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A stratified-charge lean-burn engine is newly developed for the purpose of energy saving and carbon dioxide reduction to minimize the global warming. The engine, named MVV(Mitsubishi Vertical Vortex)engine, is based on the unique vertical vortex technology which realizes stable combustion even with lean mixture without any additional device. And it also has another feature of “all range air-to-fuel ratio feedback control system” utilizing linear air-to-fuel ratio sensor. This paper describes various technologies developed in this engine.

In order to reduce exhaust emission and combustion noise and to improve fuel consumption, the effects of the combustion system parameters of a diesel engine, such as injection pressure, injection nozzle hole diameter, swirl ratio, and EGR rate on exhaust emissions, combustion noise and fuel consumption are investigated and described in detail by analyzing rate of heat release, needle valve lift and injection pressure. Based on these results, reduction of exhaust emission and combustion noise and improvement of fuel consumption are described in the latter part of this paper. These results are shown as follows. The smaller nozzle hole diameter is effective for reducing smoke and PM, and by optimizing the injection timing and swirl ratio, NOx can also be reduced. In addition to the above, by applying EGR and higher injection pressure it is possible to improve the fuel consumption with the remaining low NOx and PM.

Three Japanese automobile manufacturers-Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.-have been making efforts over the past three years to design and develop effective thermal reactor-exhaust gas recirculation and catalytic converter systems suitable for small engines. The work is being done by members participating in the IIEC (Inter-Industry Emission Control) Program, and the exhaust emission levels of the concept vehicles developed by these companies have met the goal established by the IIEC Program at low mileage. Each system, however, has a characteristic relationship between exhaust emission level and loss of fuel economy. Much investigation is required, particularly with respect to durability, before any system that will fully satisfy all service requirements can be completed. This paper reports the progress of research and development of the individual concept vehicles.

The engine performance and emissions characteristics of a single-cylinder DI diesel engine were experimentally investigated. The combustion chamber walls of the engine were thermally insulated with ceramic materials of SSN (Sintered Silicon Nitride) and PSZ (Partially Stabilized Zirconia). Fuel economy and emissions characteristics were improved by insulating selected locations of the combustion chamber walls. The selective insulation helped to create activated diffusion combustion and resulted in more efficient use of the intake air.

The relationship between MTBE-blended gasoline properties and warm-up driveability is investigated by focusing on the transient combustion air-fuel ratio that strongly relates to the combustion state of the engine. As a result, although warm-up driveability of MTBE-free gasoline has a high correlation with 50% distillation temperature (T50) and a high correlation with 100°C distillation volume (E100), the correlation is found to be low when blended with MTBE. Various formulas that improve correlation with peak excess air ratio (λ) by correcting T50 and E100 for the amount of MTBE blended are examined. The formula for which the highest determination coefficient is obtained is proposed as a new driveability index (DI) that can also be applied to MTBE-blended gasoline. In addition, the effect on driveability by gasoline base materials using this new DI also is investigated.

GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) engine adopting new combustion control technologies was developed and introduced into Japanese domestic market in August of 1996. In order to extend its application to the European market, various system modifications have been performed. Injectors are located with a smaller angle to the vertical line in order to improve the combustion stability in the higher speed range. A new combustion control method named “two-stage mixing” is adopted to suppress the knock in the low speed range. As a result of this new method, the compression ratio was increased up to 12.5 to 1 while increasing the low-end torque significantly. Taking the high sulfur gasoline in the European market into account, a selective reduction lean-NOx catalyst with improved NOx conversion efficiency was employed. A warm-up catalyst can not be used because the selective reduction lean NOx catalyst requires HC for the NOx reduction.

Flow and flame structure visualization and modeling were performed to clarify the characteristics of bulk flow, turbulence and mixing in a four-valve engine to adopt the lean combustion concept named “Barrel-Stratification” to the larger displacement center-spark four-valve engine. It was found that the partitions provided in the intake port and the tumble-control piston with a curved-top configuration were effective to enhance the lean combustion of such an engine. By these methods, the fuel distribution in the intake port and the in-cylinder bulk flow structure are optimized, so that the relatively rich mixture zone is arranged around the spark plug. The tumble-control piston also contributes to optimize the flow field structure after the distortion of tumble and to enable stable lean combustion.

