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“Trapless” Trap, which makes possible the effective collecting of particulates in diesel exhaust gas and their simultaneous combustion has been developed by use of a ceramic foam in combination with catalysts containing copper salt. From a TEM photograph, it was observed that the particulate was rapidly oxidized by mobile copper ion, showing worm-eaten like spots. Screening of various base metal salts by TGA presented CUCl2-KCl-NH4VO3 and CuCl2-KCl-(NH4)6Mo7O24 as very active catalysts for diesel particulate oxidation. They had thermal stability up to 900°C when they were supported on titania. The results obtained by measuring the back pressure using 1.8L diesel engine suggest the above trap to be a self-cleaning trapless trap.

This study mainly focuses on the blending of Alumina and Titanium oxide nanoparticles (NP’s) in Spirulina biodiesel blends (SB20) to estimate the influence of engine (combustion, performance and emission) parameters of a diesel engine. The characterization of Al2O3 and TiO2 NP’s like SEM were reported. By using various fuel samples such as Diesel, SB20, SB20+40 ppm AO, SB20+80 ppm AO, SB20+40 ppm TO and SB20+80 ppm TO, the engine tests on the diesel engine were conducted at various load conditions. The BTE for SB20+80 ppm AO were enhanced by 12.35% and 8.4 % compared to the SB20 fuel and SB20+40 ppm AO fuel samples. The combustion parameters were improved for the NP’s as additives (Al2O3 and TiO2) fuels than the SB20 fuel sample because NP’s contain oxygen content. The parameters of engine exhaust emissions such as HC, CO and smoke are drastically diminished for the SB20+40 ppm AO, SB20+80 ppm AO, SB20+40 ppm TO and SB20+80 ppm TO fuels compared to the SB20 fuel.

The current research was aimed at determining the most effective way to use alternative renewable feedstock to power a diesel engine. Mimusops elengi, a new and novel biofuel was recognized for this current study, which is widely available in the south of India. The investigation was conducted on B20 volume basis (20% Mimusops elengi methyl ester blended with 80% diesel). Furthermore, it was recognized that when the performance characteristics were traded off, the emission magnitude has slightly higher. To address the diesel engine pollution, an oxygenated nano additive like titanium oxide was dissipated only with the fuel blend at distinct mass fractions of 25 parts per million (ppm) with differing injection pressures of 180 bar, 200 bar, 220 bar, and 240 bar. The tests were created using a statistical programme known as design of experiments, which is purely based on Taguchi and response surface methodology.

An two-dimensional axial symmetrical finite volume model will be introduced for the calculation of catalytic converters. It is able to predict transient temperatures and conversion rates in different converter systems according to the driving conditions. Input data are the mass-flow rate, the converter inlet temperature and the raw emissions. The performance of this model is demonstrated on an Indian motorcycle application. Cold start behavior and peak temperatures are investigated. This model has proven to be an effective tool for the preselection of an optimal cost effective catalyst system.

Affordable, efficient and durable catalytic converters for the two and three wheeler industry in developing countries are required to reduce vehicle emissions and to participate in a cleaner and healthier environment. As a contribution Continental Emitec started a comprehensive testing program with a state of the art 180 cc Bharat Stage (BS) III Indian motorcycle. The program consists of testing the state of the art of Metallic substrates with structured foils with various catalyst sizes and positions (original or close coupled). The publication presents a short literature survey and the results of the investigation with a big catalyst volume mounted in underfloor position as well as in close coupled position, gained over the World-wide harmonized Motorcycle Test Cycle, considering the two possible vehicle classifications of this motorcycle, Sub-Class 2.1 and Sub-Class 2.2.

The influence of engine variables on the concentration of oxides of nitrogen present in the exhaust of a multicylinder engine was studied. The concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) were measured with either a mass spectrometer or a non-dispersive infrared analyzer. The NO concentration was low for rich operation (deficient in oxygen) and increased with air-fuel ratio to a peak value at ratios slightly leaner than stoichiometric proportions. A further increase in air-fuel ratio resulted in reduced NO concentrations. Advanced spark timing, decreased manifold vacuum, increased coolant temperature and combustion chamber deposit buildup were also found to increase exhaust NO concentration. These results support either directly or indirectly the hypothesis that exhaust NO concentration is primarily a result of the peak combustion gas temperature and the available oxygen.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in quantifying the emissions from aircraft in order to generate inventories of emissions for climate models, technology and scenario studies, and inventories of emissions for airline fleets typically presented in environmental reports. The preferred method for calculating aircraft engine emissions of NOx, HC, and CO is the proprietary “P3T3” method. This method relies on proprietary airplane and engine performance models along with proprietary engine emissions characterizations. In response and in order to provide a transparent method for calculating aircraft engine emissions non proprietary fuel flow based methods 1,2,3 have been developed. This paper presents derivation, updates, and clarifications of the fuel flow method methodology known as “Fuel Flow Method 2”.

