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Octane appetite of modern engines has changed as engine designs have evolved to meet performance, emissions, fuel economy and other demands. The octane appetite of seven modern vehicles was studied in accordance with the octane index equation OI=RON-KS, where K is an operating condition specific constant and S is the fuel sensitivity (RONMON). Engines with a displacement of 2.0L and below and different combinations of boosting, fuel injection, and compression ratios were tested using a decorrelated RONMON matrix of eight fuels. Power and acceleration performance were used to determine the K values for corresponding operating points. Previous studies have shown that vehicles manufactured up to 20 years ago mostly exhibited negative K values and the fuels with higher RON and higher sensitivity tended to perform better.

An investigation was conducted to elucidate, how the latest turbocharged, direct injection Volkswagen diesel engine generation with cylinder pressure based closed loop control, to be launched in the US in 2008, reacts to fuel variability. A de-correlated fuels matrix was designed to bracket the range of US market fuel properties, which allowed a clear correlation of individual fuel properties with engine response. The test program consisting of steady state operating points showed that cylinder pressure based closed loop control successfully levels out the influence of fuel ignition quality, showing the effectiveness of this new technology for markets with a wide range of fuel qualities. However, it also showed that within the cetane range tested (39 to 55), despite the constant combustion mid-point, cetane number still has an influence on particulate and gaseous emissions. Volatility and energy density also influence the engine's behavior, but less strongly.

The design of effective traction fluids and lubricants is facilitated by an understanding of how molecular structure within a fluid affects the behaviour of that fluid in-situ. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation has been used to analyse how molecules of different structures behave in a fluid and to determine the influence of these separate behaviours on the different rheological properties of the fluids.

Regulations on emissions from diesel and gasoline fuelled engines are becoming more stringent in all parts of the world. Hence there is a great deal of interest in developing advanced combustion systems that offer the efficiency of a diesel engine, but with low PM and NOx. One promising approach is that of Partially-Premixed Compression Ignition (PPCI) or Low Temperature Combustion (LTC). Using this approach, PM can be reduced in compression ignition engines by promoting the mixing of fuel and air prior to combustion. This paper describes the application of an advanced combustion simulator for fuels, combustion and emissions to analyze the key processes which occur in PPCI combustion mode. A detailed chemical kinetic model with advanced PM population balance sub-model is employed in a PPCI engine context to examine the impact of ignition resistance on combustion, mixing, ignition and emissions.

Links between the RON, MON and Octane Index (OI) of a gasoline are explored and factors influencing knock severity are discussed. The OI was calculated by considering how the autoignition delay time changes with temperature and pressure. Three fuels were examined: a 65/35% toluene/heptane test fuel, and two primary reference fuels (PRF), one with the RON value of the test fuel and the other with the MON value. PRF autoignition times were taken from Adomeit et al and test fuel autoignition times were generated from mathematical models of RON/MON tests plus two experimental sets of engine autoignition data. The toluene/heptane OI depended strongly on engine conditions and could easily exceed the RON. With a lean mixture at high pressure it was 100.2 whereas the RON was only 83.9. Knock severity is governed by the nature of localized “hot spots”. Severe knock is associated with developing detonations towards the end of the delay time.

This paper proposes a new approach to quantifying the rheological effects that come into play in traction fluids under different regimes of operation in elastohydrodynamic (EHD) contacts. We take account of shear thinning and viscoelasticity and of the joint temperature and pressure dependence of these effects and show how the resulting model conforms with measured traction coefficients for a typical traction fluid. Understanding the bulk rheology of traction fluids in detail is seen as an aid to designing more effective fluids and predicting performance in real engineering systems. Moreover, the form of the constitutive model used is consistent with molecular dynamics simulation studies, as described in the companion paper[1]. Thus, a fairly complete quantitative picture of traction fluid behaviour from the molecular level through to performance in a macroscopic contact is emerging.

