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Both carbon blacks and carbon nano-onions nanoparticles have a spheroidal shape and a nested structure. They can be used to simulate the presence of soots in used engine oils. When added to fully formulated fresh engines oils, these two kinds of particles behave very differently. Carbon black particles are highly abrasive causing a lot of wear of steel surfaces and friction increases. At the opposite, the addition of carbon onions in lubricant leads to a reduction of both friction and wear compared to pure base oil. This shows that there is an opportunity to control wear in engines by changing the structure of soots during the combustion process.

Future light, medium and heavy duty diesel engines will need to satisfy the more stringent emission levels (US 2014, Euro 6, etc.) without compromising their current performance and fuel economy, while still maintaining a competitive cost. In order to achieve this, the Fuel Injection Equipment (FIE) together with the pressure charging, cooling system, exhaust after treatment and other engine sub-systems will each play a key role. The FIE has to offer a range of flexible injection characteristics, e.g. a multiple injection train with or without separation, modulated injection pressures and rates for every injection, higher specific power output from the same injector envelope, and close control of very small fuel injection quantities. The aim of this paper is to present Delphi's developments in fuel injection strategies for light and medium duty diesel engines that will comply with future emission legislation, whilst providing higher power density and uncompromised fuel economy.

The introduction of the LDCR common rail injection system has opened up new possibilities in controlling the details of the injection rate and the spray characteristics. In particular, there is potential to optimize engine performance across the speed and load range, if a nozzle can be developed which has the facility to vary the final orifice area over the operating range of the engine. There are a number of different geometries which may achieve the required effects. Two possible methods are to throttle either the entrance or the exit of the nozzle holes to a greater or lesser extent, according to the engine running condition. The paper describes an investigation of the spray characteristics of entry and exit throttled orifices, and how they are affected by pressure levels and degrees of opening. In previous studies, large scale transparent models have accurately reproduced the different spray characteristics observed with actual nozzles.

Biodiesel offers a potentially viable alternative fuel source for diesel automotive applications. However, biodiesel may present problems at colder temperatures due to the crystallization of fatty acid methyl esters and precipitation of other components, such as unreacted triglycerides and sterol glycosides in biodiesel. At lower temperatures, the fuel gels until it solidifies in the fuel lines, clogging the fuel filter, and shutting down the engine. A laboratory-based continuous loop fuel system was utilized to determine the flow properties at low temperatures of biodiesel in B100, B20, and B10 blends for soybean and choice white grease (pig fat) biodiesel fuel. The continuous loop fuel delivery system was designed to be similar to those that can be found in engines and vehicles currently in use, and provided a mechanical pump or an electric pump as a means to simulate systems found in the different types of vehicles.

Diverse techniques have been developed for spray investigations, especially high speed cinematography and microphotography. Recently, the progresses obtained in the application of laser techniques to simultaneous measurement of droplet size and velocity have opened new perspectives for in situ investigations of Diesel fuel jets. In this study, a laser measuring system, based on the Phase Doppler Anemometry method (PDA), is applied to examine the dynamic behaviour of the fuel jet in an experimental direct injection Diesel engine fitted with large optical accesses. The local measurements have been performed for two cases: with combustion and without combustion.

Modern diesel engines are typically equipped with common rail injection system, variable geometry turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation system in order to meet the emissions standards. While the electronic fuel control has been extensively developed and used in the common rail injection systems, the “in-air cylinders filling” control remains poorly exploited. In this paper, we suggest a dynamic engine optimization process that predicts, under transient conditions, the optimal values of the intake pressure and the compressor mass flow rate to be applied to the engine based on pollution criteria such as the opacity. The optimization procedure and a physical mean value model describing the functioning of a variable geometry turbocharged diesel engine and its smoke's opacity are shown in details. The simulations results of the engine's model are in excellent agreement with the experimental data collected on test bench.

The non-reactive diesel spray is studied in a constant volume combustion chamber. Droplet sizes and velocities are measured using Particle Doppler Analyzer instrumentation. The effects of aerodynamic drag and vaporization on the droplets size are emphasized. An increase of the mean diameters is observed downstream of the break-up region. The well known KIVA-II code is used to achieve spray computations. The break-up model is disabled and the spray is assumed to be already atomized at the nozzle exit. Size distribution and velocities of the injected droplets are deduced from downstream experimental data. A good agreement is obtained between numerical and experimental results. Size distributions at various locations and temperature conditions are correctly predicted. A diesel spray can be thus modeled in a satisfactory way, when we alleviate the complex processes of break-up, but with appropriate initial droplets conditions.

