Search Results

A series calculation methodology from the injector nozzle internal flow to the in-cylinder fuel spray and mixture formation in a diesel engine was developed. The present method was applied to a valve covered orifice (VCO) nozzle with the recent common rail injector system. The nozzle internal flow calculation using an Eulerian three-fluid model and a cavitation model was performed. The needle valve movement during the injection period was taken into account in this calculation. Inside the nozzle hole, cavitation appears at the nozzle hole inlet edge, and the cavitation region separates into two regions due to a secondary flow in the cross section, and it is distributed to the nozzle exit. Unsteady change of the secondary flow caused by needle movement affects the cavitation distribution in the nozzle hole, and the spread angle of the velocity vector at the nozzle exit.

To meet the future demands on internal combustion engines regarding efficiency emissions and durability all design parameters must be optimized together. As a result of progress in material engineering fuel injection technology turbo charging technology exhaust gas after treatment there arise a multiplicity of possible parameters, such as: design parameters (compression ratio, dimensioning depending on peak firing pressure and mean effective pressure), injection system (rate shaping, split injection, injection pressure, hole diameter), air management (turbo charging with or without VTG, EGR rate) combustion optimization (timing, air access ratio). The interaction of all these parameters can not be over-looked without simulation and optimization tools. This is valid for the concept layout, the optimization and the application process later on.

Phosphor thermometry was used during fuel injection in an optical engine with the glass piston of reentrant type. SiO2 coated phosphor particle was used for the gas-phase temperature measurements, which gave much less background signal. The measurements were performed in motored mode, in combustion mode with injection of n-heptane and in non-combustion mode with injection of iso-octane. In the beginning of injection period, the mean temperature of each injection cases was lower than that of the motored case, and temperature of iso-octane injection cases was even lower than that of n-heptane injection cases. This indicates, even if vaporization effect seemed to be the same at both injection cases, the effect of temperature decrease changed due to the chemical reaction effect for the n-heptane cases. Chemical reaction seems to be initiated outside of the fuel liquid spray and the position was moving towards the fuel rich area as the time proceeds.

In this paper, the multi-physical simulation workflow from electromagnetics to structural dynamics for a squirrel-cage induction machine is explored. In electromagnetic simulations, local forces and rotor torque are calculated for specific speed-torque operation points. In order to consider non-linearities and interaction with control system as well as transmission, time-domain simulations are carried out. For induction machines, the computational effort with full transient numerical methods like finite element analysis (FEA) is very high. A novel reduced order electro-mechanical model is presented. It still accounts for vibro-acoustically relevant harmonics due to pulse-width modulation (PWM), slotting, distributed winding and saturation effects, but is substantially faster (minutes to hours instead of days to weeks per operation point).

Generally, soot emissions increase in diesel engines with smaller bore sizes due to larger spray impingement on the cavity wall at a constant specific output power. The objective of this study is to clarify the constraints for engine/nozzle specifications and injection conditions to achieve the same combustion characteristics (such as heat release rate and emissions) in diesel engines with different bore sizes. The first report applied the geometrical similarity concept to two engines with different bore sizes and similar piston cavity shapes. The smaller engine emitted more smoke because air entrainment decreases due to the narrower spray angle. A new spray design method called spray characteristics similarity was proposed to suppress soot emissions. However, a smaller nozzle diameter and a larger number of nozzle holes are required to maintain the same spray characteristics (such as specific air-entrainment and penetration) when the bore size decreases.

Over the last few years there has been much interest in DiMethyl Ether (DME) as an alternative fuel for diesel cycle engines. It combines the advantages of a high cetane number with soot free combustion, which makes it eminently suitable for compression ignition engines. However, due to the fact that it is a gas under ambient conditions, it requires special fuel handling and a specially designed fuel injection system, which until recently, was not available. The use of the digital hydraulic operating system (DHOS), combined with a fuel handling system designed to cope with the properties of DME, enables the fuel to be safely and conveniently handled, In addition, the flexibility of the injection system enables injection pressures to be chosen according to the needs of the combustion.

A detailed investigation of the influence of intake port design on the in-cylinder flow structure during the intake and compression strokes, the mixing of the residual gas and a non-premixed intake charge, and the extent and pattern of charge inhomogenity near the time of combustion is described. The engine geometry is typical of the current lean-burn design and the study includes comparison of a helical (swirl) port and an idealized direct (no swirl) port designs. The results show marked dependence of the in-cylinder charge mixing characteristics on the intake port design. It is found that combinations of intake port design and manifold fuel injection timing produce favourably-stratified or irregularly-mixed charge distributions at the time of spark ignition. The consequences with respect to combustion characteristics are pointed out.

The optimization of engine NVH is still an important aspect for vehicle interior and exterior noise radiation. To optimize the engine noise / vibration contribution to the vehicle, a complete understanding of the excitation mechanism, the vibration transfer in the engine structure and the radiation efficiency of the individual engine components is required. Concerning the excitation within the engine, a very efficient analysis methodology for the combustion- and mechanical excitation within gasoline and diesel engines has been developed. Out of this methodology a software tool has been designed for a fast, efficient and detailed evaluation of the combustion- and mechanical excitation content of total engine noise. Recently this software tool has been successfully applied in engine NVH optimization work for defining the best optimization strategies for engine NVH reduction and noise quality improvement especially with respect to combustion excitation.

Diesel emissions are significant issue worldwide, and emissions requirements have become so tough that. the application of after-treatment systems is now indispensable in many countries To meet even more stringent future emissions requirements, it has become apparent that the improvement of market fuel quality is essential as well as the development in engine and exhaust after-treatment technology. Japan Clean Air Program II (JCAP II) is being conducted to assess the direction of future technologies through the evaluation of current automobile and fuel technologies and consequently to realize near zero emissions and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction. In this program, effects of fuel properties on the performance of diesel engines and a vehicle equipped with two types of diesel NOx emission after-treatment devices, a Urea-SCR system and a NOx storage reduction (NSR) catalyst system, were examined.

Replacing the metal car roof with conventional solar modules results in the increase of total car weight and change of center of mass, which is not preferable for car designing. Therefore, weight reduction is required for solar modules to be equipped on vehicles. Exchanging glass to plastic for the cover plate of solar module is one of the major approaches to reduce weight; however, load bearing property, impact resistance, thermal deformation, and weatherability become new challenges. In this paper a new solar module structure that weighs as light as conventional steel car roofs, resolving these challenges is proposed.

Toyota Motor Corporation has mass-produced turbochargers with silicon nitride ceramic rotors since October, 1989. Those turbochargers have been introduced into Celica and MR-2 which are Toyota sporty-type passenger cars. The designing of ceramic rotor was carried out in order to ensure the strength and durability of the component as well as to obtain the same aerodynamic characteristics as in the metal rotor. A moment of inertia was reduced by 60% using ceramic rotor which improved turbocharger response. The ceramic rotor was joined to metal shaft by new method which compensated problems in both shrink fitting and active brazing methods. High temperature strength of silicon nitride material was improved by controlling the amount of sintering additives and sintering conditions. The ceramic injection moulding was employed to mass-produce rotors with complicated shape, applying optimun binder compositions and moulding conditions.

Recently, the concept of Mizen Boushi (reliability problem prevention) has been applied in automotive development as a tool to refine drawings to the greatest completion possible by the prototype stage. GD3 is a quality innovation process that supports this objective, based on the pillars of Good Design, Good Discussion, and Good Design Review. Good Design tries to nip problems in the bud, and Good Discussion and Good Design Review are used to formulate the best countermeasures to those problems. The process utilizes creative FMEA (Failure Mode & Effects Analysis), FTA (Fault Tree Analysis), and a System Design Review. These tools focus attention on the many potential problems that could occur due to a change in design or environment. The System Design Review is especially useful to examine potential failure modes, root causes, part drawings, and prototype part designs. This is followed by a Design Review Based on Failure Mode (DRBFM for short), as a tool to guide discussion.

HTOE (High Temperature Operation Endurance) and PTCE (Power Thermal Cycle Endurance) tests are typically performed according automotive group standards, such as LV 124 [1], VW80000 [2], FCA CS.00056 [3] or PSA B21 7130 [4]. The LV 124-2 group standard, composed by representatives of automobile manufacturers like Audi AG, BMW AG, Volkswagen AG and Porsche AG describes a wide range of environmental tests and their requirements. In addition, calculation parameters and a method are given in the standard. These group standard tests are often attributed to IEC 60068-2-2 [5] for HTOE and IEC 60068-2-14 [6] for PTCE. As both of these tests are typically of long duration, fundamentally linked to reliability (therefore requiring a statistically significant number of samples) and of considerable importance to power electronic, they are worthy of additional scrutiny for automotive developers as most automotive development moves towards electrification.

