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Cylinder pressure-based combustion control is widely introduced for passenger cars. Benefits include enhanced emission robustness to fuel quality variation, reduced fuel consumption due to more accurate (multi-pulse) fuel injection, and minimized after treatment size. In addition, it enables the introduction of advanced, high-efficient combustion concepts. The application in truck engines is foreseen, but challenges need to be overcome related to durability, increased system costs, and impact on the cylinder head. In this paper, a new single cylinder pressure sensor concept for heavy-duty Diesel engines is presented. Compared to previous studies, this work focuses on heavy-duty Diesel powertrains, which are characterized by a relatively flexible crank shaft in contrast to the existing passenger car applications.

Complying to both the increasingly stringent pollutant emissions as well as (future) GHG emission legislation - with increased focus on in-use real-world emissions - puts a great challenge to the engine/aftertreatment control development process. Control system complexity, calibration and validation effort has increased dramatically over the past decade. A trend that is likely to continue considering the next steps in emission and GHG emission legislation. Control-oriented engine models are valuable tools for efficient development of engine monitoring and control systems. Furthermore, these (predictive) engine models are more and more used as part of control algorithms to ensure legislation compliant and optimized performance over the system lifetime. For these engine models, it is essential that simulation and prediction of system variables during non-nominal engine operation, such as non-standard ambient conditions, is well captured.

Increasing efforts to minimize global warming has led to regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of automotive applications. The US is frontrunner regarding implementation of GHG related legislation with the introduction of GHG phase 1 and phase 2, ultimately targeting a 40% fuel consumption reduction in 2027 compared to 2010 on vehicle level. More specific, engines are required to reduce CO2 emissions by 6% compared to GHG phase 1 levels. Next to the GHG emission legislation, more stringent legislation is anticipated in the US to further reduce NOx emissions: a further 90% reduction is targeted as soon as 2024 compared to 2010 standard. Meeting these anticipated ultra-low NOx standards within the GHG phase 2 constraints on CO2 poses a great challenge. This paper presents an overview of the main challenges and key aspects regarding meeting ultra-low NOx requirements within the constraints on CO2 and N2O set by GHG phase 2 regulations.

Initiatives have been and will be taken to define very strict emission limitations for Heavy-Duty (HD) urban transport vehicles in Europe. This will probably led to a class of very clean, so-called, Enhanced Environmentally friendly Vehicles (EEV). This paper presents an overview of the current and the (expected) future emission legislation for this type of vehicle together with the different technology that can be used for the development of internal combustion engines for these vehicles. A number of engine concepts, based on the experience of developing these concepts, are described and compared both from a technological and economic standpoint. It can be concluded that EEV emission limits can be achieved with advanced diesel engine concepts as well as with gas engines. From the economical viewpoint it can be concluded that gas engines can compete with diesel engines.

In a NOx adsorber programme the feasibility for applying this technology to heavy duty diesel engines was investigated. After modelling and simulations for realising best λ < 1 engine conditions a platform was build which was used to obtain good NOx adsorber regeneration settings in a number of steady state key points without violating pre-defined limits. With these results the NOx adsorber was evaluated and tested. Besides establishing NOx conversions and BSFC penalties the programme also looked at the adsorber capabilities of dealing with sulphur poisoning and how well the adsorber could be de-sulphurised. This programme showed clearly the stronger and weaker points in the NOx adsorber technology for heavy duty application. From NOx conversion - BSFC penalty trade off curves it became clear that at lower loads high conversions (> 90%) with small fuel penalties (< 2.5%) were possible. However at high load the conversions were reduced (< 70%) and the fuel penalties increased (> 6%).

Up to now, reduction of fuel consumption of vehicles equipped with CVT transmission has not been exploited to its full potential due to the reduced driveability when driving the optimum efficiency engine operating points. An ISG system with torque boost capabilities can be used to restore this driveability. This paper discusses the goals, the CAE simulation tool, the methodology used in the preparative study for evaluation and dimensioning of a CVT-ISG concept, as well as the simulation results. The conclusions, generated from numerous simulations, provide vital information for the component selection, and for the development of the powertrain management system.

Heavy-duty diesel engines are used in a wide range of applications. For varying operating environments, the engine and aftertreatment system must comply with the real-world emission legislation limits. Simultaneously, minimal fuel consumption and good drivability are crucial for economic competitiveness and usability. Meeting these requirements takes substantial development and calibration effort, and complying with regulations results in a trade-off between emissions and fuel consumption. TNO's Integrated Emission Management (IEM) strategy finds online, the cost-optimal point in this trade-off and is able to deal with variations in operating conditions, while complying with legislation limits. Based on the actual state of the engine and aftertreatment system, an optimal engine operating point is computed using a model-based optimal-control algorithm.

