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Better understanding of flow phenomena inside the combustion chamber of a diesel engine and accurate measurement of flow parameters is necessary for engine optimization i.e. enhancing power output, fuel economy improvement and emissions control. Airflow structures developed inside the engine combustion chamber significantly influence the air-fuel mixing. In this study, in-cylinder air flow characteristics of a motored, four-valve diesel engine were investigated using time-resolved high-speed Tomographic Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV). Single cylinder optical engine provides full optical access of combustion chamber through a transparent cylinder and flat transparent piston top. Experiments were performed in different vertical planes at different engine speeds during the intake and compression stroke under motoring condition. For visualization of air flow pattern, graphite particles were used for flow seeding.

Metallic particles in brake-friction materials (FMs) play a vital role in improving mainly strength, friction level, thermal conductivity and hence resistance to fade during braking operations. Although Copper was the most efficient and popular metallic ingredient in FMs, it is being phased out because of its proven threat to the aquatic life in the form of wear debris. Hardly any successful efforts are reported in open literature barring few on in the authors’ laboratory. It is well-known that the size and shape of particles affect the performance of composites apart from their type, concentration, etc. In this paper, Ferritic stainless steel (SS 434) particles were selected as a theme ingredient in two forms, first particulate (SSP) with two sizes, larger (30-45 micron) and smaller (10-20 micron) and also in the form of swarf. The aim was to investigate the size and shape effect of these ingredients when used to manufacture the brake-pads on the performance properties.

Graphite plays a crucial role in friction materials, since it has good thermal conductivity, lubricity and act as a friction modifier. The right type, amount, shape, and size of the particles control the performance of the brake-pads. The theme of the study was investigating the influence of size of graphite particles (having all other specifications identical) on performance properties of brake-pads containing graphite particles in the average size of 60 μm, 120 μm, 200 μm and 400 μm. Physical, mechanical and chemical characterization of the developed brake-pads was done. The tribological performance was studied using a full- scale inertia brake dynamometer following a Japanese automobile testing standard (JASO C406). Tribo-performance in terms of fade resistance, friction stability and wear resistance were observed best for smaller graphite particles. It was concluded that smaller size serves best for achieving best performance properties barring compressibility.

A gas turbine combustion system is an embodiment of all complexities that engineering equipment can have. The flow is three dimensional, swirling, turbulent, two phase and reacting. The design and development of combustors, until recent past, was an art than science. If one takes the route of development through experiments, it is quite time consuming and costly. Compared to the other two components viz., compressor and turbine, the combustion system is not yet completely amenable to mathematical analysis. A gas turbine combustor is both geometrically and fluid dynamically quite complex. The major challenge a combustion engineer faces is the space constraint. As the combustion chamber is sandwiched between compressor and turbine there is a limitation on the available space. The critical design aspect is in facing the aerodynamic challenges with minimum pressure drop. Accurate mathematical analysis of such a system is next to impossible.

Increasing the efficiency of engine auxiliary systems have become a challenge. Oil pump, identified for this study, is one such engine system which is used for lubrication of engine parts. To achieve higher efficiencies, there is a need for math-based analysis and design. This can be achieved by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The main aim of this paper is to simulate the flow through Gerotor Oil pump using Computational Fluid Dynamics. A 3D model of the entire flow domain is created and meshed in preprocessor GAMBIT. The mesh for various pressure outlet conditions is exported to FLUENT solver for analysis. The predicted results are validated with the experimental results. The comparison shows that the CFD predictions are in good agreement with experimental results. In particular, such a simulation offers a scope for visualizing the flow through the Gerotor oil pump.

This paper deals with the experimental investigation carried out to study the effect of expansion ratio (ER) on the brake thermal efficiency of a spark ignition ( S.I. ) engine. Intake valve closure timing (IVCT) and clearance volume have been suitably altered to achieve different ERs and compression ratios (CRs). For the modified engines the ratio of ER to CR ranges from 1:1 to 2.27:1, for CRs of 6,7, and 8:1. The results have been compared with the standard version of the engine with compression ratio of 7 and 8:1. Brake thermal efficiency improvement up to 35% has been achieved with a combination of variable IVCT (VIVCT) and variable CR (VCR) at part - load operation. Results show that in this system CR can be lowered without penalizing the thermal efficiency of the engine. Results indicate that the thermal efficiency of an Extended Expansion Engine with a CR of 6:1 and ER/CR equal to 1.5 is equal to the thermal efficiency of a standard engine with a CR of 8:1.

Minimum weight and high-efficiency gearboxes with the maximum service life are the prime necessity of today’s high-performance power transmission systems such as automotive and aerospace. Therefore, the problem to optimize the gearboxes is subjected to a considerable amount of interest. To accomplish these objectives, in this paper, two generalized objective functions for two stage spur-gearbox are formulated; first objective function aims to minimize the volume of gearbox material, while the second aims to maximize the power transmitted by the gearbox. For the optimization purpose, regular mechanical and critical tribological constraints (scuffing and wear) are considered. These objective functions are optimized to obtain a Pareto front for the two-stage gearbox using a specially formulated discrete version of non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) code written MATLAB. Two cases are considered, in the first with the regular mechanical constraints.

In this study, 3D air-flow-field evolution in a single cylinder optical research engine was determined using tomographic particle imaging velocimetry (TPIV) at different engine speeds. Two directional projections of captured flow-field were pre-processed to reconstruct the 3D flow-field by using the MART (multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique) algorithm. Ensemble average flow pattern was used to investigate the air-flow behavior inside the combustion chamber during the intake and compression strokes of an engine cycle. In-cylinder air-flow characteristics were significantly affected by the engine speed. Experimental results showed that high velocities generated during the first half of the intake stroke dissipated in later stages of the intake stroke. In-cylinder flow visualization indicated that large part of flow energy dissipated during the intake stroke and energy dissipation was the maximum near the end of the intake stroke.

Gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines have gained popularity in the recent times because of lower fuel consumption and exhaust emissions compared to that of the conventional port fuel injection (PFI) engine. But, in these engines, the mixture formation plays an important role which affects combustion, performance and emission characteristics of the engine. The mixture formation, in turn, depends on many factors of which fuel injector location and orientation are most important parameters. Therefore, in this study, an attempt has been made to understand the effect of fuel injector location and nozzle-hole orientation on the mixture formation, performance and emission characteristics of a GDI engine. The mixture stratification inside the combustion chamber is characterized by a parameter called “stratification index” which is based on average equivalence ratio at different zones in the combustion chamber.

The main objective of the present research work is to utilise the higher amounts of exhaust energy of the LHR engines. Three vegetable oils(neem oil, rice bran oil and karanji oil) were tested in the low heat rejection engine. An electrical heater was used to heat the thick vegetable oils or the air and the results were studied. the electrical heater energy was correlated with the energy available in the exhaust of the LHR engine, so that the electrical heater can be replaced by a heat exchanger in the actual engine. The three vegetable oils, without heating, indicated a lower brake thermal efficiency of 1-4% when compared with the standard diesel engine. When these thick vegetable oils are heated and used in LHR engines the brake thermal efficiency improves. For every vegetable oil, there is an optimum temperature at which it gives the best performance.

The performance of a conventional, carbureted, two-stroke spark-ignition (SI) engine can be improved by providing moderate thermal insulation in the combustion chamber. This will help to improve the vaporization characteristics in particular at part load and medium loads with gasoline fuel and high-latent-heat fuels such as methanol. In the present investigation, the combustion chamber surface was coated with a 0.5-mm thickness of partially stabilized zirconia, and experiments were carried out in a single-cylinder, two-stroke SI engine with gasoline and methanol as fuels. Test results indicate that with gasoline as a fuel, the thin ceramic-coated combustion chamber improves the part load to medium load operation considerably, but it affects the performance at higher speeds and at higher loads to the extent of knock and loss of brake power by about 18%. However, with methanol as a fuel, the performance is better under most of the operating range and free from knock.

This work demonstrates how the performance of a standard spark-assisted alcohol engine can be improved by using the Low Heat Rejection (LHR ) concept. The improved combustion is attained by better using the greater heat energy in the combustion chamber of a LHR engine - in this case for the faster vaporisation and better mixing of the alcohol fuels. For this program the LHR engine used has a single cylinder diesel and alcohols sued as sole fuels were ethanol and methanol. For spark assistance an extended electrode spark plug was used and location and projection were optimised for best results. These configurations were evaluated for performance and emissions with and without LHR implementation. The results show that the engine with LHR, ethanol fuel and spark assistance has the highest brake thermal efficiency with the lowest emissions.

This paper deals with simulation studies on surface densification of PM gears by rolling process using finite element method. The PM gear is considered as a porous continuum and analysis is performed using constitutive relations based on Gurson model for porous materials. The influence of various parameters such as initial position of mating gears, braking torque applied, friction between mating surfaces and roll stock allowance on the process have been studied. The density obtained by the process is highly influenced by the braking torque applied. The results presented provide a better understanding of the PM gear rolling process.

Predicting the brake performance and characteristics is a crucial task in the vehicle development activity. Performance prediction is a challenge because of the involvement of various parts in the brake assembly like booster, master cylinder, calipers, disc and drum brakes. Determination of these characteristics through vehicle level tests requires a lot of time and money. This performance prediction is achieved by theoretical calculations involving vehicle dynamics. The final output must satisfy the regulations. This project involves the creation of a standalone application using MATLAB to predict the various brake performances such as: booster characteristics, adhesion curves, deceleration and pedal effort curves, behavior of brakes during brake and booster failed conditions and braking force diagrams based on the given user inputs. Previously, MS Excel and an application developed in the TK Solver environment was used to predict the brake performance curves.

Fuel-air mixing is the main parameter, which affects formation of NOx and PM during CI combustion. Hence better understanding of air-flow characteristics inside the combustion chamber of a diesel engine became very important. In this study, in-cylinder air-flow characteristics of four-valve diesel engine were investigated using time-resolved high-speed tomographic Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV). For visualization of air-flow pattern, fine graphite particles were used for flow seeding. To investigate the effect of different operating parameters, experiments were performed at different engine speeds (1200 rpm and 1500 rpm), intake air temperatures (room temperature and 50°C) and intake port configurations (swirl port, tangential port and combined port). Intake air temperature was controlled by a closed loop temperature controller and intake ports were deactivated by using a customized aluminum gasket.

In-cylinder fluid dynamics enhance performance and emission characteristics in internal combustion (IC) engines. Techniques such as helical ports, valve shrouding, masking, and modifications to piston profiles or vanes in ports are employed to achieve the desired in-cylinder flows in these engines. However, due to space constraints, modifications to the cylinder head are typically minimal. The literature suggests that introducing baffles into the combustion chamber of an IC engine can enhance in-cylinder flows, air-fuel mixing, and, subsequently, stratification. Studies have indicated that the height of the baffles plays a significant role in determining the level of improvement in in-cylinder flow and air-fuel mixing. Therefore, this study employs Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to investigate the impact of baffle height on in-cylinder flow and air-fuel mixing in a four-stroke, four-valve, spray-guided gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine.