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In 1981, Ford Motor Company introduced a new family of fuel efficient four cylinder engines world wide. These engines, based on a compound valve arrangement in a hemispherical combustion chamber, were specifically designed for installation in light weight front-wheel-drive vehicles. Ford Research efforts were integrated with the resources of Ford U.S. and Ford of Europe to design and develop the engine in a compressed time frame. The technical and organizational efforts to accomplish this task, as well as, the design and development are discussed.

For reduction of fuel consumption, a new device “Water Jacket Spacer” which improves temperature distribution of a cylinder block bore wall was developed. In the case of a conventional cylinder block, coolant flow concentrates at the bottom and middle region of the water jacket. While temperature of the upper bore wall is high (due to high-temperature combustion gas) the temperature of the lower bore wall is low, since its only function is to support the piston. When the developed spacer is inserted into a water jacket, the coolant flow concentrates at the upper part of the jacket. As a result, cooling ability to the upper bore wall was improved and temperature of lower bore wall was increased, thereby reducing fuel consumption.

AS a basis for the analyses of this symposium, a hypothetical car has been used to evaluate the engine power distribution in performance. Effects of fuel,-engine accessories, and certain car accessories are evaluated. The role of the transmission in making engine power useful at normal car speeds is also discussed. Variables encountered in wind and rolling resistance determinations are reevaluated by improved test techniques. Net horsepower of the car in terms of acceleration, passing ability and grade capability are also summarized.

A test cell was developed for evaluating a 6-speed automatic transmission. The target vehicle had an internal combustion 5.4L gasoline V8 engine. An electric dynamometer was used to closely simulate the engine characteristics. This included generating mean torque from the ECU engine map, with a transient capability of 10,000 rpm/second. Engine inertia was simulated with a transient capability of 20,000 rpm/second, and torque pulsation was simulated individually for each piston, with a transient capability of 50,000 rpm/second. Quantitative results are presented for the correlation between the engine driven and the dynamometer driven transmission performance over more than 60 test cycles. Concerns about using the virtual engine in validation testing are discussed, and related to the high frequency transient performance required from the electric dynamometer. Qualitative differences between the fueled engine and electric driven testing are presented.

A prototype power control unit (PCU) was manufactured using silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors (diodes and transistors), which have low power loss when switching on and off. This PCU was installed in a hybrid vehicle (HV) and driven on a test course and chassis dynamometer. The test results confirmed a fuel efficiency improvement of about 5 percent.

The 2013 Ford Fusion will be launched with an optional automatic engine start-stop feature. To realize engine start-stop on a vehicle equipped with a conventional powertrain, there are two major challenges in the vehicle system controls. First, the propulsive torque delivery from a stopped engine has to be fast. The vehicle launch delay has to be minimized such that the corporate vehicle attributes can be met. Second, the fuel economy improvement offered by this technology has to justify the cost associated with it. In pursuing fuel economy, the driver's comfort and convenience should be minimally impacted. To tackle these challenges, a vehicle system control strategy has been developed to accurately interpret the driver's intent, monitor the vehicle subsystem's power demands, schedule engine automatic stop and re-start, and coordinate the fast and smooth torque delivery to the wheels.

This paper proposes a technology to reduce vehicle surge during towing that utilizes motors and shifting to help ensure comfort in a parallel HEV pickup truck. Hybridization is one way to reduce fuel consumption and help realize carbon neutrality. Parallel HEVs have advantages in the towing, hauling, and high-load operations often carried out by pickup trucks, compared to other HEV systems. Since the engine, motor, torque converter, and transmission are connected in series in a parallel HEV, vehicle surge may occur when the lockup clutch is engaged to enhance fuel efficiency, similar to conventional powertrains. Vehicle surge is a low-frequency vibration phenomenon. In general, the source is torque fluctuation caused by the engine and tires, with amplification provided by first-order torsional driveline resonance, power plant resonance, suspension resonance, and cabin resonance. This vibration is amplified more during towing.