A new type of catalytic converter has been developed for the coming TLEV (Transitional Low Emission Vehicle) standards. It is a “Front Curve Catalytic Converter (FCCC)” using a curved cordierite ceramic honeycomb substrate. During this development, an optimum location and volume of the front curve catalytic converter were determined from the view points of thermal deterioration of the catalyst and hydrocarbon conversion performance. Based on CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) analysis, the best curvature radius of the substrate was selected to minimize a pressure drop of the front curve catalytic converter. The emission conversion and light-off performances of the front curve catalytic converter were compared with a conventional straight design. A series of durability tests; hot vibration, engine dynamometer and vehicle fleet tests were also conducted to confirm the reliability of the new front curve catalytic converter.

In the next few years, the USA, EU, and Japan plan to introduce very stringent exhaust emissions regulations for heavy–duty diesel engines, in order to enhance the protection air quality. This builds upon the heavy–duty diesel engine exhaust emissions regulations already in effect. At the same time, improvement in fuel consumption of heavy–duty diesel engines will be very important for lowering vehicle operating costs, conserving fossil fuel resources, and reduction of CO2 (greenhouse gas) levels. This paper presents a detailed review of a quiescent combustion system for a heavy–duty diesel engine, which offers breakthrough performance in terms of the exhaust emissions – fuel consumption trade–off, compared with the more conventional swirl supported combustion system. This conclusion is supported by experimental results comparing quiescent and swirl supported versions of various combustion system configurations.

The 4M5 series of four-cylinder, in-line, direct-injection diesel engines has been released by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation for light and medium-duty trucks and buses. Featuring an updated structure and reflecting the employment of state-of-the-art technology in the design of every component, the new engine series offers high reliability and compact dimensions. Moreover, the new series well meets contemporary demands for high performance, low noise, and clean combustion.

A two-stage combustion is one of the Mitsubishi GDI™ technologies for a quick catalyst warm-up on a cold-start. However, when the combustion is continued for a long time, an increase in the fuel consumption is a considerable problem. To solve the problem, a stratified slight-lean combustion is newly introduced for utilization of catalysis. The stratified mixture with slightly lean overall air-fuel ratio is prepared by the late stage injection during the compression stroke. By optimizing an interval between the injection and the spark timing, the combustion simultaneously supplies substantial CO and surplus O2 to a catalyst while avoiding the soot generation and the fouling of a spark plug. The CO oxidation on the catalyst is utilized to reduce the cold-start emissions. Immediately after the cold-start, the catalyst is preheated for the minimum time to start the CO oxidation by using the two-stage combustion. Following that, the stratified slight-lean combustion is performed.

Spray motion visualization, mixture strength measurement, flame spectral analyses and flame behavior observation were performed in order to elucidate the mixture preparation and the combustion processes in Mitsubishi GDI engine. The effects of in-cylinder flow called reverse tumble on the charge stratification were clarified. It preserves the mixture inside the spherical piston cavity, and extends the optimum injection timing range. Mixture strength at the spark plug and at the spark timing can be controlled by changing the injection timing. It was concluded that reverse tumble plays a significant role for extending the freedom of mixing. The characteristics of the stratified charge combustion were clarified through the flame radiation analyses. A first flame front with UV luminescence propagates rapidly and covers all over the combustion chamber at the early stage of combustion.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation presents the newly-developed 2-liter engine, which we have named SIRIUS DASH. The SIRIUS DASH engine, with its compound intake system, features great performance in both high and low speed ranges while keeping fuel consumption low. The compound intake system operates the 3 valves in 2 stages. When engine speed is low, just one intake valve is used, but when engine speed increases, two intake valves are used. And to make this engine truly extraordinary, we added a turbocharger with an intercooler, and equipped the whole thing with a total electonic control system. Generally, high performance engines which have large inlet ports and high speed type valve timing enabling them to intake sufficient air for high performance at high speeds. The problem is here that when speed is dropped, combustion becomes unstable at the expense of torque and fuel consumption.

