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Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation has been used to investigate the fuel air mixing regimes of an open chamber gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine. Acceptable homogeneous stoichiometric charge operation was predicted by the CFD simulation and confirmed by data from engine experiments with early injection timing. The simulation also predicted that late injection timing would be inoperable with the open chamber geometry employed. This was confirmed by injection timing experiments on the test engine. Subsequent initial engine development using a different engine geometry with top-entry inlet ports and a piston containing a spherical bowl has demonstrated very stable combustion with an unthrottled late injection strategy. The use of recycled exhaust gas (EGR) is demonstrated to produce better emissions and fuel consumption than purely lean operation. The effect of throttling is found to provide emissions improvements at the expense of fuel economy.

The important influence of engine friction on fuel economy has aroused new interest in its accurate measurement. Ricardo have developed a new system of instrumentation capable of measuring mechanical friction under any steady engine running conditions, and isolating the proportion of engine power absorbed by each of the auxiliary drives. Furthermore, auxiliary drive torque is measured instantaneously as a function of crank angle, enabling the dynamics of the drives to be studied. The instrumentation can be easily adapted to fit most engine types and configurations whilst retaining the original auxiliary drive design. Results obtained from gasoline and diesel versions of a 1.6 litre automotive engine using this instrumentation are described. Mechanical friction, pumping losses and auxiliary drive losses were measured with engine load, speed and coolant temperature varied.