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Turbulent Jet Ignition is an advanced pre-chamber initiated combustion system for an otherwise standard spark ignition engine found in current on-road vehicles. This next-generation pre-chamber design overcomes previous packaging obstacles by simply replacing the spark plug in a modern four-valve, pent roof spark ignition engine. Turbulent Jet Ignition enables very fast burn rates due to the ignition system producing multiple, distributed ignition sites, which consume the main charge rapidly and with minimal combustion variability. The fast burn rates allow for increased levels of dilution (lean burn and/or EGR) when compared to conventional spark ignition combustion, with dilution levels being comparable to other low temperature combustion technologies (homogeneous charge compression ignition - HCCI) without the complex control drawbacks.

Autoignition delay times of two full blend gasoline fuels (high and low RON) were explored in a rapid compression machine. CO2 dilution by mass was introduced at 0%, 15%, and 30% levels with the O2:N2 mole ratio fixed at 1:3.76. This dilution strategy is used to represent exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) substitution in spark ignition (SI) engines by using CO2 as a surrogate for major EGR constituents(N2, CO2, H2O). Experiments were conducted over the temperature range of 650K-900K and at 10 bar and 20 bar compressed pressure conditions for equivalence ratios of (Φ =) 0.6-1.3. The full blend fuels were admitted directly into the combustion chamber for mixture preparation using the direct test chamber (DTC) approach. CO2 addition retarded the autoignition times for the fuels studied here. The retarding effect of the CO2 dilution was more pronounced in the NTC region when compared to the lower and higher temperature range.

Continuous efforts to improve thermal efficiency and reduce exhaust emissions of internal combustion engines have resulted in development of various solutions towards improved lean burn ignition systems in spark ignition engines. The Dual Mode, Turbulent Jet Ignition (DM-TJI) system is one of the leading technologies in that regard which offers higher thermal efficiency and reduced NOx emissions due to its ability to operate with very lean or highly dilute mixtures. Compared to other pre-chamber ignition technologies, the DM-TJI system has the distinct capability to work with a very high level of EGR dilution (up to ~40%). Thus, this system enables the use of a three-way catalyst (TWC). Auxiliary air supply for pre-chamber purge allows this system to work with such high EGR dilution rate. This work presents the results of experimental investigation carried out with a Dual Mode, Turbulent Jet Ignition (DM-TJI) optical engine equipped with a cooled EGR system.

Piston temperature plays a major role in determining details of fuel spray vaporization, fuel film deposition and the resulting combustion in direct-injection engines. Due to different heat transfer properties that occur in optical and all-metal engines, it becomes an inevitable requirement to verify the piston temperatures in both engine configurations before carrying out optical engine studies. A novel Spot Infrared-based Temperature (SIR-T) technique was developed to measure the piston window temperature in an optical engine. Chromium spots of 200 nm thickness were vacuum-arc deposited at different locations on a sapphire window. An infrared (IR) camera was used to record the intensity of radiation emitted by the deposited spots. From a set of calibration experiments, a relation was established between the IR camera measurements of these spots and the surface temperature measured by a thermocouple.

Over the years, many studies have examined the natural gas flame characteristics with either CO2, H2O, or N2 dilution in order to investigate the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) effect on the performance of natural gas vehicles. However, studies analyzing the actual EGR concentration are very scarce. In the present study, spherically expanding flames were employed to investigate the EGR effect on the laminar flame speed (LFS) and the burned gas Markstein length (Lb) of premixed CH4/air flames at 373 K and 3 bar. The EGR mixture was imitated with a mixture of 9.50% CO2 + 19.01% H2O + 71.49% N2 by mole. EGR ratios of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% were tested. Experimental results show that LFS values are lowered by 20-23%, 38-43% and 53-54% due to 5%, 10% and 15% EGR, respectively. Additionally, it was observed that Lb values slightly increase at high equivalence and EGR ratios, where CH4 flames are more stable and more stretched.

This study focuses on the combustion visualization of spark ignition combustion in an optical single cylinder engine using natural gas and propane at several air to fuel ratios and speed-load operating points. Propane and natural gas fuels were compared as they are the most promising gaseous alternative fuels for reciprocating powertrains, with both fuels beginning to find wide market penetration on the fleet level across many regions of the world. Additionally, when compared to gasoline, these gaseous fuels are affordable, have high knock resistance and relatively low carbon content and they do not suffer from the complex re-fueling and storage problems associated with hydrogen.