Spray-guided gasoline direct injection SI engines attract as one of new generation lean-burn engines to promise CO2 reduction. These typically adopt “narrow-spacing” concept in which an injector is centrally mounted close to a spark plug. Therefore, geometric targets of the fuel spray and a position of the spark plug have to be exactly limited to maintain a proper mixture in the spark gap. In addition, the stable combustion window is narrow because the spark ignition is limited in a short time during and immediately after the injection. These spatial and temporal restrictions involve some intractable problems concerning the combustion robustness due to the complicate phenomena around the spark plug. The local mixture preparation near the spark plug significantly depends on the spray-induced charge motion. The intense flow induced by the motion blows out and stretches the spark, thereby affecting the spark discharge performance.

Global environment protection, Co2 emission reduction and so on, is an important problem in automotive industry. An Electric Vehicle (EV) production is one of policies. Co2 emission of EV is lower than Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), petrol and diesel engine. On the other hand, customer's needs for the comfort on driving increase year after year. So it's an important factor for new car performance. Generally speaking, it's thought that the noise and vibration performance of EV have the better of ICE performance. However the aerodynamic noise and road noise contribution for interior noise in EV rise in comparison with ICE, and moreover the sound quality change by new noise component of the motor noise. Therefore new sound evaluation method is needed for EV. So this paper demonstrates each noise component contribution in EV by new noise separation technology, and show the comparison result with EV and ICE.

Injection rate control is an important capability of the ideal injection system of the future. However, in a conventional Common-Rail System (CRS) the injection pressure is constant throughout the injection period, resulting in a nearly rectangular injection rate shape and offering no control of the injection rate. Thus, in order to realize injection rate control with a CRS, a "Next- generation Common-Rail System (NCRS)" was conceptualized, designed, and fabricated. The NCRS has two common rails, for low- and high-pressure fuel, and switches the fuel pressure supplied to the injector from the low- to the high- pressure rail during the injection period, resulting in control over the injection rate shape. The effects of injection rate shape on exhaust emissions and fuel consumption were investigated by applying this NCRS to a single- cylinder research engine.

The gasoline direct injection engine starts significantly faster than a conventional engine. Fuel can be injected into the cylinder during the compression stroke at the same time of cranking start. When the spark plug ignites the mixture at the end of compression stroke, the engine has its first combustion, that is, the first combustion occurs within 0.2 sec after the start of cranking. This unique characteristic of quick startability has realized a idle stop system, which enables drivers to operate the vehicle in a natural manner.

A fuel control method to reduce the harmful exhaust gas from SI engines is proposed. As is well known, both the amplitude and the frequency of the limit cycle in a conventional air-fuel ratio control system are determined uniquely by parameters in the system. And this limits our making full use of the oxygen storage effect of TWC. A simple model of TWC reaction revealed the relationship between maximum conversion efficiency and both the amplitude and the frequency in a air fuel control system. It also revealed that TWC conversion efficiency attained to maximum levels when both the amplitude and the frequency of the limit cycle are selected so as to make full use of the oxygen storage effect of TWC. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to vary both the amplitude and the frequency arbitrarily.

Two-stage hybrid combustion for a 6-stroke gasoline direct injection SI engine is a new strategy to control the ignition of the HCCI combustion using hot-burned gas from the stratified lean SI combustion. This combustion is achieved by changing the camshafts, the cam-driven gear ratio and the engine control of a conventional 4-stroke gasoline direct injection engine without using a higher compression ratio, any fuel additives and induction air heating devices. The combustion processes are performed twice in one cycle. After the gas exchange process, the stratified ultra-lean SI combustion is performed. The hot-burned gas generated from this SI combustion is used as a trigger for the next HCCI combustion. After gasoline is injected in the burned gas, the hot and homogeneous lean mixture is recompressed without opening the exhaust valves. Thus the HCCI combustion occurs.

In this study three EGR methods were applied to a 12 liter turbocharged and intercooled Dl diesel engine, and the exhaust emission and fuel consumption characteristics were compared. One method is the Low Pressure Route system, in which the EGR is taken from down stream of the turbine to the compressor entrance. The other two systems are variations of the High Pressure Route system, in which the EGR is taken from the exhaust manifold to the intake manifold. One of the two High Pressure Route EGR systems is with back pressure valve located at downstream of the turbine and the other uses a variable geometry(VG) turbocharger. It was found that the High Pressure Route EGR system using VG turbocharger was the most effective and practical. With this method the EGR area could be enlarged and NOx reduced by 22% without increase in smoke or fuel consumption while maintaining an adequate excess air ratio.