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Laser-induced exciplex fluorescence has been applied to the mixture formation process in the combustion chamber of an optically-accessible four-cylinder in-line spark-ignition engine in order to distinguish between liquid and vapor fuel distribution during the intake and compression stroke for different injection timings. The naphthalene/N,N,N′N′-tetramethyl p-phenylene diamine (TMPD) exciplex system excited at 308nm with a broadband XeCl excimer laser is used to obtain spectrally-separated, single-shot fluorescence images of the liquid or vapor phase of the fuel. For different timings of the fuel injector this technique is applied to obtain crank-angle-resolved images of the resulting mixture in the combustion chamber. The fluorescence light is detected with an intensified slow-scan CCD-camera equipped with appropriate filters.

The Yuchai F-6113 is an inline 6-cylinder heavy duty Diesel engine, mainly for truck application with a displacement of 8.4 liters and a rated power of 258 kW. It was derived from the F-6108 with a displacement of 7.3 liters. The boundary conditions for the new crankcase were set by the existing machining line. Substantially increasing the bore diameter while keeping the bore pitch constant, was achieved by replacing the conventional top stop liner with a mid stop liner with open deck. This liner concept is rather unique for heavy duty truck engines. The two 2-valve cylinder heads, covering 3 cylinders each, were replaced by a 4-valve one-piece cylinder head. The design comprises an electronically controlled Unit Pump Injection System (UPS) with the alternative to use an inline injection pump. The engine structure was laid out for the high specific output and the peak cylinder pressure requirements for the compliance with Euro III emission legislation.

Since the issuance of the SAE Paper 820 487 in Spring 82 some requirements and standards have been either newly issued, amended, changed or updated. Aerodynamic headlamps with replaceable halogen bulbs and center high mounted stoplamps have been introduced to mention some important changes. This presentation is a compilation of the current requirements and standards and shows the status of their harmonizations.

Turbocharged DISI engines with four cylinders have established in the market and provide a performance comparable to larger six-cylinder engines in the smaller compartment of a four-cylinder engine. In the Japanese market, also turbo gasoline engines with 500 - 660 cm₃ displacement have a long tradition in Kei-Cars. However, those engines show a lower specific performance as would be required for propelling typical small or compact vehicles in Europe. Recently, two-cylinder turbo engines have come to market, which are found attractive with respect to sound, package, and also enable low vehicle fuel consumption in NEDC test. The paper presents a turbocharger layout study on 2- and 3-cylinder engines. It discusses the influence of cylinder displacement volume on the sizing of turbines and compressors, and how specific flow phenomena in the turbine can be captured in the simulation model.

A key metric of a car body structure is the body stiffness, which shows significant correlation with different vehicle performance attributes as NVH, comfort and vehicle handling. Typical approaches to identify static stiffness characteristics are the use of a static stiffness test bench or the ‘static-from-dynamic’ approach in which free-free acquired transfer functions are used to build a modal model from which the static stiffness characteristics are extracted. Both of these approaches have limitations, the static stiffness bench with respect to clamping conditions and reproducing those in CAE, the static-from-dynamic with respect to the modal analysis (EMA) that needs to be performed. EMA is a subjective process, which can limit result robustness. In addition, performing EMA on a trimmed body is difficult due to the high modal density and the high level of damping.

Controlled Auto Ignition (CAI) as a promising future combustion process is a concept to strongly reduce fuel consumption as well as NOx emissions. The acceptance and the potential of this combustion process depends on the possible CAI operation range in the engine map and the fuel consumption benefit, as well as the complexity of the variable valve train which is necessary to realize the CAI combustion process. The thermodynamic investigations presented in this paper were done on an engine equipped with an electromechanical valve train (EMVT), featuring Port Fuel Injection (PFI) and direct Injection. They show that the electromechanical valve train is an excellent platform for developing the CAI process. Controlled Auto Ignition has been realized with port fuel injection in a speed range between 1000 and 4500 rpm and in a load range between approximately 1 and 6 bar BMEP (about 5 bar BMEP for pressure gradients lower than 3 bar/°CA) depending on engine speed.

