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The interaction of fuel sprays and in-cylinder flow in direct-injection engines is expected to alter kinetic energy and integral length scales at least during some portions of the engine cycle. High-speed particle image velocimetry was implemented in an optical four-valve, pent-roof spark-ignition direct-injection single-cylinder engine to quantify this effect. Non-firing motored engine tests were performed at 1300 RPM with and without fuel injection. Two fuel injection timings were investigated: injection in early intake stroke represents quasi-homogenous engine condition; and injection in mid compression stroke mimics the stratified combustion strategy. Two-dimensional crank angle resolved velocity fields were measured to examine the kinetic energy and integral length scale through critical portions of the engine cycle. Reynolds decomposition was applied on the obtained engine flow fields to extract the fluctuations as an indicator for the turbulent flow.

Near-term energy policy for ground transportation is likely to have a strong focus on both gains in efficiency as well as the use of alternate fuels; as both can reduce crude oil dependence and carbon loading on the environment. Stratified-charge spark-ignition direct-injection (SIDI) engines are capable of achieving significant gains in efficiency. In addition, these engines are likely to be run on alternative fuels. Specifically, lower alcohols such as ethanol and iso-butanol, which can be produced from renewable sources. SIDI engines, particularly the spray-guided variant, tend to be very sensitive to mixture preparation since fuel injection and ignition occur within a short time of each other. This close spacing is necessary to form a flammable mixture near the spark plug while maintaining an overall lean state in the combustion chamber. As a result, the physical properties of the fuel have a large effect on this process.

Direct injection of natural gas under high pressure conditions has emerged as a promising option for improving engine fuel economy and emissions. However, since the gaseous injection technology is new, limited experience exists as to the optimum configuration of the injection system and associated combustion chamber design. The present study uses KIVA-3 based, multidimensional modeling to improve the understanding and assist the optimization of the gaseous injection process. Compared to standard k-ε models, a Renormalization Group Theory (RNG) based k-ε model [1] has been found to be in better agreement with experiments in predicting gaseous penetration histories for both free and confined jet configurations. Hence, this validated RNG model is adopted here to perform computations in realistic engine geometries.

A naturally-aspirated, Miller cycle, Spark-Ignition (SI) engine that controls output with variable intake valve closure is compared to a conventionally-throttled engine using computer simulation. Based on First and Second Law analyses, the two load control strategies are compared in detail through one thermodynamic cycle at light load conditions and over a wide range of loads at 2000 rpm. The Miller Cycle engine can use late intake valve closure (LIVC) to control indicated output down to 35% of the maximum, but requires supplemental throttling at lighter loads. The First Law analysis shows that the Miller cycle increases indicated thermal efficiency at light loads by as much as 6.3%, primarily due to reductions in pumping and compression work while heat transfer losses are comparable.

This paper analyzes and compares reactor and engine behavior of a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) in the presence of conventional diesel exhaust and low temperature premixed compression ignition (PCI) diesel exhaust. Surrogate exhaust mixtures of n-undecane (C11H24), ethene (C2H4), CO, O2, H2O, NO and N2 are defined for conventional and PCI combustion and used in the gas flow reactor tests. Both engine and reactor tests use a DOC containing platinum, palladium and a hydrocarbon storage component (zeolite). On both the engine and reactor, the composition of PCI exhaust increases light-off temperature relative to conventional combustion. However, while nominal conditions are similar, the catalyst behaves differently on the two experimental setups. The engine DOC shows higher initial apparent HC conversion efficiencies because the engine exhaust contains a higher fraction of trappable (i.e., high boiling point) HC.

The feature of offered algorithm is that it allows, without record and analysis of the display diagram, to estimate a running cycle of a diesel engine parameters which characterize ecological and economic performances. The mathematical model described in report allows to determine connection of coefficient of filling, pressure and temperature of air boost, factor of excess of air with effectiveness ratio of combustion and contents of soot in exhaust gas and to take into account this connection at a choice initial data for control fuel feed or for elaboration of diesel engine dynamic model. The algorithm incorporated, for example, in the microcontroller of an electronic fuel feed controller allows analyzing the sensors data and theoretically determine of smoke amount in the exhaust gases for chosen cycle of fuel feed. The restriction of smoke is possible by criterion dD/dGT, where D - contents of soot in exhaust gas and GT - fuel cycle submission under the program-adaptive schema.

