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For (benchmark) tests it is not only useful to study the acoustic performance of the whole vehicle, but also to assess separate components such as the engine. Reflections inside the engine bay bias the acoustic radiation estimated with sound pressure based solutions. Consequently, most current methods require dismounting the engine from the car and installing it in an anechoic room to measure the sound emitted. However, this process is laborious and hard to perform. In this paper, two particle velocity based methods are proposed to characterize the sound radiated from an engine while it is still installed in the car. Particle velocity sensors are much less affected by reflections than sound pressure microphones when the measurements are performed near a radiating surface due to the particle velocity's vector nature, intrinsic dependency upon surface displacement and directivity of the sensor. Therefore, the engine does not have to be disassembled, which saves time and money.

Since the amount of emitted CO2 is directly related to car fuel economy, attention is being drawn to DISI (Direct-Injection Spark-Ignition) engines, which have better fuel economy than conventional gasoline engines. However, it has been a problem that the rich air-fuel mixtures associated with fuel films during cold starts due to spray impingement produce particulate matter (PM). In predicting soot formation, it is important to predict the mixture field precisely. Thus, accurate spray and film models are a prerequisite of the soot model. The previous models were well matched with low-speed collision conditions, such as those of diesel engines, which have a relatively high ambient pressure and long traveling distances. Droplets colliding at low velocities have an order of magnitude of kinetic energy similar to that of the sum of the surface tension energy and the critical energy at which the splash occurs.

CO2 emission is more serious in recent years and automobile manufacturers are interested in developing technologies to reduce CO2 emissions. Among various environmental-technologies, the use of solar roof as an electric energy source has been studied extensively. For example, in order to reduce the cabin ambient temperature, automotive manufacturers offer the option of mounting a solar cell on the roof of the vehicle [1]. In this paper, we introduce the semi-transparent solar cell mounted on a curved roof glass and we propose a solar energy management system to efficiently integrate the electricity generated from the solar roof into internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. In order to achieve a high efficiency solar system in different driving, we improve the usable power other than peak power of solar roof. Peak power or rated power is measured power (W) in standard test condition (@ 25°C, light intensity of 1000W/m2(=1Sun)).

A piston in a diesel engine is subject to the high pressure and the high thermal load. The high structural reliability is required to the piston in the automotive diesel engine and it is important to confirm the design parameters of piston in initial design stage. There are lots of research works proposing new geometries, materials and manufacturing techniques for engine pistons. But, the failures of piston occur frequently in development stage. Failure mechanisms are mainly fatigue related. This paper presents failure mechanisms of the high cycle fatigue and low cycle thermal fatigue cracks which occur on the piston during durability test using engine dynamometer. In this study, FE analysis was carried out to investigate the root cause of piston failure. The analysis includes the FE model of the piston moving system, temperature dependent material properties, mechanical and thermal loadings.

A combined experimental and computational study of 3-D unsteady compressible flow in exhaust manifold and CCC system was performed to understand the flow characteristics and to improve the flow distribution of pulsating exhaust gases within monolith. An experimental study was carried out to measure the velocity distribution in production exhaust manifold and CCC under engine operating conditions using LDV (Laser Doppler Velocimetry) system. Velocity characteristics were measured at planes 25 mm away from the front surface of first monolith and between two monolithic bricks. To provide boundary conditions for the computational study, velocity fields according to crank angle were also measured at the entrance of exhaust manifold. The comparisons of exhaust gas flow patterns in the junction and mixing pipe between experimental and computational results were made.

Modeling of unburned hydrocarbon oxidation in an SI engine was performed in engine condition using modified one-step oxidation model. The new one-step equation was developed by modifying the Arrhenius reaction rate coefficients of the conventional one-step model. The modified model was well matched with the results of detailed chemical reaction mechanism in terms of 90 % oxidation time of the fuel. In this modification, the effect of pressure and intermediate species in the burnt gas on the oxidation rate investigated and included in developed one-step model. The effect of pressure was also investigated and included as an additional multiplying factor in the reaction equation. To simulate the oxidation process of piston crevice hydrocarbons, a computational mesh was constructed with fine mesh density at the piston crevice region and the number of cell layers in cylinder was controlled according to the motion of piston.

As the current and future emission regulations become stringent, the research on exhaust manifold with CCC (Close Coupled Catalyst) has been the interesting and remarkable subject. To design of exhaust manifold with CCC is a difficult task due to the complexity of the flow distribution caused by the pulsating flows that are emitted at the exhaust ports. This study is concerned with the theoretical and experimental approach to improve catalyst flow uniformity through the basic understanding of exhaust flow characteristics. Computational and experimental approach to the flow for exhaust manifold of conventional cast type, stainless steel bending type with 900 cell CCC system in a 4-cylinder gasoline engine was performed to investigate the flow distribution of exhaust gases.