Ammonia is one of the most useful compounds that react with NOx selectively on a catalyst, such as V2O5-TiO2, under oxygen containing exhaust gas. However ammonia cannot be stored because of its toxicity for the small power generator in populated areas or for the diesel vehicles. A new concept for NOx reduction in diesel engine using ammonia is introduced. This system is constructed from the hydrogen generator by fuel reformer, the ammonia synthesizer, SCR catalyst for NOx reduction and the gas injection system of reformed gas into the cylinder. Experimental results show that, the SCR catalyst provides a very high rate of NOx reduction, reformed gas injection into cylinder is very effective for particulate reduction. WHEN CONSIDERING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES of the 1990's the question of how to harmonize the engine with the natural environments is one of the greatest problems. The internal combustion engine changes a substance into energy via its explosive combustion.

Powertrain electrification is becoming increasingly common in the transportation sector to address the challenges of global warming and deteriorating air quality. This paper introduces a novel “Build Your Hybrid” approach to experience and test various hybrid powertrain concepts. This approach is applied to the light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment due to the attractive combination of a Diesel engine and a partly electrified powertrain. For this purpose, a demonstrator vehicle has been set up with a flexible P02 hybrid topology and a prototype Hybrid Control Unit (HCU). Based on user input, the HCU software modifies the control functions and simulation models to emulate different sub-topologies and levels of hybridization in the demonstrator vehicle. Three powertrain concepts are considered for LCVs: HV P2, 48V P2 and 48V P0 hybrid. Dedicated hybrid control strategies are developed to take full advantage of the synergies of the electrical system and reduce CO2 and NOx emissions.

Abstract An investigation into the pre-ashing of new gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) has demonstrated that the filtration efficiency of such filters can be improved by up to 30% (absolute efficiency improvement) when preconditioned using ash derived from a fuel-borne catalyst (FBC) additive. The additive is typically used in diesel applications to enable diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration and can be added directly into the fuel tank of the vehicle. This novel result was compared with ash derived from lube oil componentry, which has previously been shown to improve filtration efficiency in GPFs. The lube oil-derived ash utilized in this work improved the filtration efficiency of the GPF by −30%, comparable to the ash derived from the FBC additive.

This study proposes a novel biofuel for spark ignition (SI) engine, α-pinene (C10H16), which is non-oxygenated and thus has a gravimetric energy density comparable to that of hydrocarbon fuels. The ignition characteristics of α-pinene were evaluated in an ignition quality tester (IQT) under standard temperature and pressure conditions. The measured ignition delay time (IDT) of α-pinene is 10.5 ms, which is lower than that of iso-octane, 17.9 ms. The estimated research octane number (RON) for pinene from IQT is 85. A temperature sweep in IQT showed that that α-pinene is less reactive at low temperatures, but more reactive at high temperatures when compared to isooctane. These results suggest that α-pinene has high octane sensitivity (OS) and is suitable for operation in turbocharged SI engines. With these considerations, α-pinene was operated in a single cylinder SI engine.

This paper presents a numerical study on the impact of washcoat diffusion on the overall conversion performance of catalytic converters. A comprehensive transient 1D pore diffusion reaction model is embedded in state-of-the-art 1D and 3D catalytic converter models. The pore diffusion model is discussed with its model equations and the applied diffusive transport approaches are summarized. The diffusion reaction model is validated with the help of two available analytical solutions. The impact of basic washcoat characteristics such as pore diameters or thickness on overall conversion performance is investigated by selected 1D+1D calculations. This model is also used to highlight the impact of boundary layer transfer, pore diffusion and reaction on the overall converter conversion performance. The interaction of pore diffusion and flow non-uniformities is demonstrated by 3D+1D CFD simulations.

“Zoning” a catalytic converter involves placing higher concentrations of platinum group metals (PGM) in the inlet portion of the substrate. This is done to optimize the cost-to-performance tradeoff by increasing the reaction rate at lower temperatures while minimizing PGM usage. A potentially useful application of catalyst zoning is to improve performance using a constant PGM mass. A study was performed to assess what the optimum ratio of front to rear palladium zone length is to achieve the highest performance in vehicle emission testing. Varying the zone ratio from 1:1 to 1:9 shows a clear hydrocarbon performance optimum at a 1:5.66 (15%/85%) split. This performance optimum shows as both a minimum in FTP75 non-methane organic gas (NMOG) emissions as well as a minimum in hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide light-off temperature. Overall, an improvement of 18%, or 11 mg/mi of combined NMOG+NOx emissions was obtained without using additional PGM.