Camless Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) technologies have been known for improving fuel economy, reducing emissions, and enhancing engine performance. VVA can be divided into electro-magnetic, electro-hydraulic, and electro-pneumatic actuation. A family of camless VVA designs (called LGD-VVA or Gongda-VVA) has been presented in an earlier SAE publication (SAE 2007-01-1295) that consists of a two-spring actuation, a bypass passage, and an electrohydraulic latch-release mechanism. The two-spring pendulum system is used to provide efficient conversion between the moving mass kinetic energy and the spring potential energy for reduced energy consumption and to be more robust to the operational temperature than the conventional electrohydraulic actuation; and the electrohydraulic mechanism is intended for latch-release function, energy compensation and seating velocity control.

Air-to-fuel (A/F) ratio is the mass ratio of the air-to-fuel mixture trapped inside a cylinder before combustion begins, and it affects engine emissions, fuel economy, and other performances. Using an A/F ratio and dual-fuel ratio control oriented engine model, a multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) sliding mode control scheme is used to simultaneously control the mass flow rate of both port fuel injection (PFI) and direct injection (DI) systems. The control target is to regulate the A/F ratio at a desired level (e.g., at stoichiometric) and fuel ratio (ratio of PFI fueling vs. total fueling) to any desired level between zero and one. A MIMO sliding mode controller was designed with guaranteed stability to drive the system A/F and fuel ratios to the desired target under various air flow disturbances.

Surface coatings are one of the most widely used routes to enhance the tribological properties of cylinder kits due to effective sealing capability with low friction coefficient and high wear resistance. In the current study, we have conducted the surface texture characterization of the coating on piston skirts and evaluated the impact of a novel Abradable Powder Coating (APC) on cylinder-kit performance in comparison to stock pistons. The surface texture and characteristic properties varying across the piston skirt are obtained and analyzed via a 3D optical profiler and OmniSurf3D software. The engine operating conditions are found through a combination of measurements, testing, and a calibrated GT-Power model. The variable surface properties along with other dimensions, thermodynamic attributes, flow characteristics and material properties are used to build a model in CASE (Cylinder-kit Analysis System for Engines)- PISTON for both an APC coated piston and a stock piston.

In developing a direct injection gasoline engine, the in-cylinder fuel air mixing is key to good performance and emissions. High speed visualization in an optically accessible single cylinder engine for direct injection gasoline engine applications is an effective tool to reveal the fuel spray pattern effect on mixture formation The fuel injectors in this study employ the unique multi-hole turbulence nozzles in a PFI-like (Port Fuel Injection) fuel system architecture specifically developed as a Low Pressure Direct Injection (LPDI) fuel injection system. In this study, three injector sprays with a narrow 40° spray angle, a 60°spray angle with 5°offset angle, and a wide 80° spray angle with 10° offset angle were evaluated. Image processing algorithms were developed to analyze the nature of in-cylinder fuel-air mixing and the extent of fuel spray impingement on the cylinder wall.

The requirement of reduced emissions and improved fuel economy led the introduction of direct-injection (DI) spark-ignited (SI) engines. Dual-fuel injection system (direct-injection and port-fuel-injection (PFI)) was also used to improve engine performance at high load and speed. Ethanol is one of the several alternative transportation fuels considered for replacing fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel. Ethanol offers high octane quality but with lower energy density than fossil fuels. This paper presents the combustion characteristics of a single cylinder dual-fuel injection SI engine with the following fueling cases: a) gasoline for PFI and DI, b) PFI gasoline and DI ethanol, and c) PFI ethanol and DI gasoline. For this study, the DI fueling portion varied from 0 to 100 percentage of the total fueling over different engine operational conditions while the engine air-to-fuel ratio remained at a constant level.

This paper focuses on the numerical investigation of the mixing and combustion of ethanol and gasoline in a single-cylinder 3-valve direct-injection spark-ignition engine. The numerical simulations are conducted with the KIVA code with global reaction models. However, an ignition delay model mitigates some of the deficiencies of the global one-step reaction model and is implemented via a two-dimensional look-up table, which was created using available detailed kinetics models. Simulations demonstrate the problems faced by ethanol operated engines and indicate that some of the strategies used for emission control and downsizing of gasoline engines can be employed for enhancing the combustion efficiency of ethanol operated engines.

Numerical simulations of lean Methanol combustion in a four-stroke internal combustion engine were conducted on a high-compression ratio engine. The engine had a removable integral injector ignition source insert that allowed changing the head dome volume, and the location of the spark plug relative to the fuel injector. It had two intake valves and two exhaust ports. The intake ports were designed so the airflow into the engine exhibited no tumble or swirl motions in the cylinder. Three different engine configurations were considered: One configuration had a flat head and piston, and the other two had a hemispherical combustion chamber in the cylinder head and a hemispherical bowl in the piston, with different volumes. The relative equivalence ratio (Lambda), injection timing and ignition timing were varied to determine the operating range for each configuration. Lambda (λ) values from 1.5 to 2.75 were considered.

