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In light of the increasingly stringent efficiency and emissions requirements, several new engine technologies are currently under investigation. One of these new concepts is the Dedicated EGR (D-EGR®) engine. The concept utilizes fuel reforming and high levels of recirculated exhaust gas (EGR) to achieve very high levels of thermal efficiency. While the positive impact of reformate, in particular hydrogen, on gasoline engine performance has been widely documented, the on-board reforming process and / or storage of H2 remains challenging. The Water-Gas-Shift (WGS) reaction is well known and has been used successfully for many years in the industry to produce hydrogen from the reactants water vapor and carbon monoxide. For this study, prototype WGS catalysts were installed in the exhaust tract of the dedicated cylinder of a turbocharged 2.0 L in-line four cylinder MPI engine. The potential of increased H2 production in a D-EGR engine was evaluated through the use of these catalysts.

Experiments were performed on a small displacement (< 2 L), high compression ratio, 4 cylinder, port injected gasoline engine equipped with Dedicated EGR® (D-EGR®) technology using fuels with varying anti-knock properties. Gasolines with anti-knock indices of 84, 89 and 93 anti-knock index (AKI) were tested. The engine was operated at a constant nominal EGR rate of ∼25% while varying the reformation ratio in the dedicated cylinder from a ϕD-EGR = 1.0 - 1.4. Testing was conducted at selected engine speeds and constant torque while operating at knock limited spark advance on the three fuels. The change in combustion phasing as a function of the level of overfuelling in the dedicated cylinder was documented for all three fuels to determine the tradeoff between the reformation ratio required to achieve a certain knock resistance and the fuel octane rating.

A quasidimensional engine simulation which uses the concepts of fractal geometry to model the effects of turbulence on flame propagation in a homogeneous charge SI engine has been developed. Heat transfer and blowby/crevice flow submodels are included in this code and the submodels chosen are found to be reasonable. The model predictions of cylinder pressure histories are then compared with experimental data over a range of loads, equivalence ratios, and engine speeds. The model is not adjusted in any manner to yield better agreement with the data, other than by tuning the simple turbulence model used so as to yield agreement with data for the nonreacting flow. However, current information about the flame wrinkling scales in an engine is inadequate. Therefore, predictions are made for three different assumptions about the flame wrinkling scales which span the range of physically possible scales.

The primary focus of this investigation was to determine the hydrogen reformation, efficiency and knock mitigation benefits of methanol-fueled Dedicated EGR (D-EGR®) operation, when compared to other EGR types. A 2.0 L turbocharged port fuel injected engine was operated with internal EGR, high-pressure loop (HPL) EGR and D-EGR configurations. The internal, HPL-EGR, and D-EGR configurations were operated on neat methanol to demonstrate the relative benefit of D-EGR over other EGR types. The D-EGR configuration was also tested on high octane gasoline to highlight the differences to methanol. An additional sub-task of the work was to investigate the combustion response of these configurations. Methanol did not increase its H2 yield for a given D-EGR cylinder equivalence ratio, even though the H:C ratio of methanol is over twice typical gasoline.

A liquid-phase port injection system for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) generally consists of a fuel storage tank with extended capability of operating up to 600 psi, a fuel pump, and suitable fuel lines to and from the LPG fuel injectors mounted in the fuel rail manifold. Port injection of LPG in the liquid phase is attractive due to engine emissions and performance benefits. However, maintaining the LPG in the liquid phase at under-hood conditions and re-starting after hot soak can be difficult. Multiphase behavior within a liquid-phase LPG injection system was investigated computationally and experimentally. A commercial chemical equilibrium code (ASPEN PLUS™) was used to model various LPG compositions under operating conditions.

The Texas Project was a multi-year study of aftermarket conversions of a variety of light-duty vehicles to CNG or LPG. Emissions and fuel economy when using these fuels are compared to the results for the same vehicles operating on certification gasoline and Federal Phase 1 RFG. Since 1993, 1,040 tests were conducted on 10 models, totally 86 light-duty vehicles. The potential for each vehicle model/kit combination to attain LEV certification was assessed. Also, comparisons of emissions and fuel economy between converted vehicles when operating on gasoline and nominally identical un-converted gasoline control vehicles were analyzed. Additional evaluations were performed for a subfleet that was subjected to exhaust speciations for operation over the Federal Test Procedure cycle and also for off-cycle tests.