The development of electric vehicles has been progressed, rapidly, to achieve Carbon neutrality by 2050. There have been increasing concerns about Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) performance due to increasing power for power trains of vehicles. Because same power train system expands to some vehicles, we have developed numerical simulations in order to predict the vehicle EMC performances. We modeled a vehicle which has inverter noises by numerical simulation to calculate electric fields based on GB/T18387. We simulated the common mode noise which flows through the shielding braid of the high voltage wire harnesses. As a result, it is confirmed a correlation between the electric fields calculated by numerical simulation and the measured one.

Throttle tip-in/tip-out maneuvers generate a driveline torque transient which may produce an objectionable disturbance to vehicle occupants. Recent developments in vehicle design have contributed to increased severity in this response, which is known as clunk and shuffle. This paper describes experimental procedures which have been developed to quantify response levels and diagnose cases of concern. These techniques are useful for developing engine control systems which require transient strategies that differ greatly from those required for steady state operation. In addition, specific design and calibration modifications, which control clunk and shuffle, are described.

This paper explores the extent to which standard dilution tunnel measurements of motor vehicle exhaust particulate matter modify particle number and size. Steady state size distributions made directly at the tailpipe, using an ejector pump, are compared to dilution tunnel measurements for three configurations of transfer hose used to transport exhaust from the vehicle tailpipe to the dilution tunnel. For gasoline vehicles run at a steady 50 - 70 mph, ejector pump and dilution tunnel measurements give consistent results of particle size and number when using an uninsulated stainless steel transfer hose. Both methods show particles in the 10 - 100 nm range at tailpipe concentrations of the order of 104 particles/cm3.

Intake and exhaust valve control has been combined with engine calibration control by an on-board computer to achieve a Variable Displacement Engine with improved BSFC during part throttle operation. The advent of the on-board computer, with its ability to provide integrated algorithms for the fast accurate flexible control of the entire powertrain, has allowed practical application of the valve disabler mechanism. The engine calibration basis and the displacement selection criteria are discussed, as are the fuel economy, emissions and behavior of a research vehicle on selected drive cycles ( Metro, Highway and Steady State ). Additionally, the impact upon vehicle driveability and other related subsystems ( e.g., transmission ) is addressed.

In order to reduce engine development timing and cost, a numerical calculation has been developed by Toyota Motor Company and Toyota Technical Center to evaluate valve train systems. The goal is to predict valve_bounce speed, valve displacement, hydraulic lash adjuster motion and strain in the rocker arm. The numerical procedure combines finite element model and multi-body dynamic analysis. Normally, strain calculation is a two-step process. In the first step, engineers obtain the excitation from the dynamic analysis. In the second step, engineers use the forcing function from dynamic analysis to calculate strain and stress. The new approach in this paper, using ADAMS, calculates dynamic load and recover strain simultaneously. As the flexibility of the moving part (for example rocker arm) is taken into account in the equations of motion, ADAMS will calculate the modal strain. Based on the modal strain, the strain or stress at any given node(s) can be recovered.

An experimental modal model of an early prototype car was constructed and validated against test results. The model was then used to suggest practical hardware modification alternatives which would: (1) shift the steering column resonant frequency away from the idle range, and (2) maintain a low steering column tip vibration within the 600-750 RPM idle range. This model was also used to evaluate the effectiveness of tuning radiator mounts to the overall vehicle idle quality. It was found that a pair of braces from either the steering column bracket to brake pedal bracket or to the cowl top area could improve idle shake of the test vehicle. The driver side brake pedal brace alone is not effective. However, the passenger side brake pedal brace alone is as effective as the two brake pedal braces together. It was found that the radiator mounts on the test vehicle are extremely non-linear. Therefore, tuning the mount to improve idle quality is impractical.

In order to clarify future automobile technologies and fuel qualities to improve air quality, second phase of Japan Clean Air Program (JCAPII) had been conducted from 2002 to 2007. Predicting improvement in air quality that might be attained by introducing new emission control technologies and determining fuel qualities required for the technologies is one of the main issues of this program. Unregulated material WG of JCAPII had studied unregulated emissions from gasoline and diesel engines. Eight gaseous hydrocarbons (HC), four Aldehydes and three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were evaluated as unregulated emissions. Specifically, emissions of the following components were measured: 1,3-Butadiene, Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, Ethylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethyl-benzene, n-Hexane, Styrene as gaseous HCs, Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Benzaldehyde as Aldehydes, and Benzo(a)pyrene, Benzo(b)fluoranthene, Benzo(k)fluoranthene as PAHs.