The objective of this paper is to present a simulation model for controlling combustion phasing in order to avoid knock in turbocharged SI engines. An empirically based knock model was integrated in a one-dimensional simulation tool. The empirical knock model was optimized and validated against engine tests for a variety of speeds and λ. This model can be used to optimize control strategies as well as design of new engine concepts. The model is able to predict knock onset with an accuracy of a few crank angle degrees. The phasing of the combustion provides information about optimal engine operating conditions.

Stringent regulations on fuel economy have driven major innovative changes in the internal combustion engine design. (E.g. CAFE fuel economy standards of 54.5 mpg by 2025 in the U.S) Vehicle manufacturers have implemented engine infrastructure changes such as downsizing, direct injection, higher compression ratios and turbo-charging/super-charging to achieve higher engine efficiencies. Fuel properties therefore, have to align with these engine changes in order to fully exploit the possible benefits. Fuel octane number is a key metric that enables high fuel efficiency in an engine. Greater resistance to auto-ignition (knock) of the fuel/air mixture allows engines to be operated at a higher compression ratio for a given quantity of intake charge without severely retarding the spark timing resulting in a greater torque per mass of fuel burnt. This attribute makes a high octane fuel a favorable hydrocarbon choice for modern high efficiency engines that aim for higher fuel economy.

Increasingly strict government emissions regulations in combination with consumer demand for high performance vehicles is driving gasoline engine development towards highly downsized, boosted direct injection technologies. In these engines, fuel consumption is improved by reducing pumping, friction and heat losses, yet performance is maintained by operating at higher brake mean effective pressure. However, the in-cylinder conditions of these engines continue to diverge from traditional naturally aspirated technologies, and especially from the Cooperative Fuels Research engine used to define the octane rating scales. Engine concepts are thus key platforms with which to screen the influence of fundamental fuel properties on future engine performance.

In recent years, boosted and downsized engines have gained much attention as a promising technology to improve fuel economy; however, knocking is a common issue of such engines that requires attention. To understand the knocking phenomenon under downsized and boosted engine conditions deeply, fuels with different Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON) were prepared, and the knocking performances of these fuels were evaluated using a single cylinder engine, operated under a variety of conditions. Experimental results showed that the knocking performance at boosted conditions depend on both RON and MON. While higher RON showed better anti-knocking performance, lower MON showed better anti-knocking performance. Furthermore, the tendency for a reduced MON to be beneficial became stronger at lower engine speeds and higher boost pressures, in agreement with previously published modelling work.

Modern spark ignition engines can take advantage of better fuel octane quality either towards improving acceleration performance or fuel economy via an active ignition management system. Higher fuel octane allows for spark timing advance and consequently higher torque output and higher engine efficiency. Additionally, engines can be designed with higher compression ratios if a higher anti-knock quality fuel is used. Due to historical reasons, Research Octane (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON) are the metrics used to characterize the anti-knock quality of a fuel. The test conditions used to compute RON and MON correlated well with those in older engines designed about 20 years ago. But the correlation has drifted considerably in the recent past due to advances in engine infrastructures mainly governed by stringent fuel economy and emission standards.

The fuel consumption of heavy duty diesel engines is of great importance to fleet operators, since fuel can contribute up to 30% of the operating costs. This paper discusses the differences between fuel economy oils for heavy duty diesel engines and passenger car engines. A simple model is then presented showing how the reduced friction due to the use of fuel economy lubricants (both in the engine and the transmission) can lead to fuel consumption benefits. By including realistic losses due to air resistance and tyre rolling resistance, the model can predict fuel consumption benefits under different speed and load conditions that are in reasonable agreement with the benefits found in carefully controlled field trials.