A summary of the design and development process for a Formula SAE engine is described. The focus is on three fundamental elements on which the entire engine package is based. The first is engine layout and displacement, second is the fuel type, and third is the air induction method. These decisions lead to a design around a 4-cylinder 600cc motorcycle engine, utilizing a turbocharger and ethanol E-85 fuel. Concerns and constraints involved with vehicle integration are also highlighted. The final design was then tested on an engine dynamometer, and finally in the 2007 M-Racing FSAE racecar.

This paper reports the development of a model of diesel combustion and NO emissions, based on a modified eddy dissipation concept (EDC), and its implementation into the KIVA-3V multidimensional simulation. The EDC model allows for more realistic representation of the thin sub-grid scale reaction zone as well as the small-scale molecular mixing processes. Realistic chemical kinetic mechanisms for n-heptane combustion and NOx formation processes are fully incorporated. A model based on the normalized fuel mass fraction is implemented to transition between ignition and combustion. The modeling approach has been validated by comparison with experimental data for a range of operating conditions. Predicted cylinder pressure and heat release rates agree well with measurements. The predictions for NO concentration show a consistent trend with experiments. Overall, the results demonstrate the improved capability of the model for predictions of the combustion process.

Quantitative LIF measurements of liquid fuel films on the piston of direct-injected gasoline engines are difficult to achieve because generally these films are thin and the signal strength is low. Additionally, interference from scattered laser light or background signal can be substantial. The selection of a suitable fluorescence tracer and excitation wavelength plays an important role in the success of such measurements. We have investigated the possibility of using toluene as a tracer for fuel film measurements and compare it to the use of 3-pentanone. The fuel film dynamics in a motored engine at different engine speeds, temperatures and in-cylinder swirl levels is characterized and discussed.

A quasi-dimensional, multi-zone, direct injection (DI) diesel combustion model has been developed and implemented in a full cycle simulation of a turbocharged engine. The combustion model accounts for transient fuel spray evolution, fuel-air mixing, ignition, combustion and NO and soot pollutant formation. In the model, the fuel spray is divided into a number of zones, which are treated as open systems. While mass and energy equations are solved for each zone, a simplified momentum conservation equation is used to calculate the amount of air entrained into each zone. Details of the DI spray, combustion model and its implementation into the cycle simulation of Assanis and Heywood [1] are described in this paper. The model is validated with experimental data obtained in a constant volume chamber and engines. First, predictions of spray penetration and spray angle are validated against measurements in a pressurized constant volume chamber.

A hybrid electric vehicle simulation tool (HE-VESIM) has been developed at the Automotive Research Center of the University of Michigan to study the fuel economy potential of hybrid military/civilian trucks. In this paper, the fundamental architecture of the feed-forward parallel hybrid-electric vehicle system is described, together with dynamic equations and basic features of sub-system modules. Two vehicle-level power management control algorithms are assessed, a rule-based algorithm, which mainly explores engine efficiency in an intuitive manner, and a dynamic-programming optimization algorithm. Simulation results over the urban driving cycle demonstrate the potential of the selected hybrid system to significantly improve vehicle fuel economy, the improvement being greater when the dynamic-programming power management algorithm is applied.

Engine models with fully coupled dynamic effects of the engine components can be constructed through the use of commercial multibody dynamics codes, such as ADAMS and DADS. These commercial codes provide a modeling platform for very general mechanical systems and the time and effort required to learn how to use them may preclude their use for some engine designers. In this paper, we review an alternative and specialized modeling platform that functions as a template for engine design. Relative to commercial codes, this engine design template employs a recursive formulation of multibody dynamics, and thus it leads directly to the minimum number of equations of motion describing the dynamic response of the engine by a priori satisfaction of kinematic constraints. This is achieved by employing relative coordinates in lieu of the absolute coordinates adopted in commercial multibody dynamics codes. This engine modeling tool requires only minimal information for the input data.

The link between manufacturing process and product performance is studied in order to construct analytical, quantifiable criteria for the introduction of new engine technologies and processes. Cost associated with a new process must be balanced against increases in engine performance and thus demand for the particular vehicle. In this work, the effect of the Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) technique on surface roughness is characterized through measurements of specimens, and a predictive engine simulation is used to quantify performance gains due to the new surface finish. Subsequently, economic cost-benefit analysis is used to evaluate manufacturing decisions based on their impact on firm's profitability. A demonstration study examines the use of AFM for finishing the inner surfaces of intake manifolds for two engines, one installed in a compact car and the other in an SUV.