Heavy-duty diesel engines are used in different application areas, like long-haul, city distribution, dump truck and building and construction industry. For these wide variety of areas, the engine performance needs to comply with the real-world legislation limits and should simultaneously have a low fuel consumption and good drivability. Meeting these requirements takes substantial development and calibration effort, where an optimal fuel consumption for each application is not always met in practice. TNO's Integrated Emission Management (IEM) strategy, is able to deal with these variations in operating conditions, while meeting legislation limits and obtaining on-line cost optimization. Based on the actual state of the engine and aftertreatment, optimal air-path setpoints are computed, which balances EGR and SCR usage.

CO2 regulations on heavy-duty transport are introduced in essentially all markets within the next decade, in most cases in several phases of increasing stringency. To cope with these mandates, developers of engines and related equipment are aiming to break new ground in the fields of combustion, fuel and hardware technologies. In this work, a novel diesel fuel injector, Delphi’s DFI7, is utilized to experimentally investigate and compare the performance of ramped injection rates versus traditional square fueling profiles. The aim is specifically to shift the efficiency and NOx tradeoff to a more favorable position. The design of experiments methodology is used in the tests, along with statistical techniques to analyze the data. Results show that ramped and square rates - after optimization of fueling parameters - produce comparable gross indicated efficiencies.

In 1998, Rouhana et al. described development of a new device, called the IR-TRACC (InfraRed - Telescoping Rod for Assessment of Chest Compression). In its original concept, the IR-TRACC uses two infrared LEDs inside of a telescoping rod to measure deflection. One LED serves as a light transmitter and the other as a light receiver. The output from the receiver LED is converted to a linear function of chest compression using an analog circuit. Tests have been performed with IR-TRACC units at various labs around the world since 1998. A first-generation IR-TRACC system was retrofit into a Q3 dummy by TNO. Similarly, a mid sized male Hybrid III dummy thorax and a small female Hybrid III dummy thorax have been designed by First Technology Safety Systems (FTSS) such that each contains 4 second-generation IR-TRACC units. The second-generation IR-TRACC is the result of continued development by FTSS, especially in the areas of the analysis circuit, manufacturing and calibration methods.

A new cost-based control strategy is presented that optimizes engine-aftertreatment performance under all operating conditions. This Integrated Emission Management strategy minimizes fuel consumption within the set emission limits by on-line adjustment of air management based on the actual state of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system. Following a model-based approach, Integrated Emission Management offers a framework for future control strategy development. This approach alleviates calibration complexity, since it allows to make optimal trade-offs in an operational cost sense. The potential of the presented cost-optimal control strategy is demonstrated for a modern heavy-duty Euro VI engine. The studied diesel engine is equipped with cooled EGR, Variable Geometry Turbocharger, and a DPF-SCR aftertreatment system.

This paper presents the identification and validation of a dynamic Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) system model. Driven by upcoming CO₂ emission targets and increasing fuel costs, engine exhaust gas heat utilization has recently attracted much attention to improve fuel efficiency, especially for heavy-duty automotive applications. In this study, we focus on a Euro-VI heavy-duty diesel engine, which is equipped with a Waste Heat Recovery system based on an Organic Rankine Cycle. The applied model, which combines first principle modeling with stationary component models, covers the two-phase flow behavior and the effect of control inputs. Furthermore, it describes the interaction with the engine on both gas and drivetrain side. Using engine dynamometer measurements, an optimal fit of unknown model parameters is determined for stationary operating points.

This paper presents a model-based control and calibration design method for online cost-based optimization of engine-aftertreatment operation under all operating conditions. The so-called Integrated Emission Management (IEM) strategy online minimizes the fuel and AbBlue consumption. Based on the actual state of engine and aftertreatment systems, optimal air management settings are determined for EGR-SCR balancing. Following a model-based approach, the strategy allows for a systematic control design and calibration procedure for engine and aftertreatment systems. The potential of this time efficient method is demonstrated by experiments for a heavy-duty Euro-VI engine. The Integrated Emission Management strategy is developed and calibrated offline over a cold and hot World Harmonized Transient Cycle (WHTC) for the set emission targets. The total IEM development and calibration process takes approximately 20 weeks from model identification to the acceptance tests.

Premixed combustion concepts like PCCI and RCCI have attracted much attention, since these concepts offer possibilities to reduce engine out emissions to a low level, while still achieving good efficiency. Most RCCI studies use a combination of a high-cetane fuel like diesel, and gasoline as low-cetane fuel. Limited results have been published using natural gas as low-cetane fuel; especially full scale engine results. This study presents results from an experimental study of diesel-CNG RCCI operation on a 6 cylinder, 8 l heavy duty engine with cooled EGR. This standard Tier4f diesel engine was equipped with a gas injection system, which used single point injection and mixed the gaseous fuel with air upstream of the intake manifold. For this engine configuration, RCCI operating limits have been explored. In the 1200-1800 rpm range, RCCI operation with Euro-VI engine out NOx and soot emissions was achieved between 2 and 9 bar BMEP without EGR.