The Texas Project was a multi-year study of aftermarket conversions of a variety of light-duty vehicles to CNG or LPG. One aspect of this project was to examine the factors that influence the economics of fleet conversions to these alternative fuels. The present analysis did not include longer-term effects (such as possible increases in exhaust system life or increases in tire wear). Additionally, assumptions were required to estimate the costs of repairs to the alternative fuel system and engine. Other factors considered include conversion cost, fuel prices, annual alternative fuel tax (as applied for the state of Texas), annual miles accumulated, and the percent miles traveled while using the alternative fuel for dual fuel conversions.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) began using an emulsified diesel fuel as an emissions control measure in July 2002. They initiated a study of the effectiveness of this fuel in comparison to conventional diesel fuel for TxDOT's Houston District operations and included the fleet operated by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) in the Houston area. Cost-effectiveness analyses, including the incremental cost per ton of NOx removed, were performed. NOx removal was the focus of this study because Houston is an ozone nonattainment area, and NOx is believed to be the limiting factor in ozone formation in the Houston area. The cost factors accounted for in the cost-effectiveness analyses included the incremental cost of the fuel (including an available rebate from the State of Texas), the cost of refueling more often, implementation costs, productivity costs, maintenance costs, and various costs associated with the tendency of the emulsion to separate.

The University of Texas 2000 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge team remains focused on cold start, cold drivability, fuel economy, and emissions reduction for our 2000 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge entry. We used the stock PCM for all control functions except control of an innovative cold-start system our team designed. The primary modifications for improved emissions control involved ceramic coating of the exhaust manifolds, use of close-coupled ethanol-specific catalysts, use of a moddified version of the California Emissions Calibrated PCM, and our cold-start system that eliminates the need to overfuel the engine at the beginning of the FTP. Additionally, we eliminated EGR at high load to improve power density. Major modifications, such as increasing the compression ratio or pressure boosting, were eliminated from consideration due to cost, complexity, reliability, or emissions penalties.

An optical access engine was used to image the liquid film evaporation off the piston of a simulated direct injected gasoline engine. A directional injector probe was used to inject liquid fuel (gasoline, i-octane and n-pentane) directly onto the piston of an engine primarily fueled on propane. The engine was run at idle conditions (750 RPM and closed throttle) and at the Ford World Wide Mapping Point (1500 RPM and 262 kPa BMEP). Mie scattering images show the liquid exiting the injector probe as a stream and directly impacting the piston top. Schlieren imaging was used to show the fuel vaporizing off the piston top late in the expansion stroke and during the exhaust stroke. Previous emissions tests showed that the presence of liquid fuel on in-cylinder surfaces increases engine-out hydrocarbon emissions.

A nephelometer system was developed to characterize engine particulate emissions from DISI engines. Results were correlated with images showing the location and history of particulates in the cylinder of an optical engine. The nephelometer's operation is based upon the dependence of scattered laser light on particulate size from a flow sampled from the exhaust of an engine. The nephelometer simultaneously measured the scattered light from angles of 20° to 160° from the forward scattering direction in 4° increments. The angular scattering measurements were then compared with calculations using a Mie scattering code to infer information regarding particulate size. Measurements of particulate mass were made based upon a correlation developed between the scattered light intensity and particulate mass samples trapped in a 0.2-micron filter. Measurements were made in a direct injection single-cylinder spark ignition research engine having a transparent quartz cylinder.

A turbocharged 2.0 L PFI engine was modified to operate in a low-pressure loop and Dedicated EGR (D-EGR®) engine configuration. Both engine architectures were operated with a low and high octane gasoline as well as three ethanol blends. The core of this study focused on examining combustion differences at part and high loads between the selected fuels and also the different engine configurations. Specifically, the impact of the fuels on combustion stability, burn rates, knock mitigation, required ignition energy, and efficiency were evaluated. The results showed that the knock resistance generally followed the octane rating of the fuel. At part loads, the burn rates, combustion stability, and EGR tolerance was marginally improved with the high ethanol blends. When combustion was not knock or stability limited, the efficiency differences between the fuels were negligible. The D-EGR engine was much less sensitive to fuel changes in terms of burn rates than the LPL EGR setup.

Dual fuel engines have shown significant potential as high efficiency powerplants. In one example, SwRI® has run a high EGR, dual-fuel engine using gasoline as the main fuel and diesel as the ignition source, achieving high thermal efficiencies with near zero NOx and smoke emissions. However, assuming a tank size that could be reasonably packaged, the diesel fuel tank would need to be refilled often due to the relatively high fraction of diesel required. To reduce the refill interval, SwRI investigated various alternative fluids as potential ignition sources. The fluids included: Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), Biodiesel, NORPAR (a commercially available mixture of normal paraffins: n-pentadecane (normal C15H32), and n-hexadecane (normal C16H34)) and ashless lubrication oil. Lubrication oil was considered due to its high cetane number (CN) and high viscosity, hence high ignitability.

The mixture preparation process was investigated in a direct-injected, 4-valve, SI engine under motored conditions. The interaction between the high-pressure fuel jet and the intake air-flow was observed. Laser-sheet droplet imaging was used to visualize the in-cylinder droplet distributions, and a single-component LDV system was used to measure in-cylinder velocities. The fuel spray was visualized with the engine motored at 1500 and 750 rpm, and with the engine stopped. It was observed that the shape of the fuel spray was distorted by the in-cylinder air motion generated by the intake air flow, and that this effect became more pronounced with increasing engine speed. Velocity measurements were made at five locations on the symmetry plane of the cylinder, with the engine motored at 750 rpm. Comparison of these measurements with, and without, injection revealed that the in-cylinder charge motion was significantly altered by the injection event.

