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A supercritical organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system for recovery of waste heat from heavy-duty diesel engines is proposed. In this system, an organic, medium-boiling-point fluid is selected as the working fluid, which also serves as the coolant for the charge air cooler and the EGR coolers. Because the exhaust temperature can be as high as 650 °C during the DPF regeneration, an exhaust cooler is included in the system to recover some of the high level exhaust energy. In the present ORC system, the expansion work is conducted by a uniflow reciprocating expander, which simplifies the waste-heat-recovery (WHR) system significantly. This reciprocating Rankine engine is more appropriate for on-road-vehicle applications where the condition for waste heat is variable. The energy level of waste heat from a heavy-duty diesel engine is evaluated by the analyses of the first and second law of thermodynamics.

DiMethyl Ether (DME) has been known to be an outstanding fuel for combustion in diesel cycle engines for nearly twenty years. DME has a vapour pressure of approximately 0.5MPa at ambient temperature (293K), thus it requires pressurized fuel systems to keep it in liquid state which are similar to those for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (mixtures of propane and butane). The high vapour pressure of DME permits the possibility to optimize the fuel injection characteristic of direct injection diesel engines in order to achieve a fast evaporation and mixing with the charged gas in the combustion chamber, even at moderate fuel injection pressures. To understand the interrelation between the fuel flow inside the nozzle spray holes tests were carried out using 2D optically accessed nozzles coupled with modelling approaches for the fuel flow, cavitation, evaporation and the gas dynamics of 2-phase (liquid and gas) flows.

Cavitation induced cylinder liner erosion can be a significant durability problem in high power density diesel engines. It is typically discovered in the field, thus causing costly redesigns. The application of a predictive simulation to analyze the liner cavitation process upfront could identify the problem early on and enable significant savings. Hence, this work investigates the ability of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) multiphase flow simulation tool to handle vibration induced cavitation. A flow of liquid through a U-shaped duct is analyzed, where a middle segment of the duct is set to vibrate in a manner resembling vibration of the cooling jacket walls in an internal combustion engine. Velocity, pressure and vapor concentration fields are tracked for two cases, distinguished by different frequencies of duct wall vibration.

In the automotive industry, various simulation-based analysis methods have been suggested and applied to reduce the time and cost required to develop the engine structure to improve the NVH performance of powertrain. This simulation is helpful to set the engine design concept in the initial phase of the powertrain development schedules. However, when using the conventional simulation method with a uniformed force, the simulation results sometimes show different results than the test results. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a method for predicting the radiated noise level of a diesel engine using actual combustion excitation force. Based on the analytical radiated noise development target, we identify the major components of the engine that are beyond this development target by in the frequency range. The components of the problem found in this way are reflected in the engine design of the early development stage to shorten the development time.

The current paper describes a methodology for combustion bowl assessment for diesel engines. The methodology is based on the application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) following a Design of Experiments (DoE) procedure. In this work the 3D CFD simulation was performed by the commercial CFD code AVL-FIRE for different combustion bowls from intake valve closing (IVC) to exhaust valve opening (EVO). The initial conditions (at IVC) and boundary conditions were obtained from 1D simulation. Since the work was concentrated on the spray injection, mixing, combustion as well as bowl aerodynamics only a sector mesh was employed for the calculations. A DoE procedure was also used for this simulation work in order to minimize the number of simulation runs and at the same time maintaining the accuracy required assessing the influences of different bowl geometry, spray and intake air motion parameters.

Due to increasing complexity of engine electronic systems, there is a demand to handle the often more than 10,000 calibration data automatically. Establishing optimized start of injection and EGR tables of a TC DI Diesel engine by conventional methods takes about two weeks of intensive calibration work. By automatic map calibration, this task can be handled in less than 20 hours automatically, with no staff required during optimization. The benefits of automatic calibration therefore are reduced costs and faster response to any changes in parameters, even with complex multidimensional engine calibration problems. The paper describes the optimization method as well as the experimental work on the test stand that produces the results.

The present works presents a real-time capable engine model with physical based description of the fuel injection and the combustion process. The model uses a crank-angle resolved cylinder model and a filling and emptying approach for cylinder and gas-path interaction. A common rail injection system model is developed and implemented into the real-time engine framework. The injection model calculates injection quantity and injection rate profile from the input of the ECU signals target injection pressure and injection timing. The model accounts for pressure oscillations in the injection system. A phenomenological combustion model for Diesel engines is implemented, which is based on the mixing controlled combustion modeling approach. The combustion model calculates the rate of heat release from the injection rate given by the injection model. The injection and combustion model are validated in detail against steady-state measurement data for two different passenger car sized engines.

