Search Results

Heavy-duty diesel engine particulate matter (PM) emissions must be reduced from 0.1 to 0.01 grams per brake horsepower-hour by 2007 due to EPA regulations [1]. A catalyzed particulate filter (CPF) is used to capture PM in the exhaust stream, but as PM accumulates in the CPF, exhaust flow is restricted resulting in reduced horsepower and increased fuel consumption. PM must therefore be burned off, referred to as CPF regeneration. Unfortunately, nominal exhaust temperatures are not always high enough to cause stable self-regeneration when needed. One promising method for active CPF regeneration is to inject fuel into the exhaust stream upstream of an oxidation catalytic converter (OCC). The chemical energy released during the oxidation of the fuel in the OCC raises the exhaust temperature and allows regeneration.

Active regeneration of a catalyzed particulate filter (CPF) is affected by a number of parameters specifically particulate matter loading and inlet temperature. The MTU 1-D 2-Layer CPF model [1] was used to analyze these effects on the pressure drop, oxidation and filtration characteristics of a CPF during active regeneration. In addition, modeling results for post loading experiments were analyzed to understand the difference between loading a clean filter as compared to a partially regenerated filter. Experimental data obtained with a production Cummins regenerative particulate filter for loading, active regenerations and post loading experiments were used to calibrate the MTU 1-D 2-Layer CPF model. The model predicted results are compared with the experimental data and were analyzed to understand the CPF characteristics during active regeneration at 1.1, 2.2 and 4.1 g/L particulate matter (PM) loading and CPF inlet temperatures of 525, 550 and 600°C.

A 1-D 2-layer model developed previously at MTU was used in this research to predict the pressure drop, filtration characteristics and various properties of the particulate filter and the particulate deposit layer. The model was calibrated and validated for this CPF with data obtained from steady state experiments conducted using a 1995 Cummins M11-330E heavy-duty diesel engine with manual EGR and using ULSF. The CPF used is a NGK filter having a cordierite substrate with NEX catalyst type formulation (54% porosity, 15.0 μm mean pore diameter and 50 gms/ft3 Pt). The filter was catalyzed using a wash coat process. The model was used to predict the pressure drop, particulate mass retained inside the CPF, particulate mass filtration efficiency and concentration downstream of the CPF with agreement between the experimental and simulated data.

Physical, chemical, and biological characterization data for the particulate emissions from a Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine with and without Corning porous ceramic particulate traps are presented. Measurements made at EPA modes 3,4,5,9,lO and 11 include total hydrocarbon, oxides of nitrogen and total particulate matter emissions including the solid fraction (SOL), soluble organic fraction (SOF) and sulfate fraction (SO4), Chemical character was defined by fractionation of the SOF while biological character was defined by analysis of Ames Salmonella/ microsome bioassay data. The trap produced a wide range of total particulate reduction efficiencies (0-97%) depending on the character of the particulate. The chemical character of the SOF was significantly changed through the trap as was the biological character. The mutagenic specific activity of the SOF was generally increased through the trap but this was offset by a decrease in SOF mass emissions.

The objective of this research was to study the effect of a catalyzed particulate filter (CPF) with a high loading of catalyst (50 gms/ft3) and ultra low sulfur fuel (ULSF -0.57 ppm of sulfur) on the emissions from a heavy duty diesel engine. The particulate emissions were measured using two different analytical methods, i.e., the gravimetric method and the thermal optical method (TOM). The results from the two different methods of analyses were compared. The experiments were performed at four different operating conditions chosen from the old Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 13-mode test cycle. A 1995 Cummins M11 heavy-duty engine with manually controlled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) was used to perform the emission characterization experiments. The emission characterization included total particulate matter (TPM), which is composed of the solids (SOL), soluble organic fractions (SOF) and sulfates (SO4) analyzed using the gravimetric method.

A 1-D 2-layer model developed previously at MTU was used in this research to predict the pressure drop, filtration characteristics and various properties of the particulate filter and the particulate deposit layer. The model was used along with dilute emission data to characterize two catalyzed particulate filters (CPFs) having different catalyst loading and catalyst application processes. The model was calibrated and validated with data obtained from steady state experiments conducted using a 1995 Cummins M11-330E heavy-duty diesel engine with manual EGR with different fuels for the two different CPFs. The two different catalyzed particulate filters were CPF III (5 gms/ft3 Pt) and CPF V (50 gms/ft3 Pt). Both the CPFs had cordierite substrates with CPF III and CPF V had MEX and NEX catalyst type formulation respectively. The CPF III filter was catalyzed using a solution-impregnated process while the CPF V filter was catalyzed using a wash coat process.