Diesel engines are coming under stricter requirements to reduce emissions. particularly those of particulates and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Recently, the U. S. EPA put into place staged requirements for heavy duty diesel engines in urban bus applications which are aimed at ultimately bringing pre-1994 engines into particulate emissions compliance with 1994 heavy duty on-road truck standards (0. 1 g/bhp-hr TPM). This reflects the need to control emissions in crowded urban environments. Zirconia based ceramic combustion management coatings, although originally developed for adiabatic or low heat rejection engines to boost thermal efficiency, have also been shown to contribute to the reduction in diesel emissions. Heavy duty transient testing of rebuilt 2-stroke MUI diesel bus engines equipped with stabilized zirconia based coatings applied by thermal spray process have shown significant reduction in exhaust opacity relative to a baseline, uncoated engine.

A zero-dimensional code is developed to simulate turbulent spray combustion and NOx and soot emission in direct injection diesel engines. The code consists of two major parts; mixing calculation for the probability density function (PDF) based on the multi-zone model by Hiroyasu et al., (1983) and the flame structure by the conditional moment closure (CMC) model (Klimenko & Bilger, 1999). The skeletal mechanism of n-heptane is employed with the elementary reaction steps for heat release and the NOx chemistry in GRI 3.0. The spray model accounts for evaporation and mixing based on momentum balance of the spray zones, while the CMC model incorporates the conditional flame structures with one fuel group or flame structure for each injection. The spatially integrated density-weighted PDF, F(η), is defined to represent inhomogeneous mixture distribution in the cylinder. The one-equation soot model is employed for prediction of the soot emission.

This study aims at a new concept for a fast catalyst light-off in combining a latent heat storage with a catalyst. The arrangement of a latent heat storage device into the exhaust system offers significant benefits for the catalyst light-off. Different arrangements have been examined. The first arrangement, called the sequential arrangement, comprises a latent heat storage device and a subsequent catalyst. This offers a significantly faster heat up of the catalyst compared to the standard arrangement. By that emissions during the cold start phase can be significantly reduced. The setup of the latent heat storage device is designed for a high heat transfer between storage material and the exhaust gas. A second integrated arrangement of a latent heat storage and a catalyst into one common substrate has also been set up and investigated. The main advantage of this arrangement is that the catalyst itself is kept on its operation temperature during the engine off time.

A carburetted, spark ignited gasoline fuelled engine of a 5 kW rated power generator was converted to run on hydrogen. As opposed to large parts of current research, the engine conversion’s foremost goal was not to maximise efficiency and power output but rather to find a cost-effective and low-complexity conversion approach to introduce clean fuels to existing engines. To allow for the increased volumetric fuel flow, the riser of the original carburettor was enlarged. The hydrogen flow into the venturi was metered with the help of a pressure regulator from a widely available conversion kit. The effects of different hydrogen-fuel-feed pressures on engine performance, operational stability and emission levels were examined experimentally. It was found that the hydrogen-line pressure before startup has to be set precisely (±5 mbar) to allow for stable and emission free operation.

A program has been completed to evaluate ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels and passive diesel particulate filters (DPFs) in truck and bus fleets operating in southern California. The fuels, ECD and ECD-1, are produced by ARCO (a BP Company) and have less than 15 ppm sulfur content. Vehicles were retrofitted with two types of catalyzed DPFs, and operated on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for over one year. Exhaust emissions, fuel economy and operating cost data were collected for the test vehicles, and compared with baseline control vehicles. Regulated emissions are presented from two rounds of tests. The first round emissions tests were conducted shortly after the vehicles were retrofitted with the DPFs. The second round emissions tests were conducted following approximately one year of operation. Several of the vehicles retrofitted with DPFs accumulated well over 100,000 miles of operation between test rounds.

The experimental XA-100 is a 5-passenger 4-door Chevrolet Corsica that has been retrofitted with an electric-motor propulsion system, batteries, and an on-board engine/alternator system. The XA-100 is designed 1) to travel on around-town and short freeway commute trips on battery power alone with zero exhaust emissions (zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV)) and 2) to travel as an ultra-low-emissions vehicle (ULEV) on long distance trips using an on-board engine/alternator (i.e., an auxiliary power unit (APU)) for electric power. In all other respects (e.g., performance, handling, user interface), the XA-100 is designed to retain the characteristics of the conventional Corsica to the greatest degree possible. The XA-100 was developed as a result of research sponsored in part by the California Energy Commission (CEC), with labor donated by members of the Electric Auto Association (EAA) and faculty, staff and students of Stanford University.

An international standard for nonroad engines has been developed that comprises gaseous and particulate emissions measurement procedures, smoke testing, test cycles, and an engine family and group concept. Through a joint effort of industry and government agencies, ISO 8178 has become the basis for emissions legislation in the USA, the European Union and Japan and of the International Maritime Organization. The ultimate goal of worldwide harmonization for the worldwide engine industry has been reached, but much effort is still needed to maintain the level of harmonization achieved today. The validity of ISO 8178 has been demonstrated on a round robin test with three engines of 19 to 170 kW circulated around 28 test laboratories. Test-to-test repeatability was generally lower than 10 %. Lab-to-lab variability was less than 10 % for NOx and particulates, and over 25 % for HC and CO. The equivalence of partial flow and full flow dilution systems for particulates has been proven.