Resonant frequencies of a resonant bending system with notched crankshaft sections are obtained experimentally and numerically in order to investigate the effect of notch depth on the drop of the resonant frequency of the system. Notches with the depths ranging from 1 to 5 mm, machined by an EDM (Electrical-Discharging Machining) system, were introduced in crankshaft sections at the fillet between the main crank pin and crank cheek. The resonant frequencies of the resonant bending system with the crankshaft sections with various notch depths were first obtained from the experiments. Three-dimensional finite element models of the resonant bending system with the crankshafts sections with various notch depths are then generated. The resonant frequencies based on the finite element computations are in good agreement with those based on the experimental results.

In this paper, the available correlations proposed in the literature for the gas-side heat transfer in the intake and exhaust system of a spark-ignition internal combustion engine were surveyed. It was noticed that these only by empirically fitted constants. This similarity provided the impetus for the authors to explore if a universal correlation could be developed. Based on a scaling approach using microscales of turbulence, the authors have fixed the exponential factor on the Reynolds number and thus reduced the number of adjustable coefficients to just one; the latter can be determined from a least squares curve-fit of available experimental data. Using intake and exhaust side data, it was shown that the universal correlation The correlation coefficient of this proposed heat transfer model with all available experimental data is 0.845 for the intake side and 0.800 for the exhaust side.

The spark process has previously been shown to heavily influence ignition stability, particularly in direct-injected gasoline engines. Despite this influence, few studies have addressed spark behavior in direct-injected engines. This study examines the role of environmental factors on the behavior of the spark. Through measurement of the spark duration, by way of the ignition current trace, several observations are made on the influence of external factors on the behavior of the spark. Changing the level of nitrogen in the cylinder (to simulate EGR), the level of wetting and velocity imparted by the spray, the ignition dwell time and the orientation of the ground strap, observations are made as to which conditions are likely to produce unfavorable (shorter) spark durations. Through collection of a statistically significant number of sample spark lengths under each condition, histograms have been assembled and compared under each case.

Ignition stability was studied in an optical spray guided spark ignition direct injection engine. The impact of intake air dilution with nitrogen, spark plug orientation, ignition system dwell time, and fuel injector targeting was addressed. Crank angle resolved fuel distributions were measured with a high-speed planar laser-induced fluorescence technique for hundreds of consecutive cycles. IMEP, COV of IMEP, burn rates and spark energy delivered to the gas were examined and used in conjunction with the imaging data to identify potential reasons for misfires.

Cam-phasing is increasingly considered as a feasible Variable Valve Timing (VVT) technology for production engines. Additional independent control variables in a dual-independent VVT engine increase the complexity of the system, and achieving its full benefit depends critically on devising an optimum control strategy. A traditional approach relying on hardware experiments to generate set-point maps for all independent control variables leads to an exponential increase in the number of required tests and prohibitive cost. Instead, this work formulates the task of defining actuator set-points as an optimization problem. In our previous study, an optimization framework was developed and demonstrated with the objective of maximizing torque at full load. This study extends the technique and uses the optimization framework to minimize fuel consumption of a VVT engine at part load.

A semi-empirical engine piston/ring assembly friction model based on the concept of the Stribeck diagram and similarity analysis is described. The model was constructed by forming non-dimensional parameters based on design and operating conditions. Friction data collected by the Fixed-Sleeve method described in [1]* at one condition, were used to correlate the coefficient of friction of the assembly and the other non-dimensional parameters. Then, using the instantaneous cylinder pressure as input together with measured and calculated design and operating parameters, reasonable assembly friction and fmep predictions were obtained for a variety of additional conditions, some of which could be compared with experimental values. Model inputs are component dimensions, ring tensions, piston skirt spring constant, piston skirt thermal expansion, engine temperatures, speed, load and oil viscosity.

The LDH (Limiting Dome Height Test) is widely used at Ford Motor Co. stamping plants laboratories to monitor the formability of incoming sheet materials. Although the LDH test is very easy to implement and interpret, variability of the results and poor reproducibility between laboratories limit its acceptance. In this investigation, some of the causes of variability and differences between plant laboratories are discussed. Much of the experimental work was done at plant laboratories and the results are directly applicable to quality control (QC) machines. It was found that the binder force and the binder shape have a big influence on the results, and they should be carefully controlled. The binder cleaning procedure is also relevant to the test variability. Punch temperature has a much greater influence on QC machines than on research machines and a method for controlling the punch temperature in QC machines is presented.