The VOLKSWAGEN VANAGON SYNCRO is presented as a novel 4 WD. The visco coupling is the heart of the forward drive train. Main advantages are automatic performance distribution between the axles and self-locking at extreme revolution differences between front and rear. Another important advantage of the standard 2 WD Vanagon is the well-known excellent spring suspension and damping comfort which is not negatively effected by the 4 WD technique. The vehicle is equipped with a new more powerful engine with 2,1 liter displacement and 70 kW (95 HP) nominal power output which is based on the watercooled horizontally opposed engine program. Electronic fuel injection and ignition are integrated into a unique Volkswagen system called DIGIFANTR. Vehicle performance data and fuel economy figures are given in comparison with 2 WD designs and previously available engine power train combinations.

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.

With the introduction of the New Beetle, Volkswagen is offering the next generation of the 1.9l TDI engine. Several evolutionary changes have been made to the TDI concept to further improve its emissions, efficiency and performance. Emissions performance is improved with increased fuel injection pressure, optimized fuel injectors, calibration modifications, EGR cooling and reduced crevice volume in the combustion chamber. Efficiency is improved with new oil pump, vacuum pump and water pump drive systems and the elimination of an auxiliary driveshaft. Performance and efficiency is improved with the addition of a variable geometry turbocharger, which increases torque at lower engine speeds while preserving performance at higher engine speeds. This paper describes the many enhancements found in this latest generation TDI and gives a brief lookout to the future trends in diesel engine development such as a high pressure injection system with unit injectors.

The acoustics insulation on the car body is ones of the more important target in the NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness) vehicle development process. The method of SEA is a validated statistical approach to solve airborne noise transmission problems. In the vehicle analysis above 300 Hz where material trim and leakage paths makes a important contribution in the vehicle interior acoustics shows the methodology its advantages over deterministic methods.

The sound quality and performance of an automotive engine are both significantly influenced by the “air-to-air” system, i.e., the intake system, the exhaust system, and the engine gas dynamics. Only a full systems approach can result in an optimized air-to-air system, which fulfills engine performance requirements, overall sound pressure level targets for airborne vehicle noise, as well as sound quality demands. This paper describes an approach, which considers the intake system, engine, and exhaust system within one CAE model that can be utilized for engine performance calculations as well as acoustic simulations. Examples comparing simulated and measured sound are discussed. Finally, the simulated sound (e.g., at the tailpipe of the exhaust system) is combined with an interior noise simulation technique to evaluate its influence inside the vehicle's interior.

Due to today's demands to reduce cost and product time to market, engineering procedures are increasingly using more sophisticated simulation techniques, instead of validation testing. Early implementation of CAE methods yield higher quality products, even with first prototypes, reducing the design iterations required to reach production quality. The strategy is to conduct specific evaluations of a realistic representation of the product while focusing on the key boundary conditions necessary to extract fatigue effects. Discussed in this paper are adequate CAE methods for early identification, evaluation and removal of conceptual and local structural weaknesses. Possible solutions gained from a computational optimization process are discussed for highly loaded HSDI diesel cylinder heads as a representative example.

The improvement of vehicle soiling behavior has increasing interest over the past few years not only to satisfy customer requirements and ensure a good visibility of the surrounding traffic but also for autonomous vehicles, for which soiling investigation and improvement are even more important due to the demands of the cleanliness and induced functionality of the corresponding sensors. The main task is the improvement of the soiling behavior, i.e., reduction or even prevention of soiling of specific surfaces, for example, windows, mirrors, and sensors. This is mostly done in late stages of vehicle development and performed by experiments, e.g., wind tunnel tests, which are supplemented by simulation at an early development stage. Among other sources, the foreign soiling on the side mirror and the side window depend on the droplet detaching from the side mirror housing.

Strategic Materials at Reaction Temperatures (SMART) is an approach used to design washcoat systems for passive 4-way emission control catalysts. Light duty diesel vehicles need to meet the European Motor Vehicle Emissions Group (MVEG) cycle or U. S. Federal test procedure (FTP 75). Emissions that are monitored include hydrocarbon (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and total particulate matter (TPM). Low engine-exhaust temperatures (< 200°C during city driving) and high temperatures (> 500-800°C under full load and wide-open throttle) make emission control a formidable task for the catalyst designer Gas phase HC, CO and NOx reactions must be balanced with the removal of the soluble organic fraction for the vehicle to be in compliance with regulations. The SMART approach uses model gases under typical operating conditions in the laboratory to better understand the function of individual washcoat components.

