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2-Butanone (C4H8O) is a promising alternative fuel candidate as a pure as well as a blend component for substitution in standard gasoline fuels. It can be produced by the dehydrogenation of 2-butanol. To describe 2-butanone's basic combustion behaviour, it is important to investigate key physical properties such as the laminar burning velocity. The laminar burning velocity serves on the one hand side as a parameter to validate detailed chemical kinetic models. On the other hand, especially for engine simulations, various combustion models have been introduced, which rely on the laminar burning velocity as the physical quantity describing the progress of chemical reactions, diffusion, and heat conduction. Hence, well validated models for the prediction of laminar burning velocities are needed. New experimental laminar burning velocity data, acquired in a high pressure spherical combustion vessel, are presented for 1 atm and 5 bar at temperatures of 373 K and 423 K.

Due to the general requirements in the automotive industry to reduce the power consumption, fuel consumption rate and CO2 emission a new HID (High Intensity Discharge) bulb with only 25W is under development for front lighting systems. A first headlamp integrated in a hybrid vehicle is now launched as a first application in the market. The current regulation in ECE allows to get rid of the mandatory headlamp cleaning system and the automatic leveling requirement once the 25W HID bulb is applied. The reason for this is the objective luminous flux of the 25W HID bulb, which emits less than 2000 lm, a boundary defined in the regulation, where a headlamp cleaning and an automatic leveling is requested. That simplifies especially the integration in smaller vehicles and electric and hybrid vehicles. The paper describes the special design of the headlamp, the projector unit, the light performance, packaging advantages and future outlook of further applications in the near future.

The automotive industry continues to develop new powertrain technologies aimed at reducing overall vehicle level fuel consumption. The ongoing trends of “downsizing” and “down speeding” have led to the development of turbocharged engines with low displacement and high torque density. In order to meet the launch response requirements with these engines as well as fuel economy needs, transmissions with large ratio spreads will need to be developed. Due to the lack of torque amplification from the torque converter, the next generation of dual clutch transmissions (DCT) will need to have larger launch ratios and ratio spreads than currently available in production today. This paper discusses the development of a new family of DCT (called “xDCT”) for use in front wheel drive vehicles, aimed at meeting some of these challenges. The xDCT family features two innovative concepts, the idea of “gear generation” and “supported shifts”.

The interest in electric propulsion of vehicles has increased in recent years and is being discussed extensively by experts as well as the public. Up to now the driving range and the utilization of pure electric vehicles are still limited in comparison to conventional vehicles due to the limited capacity and the long charging times of today's batteries. This is a challenge to customer acceptance of a pure electric vehicle, even for a city car application. A Range Extender concept could achieve the desired customer acceptance, but should not impact the “electric driving” experience, and should not cause further significant increases in the manufacturing and purchasing cost. The V2 engine concept presented in this paper is particularly suited to a low cost, modular vehicle concept. Advantages regarding packaging can be realized with the use of two generators in combination with the V2 engine.

A new approach is presented to modelling wall heat transfer in the exhaust port and manifold within 1D gas exchange simulation to ensure a precise calculation of thermal exhaust enthalpy. One of the principal characteristics of this approach is the partition of the exhaust process in a blow-down and a push-out phase. In addition to the split in two phases, the exhaust system is divided into several sections to consider changes in heat transfer characteristics downstream the exhaust valves. Principally, the convective heat transfer is described by the characteristic numbers of Nusselt, Reynolds and Prandtl. However, the phase individual correlation coefficients are derived from 3D CFD investigations of the flow in the exhaust system combined with Low-Re turbulence modelling. Furthermore, heat losses on the valve and the seat ring surfaces are considered by an empirical model approach.

This work is a continuation of earlier results presented by the authors. In the current investigations the biofuels hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) and 1-octanol are investigated as pure components and compared to EN 590 Diesel. In a final step both biofuels are blended together in an appropriate ratio to tailor the fuels properties in order to obtain an optimal fuel for a clean combustion. The results of pure HVO indicate a significant reduction in CO-, HC- and combustion noise emissions at constant NOX levels. With regard to soot emissions, at higher part loads, the aromatic free, paraffinic composition of HVO showed a significant reduction compared to EN 590 petroleum Diesel fuel. But at lower loads the high cetane number leads to shorter ignition delays and therefore, ignition under richer conditions.