The objective of this research was to study the effects of a CCRT®, henceforth called Diesel Oxidation Catalyst - Catalyzed Particulate Filter (DOC-CPF) system on particulate and gaseous emissions from a heavy-duty diesel engine (HDDE) operated at Modes 11 and 9 of the old Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 13-mode test cycle Emissions characterized included: total particulate matter (TPM) and components of carbonaceous solids (SOL), soluble organic fraction (SOF) and sulfates (SO4); vapor phase organics (XOC); gaseous emissions of total hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2); and particle size distributions at normal dilution ratio (NDR) and higher dilution ratio (HDR). Significant reductions were observed for TPM and SOL (>90%), SOF (>80%) and XOC (>70%) across the DOC-CPF at both modes.

The effect of a Johnson Matthey catalyzed continuously regenerating technology™ (CCRT®) filter on the particle size distribution in the raw exhaust from a 2002 Cummins ISM-2002 heavy duty diesel engine (HDDE) is reported at four loads. A CCRT® (henceforth called DOC-CPF) has a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) upstream (UP) of a catalyzed particulate filter (CPF). The particle size data were taken at three locations of UP DOC, downstream (DN) DOC and DN CPF in the raw exhaust in order to study the individual effect of the DOC and the CPF of the DOC-CPF on the particle size distribution. The four loads of 20, 40, 60 and 75% loads at rated speed were chosen for this study. Emissions measurements were made in the raw exhaust chosen to study the effect of nitrogen dioxide and temperature on particulate matter (PM) oxidation in the CPF at different engine conditions, exhaust and carbonaceous particulate matter (CPM) flow rates.

Exhaust emissions were characterized from a Cummins LTA10 heavy-duty diesel engine operated at two EPA steady-state modes with and without an uncatalyzed Corning ceramic particulate trap. The regulated emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC), and total particulate matter (TPM) and its components as well as the unregulated emissions of PAH, nitro-PAH, mutagenic activity and particle size distributions were measured. The consistently significant effects of the trap on regulated emissions included reductions of TPM and TPM-associated components. There were no changes in NOx and HC were reduced only at one operating condition. Particle size distribution measurements showed that nuclei-mode particles were formed downstream of the trap, which effectively removed accumulation-mode particles. All of the mutagenicity was direct-acting and the mutagenic activity of the XOC was approximately equivalent to that of the SOF without the trap.

Today's advanced technology engines have a high content of electronic actuation requiring sophisticated real-time embedded software sensing and control. To enable research on such engines, a system with a flexible engine control unit (ECU) that can be rapidly configured and programmed is desired. Such a system is being used in the Advanced Internal Combustion Engine (AICE) Laboratories at Michigan Tech University (MTU) for research on a multi-cylinder spark-ignited gasoline, a high pressure common rail diesel and a single cylinder alternative fuels research engine. The system combines a production ECU with a software development system utilizing Mathworks Simulink/Stateflow © modeling tools. The interface in the Simulink modeling environment includes a library of modeling and interface blocks to the production Operating System (OS), Low Level Drivers (LLD) and CAN-based calibration tool.

The increased availability of natural gas (NG) in the United States (US) and its relatively low cost compared to diesel fuel has heightened interest in the conversion of medium duty (MD) and heavy duty (HD) engines to NG fueled combustion systems. The aim for development for these NG engines is to realize fuel cost savings and reduce harmful emissions while maintaining durability. Transforming part of the vehicle fleet to NG is a path to reduce dependence on crude oil. Traditionally, port-fuel injection (PFI) or premixed NG spark-ignited (SI) combustion systems have been used for MD and HD engines with widespread use in the US and Europe. But this technology exhibits poor cycle efficiency and is load limited due to knock phenomenon. Direct Injection of NG during the compression stroke promises to deliver improved thermal efficiency by avoiding excessive premixing and extending the lean limits which helps to extend the knock limit.

A model process to produce dimethylether (DME) from natural gas (NG) was simulated in a one-pass mode (no material recycle), assuming steady-state and chemical and physical equilibrium. NG conversion to synthesis gas (syngas) via steam reforming resulted in stoichiometric numbers of 2.97 along with vapor mole fraction extremes for carbon dioxide, methane, and water. These concentrations formed an eight-trial simulation grid of syngas compositions. Simulation of DME production was performed in a dual reactor configuration with methanol formation as the intermediate compound. Solutions resulting from the subsequent adiabatic dehydration of the methanol-rich phase showed a consistent DME composition (88%). The resulting solutions and unreacted syngas streams from simulation were examined for applicability to a dual-fuel NG/DME CI engine.

A constant volume spray and combustion vessel utilizing the pre-burn mixture procedure to generate pressure, temperature, and composition characteristic of near top dead center (TDC) conditions in compression ignition (CI) engines was modified with post pre-burn gas induction to incorporate premixed methane gas prior to diesel injection to simulate processes in dual fuel engines. Two variants of the methane induction system were developed and studied. The first used a high-flow modified direct injection injector and the second utilized auxiliary ports in the vessel that are used for normal intake and exhaust events. Flow, mixing, and limitations of the induction systems were studied. As a result of this study, the high-flow modified direct injection injector was selected because of its controlled actuation and rapid closure. Further studies of the induction system post pre-burn were conducted to determine the temperature limit of the methane auto-ignition.