Characteristics of syngas combustion at various reforming ratios were studied numerically. The syngas was formed by the partial oxidation of methane to mainly hydrogen and carbon monoxide and cooled to ambient temperature. Stiochiometric and lean premixed flames of the mixtures of methane and the syngas were compared at the atmospheric temperature and pressure conditions. The adiabatic flame temperature decreased with the reforming ratio. The laminar burning velocity, however, increased with the reforming ratio. For stretched flames in a counterflow, the high temperature region was broadened with the reforming ratio. The maximum flame temperature decreased with the reforming ratio for the stoichiometric case, but increased for the lean case except for the region of very low stretch rate. The extinction stretch rate increased with the reforming ratio, implying that the syngas assisted flame is more resistance to turbulence level.

Fatigue life of a V-belt pulley, which is commonly used in automotive powertrain to transfer power to other parts, is predicted based on damage analysis by finite element analysis (FEA). Load conditions on pulley are analyzed by considering interactions among the pulley, V belt, bracket and bolts. Both normal force and traction force on the contact surfaces between the pulley and V belt were calculated. Assembly load due to the tightening of the bolts as well as operation load was considered to describe the actual load conditions in durability test. Static analysis at initial position of the pulley after assembly was performed with given load conditions. As the pulley rotated every ten degrees, consecutive static analyses were followed to find out the stress history of the pulley during operation. Using stress history data calculated from FE analysis, damage over one rotation of pulley was calculated and fatigue life, number of rotation to failure, was estimated.

Suspension system of vehicle is very important because it has an effect on ride comfort and safety. And the leaf spring is one of the major parts of commercial vehicle. By that reason it has to be designed to operate under severe condition to ensure enough endurance. But the traditional method for fatigue design needs repeated fatigue tests for each design according to its geometry, material, and operating condition. This means that a lot of time and money is needed for those tests. Thus, in this paper, a fatigue design method for leaf spring based on numerical analysis is proposed. At first, stress analysis is performed to get the stress under operation load or rig tests. And fatigue analysis is performed to get the fatigue life and to ensure the safety of leaf spring. Through this study, design parameters that play vital role in fatigue life of the leaf spring can be found out.

Depending on the scatter of material properties, geometrical shapes and load conditions, the fatigue life of mechanical components has wide range of scatter although they were tested under same conditions. This scatter is the main reason of different results between observed and predicted fatigue life. This study shows how to estimate the fatigue life distribution by analysis. Dominant factors for fatigue life distributions and their scatter could be obtained by comparing the analysis results and fatigue test results. Applying the scatter of these factors to fatigue analysis, it was possible to predict fatigue life distributions. This will improve the reliability of fatigue life estimation, therefore a more robust and reliable component design is possible.

For a complete automotive HVAC system, it is desirable to keep good air quality control for the interior vehicle cabin. This experimental study for evaluating the CO2 concentration levels in a vehicle cabin was done on the roads in South Korea. Increasing levels of CO2 can cause a passenger to become tired, sleepy and cause headaches or discomfort. The study results shows that CO2 and fine dust concentration is a result of the number of passengers,_driving condition and HVAC user settings. The result from this investigation can be used to establish a development guide for air quality in a vehicle cabin.

The combustion characteristics of a HSDI diesel engine were analyzed numerically using a reduced chemical kinetics. The reaction mechanism consisting of 26 steps and 17 species including the Zel'dovich NOx mechanism for the higher hydrocarbon fuel was implemented in the KIVA-3V. The characteristic time scale model was adopted to account for the effects of turbulent mixing on the reaction rates. The soot formation and oxidation processes are represented by Hiroyasu's model and NSC's model. The validation cases include the homogenous fuel/air mixture and the spray combustion in a constant volume chamber. After the validation, the present approach was applied to the analysis of the spray combustion processes in a HSDI diesel engine. The present approach reasonably well predicts the ignition delay, combustion processes, and emission characteristics in the high-pressure turbulent spray flame-field encountered in the practical HSDI diesel engines.