The application of SCR deNOx aftertreatment was studied on two about 12 liter class heavy-duty diesel engines within a consortium project. Basically, the system consists of a dosage system for aqueous urea injection and a vanadia based SCR catalyst, without an upstream or downstream oxidation catalyst. The urea injection system for a DAF and a Renault V.I. (Véhicules Industriels) diesel engine was calibrated on the engine test bench taking into account dynamic effects of the catalyst. For both engine applications NOx reduction was 81% to 84% over the ESC and 72% over the ETC. CO emission increased up to 27%. PM emission is reduced by 4 to 23% and HC emission is reduced by more than 80%. These results are achieved with standard diesel fuel with about 350 ppm sulfur. The test engines and SCR deNOx systems were built into a DAF FT95 truck and a Renault V.I. Magnum truck.

In this study a microwave assisted particulate trap regeneration system has been developed. Microwave technology typically shows uneven temperature distribution in a trap. In this research an innovative technique is introduced: a so-called circular polarizer for generating a more even energy distribution in the trap. Experimental work has been performed on a 1.2 l TDI engine on an engine dynamometer. A cordierite wall-flow trap was located in the exhaust pipe. Experiments have been performed with variation of temperature at the start of regeneration, energy input duration and external combustion air flow. It has been observed that the exhaust gas flow of the engine, even at idle, is too high for maintaining propagating flame fronts. It can be concluded that microwave regeneration with a low-power microwave generator of about 1 kW must be applied in a multiple branch trap system or regeneration events must be applied in periods when the engine is not running.

SCR on Filter (SCRoF) is an efficient and compact NOX and PM reduction technology already used in series production for light-duty applications. The technology is now finding its way into the medium duty and heavy duty market. One of the key challenges for successful application is the robustness to real world variations. The solution to this challenge can be found by using model-based control algorithms, utilizing state estimation by physics-based catalyst models. This paper focuses on the development, validation and real time implementation of a physics-based control oriented SCRoF model. An overview of the developed model will be presented, together with a brief description of the model parameter identification and validation process using engine test bench measurement data. The model parameters are identified following a streamlined approach, focusing on decoupling the effects of deNOx and soot phenomena.

To meet future emission targets, it becomes increasingly important to optimize the synergy between engine and aftertreatment system. By using an integrated control approach minimal fluid (fuel and DEF) consumption is targeted within the constraints of emission legislation during real-world operation. In such concept, the on-line availability of engine-out NOx emission is crucial. Here, the use of a Virtual NOx sensor can be of great added-value. Virtual sensing enables more direct and robust emission control allowing, for example, engine-out NOx determination during conditions in which the hardware sensor is not available, such as cold start conditions. Furthermore, with use of the virtual sensor, the engine control strategy can be directly based on NOx emission data, resulting in reduced response time and improved transient emission control. This paper presents the development and on-line implementation of a Virtual NOx sensor, using in-cylinder pressure as main input.

This paper reports on a study of the TNO venturi EGR system and the Johnson Matthey CRT particulates trap on a DAF 355 kW engine. The results obtained indicate that this EGR-CRT combination is an effective means to achieve EURO-4 emission level, while maintaining good fuel economy. EGR strategy, injection timing and air-fuel ratio were optimised in such a way that good regeneration conditions were obtained across most of the engine operating map. Also transient EGR control is optimised to combine low NOx emission during the ETC with good driveability and good engine out particulates emission. The size of the oxidation catalyst in the CRT was investigated. It appeared that the larger oxidation catalyst showed a better regeneration performance during a low temperature duty-cycle. Negative aspects of a larger oxidation catalyst are increased costs and increased NO2 emission (because of the catalyst ability to oxidise more NO into NO2).

This paper presents a cylinder pressure-based control (CPBC) system for conventional diesel combustion with high EGR levels. Besides the commonly applied heat release estimation, the CPBC system is extended with a new virtual NOx and PM sensor. Using available cylinder pressure information, these emissions are estimated using a physically based combustion model. This opens the route to advanced On-Board Diagnostics and to optimized fuel consumption and emissions during all operating conditions. The potential of closed-loop CA50 and IMEP control is demonstrated on a multi-cylinder heavy-duty EGR engine. For uncalibrated injectors and fuel variations, the combustion control system makes the engine performance robust for the applied variations and reduces the need for a time-consuming calibration process. Cylinder balancing is shown to enable auto-calibration of fuel injectors and to enhance fuel flexibility.