This paper considers optimal power management during the establishment of an expeditionary outpost using battery and vehicle assets for electrical generation. The first step in creating a new outpost is implementing the physical protection and barrier system. Afterwards, facilities that provide communications, fires, meals, and moral boosts are implemented that steadily increase the electrical load while dynamic events, such as patrols, can cause abrupt changes in the electrical load profile. Being able to create a fully functioning outpost within 72 hours is a typical objective where the electrical power generation starts with batteries, transitions to gasoline generators and is eventually replaced by diesel generators as the outpost matures. Vehicles with power export capability are an attractive supplement to this electrical power evolution since they are usually on site, would reduce the amount of material for outpost creation, and provide a modular approach to outpost build-up.

The medium and heavy-duty powertrain industry trend is to reduce reliance on diesel fuel and is aligned with continued efforts of achieving ultra-low emissions and high brake efficiencies. Compression Ignition (CI) of late cycle Directly Injected (DI) Natural Gas (NG) shows the potential to match diesel performance in terms of brake efficiency and power density, with the benefit of utilizing a lower carbon content fuel. A primary challenge is to achieve stable ignition of directly injected NG over a wide engine speed and load range without the need for a separate ignition source. This project aims to demonstrate the CI of DI NG through experimental studies with a Single Cylinder Research Engine (SCRE), leading to the development of a mono-fueled NG engine with equivalent performance to that of current diesel technology, 25% lower CO2 emissions, and low engine out methane emissions.

A numerical investigation of a six-stroke direct injection compression ignition engine operation in a low temperature combustion (LTC) regime is presented. The fuel employed is a gasoline-like oxygenated fuel consisting of 90% isobutanol and 10% diethyl ether (DEE) by volume to match the reactivity of conventional gasoline with octane number 87. The computational simulations of the in-cylinder processes were performed using a high-fidelity multidimensional in-house 3D CFD code (MTU-MRNT) with improved spray-sub models and CHEMKIN library. The combustion chemistry was described using a two-component (isobutanol and DEE) fuel model whose oxidation pathways were given by a reaction mechanism with 177 species and 796 reactions.

In order to extend the operability limit of the gasoline compression ignition (GCI) engine, as an avenue for low temperature combustion (LTC) regime, the effects of parametric variations of engine operating conditions on the performance of six-stroke GCI (6S-GCI) engine cycle are numerically investigated, using an in-house 3D CFD code coupled with high-fidelity physical sub-models along with the Chemkin library. The combustion and emissions were calculated using a skeletal chemical kinetics mechanism for a 14-component gasoline surrogate fuel. Authors’ previous study highlighted the effects of the variation of injection timing and split ratio on the overall performance of 6S-GCI engine and the unique mixing-controlled burning mode of the charge mixtures during the two additional strokes. As a continuing effort, the present study details the parametric studies of initial gas temperature, boost pressure, fuel injection pressure, compression ratio, and EGR ratio.

It is beneficial but challenging to operate spark-ignition engines under highly lean and dilute conditions. The unstable ignition behavior can result in downgraded combustion performance in engine cylinders. Numerical approach is serving as a promising tool to identify the ignition requirements by providing insight into the complex physical/chemical phenomena. An effort to simulate the early stage of flame kernel initiation in lean and dilute fuel/air mixture has been made and discussed in this paper. The simulations are set to validate against laboratory results of spark ignition behavior in a constant volume combustion vessel. In order to present a practical as well as comprehensive ignition model, the simulations are performed by taking into consideration the discharge circuit analysis, the detailed reaction mechanism, and local heat transfer between the flame kernel and spark plug.

A diesel piloted natural gas engine's performance varies depending on operating conditions and has performed best under medium to high loads. It can often equal or better the fuel conversion efficiency of a diesel-only engine in this operating range. This paper presents a study performed on a multi-cylinder Cummins ISB 6.7L diesel engine converted to run stoichiometric natural gas/diesel micro-pilot combustion with a maximum diesel contribution of 10%. This study systematically quantifies and ranks the sensitivity of control factors on combustion and performance while operating at medium loads. The effects of combustion control parameters, including the pilot start of injection, pilot injection pressure, pilot injection quantity, exhaust gas recirculation, and global equivalence ratio, were tested using a design of experiments orthogonal matrix approach.

A 2-dimensional numerical model (MTU-FILTER) for a single channel of a honeycomb ceramic diesel particulate trap has been developed. The mathematical modeling of the filtration, flow, heat transfer and regeneration behavior of the particulate trap is described. Numerical results for the pressure drop and particulate mass were compared with existing experimental results. Parametric studies of the diesel particulate trap were carried out. The effects of trap size and inlet temperature on the trap performance are studied using the trap model. An approximate 2-dimensional analytical solution to the simplified Navier-Stokes equations was used to calculate the velocity field of the exhaust flow in the inlet and outlet channels. Assuming a similarity velocity profile in the channels, the 2-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are approximated by 1-dimenisonal conservation equations, which is similar to those first developed by Bissett.