Alternative fuels, especially fuels based on biological matter, are gaining more and more attention. Not only as a pure substitute of oil but also in terms of a possibility for further reduction in emission and as an option to improve the global CO2 balance. For improving the engine performance (emissions, fuel consumption, torque and drivability) the adjustment of fuel injection, the fuel evaporation process and the combustion process itself is paramount. In order to exploit the full potential of alternative fuels excellent knowledge of the fuel properties, including the impact on ignition and flame propagation, is required. This needs suitable tools for analysis of the fuel injection and combustion process. These tools have to support the optimization of the combustion system and the dynamic engine calibration for lowest emissions and most efficient use of fuel. As the term “Alternative Fuels” covers a very wide area a brief overview on available fuel types will be made.

The subject of this paper is the discussion of a non-dimensional combustion model that relies on the concept of mixing controlled combustion (MCC Heat Release Rate) avoiding the detailed description of the individual mixture formation and fuel oxidation processes. For diffusion combustion in today's direct injection diesel engines it can be shown that the rate of heat release (ROHR) is controlled mainly by two items, i.e. the instantaneous fuel mass present in the cylinder charge and the local density of turbulent kinetic energy. Both items can be derived from the injection process, the instantaneous fuel mass being the difference of fuel injected minus fuel burnt and the turbulent kinetic energy being produced mainly by the momentum of the fuel sprays. Following this strategy, the injection process is now understood as the most important controlling factor for the heat release rate.

DiMethyl Ether (DME) has been shown to be a very attractive fuel for low emission direct injection compression ignition (DICI) engines. It combines the advantages of the high efficiencies of diesel cycle engines with soot free combustion. However, its greatest drawback is the need to develop new fuel injection and handling systems. Previous approaches have been common rail type injection systems which have shown great potential in reducing harmful exhaust emissions and achieving good engine performance and efficiency due to good control of both the fuel injection characteristics and temperature. The concept also has proven benefits with respect to convenient and safe fuel handling. The logical evolution of this concept simplifies the fuel system and avoids special components for DME handling such as high pressure rail pumps while retaining all the benefits of the common rail principle.

1 To predict accurately low frequency vibration caused by the power train, it is essential to consider both the non-steady state characteristics of the engine exciting force and the frequency and amplitude dependent non-linear characteristics of the various components of the transfer system. Conventional steady-state linear analysis using finite element methods (FEM) is unable to handle these characteristics, and as a result, its prediction accuracy is insufficient. This research is based on a multi-body dynamics (MBD) model that is capable of handling non-steady state and non-linear analysis, into which in-cylinder pressure prediction methods were incorporated. The technology developed took into consideration the non-linear characteristics of the transfer system and thereby enabled highly accurate predictions of all systems associated with the vibration reaching the vehicle body.

Single cylinder engine testing was carried out to clearly understand the test results of multi-cylinder engines reported by the Diesel WG in JCAP (Japan Clean Air Program) (1), (2), (3) and (4). In this tests, engine specifications such as fuel injection pressure, nozzle hole diameter, turbo-charging pressure, EGR rate, and fuel properties such as 1-, 2-, 3-ring aromatics content, n-,i-paraffins content, and T90 were parametrically changed and their influence on the emissions were studied. PM emission generally increased in each engine condition with increased aromatic contents and T90. In particular, multi ring aromatics brought about large increases in PM regardless of the engine conditions. The influence of fuel properties on NOx emission is smaller than the influence on PM emission. Some other fuels that have various side chain structures of 1-ring aromatics, normal paraffins only and various naphthene contents were also investigated.

The AVL Load Matrix is a systematic approach to optimize durability and reliability test programs. It is based on component-specific test acceleration factors and uses damage models as well as statistics. Using the Load Matrix approach helps to achieve complete test programs while avoiding unrealistic over-testing. The paper describes the Load Matrix concept and structure as well as the process of setting up the Load Matrix for a system or component. Examples are provided on damage models, and the procedure to estimate the acceleration factors is discussed.

Originally developed for the automotive market, a fully automatic real-time measurement tool AVL-DRIVE is commercially available for analyzing and scoring vehicle drive quality, also known as “Driveability”. This system from AVL uses its own transducers, calibrated to the sensitivity and response of the human body to measure the forces felt by the driver, such as acceleration, shock, surging, vibration, noise, etc. Simultaneously, the vehicle operating conditions are measured, (throttle grip angle, engine speed, gear, vehicle speed, temperature, etc.). Because the software is pre-programmed with the scores from a multitude of different vehicles in each vehicle class via neural networks and fuzzy logic formula, a quality score with reference to similar competitor vehicles is instantly given. This tool is already successfully implemented in the market for years to investigate such driveability parameters for passenger cars.