This paper presents a newly developed quasi-dimensional multi-zone dual fuel combustion model, which has been integrated within the commercial engine system simulation framework. Model is based on the modified Multi-Zone Combustion Model and Fractal Combustion Model. Modified Multi-Zone Combustion Model handles the part of the combustion process that is governed by the mixing-controlled combustion, while the modified Fractal Combustion Model handles the part that is governed by the flame propagation through the combustion chamber. The developed quasi-dimensional dual fuel combustion model features phenomenological description of spray processes, i.e. liquid spray break-up, fresh charge entrainment, droplet heat-up and evaporation process. In order to capture the chemical effects on the ignition delay, special ignition delay table has been made.

A novel, electronically controlled, common rail fuel injection system has been designed and developed by the authors under a contract from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This system was specifically designed for direct injection of liquid dimethyl ether (DME) to achieve ultra-low emissions of NOx & particulate matter from conventional diesel engines. However, the system's basic characteristics also make it suitable for direct injection of ethanol & methanol in compression-ignition engines, and direct injection of liquid propane and gasoline in spark-ignition engines.

Dynamometer (dyno) durability testing plays a significant role in reliability and durability assessment of commercial engines. Frequently, durability test procedures are based on warranty history and corresponding component failure modes. Evolution of engine designs, operating conditions, electronic control features, and diagnostic limits have created challenges to historical-based testing approaches. A physics-based methodology, known as Load Matrix, is described to counteract these challenges. The technique, developed by AVL, is based on damage factor models for subsystem and component failure modes (e.g. fatigue, wear, degradation, deposits) and knowledge of customer duty cycles. By correlating dyno test to field conditions in quantifiable terms, such as customer equivalent miles, more effective and efficient durability test suites and test procedures can be utilized. To this end, application of Load Matrix to a heavy-duty diesel engine is presented.

In order to avoid the high CO and HC emissions associated with low temperature when using high levels of EGR, partially premixed combustion is an interesting possibility. One way to achieve this combustion mode is to increase the ignition delay by adjusting the inlet valve closing timing, and thus the effective compression ratio. The purpose of this study was to investigate experimentally the possibilities of using late and early inlet valve closure to reduce NOx emissions without increasing emissions of soot or unburned hydrocarbons, or fuel consumption. The effect of increasing the swirl number (from 0.2 to 2.5) was also investigated. The combustion timing (CA50) was kept constant by adjusting the start of injection and the possibilities of optimizing combustion using EGR and high injection pressures were investigated. Furthermore, the airflow was kept constant for a given EGR level.

The continuously decreasing emission limits lead to a growing importance of exhaust aftertreatment in Diesel engines. Hence, methods for achieving a rapid catalyst light-off after engine cold start and for maintaining the catalyst temperature during low load operation will become more and more necessary. The present work evaluates several valve timing strategies concerning their ability for doing so. For this purpose, simulations as well as experimental investigations were conducted. A special focus of simulation was on pointing out the relevance of exhaust temperature, mass flow and enthalpy for these thermomanagement tasks. An increase of exhaust temperature is beneficial for both catalyst heat-up and maintaining catalyst temperature. In case of the exhaust mass flow, high values are advantageous only in case of a catalyst heat-up process, while maintaining catalyst temperature is supported by a low mass flow.

A thermo-mechanical fatigue analysis was conducted based on a coupled Finite Element Analysis (FEA) - Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method on the crack failure of the exhaust manifold for an inline 4-cylinder turbo-charged diesel engine under the durability test. In the this analysis, the temperature-dependent material properties were obtained from measurements and the model was calibrated with comparison of the predicted exhaust manifold temperatures with the on-engine measurements under the same engine load condition. Temperature and stress/strain distributions in the exhaust manifold were predicted with the calibrated model. Analysis results showed that the cracks took place at locations with high plastic deformations, suggesting that the cause of the failure be thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF). Using the equivalent plastic strain (PEEQ) as the indicator for thermal mechanical fatigue, three exhaust manifold design revisions were carried out by CAE analysis.

