bTDC] ignition timing. The particle size distributions were recorded for particle sizes between 7 and 289 [nm]. The baseline particle size distribution was relatively flat, around 1E6 [dN/dlogDp], for particle diameters between 7 and 100 [nm], before dropping off to decreasing numbers at larger diameters. Distributions resulting from a matrix of different engine conditions were recorded.

The paper presents the main results of a study on the simulation of energy efficient management of on-board electric and thermal systems for a medium-size passenger vehicle featuring a parallel-hybrid diesel powertrain with a high-voltage belt alternator starter. A set of advanced technologies has been considered on the basis of very aggressive fuel economy targets: base-engine downsizing and friction reduction, combustion optimization, active thermal management, enhanced aftertreatment and downspeeding. Mild-hybridization has also been added with the goal of supporting the downsized/downspeeded engine performance, performing energy recuperation during coasting phases and enabling smooth stop/start and acceleration. The simulation has implemented a dynamic response to the required velocity and manual gear shift profiles in order to reproduce real-driver behavior and has actuated an automatic power split between the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and the Electric Machine (EM).

Hybridization is a mainstream technology for automobiles, and its application is rapidly expanding in other fields. Marine propulsion is one such field that could benefit from electrification of the powertrain. In particular, for boats to sail in enclosed waterways, such as harbors, channels, lagoons, a pure electric mode would be highly desirable. The main challenge to accomplish hybridization is the additional weight of the electric components, in particular the batteries. The goal of this project is to replace a conventional 4-stroke turbocharged Diesel engine with a hybrid powertrain, without any penalty in terms of weight, overall dimensions, fuel efficiency, and pollutant emissions. This can be achieved by developing a new generation of 2-Stroke Diesel engines, and coupling them to a state-of-the art electric system. For the thermal units, two alternative designs without active valve train are considered: opposed piston and loop scavenged engines.

Variable valve actuation is a focus to improve fuel efficiency for passenger car engines. Various means to implement early and late intake valve closing (E/LIVC) at lower load operating conditions is investigated. The study uses GT Power to simulate on E/LIVC on a 2.5 L gasoline engine, in-line four cylinder, four valve per cylinder engine to evaluate different ways to achieve Atkinson cycle performance. EIVC and LIVC are proven methods to reduce the compression-to-expansion ratio of the engine at part load and medium load operation. Among the LIVC strategies, two non-traditional intake valve lift profiles are investigated to understand their impact on reduction of fuel consumption at low engine loads. Both the non-traditional lift profiles retain the same maximum lift as a normal intake valve profile (Otto-cycle) unlike a traditional LIVC profile (Atkinson cycle) which needs higher maximum lift.

In today’s race for improved fuel economy and lower emissions from gasoline engines, precise metering of delivered fuel is essential. Gasoline Direct Injection fuel systems provide the means for improved combustion efficiency through mixture preparation and better atomization. These improvements can be achieved from both increasing fuel pressure and using multiple injection events, which significantly reduce the required energizing time per injection, and in a number of cases, force the injector to operate at less than full stroke. When the injector operates in this condition, the influence of variation in injector dynamics account for a large percentage of the delivered fuel and require compensation to ensure accurate fuel delivery. Injector dynamics such as opening delay and closing time are influenced by operating conditions such as fuel pressure, energizing time, and temperature.