In a joint research project between industrial companies and a number of research institutes, nitrogen oxide conversion in oxygen containing exhaust gas has been investigated according to the following procedure Basic investigations of elementary steps of the chemical reaction Production and prescreening of different catalytic material on laboratory scale Application oriented screening of industrial catalyst material Catalyst testing on a lean bum gasoline engine, passenger car diesel engines (swirl chamber and DI) and on a DI truck engine Although a number of solid body structures show nitrogen oxide reduction by hydrocarbons, only noble metal containing catalysts and transition metal exchanged zeolites gave catalytic efficiencies of industrial relevance. A maximum of 25 % NOx reduction was found in the European driving cycle for passenger cars, about 40 % for truck engines in the respective European test.

In a consortium of European industrial partners and research institutes, a combination of industrial development and scientific research was organised. The objective was to improve the catalytic NOx conversion for lean burn cars and heavy-duty trucks, taking into account boundary conditions for the fuel consumption. The project lasted for three years. During this period parallel research was conducted in research areas ranging from basic research based on a theoretical approach to full scale emission system development. NOx storage catalysts became a central part of the project. Catalysts were evaluated with respect to resistance towards sulphur poisoning. It was concluded that very low sulphur fuel is a necessity for efficient use of NOx trap technology. Additionally, attempts were made to develop methods for reactivating poisoned catalysts. Methods for short distance mixing were developed for the addition of reducing agent.

Compatibility has been a passive safety research issue for many years. Great advancements in secondary (passive) safety have been achieved in the last decades through focussing on the self-protection level provided by passenger cars. The next step is to consider the other vehicle involved in the collision as well. Compatibility relates to the simultaneous improvement of both self- and partner- protection. Several tests procedures have been proposed around the world to assess the compatibility of passenger cars. None are considered ready to be implemented. This paper shows that controlling vehicle front-end geometry is the most feasible step to improve both self- and partner-protection. Through this, an increase in the structural interaction potential offered by passenger cars would result. To improve structural interaction, a convergence of front-end structures, to within certain vertical limits, is necessary.

Fuel properties are always considered as one of the main factors to diesel engines concerning performance and emission discussions. There are still challenges for researchers to identify the most correlating and non-correlating fuel properties and their effects on engine behavior. Statistical analyses have been applied in this study to derive the most un-correlating properties. In parallel, sensitivity analysis was performed for the fuel properties as well as to the emission and performance of the engine. On one hand, two different analyses were implemented; one with consideration of both, non-aromatic and aromatic fuels, and the other were performed separately for each individual fuel group. The results offer a different influence on each type of analysis. Finally, by considering both methods, most common correlating and non-correlating properties have been derived.

Calculating the bearing reliability and behavior is one of the primary tasks which have to be performed to define the main dimensions of the cranktrain of an internal combustion engine. Since the bearing results are essential for the pre-layout of the cranktrain, the conclusion on the bearing safety should be met as early as possible. Therefore detailed simulations like T-EHD or EHD analysis may not be applied to define the dimensions in such an early development phase. In the frame of this study a prediction methodology, based on a HD bearing approach, for bearing reliability of inline-4 crankshafts of passenger cars is proposed. In this way not only the design phase is shortened but also achieving the optimal solution is simplified. Moreover the requirement of a CAD model is eliminated for the preliminary design phase. The influencing parameters on the bearing behavior are first selected and divided into two groups: geometry and loading.

Based on the TurboDISI engine presented earlier [1], [2], a new Spray Guided Turbo (SGT) concept with enhanced engine performance was developed. The turbocharged engine was modified towards utilizing a spray-guided combustion system with a central piezo injector location. Higher specific power and torque levels were achieved by applying specific design and cooling solutions. The engine was developed utilizing a state-of-the-art newly developed charge motion design (CMD) process in combination with single cylinder investigations. The engine control unit has a modular basis and is realized using rapid prototyping hardware. Additional fuel consumption potentials can be achieved with high load EGR, use of alternative fuels and a hybrid powertrain. The CO2 targets of the EU (120 g/km by 2012 in the NEDC) can be obtained with a mid-size vehicle applying the technologies presented within this paper.