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The combustion process in spark-ignition engines can vary considerably cycle by cycle, which may result in unstable engine operation. The phenomena amplify in natural gas (NG) spark-ignition (SI) engines due to the lower NG laminar flame speed compared to gasoline, and more so under lean burn conditions. The main goal of this study was to investigate the main sources and the characteristics of the cycle-by-cycle variation in heavy-duty compression ignition (CI) engines converted to NG SI operation. The experiments were conducted in a single-cylinder optically-accessible CI engine with a flat bowl-in piston that was converted to NG SI. The engine was operated at medium load under lean operating conditions, using pure methane as a natural gas surrogate. The CI to SI conversion was made through the addition of a low-pressure NG injector in the intake manifold and of a NG spark plug in place of the diesel injector.

This paper outlines the design philosophy and evaluation of the new “H” series variable displacement, medium pressure, open-circuit, axial piston hydraulic pumps. The “H” series is based on previously existing, technically successful, rotating group designs, but has significant design improvements affecting the areas of: Unit Weight Envelope Size Ease of Assembly, Disassembly, Repairability and Modification Alternate Fluid Capabilities The “H” series is a family of naturally aspirated pumps nominally rated at 250 or 275 bar (3625 or 4000 psig), depending on system operating parameters. The geometric displacements of the four units in the series are as follows: 57cc (3.5 cu. in./rev.) 74cc (4.5 cu. in./rev.) 98cc (6.0 cu. in./rev.) 131cc (8.0 cu. in./rev.)

A mathematical model of an axial piston pump with a flapper-nozzle valve was developed. The first stage was dynamically stable, and calculated values of first-stage gain and dynamic response agreed well with experimental values. Linearized relations were produced for each component part and were combined to form the total state-variable representation of the model. The open loop system, the combined axial piston pump and flapper-nozzle valve, exhibited dynamic instability. However, when the feedback loop was augmented by the output pressure differential, stability was achieved. From the time responses of the augmented optimal control system, we observed that an increase of input current had little effect on the system response. Doubling the discharge flow rate doubled the overshoot, and an increase in the discharge volume slowed down the system responses. Increasing rotational speed of the pump produced a higher overshoot and a slower response.

This paper relates to the increase in speed and pressure ratings of piston type hydraulic pumps and motors. Such units are typically used as components in hydrostatic transmissions. Without a substantial change in basic design, the introduction of fixed losses to fulfill these ratings adversely affects the partial load efficiency of those units.

Percussive breaking is basically a process in which short duration blows with high force intensity are applied in rapid succession, resulting in rock, concrete or pavement fragmentation. The machine for such a task is the hydraulic breaker which turns the hydraulic energy supplied by a positive displacement pump into mechanical energy as percussions of a piston against a chisel. This work presents the results of experimental tests carried out on a hydraulic breaker to determine its blow impact energy. Then, using these data, theoretical considerations are formulated in order to understand the phenomenon of the tool loading especially at the instant of the impact of the piston against the chisel, leading to the energy release.

This paper studies the nonlinear characteristics of air suspension. The air spring's nonlinear model by the internal volume variation due to the compression of the spring and the variation of effective area pressure acts on is established. The comparison of simulation and experiment indicates the validity of the model in the paper. The characteristics of a quarter vehicle model with the air spring model presented in the paper have been studied. This analysis can guide the design of the air spring's shape and the piston contour, and understand the performances and the effects of air spring in vehicle.

Systems today are designed to be more flexible than ever before. This increasing demand has made electronically controlled systems more popular and brought into being a formal field called Mechatronics. The science of mechatronics uses mechanical, electrical, electronic, and computer science concepts in a single machine or system[1,6,8]. The key of mechatronics is that all of these areas are combined in the design stage. By using the ideas of mechatronics, more flexible and efficient machines can be produced. Electronically controlled systems are currently replacing the previous mechanically controlled systems[2,3,5].

Two peristaltic pumps were tested to determine their accuracies in metering three liquid herbicides for injection-type sprayers. To maintain acceptable chemical application accuracy from either pump, recalibration is necessary if the formulation or its temperature changes. An experimental thermal flowmeter was developed and evaluated along with turbine and piston flowmeters. The piston flowmeter had the best linearity and smallest time constant. A system to control the flow rate of the injected chemical is proposed and was simulated to determine its dynamic response. The proposed chemical metering system, coupled with plumbing systems of sprayers used by private and commercial applicators, were simulated to predict chemical application accuracies.