In September 2013 the Jaguar XF 2.2l ECO sport brake and saloon were introduced to the European market. They are the first Jaguar vehicles to realize CO2 emissions below 130 g/km. To achieve these significantly reduced fuel consumption values with an existing 2.2l I4 Diesel engine architecture, selected air path and fuel path components were optimized for increased engine efficiency. Tailored hardware selection and streamlined development were only enabled by the consequent utilisation of the most advanced CAE tools throughout the design phase but also during the complete vehicle application process.

This study investigated dual-fuel operation with a light duty Diesel engine over a wide engine load range. Ethanol was hereby injected into the intake duct, while Diesel was injected directly into the cylinder. At low loads, high ethanol shares are critical in terms of combustion stability and emissions of unburnt hydrocarbons. As the load increases, the rates of heat release become problematic with regard to noise and mechanical stress. At higher loads, an advanced injection of Diesel was found to be beneficial in terms of combustion noise and emissions. For all tests, engine-out NOx emissions were kept within the EU-6.1 limit.

Transient operation of turbocharged engines is mostly optimised in the light of quickness of response and the provision of the demanded torque. The time from demanded boosted torque to delivered torque above the maximum torque provided by the natural aspirated torque value is known as turbo-lag. This could reveal as an issue for small gasoline turbo-charged engines with a displacement of 1.0ltr or lower. These small types of engines are moving more and more in the focus for automobile applications. To provide the required power and torque, gasoline direct injection and turbo-charging are helpful in order to enable a reduction of fuel consumption by both de-throttled operation over a large area of operation and improved thermal efficiency among others achieved by maintaining an appropriate compression ratio.

In this study the fuel influence of several bio-fuel candidates on homogeneous engine combustion systems with direct injection is investigated. The results reveal Ethanol and 2-Butanol as the two most knock-resistant fuels. Hence these two fuels enable the highest efficiency improvements versus RON95 fuel ranging from 3.6% - 12.7% for Ethanol as a result of a compression ratio increase of 5 units. Tetrahydro-2-methylfuran has a worse knock resistance and a decreased thermal efficiency due to the required reduction in compression ratio by 1.5 units. The enleanment capability is similar among all fuels thus they pose no improvements for homogeneous lean burn combustion systems despite a significant reduction in NOX emissions for the alcohol fuels as a consequence of lower combustion temperatures.

Stratified operation of a gasoline engine is one of the most efficient technologies for fuel economy improvement. This operation requires detailed knowledge and governance of component tolerances (fuel injector and spark plug) in order to ensure robust and smooth engine operation without unacceptable torque fluctuations. The coefficient of variation (COV) is a metric in engine development and calibration for fluctuation of indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), resp. torque (critical to quality), which means for the customer that the engine is running smoothly (critical to satisfaction). It denotes the relation of standard deviation of IMEP over 300 combustion cycles to the average IMEP over these cycles. COV performance must be below the specified levels, as a function of operating point, which can be translated into limit states at chosen engine speeds.

Autoignition delay times have been determined for promising biofuel candidates, n-butanol and butyl formate, over wide temperature and pressure ranges. The results indicate for n-butanol a strong pressure dependence on the ignition delays where a typical NTC (negative temperature coefficient) type behavior is observed as pressures are increased. These experimentally determined ignition delays and results from other research facilities are used to validate a detailed kinetic for n-butanol combustion. Secondly, this work reports promising high pressure ignition characteristics, including NTC type behavior, for butyl formate combustion at low and intermediate temperatures.

With the increasing popularity of seamless gear changing and smooth driving experience along with the need for high fuel efficiency, transmission system development has rapidly increased in complexity. So too has transmission control software while quality requirements are high and time-to-market is short. As a result, extensive testing and documentation along with quick and efficient development methods are required. FEV responds to these challenges by developing and integrating a transmission software product line with an automated verification and validation process according to the concept of Continuous Integration (CI). Hence, the following paper outlines a software architecture called “PERSIST” where complexity is reduced by a modular architecture approach. Additionally, modularity enables testability and tracking of quality defects to their root cause.

The design of internal combustion engines is more and more oriented toward sustainability, especially fuel economy. To reach this aim, several technologies have been developed, however, most significantly increase engine complexity and cost. An attractive way to achieve better fuel economy is the reduction of the engine's mechanical losses, which directly has positive influence on fuel economy. The strongest contributor to these losses is still the friction of the piston assembly. During the past decades, considerable progress in the reduction of piston and piston ring friction has been achieved. Beside the material and design of pistons and piston rings, the optimization of the liner's surface structure was always of interest, and a major role in this development was - and still is - played by surface coating technologies.

The Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission legislation will come into force in 2020, posing a major engineering challenge in terms of system complexity, reliability, cost and development time. Solutions for the EURO VI on-road legislation in Europe, from which the BS-VI limits are derived, have been developed and have already been implemented. To a certain level these European solutions can be transferred to the Indian market. However, several market-specific challenges are yet to be defined and addressed. In addition, a very strict timeline has to be considered for application of advanced technologies and processes during the product development. In this paper, the emission roadmap will be introduced in the beginning, followed by a discussion of potential technology solutions on the engine itself as well as on the exhaust aftertreatment side. This includes boosting and fuel injection technologies as well as different exhaust gas recirculation methods.

The Bharat Stage (CEV/Tractor) IV & V emission legislations will come into force in Oct 2020 & Apr 2024 respectively, posing a major engineering challenge in terms of system complexity, reliability, costs and development time. Solutions for the EU Stage-V NRMM legislation in Europe, from which the BS-V limits are derived, have been developed and are ready for implementation. To a certain extent these European solutions can be transferred to the Indian market. However, certain market-specific challenges are yet to be defined and addressed. In addition, a challenging timeline has to be considered for application of advanced technologies and processes during the product development. In this presentation, the emission roadmap will be introduced in the beginning, followed by a discussion of potential technology solutions on the engine itself as well as on the after treatment components.

Blending gasoline with oxygenates like ethanol, MTBE or ETBE has a proven potential to increase the thermodynamic efficiency by enhancing knock resistance. The present research focuses on assessing the capability of a 2- and tert-butanol mixture as a possible alternative to state-of-the-art oxygenates. The butanol mixture was blended into a non-oxygenated reference gasoline with a research octane number (RON) of 97. The butanol blending ratios were 15% and 30% by mass. Both the thermodynamic potential and the impact on emissions were investigated. Tests are performed on a highly boosted single-cylinder gasoline engine with high load capability and a direct injecting fuel system using a solenoid-actuated multi-hole injector. The engine is equipped with both intake and exhaust cam phasers. The engine has been chosen for the fuel investigation, as it represents the SI technology with a strongly increasing market share.

Legislative restrictions on the currently limited exhaust gas components and the future CO2 emissions limits have led to intensive research in the field of alternative fuels and innovative combustion approaches. Increased homogeneity of air-fuel mixture through advanced injection is one combustion approach, which potentially reduces engine-out nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions, with good fuel consumption in certain load ranges. Ignition characteristics under homogenous combustion conditions differ from those under heterogeneous conditions. Among other reasons, this is due to the increased role of low temperature chemistry with increasing homogeneity. The ignition behaviour of diesel fuels is characterised by the Cetane number (CN), which is, however, determined at significant higher temperatures than those prevalent during ignition under homogenous combustion. As a result, its relevance as a fuel characteristic number requires evaluation.

Despite the trend in increased prosperity, the Indian automotive market, which is traditionally dominated by highly cost-oriented producion, is very sensitive to the price of fuels and vehicles. Due to these very specific market demands, the U-LCV (ultra-light commercial vehicle) segment with single cylinder natural aspirated Diesel engines (typical sub 650 cc displacement) is gaining immense popularity in the recent years. By moving to 2016, with the announcement of leapfrogging directly to Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) emission legislation in India, and in addition to the mandatory application of Diesel particle filters (DPF), there will be a need to implement effective NOx aftertreament systems. Due to the very low power-to-weight ratio of these particular applications, the engine operation takes place under full load conditions in a significant portion of the test cycle.

Tighter emission limits are discussed and established around the world to improve quality of the air we breathe. In order to control global warming, authorities ask for lower CO2 emissions from combustion engines. Lots of efforts are done to reduce engine out emissions and/or reduce remaining by suitable after treatment systems. Watlow, among others, a manufacturer of high accurate, active temperature sensor ExactSense™, wanted to understand if temperature sensor accuracy can have an influence on fuel consumption (FC). For this purpose a numerical approach was chosen where several non-road driving cycles (NRTCs) were simulated with the data base of a typical Stage IV heavy duty diesel engine. The engine is equipped with an exhaust gas after treatment system consisting of a DOC, CDPF and an SCR. In this work scope, the investigations shall be restricted to the FC benefits obtained in the active and passive DPF regeneration.