Control of NOx and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from diesel engines remains a significant challenge. One approach to reduce both emissions simultaneously without fuel economy penalty is the reformed exhaust gas recirculation (REGR) technique, where part of the fuel is catalytically reacted with hot engine exhaust gas to produce a hydrogen-rich combustible gas that is then fed to the engine. On the contrary to fuel cell technology where the reforming requirements are to produce a reformate with maximized H2 concentration and minimized (virtually zero) CO concentration, the key requirement of the application of the exhaust gas fuel reforming technique in engines is the efficient on-demand generation of a reformate with only a relatively low concentration of hydrogen (typically up to 20%).

Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON) are used to describe gasoline combustion which describe antiknock performance under different conditions. Recent literature suggests that MON is less important than RON in modern cars and a relaxation in the MON specification could improve vehicle performance. At the same time, for the same octane number change, increasing RON appears to provide more benefit to engine power and acceleration than reducing MON. Some workers have advocated the use of an octane index (OI) which incorporates both parameters instead of either RON or MON to give an indication of gasoline knock resistance. Previous Concawe work investigated the effect of RON and MON on the power and acceleration performance of two Euro 4 gasoline passenger cars during an especially-designed acceleration test cycle.

Certain diesel fuel specification properties are considered to be environmental parameters according to the European Fuels Quality Directive (FQD, 2009/EC/30) and previous regulations. These limits included in the EN 590 specification were derived from the European Programme on Emissions, Fuels and Engine Technologies (EPEFE) which was carried out in the 1990’s on diesel vehicles meeting Euro 2 emissions standards. These limits could potentially constrain FAME blending levels higher than 7% v/v. In addition, no significant work has been conducted since to investigate whether relaxing these limits would give rise to performance or emissions debits or fuel consumption benefits in more modern vehicles. The objective of this test programme was to evaluate the impact of specific diesel properties on emissions and fuel consumption in Euro 4, Euro 5 and Euro 6 light-duty diesel vehicle technologies.

In recent years, there has been rapid progress in characterizing the detailed chemical kinetics associated with the oxidation of liquid hydrocarbons and their blends. However adding these fuel models to the industrial engineer's toolkit has proven a major challenge due to issues associated with high CPU cost and the poor suitability of many of the most promising and well known fuel models to IC engine applications. This paper demonstrates the state-of-the-art in the analysis and modelling of current and future transportation fuels or fuel blends for internal combustion engine applications. First-of-all, a benchmarking of eleven representative fuel models (39 to 1034 species in size) is carried out at engine/engine-like operating conditions by adopting the standard Research Octane and Cetane Number test data for comparison. Next, methods to construct a fuel model for a commercial fuel are outlined using a simple, yet robust surrogate mapping technique.

There is an increasing recognition of injector deposit (ID) formation in fuel injection equipment as direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engine technologies advance to meet increasingly stringent emission legislation and fuel economy requirements. While it is known that the phenomena of ID in DISI engines can be influenced by changes in fuel composition, including increasing usage of aliphatic alcohols and additive chemistries to enhance fuel performance, there is however still a great deal of uncertainty regarding the physical and chemical structure of these deposits, and the mechanisms of deposit formation. In this study, a mechanical cracking sample preparation technique was developed to assess the deposits across DISI injectors fuelled with gasoline and blends of 85% ethanol (E85).

This paper investigates the effect of the cetane number (CN) of a diesel fuel on the energy balance between a light duty (1.9L) and medium duty (4.5L) diesel engine. The two engines have a similar stroke to bore (S/B) ratio, and all other control parameters including: geometric compression ratio, cylinder number, stroke, and combustion chamber, have been kept the same, meaning that only the displacement changes between the engine platforms. Two Coordinating Research Council (CRC) diesel fuels for advanced combustion engines (FACE) were studied. The two fuels were selected to have a similar distillation profile and aromatic content, but varying CN. The effects on the energy balance of the engines were considered at two operating conditions; a “low load” condition of 1500 rev/min (RPM) and nominally 1.88 bar brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), and a “medium load” condition of 1500 RPM and 5.65 BMEP.