We have developed a novel engine cycle simulation program (UniDES: universal diesel engine simulator) to reproduce the diesel combustion process over a wide range of engine operating parameters, such as the amount of injected fuel, the injection timing, and the EGR ratio. The approach described in this paper employs a zoning model, where the in-cylinder region is divided into up to five zones. We also applied a probability density function (PDF) concept to each zone to consider the effect of spatial non-homogeneities, such as local equivalence ratios and temperature, on the combustion characteristics. We linked this program to the commonly used commercial GT-Power® software (UniDES+GT). As a result, we were able to reproduce transient engine behavior very accurately.

The aim of this research is to develop the diesel combustion simulation (UniDES: Universal Diesel Engine Simulator) that incorporates multiple-injection strategies and in-cylinder composition changes due to exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), and that is capable of high speed calculation. The model is based on a zero-dimensional (0D) cycle simulation, and represents a multiple-injection strategy using a multi-zone model and inhomogeneity using a probability density function (PDF) model. Therefore, the 0D cycle simulation also enables both high accuracy and high speed. This research considers application to actual development. To expand the applicability of the simulation, a model that accurately estimates nozzle sac pressure with various injection quantities and common rail pressures, a model that accounts for the effects of adjacent spray interaction, and a model that considers the NOx reduction phenomenon under high load conditions were added.

Direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) engines have been investigated for many years but only recently have shown promise as a next generation gasoline engine technology. Much of this new enthusiasm is due to advances in the fuel injection system, which is now capable of producing a well-controlled spray with small droplets. A physical understanding of new combustion systems utilizing this technology is just beginning to occur. This analytical and experimental investigation with a research single-cylinder combustion system shows the benefits of in-cylinder gasoline injection versus injection of fuel into the intake port. Charge cooling with direct injection is shown to improve volumetric efficiency and reduce the mixture temperature at the time of ignition allowing operation with a higher compression ratio which improves the thermodynamic cycle efficiency.

Engine oils and their additives are formulated to meet required performance areas such as lubrication, detergency, dispersancy, anti-wear, and so on. Understanding degradation of engine oil additives is important to formulate oils with long time durability. Engine oil additives have been found to affect abnormal combustion in turbocharged gasoline direct injection (TGDI) engines, called low speed pre-ignition (LSPI). Some of metal containing additives such as zinc dithiophosphates (ZnDTP) and molybdenum dithiocarbamates (MoDTC) have been found to reduce LSPI events. In this study, we investigated degradation of ZnDTP and MoDTC in gasoline engine operation and effects of the degradation on LSPI performance.

A series of tests were conducted to determine the potential for reducing vehicle underhood temperatures by either 1) diverting the radiator fan air flow from the engine compartment or 2) by forced air cooling of the exhaust manifold in conjunction with shielding it or 3) by a combination of the two methods. The test vehicle was a Ford F-250 Light Truck with a 7.5L V-8 engine. The vehicle was tested in a dynamometer cell equipped with cell blowers to simulate road speed conditions. It was found that diverting the outlet air from the radiator will reduce underhood component temperatures when the vehicle is in motion and also at normal idle. However, if the vehicle is to be used for power takeoff applications requiring a “kicked” idle, then forced cooling of the exhaust manifolds is also required to maintain reduced underhood temperatures. A combination of these two techniques maximized the reduction of underhood temperatures for all operating conditions tested.

Phosphor thermometry was used during fuel injection in an optical engine with the glass piston of reentrant type. SiO2 coated phosphor particle was used for the gas-phase temperature measurements, which gave much less background signal. The measurements were performed in motored mode, in combustion mode with injection of n-heptane and in non-combustion mode with injection of iso-octane. In the beginning of injection period, the mean temperature of each injection cases was lower than that of the motored case, and temperature of iso-octane injection cases was even lower than that of n-heptane injection cases. This indicates, even if vaporization effect seemed to be the same at both injection cases, the effect of temperature decrease changed due to the chemical reaction effect for the n-heptane cases. Chemical reaction seems to be initiated outside of the fuel liquid spray and the position was moving towards the fuel rich area as the time proceeds.