The measurement of the rate of fuel injection using a constant volume, fluid filled chamber and measuring the pressure change as a function of time due to the injected fluid (the so called “Zeuch” method) is an industry standard due to its simple theoretical underpinnings. Such a measurement device is useful to determine key timing and quantity parameters for injection system improvements to meet the evolving requirements of emissions, power and economy. This study aims to further the understanding of the nature of cavitation which could occur in the near nozzle region under these specific conditions of liquid into liquid injection using high pressure diesel injectors for heavy duty engines. The motivation for this work is to better understand the temporal signature of the pressure signals that arise in a typical injection cycle.

For many years, compression ignition combustion has been studied by a combination of generic studies on fuel spray formation and analysis of results from single and multicylinder engines. The results and insight have been applied to design and develop advanced fuel injection equipment for high-speed direct injection engines. Experimental fuel injection equipments, including early common rail designs, have been matched to combustion chambers in single cylinder research engines to tackle the conflicting requirements of efficiency and minimum nitric oxide formation, combustion noise and soot. A clear strategy evolved from the work with experimental equipment that is being applied to multicylinder engines. If sufficient oxygen is available in the gas charge trapped in each cylinder, the LDCR common rail injection system will provide the fuel required to develop high torque at low engine speeds.

The main source of excitation in gearboxes is generated by the meshing process, which generates vibration transmitted to the casings through shafts and bearings. Casing vibration generates leads to acoustic radiation (whining noise). It is usually assumed that the transmission error and variation of the gear mesh stiffness are the dominant excitation mechanisms. These excitations result from tooth deflection and tooth micro-geometries (voluntary profile modifications and manufacturing errors). For real cases, the prediction of noise induced by the Static Transmission Error (STE) remains a difficult problem. In this work, an original calculation procedure is implemented by using a finite element method and taking into account the parametric excitations and their coupling (Spectral Iterative Method, developed by the Ecole Centrale de Lyon).

The need for improved emissions and fuel economy are placing increasingly severe performance requirements on compression ignition engines. These are satisfied in part by advanced fuel injection equipment that provide multiple injections and increased injection pressures along with higher operating temperature. Fuel composition is also changing, with increased use of non-traditional feedstocks combined with a range of additive chemistries to restore or enhance fuel quality. Within this environment, a number of worldwide automotive companies have noted a trend towards increased Internal Injector Deposits (IID). Little quantitative information to understand the root cause is available, largely due to difficulty in reproducing the issue under controlled conditions. The present study details the results of an accelerated test methodology, which is used to evaluate the interrelated effects of fuel composition and operating environment.

Aeronautical brakes are subject to non-linear unstable vibrations. In particular, two modes appear and present a risk for the structure. Firstly, the whirl modes consist of a rotating bending motion of the axle out-of-phase with the brake torque tube. It is due to a coupling of two bending modes of the axle in orthogonal directions. Secondly, the brake squeal mode resulting from stick-slip or sprag-slip phenomena consists of a rotational motion of the brake around the axle. Those vibrations are not resulting from an external excitation but are friction-induced self-excited. Hence, they are dependent on tribological phenomena specific to carbon disks and are in particular controlled by the friction coefficient μ. In order to take into account the dynamical aspect in brake design, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty wants to simulate modes and acceleration g's levels. This article deals with the improvement of such a model. A finite element of the brake exists.

Modern diesel engines are equipped with an increasing number of actuators set to improve human comfort and fuel consumptions while respecting the restricted emissions regulations. In spite of the great progress made in the electronic and data-processing domains, the physical-based emissions models remain time consuming and too complicated to be used in a dynamic calibrating process. Therefore, until these days, the calibration of the engine's cartographies is done manually by experimental experts on dynamic test bed, but the results are not often the best compromise in the consumption-emissions formula due to the increasing number of actuators and to the nonlinear and complex relations between the different variables involved in the combustion process. Recently, neural networks are successfully used to model dynamic multiple inputs - multiple outputs processes by learning from examples and without any additional or detailed information about the process itself.

