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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.

Numerical modeling of fuel injection in internal combustion engines in a Lagrangian framework requires the use of a spray-wall interaction sub-model to correctly assess the effects associated with spray impingement. The spray impingement dynamics may influence the air-fuel mixing and result in increased hydrocarbon and particulate matter emissions. One component of a spray-wall interaction model is the splashed mass fraction, i.e. the amount of mass that is ejected upon impingement. Many existing models are based on relatively large droplets (mm size), while diesel and gasoline sprays are expected to be of micron size before splashing under high pressure conditions. It is challenging to experimentally distinguish pre- from post-impinged spray droplets, leading to difficulty in model validation.

Robust autonomous navigation in unstructured environments is an unsolved problem and critical to the operation of autonomous military and rescue ground vehicles. Two-dimensional path planners operating on occupancy grids or costs maps can produce infeasible paths when the operational area includes complex terrain. Recently, sample-based path planners that plan on LiDAR-acquired point-cloud maps have been proposed. These approaches require no discretization of the operational area and provide direct pose estimation by modeling vehicle and terrain interaction. In this paper, we show that direct sample-based path planning on point clouds is effective and robust in unstructured environments. Robustness is demonstrated by completing a system parameter sensitivity analysis of the system in an Unreal simulation environment and partnered with field validation.

This paper presents a Short Time Fourier Transform based algorithm to identify unknown parameters in fuel dynamics system during engine cold start and warm-up. A first order system is used to model the fuel dynamics in a port fuel injection engine. The feed forward transient fuel compensation controller is designed based on the identified model. Experiments are designed and implemented to verify the proposed algorithm. Different experiment settings are compared.

The Vehicle Engine Cooling System Simulation (VECSS) computer code has been developed at the Michigan Technological University to simulate the thermal response of the cooling system of an on-highway heavy duty diesel powered truck under steady and transient operation. This code includes an engine cycle analysis program along with various components for the four main fluid circuits for cooling air, cooling water, cooling oil, and intake air, all evaluated simultaneously. The code predicts the operation of the response of the cooling circuit, oil circuit, and the engine compartment air flow when the VECSS is operated using driving cycle data of vehicle speed, engine speed, and fuel flow rate for a given ambient temperature, pressure and relative humidity.

This paper studies the hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) design of a power-split hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) for the research of HEV lithiumion battery aging. In this paper, an electrochemical model of a lithium-ion battery pack with the characteristics of battery aging is built and integrated into the vehicle model of Autonomie® software from Argonne National Laboratory. The vehicle model, together with the electrochemical battery model, is designed to run in a dSPACE real-time simulator while the powertrain power distribution is managed by a dSPACE MicroAutoBoxII hardware controller. The control interface is designed using dSPACE ControlDesk to monitor the real-time simulation results. The HiL simulation results with the performance of vehicle dynamics and the thermal aging of the battery are presented and analyzed.

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.

This paper deals with the dynamic characterization of an automotive shock absorber, a continuation of an earlier work [1]. The objective of this on-going research is to develop a testing and analysis methodology for obtaining dynamic properties of automotive shock absorbers for use in CAE-NVH low-to-mid frequency chassis models. First, the effects of temperature and nominal length on the stiffness and damping of the shock absorber are studied and their importance in the development of a standard test method discussed. The effects of different types of input excitation on the dynamic properties of the shock absorber are then examined. Stepped sine sweep excitation is currently used in industry to obtain shock absorber parameters along with their frequency and amplitude dependence. Sine-on-sine testing, which involves excitation using two different sine waves has been done in this study to understand the effects of the presence of multiple sine waves on the estimated dynamic properties.

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.

An analysis of vehicle engine cooling airflow by means of a one-dimensional, transient, compressible flow model was carried out and revealed that similarity theory could be applied to investigate the variation of the airflow with ambient and operating conditions. It was recognized that for a given vehicle engine cooling system, the cooling airflow behavior could be explained using several dimensionless parameters that involve the vehicle speed, fan speed, heat transfer rate through the radiator, ambient temperature and pressure, and the system characteristic dimension. Using the flow resistance and fan characteristics measured from a prototype cooling system and the computer simulation for the one-dimensional compressible flow model, a quantitative correlation of non-dimensional mass flow rate to three dimensionless parameters for a prototype heavy-duty truck was established. The results are presented in charts, tables, and formulas.

The hardware and software for a prototype computer controlled cooling system for a diesel powered truck has been designed and tested. The basic requirements for this system have been defined and the control functions, previously investigated in a study using the computer simulation model, were incorporated into the software. Engine dynamometer tests on the MACK-676 engine, comparing the conventional cooling system and the computer controlled system, showed the following advantages of the computer controlled system: 1. The temperature level to which the engine warms up to at low ambient temperature, was increased. 2. The faster shutter response reduced the temperature peaks and decreased total fan activity time. 3. The faster fan response reduces fan engagement time which should improve truck fuel economy.

One-dimensional single-zone and two-zone analyses have been exercised to calculate the mass fraction burned in an engine operating on ethanol/gasoline-blended fuels using the cylinder pressure and volume data. The analyses include heat transfer and crevice volume effects on the calculated mass fraction burned. A comparison between the two methods is performed starting from the derivation of conservation of energy and the method to solve the mass fraction burned rates through the results including detailed explanation of the observed differences and trends. The apparent heat release method is used as a point of reference in the comparison process. Both models are solved using the LU matrix factorization and first-order Euler integration.

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 advancement in embedded systems and positional accuracy with base station GPS modules created opportunity to develop high performance autonomous ground vehicles. However, the development of vehicle model and making accurate state estimations play vital role in reducing the cross track error. The present research focus on developing Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) with Kalman estimator for autonomous ground vehicle to track various routes, that are made with the series of waypoints. The model developed in the LQG controller is a kinematic bicycle model, which mimics 1/5th scale truck. Further, the cubic spline fit has been used to connect the waypoints and generate the continuous desired/target path. The testing and implementation has been done at APS labs, MTU on the mentioned vehicle to study the performance of controller. Python has been used for simulations, controller coding and interfacing the sensors with controller.