The spatial variation of instantaneous heat transfer in a highly rated DI diesel engine (130 mm bore, 150 mm stroke) has been investigated. Measurements have been made at key locations within the combustion chamber (valve bridge, above the piston bowl lip and bore edge) at test conditions covering the engine speed and load range. Total and radiative heat flux probes have been designed and developed to enable both the convective and radiative heat transfer components to be quantified. Transient calibration techniques have also been developed to establish the dynamic characteristics of the heat flux probes. This has removed the uncertainty normally associated with surface thermocouple diffusivity values. Considerable spatial variations in both peak and mean heat transfer have been found. The measured spatial and temporal variation in heat flux have been compared with established heat transfer models.

There is paucity of literature on temperature generation in the reciprocating contacts. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate development of closed form solution for temperature rise at the non-lubricated piston ring/bore interface of the oil-less /oil-free air brake compressor. The solution will depend on parameters of reciprocating motion of the piston, gas load, piston ring geometry and thermophysical properties of the ring and bore material. The problem is reduced to solving the three-dimensional diffusion equation for a rectangular source of heat involved in a reciprocating motion. The solution is presented in an integral form. The temperature instabilities typical for a line source of heat are avoided by using a rectangular source of heat. The final results are obtained using numerical integration. Various cases of practical interest such as fast and slowly moving piston, long and short piston strokes are considered using a computer program.

Over the past decade, laser diagnostics have improved our understanding of many aspects of diesel combustion. However, interactions between the combusting fuel jet and the piston-bowl wall are not well understood. In heavy-duty diesel engines, with typical fuels, these interactions occur with the combusting vapor-phase region of the jet, which consists of a central region containing soot and other products of rich-premixed combustion, surrounded by a diffusion flame. Since previous work has shown that the OH radical is a good marker of the diffusion flame, planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging of OH was applied to an investigation of the diffusion flame during wall interaction. In addition, simultaneous OH PLIF and planar laser-induced incandescence (PLII) soot imaging was applied to investigate the likelihood for soot deposition on the bowl wall.

For many years the ASTM D2882 test method, using the V-104C Vane pump, served the industry well to evaluate the lubricating properties of hydraulic fluids at low pressures (< 2000 psi). However, at higher pressures in different types of pumps (i.e. piston pumps), this method may not be reliable enough to predict satisfactory lubrication performance in commercial applications. In this paper the V-104C pump will be evaluated in terms of vane contact force and film thickness parameters to assertain the possibility of using a modified bench test to better predict hydraulic fluid performance at higher pressures.

Problems persist in brake systems performance when used in extreme conditions (under high speeds, traffic, etc.) and in heavy vehicles. The object of this work is to investigate the possibilities for further improving typical braking system used in extreme driving conditions. The engineering approach and technical scheme has been developed for application based on standard commercially available brake components. The mechanical part of the braking system is combined with an electrical circuit for control and regulation. This consists of an electromagnet, which is built into the braking system between the brake pedal and the vacuum amplifier. This magnet can provide additional power to the brake regulator up towards 100 kg. Under normal conditions this braking system (electromagnetic device) would not operate and would only be initiated under extreme conditions, when the acceleration and the movement of the main cylinder's piston rod becomes larger then the standard value.

High pressure fuel injection systems, such as common rail (CR) systems and electronically-controlled unit injector (EUI) systems, have been widely applied to modern heavy duty diesel engines. They are shown to be very effective for achieving high power density with high fuel efficiency and low exhaust gas emissions. However, the increased peak combustion pressure gives additional structural stress and thermal load to engine structure. Thus, proper material selection and thermal analysis of engine components are essential in order to meet the durability requirements of heavy-duty diesel engines adopting a high pressure injection system. In this paper, thermal analysis of a 12.9 ℓ diesel engine with an EUI system was studied. Temperatures were measured on a cylinder head, a piston and a cylinder liner. A specially designed linkage system was used to measure the piston temperatures. A radio-tracer technique was also used to verify the rotation of piston rings.