Considering worldwide future emission and CO2-legislation for the Light Commercial Vehicle segment, a wide range of powertrain variants is expected. Dependent on the application use cases all powertrain combinations, from pure Diesel engine propulsion via various levels of hybridization, to pure battery electric vehicles will be in the market. Under this aspect as well as facing differing legal and market requirements, a modular approach is presented for the LCV and SUV Segment, which can be adapted flexibly to meet the different requirements. A displacement range of 2.0L to 2.3L, representing the current baseline in Europe is taken as basis. To best fulfill the commercial boundaries, tailored technology packages, based on a common global engine platform are defined and compared. These packages include engine related technical features for emission- and fuel consumption improvement, as well as electrification measures, in particular 48V-MHEV variants.

Faced with the need to reduce development time and cost in view of additional system complexity driven by ever more stringent emission regulations, the Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) simulation increasingly proves itself to be an advantageous tool not only in automotive companies but also in the off-road engine industry. The approach offers the possibility to analyze new engine control systems with fewer expensive engine dynamometer experiments and test drives. Thus, development cycles can be shortened and development costs reduced. This paper presents the development of an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and the correspondent Exhaust Aftertreatment System (EAS) model, its deployment on a HiL system and its application to pre-calibrate the engine for different vehicle cycles. A zero-dimensional mean value approach was chosen to guarantee adequate real-time factors for the coupling between the models and the Engine Control Unit (ECU).

The fuel saving benefit is analyzed for a class-8 truck diesel engine equipped with a WHR system, which recovers the waste heat from the EGR. With this EGR-WHR system, the composite fuel savings over the ESC 13-mode test is up to 5%. The fuel economy benefit can be further improved if the charge air cooling is also integrated in the Rankine cycle loop. The influence of working fluid properties on the WHR efficiency is studied by operating the Rankine cycle with two different working fluids, R245fa and ethanol. The two working fluids are compared in the temperature-entropy and enthalpy-entropy diagrams for both subcritical and supercritical cycles. For R245fa, the subcritical cycle shows advantages over the supercritical cycle. For ethanol, the supercritical cycle has better performance than the subcritical cycle. The comparison indicates that ethanol can be an alternative for R245fa.

India striving for carbon neutrality influences futures powertrain architecture of commercial vehicles. The use of CO2-free drives as battery electric have been demonstrated for various applications. The productivity still is a challenge due to missing high power charging infrastructure or limited range. This draws the attention to the use of sustainable fuels due to lower refueling times. The hydrogen engine got highest attention in the last couple of years. For markets as the EU the driver for hydrogen is the CO2 emission reduction, whereas for markets as India hydrogen offers the additional opportunity for more independence from fossil imports. Different OEMs all over the world have converted diesel engines to hydrogen operation with strong focus on performance and emission demonstration, so far with limited technology readiness of different key components.

This paper describes a numerical study of the effect of hollow crankshafts on crankshaft local strength and durability as well as slider bearing contact behavior. Crankshaft dynamic simulation for durability is still a challenging task, although numerical methods are already worldwide established and integrated part of nearly every standard engine development process. Such standard methods are based on flexible multi-body dynamic simulation, combined with Finite Element analysis and multi-axial fatigue evaluation. They use different levels of simplification and consider the most influencing phenomena relevant for durability. Lightweight design and downsizing require more and more detailed methods due to higher deformation of the crankshaft. This is especially true for hollow shafts, as present in motorsport design or aerospace applications, but also for standard engine having high potential for significant weight savings.

Particulate emission reduction has long been a challenge for diesel engines as the diesel diffusion combustion process can generate high levels of soot which is one of the main constituents of particulate matter. Gasoline engines use a pre-mixed combustion process which produces negligible levels of soot, so particulate emissions have not been an issue for gasoline engines, particularly with modern port fuel injected (PFI) engines which provide excellent mixture quality. Future European and US emissions standards will include more stringent particulate limits for gasoline engines to protect against increases in airborne particulate levels due to the more widespread use of gasoline direct injection (GDI). While GDI engines are typically more efficient than PFI engines, they emit higher particulate levels, but still meet the current particulate standards.

In 2017 the European authorities put into effect the first part of a new certification test procedure for Real Driving Emissions (RDE). Similar tests are planned in other regions of the world, such as the upcoming China 6a/6b standards, further tightening emission limits, and also the introduction of RDE tests. Both restrictions pose challenging engineering tasks for upcoming vehicles. RDE certification tests feature significantly more demanding engine operating conditions and thus, emit more pollutants by orders of magnitude compared to known cycles like NEDC. Here, especially the reduction of NOx is a specific technical challenge, as it needs to compromise also with reduction targets on carbon dioxide. The fulfilment of both emission limits requires a widening of the focus from an isolated engine or exhaust aftertreatment view to a system engineering view involving all hardware and software domains of the vehicle.