An experimental study of diesel spray / wall interaction is conducted in a pressurized bomb using Phase Doppler Anemometer and high speed shadowgraphy. The instantaneous droplet sizes and velocities are measured in the impingement region, without combustion, in the plane located at 3 mm from the wall, for four wall temperatures 20, 200, 300 and 400 °C. A droplet wall interaction model has been developed and incorporated in the Kiva II code. The model accounts for droplet atomization and heat transfer. The computed spray penetration, the shape contour and the SMD are compared respectively to spray photographs and PDA measurements.

Partially Premixed Combustion (PPC) is a combustion concept by which it is possible to get low smoke and NOx emissions simultaneously. PPC requires high EGR levels and injection timings sufficiently early or late to extend the ignition delay so that air and fuel mix extensively prior to combustion. This paper investigates the operating region of single injection diesel PPC in a multi cylinder heavy duty engine resembling a standard build production engine. Limits in emissions and fuel consumption are defined and the highest load that fulfills these requirements is determined. Experiments are carried out at different engine speeds and a comparison of open and closed loop combustion control are made as well as evaluation of an extended EGR-cooling system designed to reduce the EGR temperature. In this study the PPC operating range proved to be limited.

An increasing range of conventional and unconventional feed stocks will be used to produce fuel of varying chemical and physical properties for use in compression ignition engines. Fischer-Tropsh (F-T) technology can be used to produce fuels of consistent quality from a wide range of feed stocks. The present study evaluates the performance of F-T fuel in advanced common rail fuel injection systems. Laboratory scale tests are combined with proprietary engine and electrically driven common rail pump hydraulic rig tests to predict long-term performance. The results obtained indicate that the performance of F-T fuel is at least comparable to conventional hydrocarbon fuels and superior in a number of areas. In particular, the lubricity of F-T fuel was improved by addition of lubricity additives or FAME, with minimal wear under a wide range of operating conditions and temperatures.

In the context of LEV and ULEV, and to improve performances and passenger comfort, the closed loop optimisation of the engine torque is one of the major element of the engine control strategy. To do that, the knowledge of instantaneous engine torque is needed. In this paper, we are looking for economical and reliable methods to estimate the average indicated torque (of each cylinder) during its combustion stroke based on crankangle measurements. These methods use an engine model which must be both simple for ‘on line’ implementation and accurate enough for a good estimation. We will be presenting and discussing the assumptions and the requirement to meet for this determination.

A system for injection of diesel fuel and water with real-time control, or real-time water injection (RTWI), was developed and applied to a heavy-duty diesel engine. The RTWI system featured electronic unit pumps that delivered metered volumes of water to electronic unit injectors (EUI) modified to incorporate the water addition passages. The water and diesel mixed in the injector tip such that the initial portion of the injection contained mostly diesel fuel, while the balance of the injection was a water and diesel mixture. With this hardware, real-time cycle-by-cycle control of water mass was used to mitigate soot formation during diesel combustion. Using RTWI alone, NOx emissions were reduced by 42%. Using high-pressure-loop exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and conventional diesel combustion with RTWI, the NOx was reduced by 82%.

Performance and refinement are key factors which influence the market acceptance of passenger cars, and consequently in the area of diesel fuel injection control there is increasing pressure for improved driveability. “Driveline shunt” is one important and problematic aspect of driveability, which is also known as “judder”, “chuggle” or “cab-nod”. It has been defined as an objectionable vehicle oscillation which takes place following a rapid throttle input or increase in engine load. This phenomenon is caused by driveline vibrations which can occur as a consequence of variations in engine torque demand. Mathematical modelling and experimentation techniques have been used to establish the behaviour of a fuel injection system, engine and vehicle driveline. Vehicle tests have been conducted in order to relate objective metrics and subjective opinion.

The pursuit of new combustion concepts or modes is ongoing to meet future emissions regulations and to eliminate or at least to minimize the burden of aftertreatment systems. In this research, Premixed Low Temperature Diesel Combustion (PLTDC) was developed using a single-cylinder engine to achieve low NOx and soot emissions while maintaining fuel efficiency. Operating conditions considered were 1500 rpm, 3 bar and 6 bar IMEP. The effects of injection timing, injection pressure, swirl ratio, EGR rate, and multiple injection strategies on the combustion process have been investigated. The results show that low NOx and soot emissions can be obtained at both operating conditions without sacrificing the fuel efficiency. Low NOx and soot emissions are achieved through minimization of peak temperatures during the combustion process and homogenization of in-cylinder air-fuel mixture.