The Representative Interactive Flamelet(RIF) concept has been applied to numerically simulate the combustion processes and pollutant formation in the direct injection diesel engine. Due to the ability for interactively describing the transient behaviors of local flame structures with CFD solver, the RIF concept has the capabilities to predict the auto-ignition and subsequent flame propagation in the diesel engine combustion chamber as well as to effectively account for the detailed mechanisms of soot and NOx formation. In order to account for the spatial inhomogeneity of the scalar dissipation rate, the Eulerian Particle Flamelet Model using the multiple flamelets has been employed. Special emphasis is given to the turbulent combustion model which properly accounts for vaporization effects on turbulence-chemistry interaction.

The residual gas in SI engines is one of important factors on emission and performance such as combustion stability. With high residual gas fractions, flame speed and maximum combustion temperature are decreased and there are deeply related with combustion stability, especially at Idle and NOx emission at relatively high engine load. Therefore, there is a need to characterize the residual gas fraction as a function of the engine operating parameters. A model for predicting the residual gas fraction has been formulated in this paper. The model accounts for the contribution due to the back flow of exhaust gas to the cylinder during valve overlap and it includes in-cylinder pressure prediction model during valve overlap. The model is derived from the one dimension flow process during overlap period and a simple ideal cycle model.

The technical feasibility of applying anaerobic digestion for reduction and stabilization of the organic fraction of solid wastes generated during space missions was investigated. This process has the advantages of not requiring oxygen or high temperature and pressure while producing methane, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and compost as valuable products. High-solids leachbed anaerobic digestion employed here involves a solid-phase fermentation with leachate recycle between new and old reactors for inoculation, wetting, and removal of volatile organic acids during startup. After anaerobic conversion is complete, the compost bed may be used for biofiltration and plant growth medium. The nutrient-rich leachate may also be used as a vehicle for nutrient recycle. Physical properties of representative waste feedstocks were determined to evaluate their space requirements and hydraulic leachability in the selected digester design.

To improve the cold startability of methanol, methanol-butane mixed fuel was experimented. Engine performance and exhaust emissions are obtained with methanol-butane mixed fuel. These characteristics are compared with those of methanol and gasoline. The mixing ratios of methanol and butane are 50:50 (M50), 80:20 (M80), and 90:10 (M90) based on the calorific value. As a result, M90 produces more power than gasoline and more or less than methanol depending on the engine speed and the excess air ratio. Brake horse power of M90 is higher than that of gasoline by 5 - 10 %, and brake specific fuel consumption is smaller than that of gasoline by 17 % to the maximum based on the calorific value. NOx emission concentrations for M90 are lower than those for gasoline and higher than those for methanol because of the effect of butane, CO emission concentrations are somewhat lower than those for methanol and gasoline.

Diesel engines are the most commonly used power train of the freight and public transportations in the world. From the viewpoint of global warming restraint, however, reduction of exhaust emissions from the diesel engine is urgent demand. Stringent emission regulations are being proposed with growing concern on NOx, PM and CO2 emissions. Future emission regulations require advanced emission control technologies, such as SCR(Selective Catalytic Reduction), LNT(Lean NOx Trap) and EGR(Exhaust Gas Recirculation). The EGR is a commonly used technique to reduce emission. In this study, a LP-EGR(Low Pressure Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system was investigated to evaluate its potential on emission reduction and fuel economy improvement, especially for a passenger diesel engine. A 3.0ℓ diesel engine equipped with the LP-EGR system was tested using an in-house control algorithm.

In recent years, Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) is spotlighted as an engineering tool and severe research efforts are carried out on its applicability to Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs). However, there is a general lack of definitive conclusions on LES quality criteria for ICE. This paper focuses on the application of LES quality criteria to ICE and to their correlation, in order to draw a solid background on future LES quality assessments for ICE. In this paper, TCC-III single-cylinder optical engine from University of Michigan is investigated and the analysis is conducted under motored condition. LES quality is mainly affected by grid size and type, sub-grid scale (SGS) model, numeric schemes. In this study, the same grid size and type are used in order to focus on the effect on LES quality of SGS models and blending factors of numeric scheme only.

The market demands for CO2 reduction and fuel economy have led to a variety of new gear set concepts of automatic transmissions with 4 planetary gear sets and 6 shift elements in recent years. Understanding the relationship between the torque of clutch and brake and gear ratio in the design stage is very important to assess new gear set concepts and to set up the control strategy for enhancing shift quality and to reduce the heat generation of clutch and brake. In this paper, a new systematic approach is used to unify the relationship between torque and gear ratio during the gear shift for all multi-step planetary automatic transmissions. This study describes the unified concept model with a lumped inertia regardless of the specific transmission layout and derives the principal unified relationship equations using torque and energy analysis, which prove that the sum of brake torque is always gear ratio -1 in every in-gear.