An investigation was performed to determine the effects of applying on-highway heavy-duty diesel engine emissions reduction technology to an off-highway version of the engine. Special attention was paid to the typical constraints of fuel consumption, heat rejection, packaging and cost-effectiveness. The primary focus of the effort was NOx, reduction while hopefully not worsening other gaseous and particulate emissions. Hardware changes were limited to “bolt-on” items, thus excluding piston and combustion chamber modifications. In the final configuration, NOx was improved by 28 percent, particulates by 58 percent, CO and HC were also better and the fuel economy penalty was limited to under 4 percent. Observations are made about the effectiveness of various individual and combined strategies, and potential problems are identified.

Changing emission legislation limits are challenging the engine developers in many aspects. Requirement to improve combustion and engine efficiency have resulted in increased loads and higher levels of abrasive particles within the engine environment. Concerning piston rings and piston ring grooves, such engine modifications are leading to critical tribological conditions and side wear is becoming a key issue in the design of these components. Historically one of the most common forms of side wear protection on piston rings has been chromium plate. This solution has limitations on durability (low thickness) and on topography (rough surfaces). In response to these limitations, nitrided stainless steel top rings have been used to improve the side protection; it is harder and typically has a smoother surface finish when compared to chromium coating.

Heavy-duty vehicles, currently the second largest source of fuel consumption and carbon emissions are projected to be fastest growing mode in transportation sector in future. There is a clear need to increase fuel efficiency and lower emissions for these engines. The Opposed-Piston Engine (OP Engine) has the potential to address this growing need. In this paper, results are presented for a 9.8L three-cylinder two-stroke OP Engine that shows the potential of achieving 55% brake thermal efficiency (BTE), while simultaneously satisfying emission targets for tail pipe emissions. The two-stroke OP Engines are inherently more cost effective due to less engine parts. The OP Engine architecture presented in this paper can meet this performance without the use of waste heat recovery systems or turbo-compounding and hence is the most cost effective technology to deliver this level of fuel efficiency.

The design and development of a new four-stroke two-cylinder diesel engine family of 1.29 litre capacity for off road are discussed. The engine is in naturally aspirated and turbocharged and intercooled versions and rated from 11.9 kW/1500 rpm to 25.7 kW/2500 rpm. The engines were tuned for air and fuel flows, air utilisation, fuel air mixing, performance and emissions at steady state at a development lab and later certified in national labs. The high altitude capability of the TCIC was checked using a model. The engines rated at less than 19 kW satisfy India Generator set and off road norms of India and Europe equivalent to USTier4 standard, and at higher ratings, standard equivalent to US Tier4-interim. In the second part of the paper, the design of coolant and oil pumps, oil cooler for TCIC engine and the piston with steel oil control ring are discussed. The higher loaded TCIC engines use fillet hardened crankshafts of chromium molybdenum steel.

A new method for driving the hydraulic free piston engine is proposed. This method achieves the compression stroke automatically rather than special recovery system. Principle of hydraulic differential drive free-piston engine is analyzed and the control strategy of this novel hydraulic driving engine is also introduced. Then energy balance method is used to design the main parameters of the novel engine. High pressure and secondary high pressure of the hydraulic system are constrained by the combustion parameters and therefore parameters are analyzed. In order to verify the effectiveness of energy balance method, the mathematical model is established based on the piston force analysis and engine working principle. The transient results of dynamics are obtained through simulation. In addition, the effectiveness of the simulation is proofed by dimensionless analysis. It indicates that energy balance method realizes the basic performance of hydraulic free piston engine.

A detailed thermodynamic analysis was performed to demonstrate the fundamental efficiency advantage of an opposed-piston two-stroke engine over a standard four-stroke engine. Three engine configurations were considered: a baseline six-cylinder four-stroke engine, a hypothetical three-cylinder opposed-piston four-stroke engine, and a three-cylinder opposed-piston two-stroke engine. The bore and stroke per piston were held constant for all engine configurations to minimize any potential differences in friction. The closed-cycle performance of the engine configurations were compared using a custom analysis tool that allowed the sources of thermal efficiency differences to be identified and quantified.