Off-cycle emissions from seven different types of 1994 light-duty vehicles were examined The test fleet consisted of 19 individual vehicles including a passenger car, two makes of light light-duty trucks, and five types of heavy light-duty trucks The driving cycles used for these tests were the US06(hard acceleration, high speed) cycle and the 20 °F FTP (the “Cold FTP”) Conventional FTPs were done for comparison Each vehicle was usually operated on at least two of the following CNG, LPG, Federal Phase 1 reformulated gasoline (FP1 RFG), and a low sulfur certification gasoline For both the conventional FTP and the US06 cycles, the alternative fuels produce statistically significant benefits in Ozone Forming Potential and exhaust toxics but the NOx emissions are not statistically different from those when operating on FP1 RFG with at least 90% confidence During Cold FTP tests, the emissions of CO and of toxics when operating on FP1 RFG are not statistically different from those when operating on a low sulfur certification gasoline In contrast the alternative fuels produce statistically significant benefits in the emissions of both CO and toxics compared to either of the gasolines during Cold FTP tests The Reactivity Adjustment Factor calculated from the present conventional FTP results for CNG agrees closely with the CARB value However, the present RAF for LPG is about half CARB s value, which is believed to be a consequence of the low propene in Texas LPG compared to the high propene in California LPG The effects of the test type on the emissions are also discussed

The Texas Project is a multi-year study of the emissions and fuel economy of aftermarket conversions of light-duty vehicles, including passenger cars, light light-duty trucks, and heavy light-duty trucks. The test fleet, consisting of 86 mostly 1994 model year vehicles, includes eight different types of light-duty vehicles that have been converted to dual fueled operation for either CNG or LPG and corresponding gasoline controls. Virtually every type of aftermarket conversion technology (referred to as a “kit” for convenience) is represented in the test matrix: eight different CNG kits and seven different LPG kits, all of which have closed loop control systems. One goal of The Texas Project is to evaluate the different kits for each of the applications. One method used for evaluating the different kits was by assessing their potential for attaining LEV certification for each of the vehicle applications.

The Texas Project involves the conversion of light-duty vehicles, up to and heavy light-duty trucks, to bi-fueled vehicles using commercially available aftermarket CNG and LPG conversion systems. The test fleet includes 68 dual fueled conversions. Virtually every type of aftermarket conversion technology for CNG and LPG was evaluated: eight different CNG and seven different LPG conversion “kits”, all of which are modern systems incorporating closed-loop control. The kits were installed and calibrated according to the manufacturer's guidelines and recommendations. The emissions when operating on the alternative fuel were compared to those when operating on certification gasoline to determine the “success” of the conversion. Many of these conversions, performed according to the manufacturer's requirements, were not “successful” (worse emissions than for gasoline operation). In almost all cases, the problem was NOx emissions that were too high when operating on the alternative fuel.

A survey of the CNG compositions within NGV driving range of Houston was performed. It was found that the statistics for the Texas CNGs were very similar to those from a previous national survey Based upon the present survey results, two extremes of CNG composition were chosen for a study of the effects of composition on emissions, fuel economy, and driveability. Two other CNG compositions were also included to provide for comparisons with the recently completed Auto/Oil Air Quality Improvement Research Program (AQIRP) and to extend the AQIRP database. One of the vehicles used in the AQIRP study was also used in the present investigation. Correlations were investigated for the relationships between the CNG composition and tailpipe emissions, fuel economy, and driveability.

The Rotating Linear Engine (RLE) derives improved fuel efficiency and decreased maintenance costs via a unique lubrication design, which decreases piston assembly friction and the associated wear for heavy-duty natural gas and diesel engines. The piston ring friction exhibited on current engines accounts for 1% of total US energy consumption. The RLE is expected to reduce this friction by 50-70%, an expectation supported by hot motoring and tear-down tests on the UT single cylinder RLE prototype. Current engines have stationary liners where the oil film thins near the ends of the stroke, resulting in metal-to-metal contact. This metal-to-metal contact is the major source of both engine friction and wear, especially at high load. The RLE maintains an oil film between the piston rings and liner throughout the piston stroke due to liner rotation. This assumption has also been confirmed by recent testing of the single cylinder RLE prototype.

Ignition of extremely lean or dilute mixtures is a very challenging problem. Therefore, it is essential for the engine development engineer to understand the fundamentals and limitations of existing ignition systems. This paper presents a new railplug ignition concept, a high-energy ignition system, which can enhance ignition of very lean mixtures by means of its high-energy deposition and high velocity jet of the plasma. This paper presents initial results of tests using an inductive ignition system, a capacitor discharge ignition system, and a railplug high-energy ignition system. Discharge characteristics, such as time-resolved voltage, current, and luminous emission were measured. Spark plug and railplug ignition are compared for their effects on combustion stability of a natural gas engine. The results show that railplugs have a very strong arc-phase that can ensure the ignition of very dilute mixtures.