A numerical study on the combustion of Methanol in a directly injected (DI) engine was conducted. The study considers the effect of the bowl-in-piston (BIP) geometry, swirl ratio (SR), and relative equivalence ratio (λ), on flame propagation and burn rate of Methanol in a 4-stroke engine. Ignition-assist in this engine was accomplished by a spark plug system. Numerical simulations of two different BIP geometries were considered. Combustion characteristics of Methanol under swirl and no-swirl conditions were investigated. In addition, the amount of injected fuel was varied in order to determine the effect of stoichiometry on combustion. Only the compression and expansion strokes were simulated. The results show that fuel-air mixing, combustion, and flame propagation was significantly enhanced when swirl was turned on. This resulted in a higher peak pressure in the cylinder, and more heat loss through the cylinder walls.

The paper is based on the premise that the sole purpose of combustion in piston engines is to generate pressure for pushing the expansion process away from the compression process (both expressed in terms of appropriate polytropes) to create a work producing cycle. This essential process, referred to as the dynamic stage of combustion, is carved out of the cycle and its salient properties deduced from the measured pressure profile, as a solution of an inverse problem: deduction of information on an action from its outcome. An analytical technique, construed for this purpose, is first presented and, then, applied to a direct injection, spark-ignition, methanol fueled four-stroke engine.

The sole purpose of combustion in a piston engine is to generate pressure in order to push the piston and produce work. Pressure diagnostics provides means to deduce data on the execution of the exothermic process of combustion in an engine cylinder from a measured pressure profile. Its task is that of an inverse problem: evaluation of the mechanism of a system from its measured output. The dynamic properties of the closed system in a piston engine are expressed in terms of a dynamic stage - the transition between the processes of compression and expansion. All the phenomena taking place in its course were analyzed in the predecessor of this paper, SAE 2002-01-0998. Here, on one hand, its concept is restricted to the purely dynamic effects, while on the other, the transformation of system components, taking place in the course of the exothermic chemical reaction to raise pressure, are taken into account by the exothermic stage.

This paper describes the design, implementation and testing of crankshaft-mounted pendulum absorbers used for reducing vibrations in a variable displacement engine. The engine can run in V8 and V4 modes, and without absorbers it experiences significant vibration levels, especially in V4 idle. The absorbers are tuned to address the dominant second order vibrations, and are slightly overtuned to account for nonlinear effects. The absorbers were designed to replace the large counterweights at the ends of the crankshaft, and thus serve for both balancing and vibration absorption. The engine was placed in a vehicle and tested for vibration levels at idle under various load conditions, and these results were compared with results obtained from a similar vehicle without absorbers. The tests demonstrate that these absorbers offer an effective means of vibration attenuation in variable displacement engines.

EGR coolers are used in combustion engines to reduce NOx emissions. However, heat transfer in these coolers also results in thermophoresis-temperature-gradient driven motion of suspended particles towards cooler regions-which leads to significant soot deposition. A simple one-dimensional model is proposed to predict the deposition velocity and soot layer thickness that compares reasonably well with experimental data. The behavior of soot deposits on cooled surfaces is complex, with the thickness of the soot layer stabilizes after around 100 hours, reaching a uniform, thickness over the entire heat-exchanger surface. An analysis of this trend and a tentative mechanism to explain this type of behavior is given, based on experimental observations.

As the variable nozzle turbine(VNT) becomes an important element in engine fuel economy and engine performance, improvement of turbine efficiency over wide operation range is the main focus of research efforts for both academia and industry in the past decades. It is well known that in a VNT, the nozzle endwall clearance has a big impact on the turbine efficiency, especially at small nozzle open positions. However, the clearance at hub and shroud wall sides may contribute differently to the turbine efficiency penalty. When the total height of nozzle clearance is fixed, varying distribution of nozzle endwall clearance at the hub and shroud sides may possibly generate different patterns of clearance leakage flow at nozzle exit that has different interaction with and impact on the main flow when it enters the inducer.

High frequency variations in crankcase pressure have been observed in Inline-four cylinder (I4) engines and an understanding of the causes, frequency and magnitude of these variations is helpful in the design and effective operation of various engine systems. This paper shows through a review and explanation of the physics related to engine operation followed by comparison to measured vehicle data, the relationship between crankcase volume throughout the engine cycle and the observed pressure fluctuations. It is demonstrated that for a known or proposed engine design, through knowledge of the key engine design parameters, the frequency and amplitude of the cyclic variation in crankcase pressure can be predicted and thus utilized in the design of other engine systems.