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The combustion system developed for the General Motors GT-309 regenerative gas turbine is used to illustrate pertinent structural, performance, and exhaust emission considerations when designing for a vehicular gas turbine application. The development of each major component and the performance of the combustion system as a whole are reviewed. The satisfactory performance and durability potential of the GT-309 engine combustion system have been demonstrated by extensive operation in a component test facility and in several test cell and vehicle installed engines. Exhaust emissions of unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are minimal and are of no concern from an air pollution standpoint. No objectionable exhaust smoking and odor are produced.

A laboratory test method has been devised to measure the variation in coefficient of friction values of a brake lining as it passes through the various degrees of wetness. The results of tests on two linings are shown: the first one of the most sensitive lining material tested to date; the second an improved material.

During development of the General Motors rotary engine, the lubricant was recognized as important to its success because certain lubricants produced deposits which tended to stick both side and apex seals. Consequently, it was decided to develop a rotary engine-dynamometer test, using a Mazda engine, which could be used for lubricant evaluation. In an investigation using an SE engine oil with which there was rotary engine experience, engine operating variables and engine modifications were studied until the greatest amount of deposits were obtained in 100 h of testing. The most significant engine modifications were: omission of inner side seals, plugging of half the rotor bearing holes, pinning of oil seals, grinding of end and intermediate housings, and using a separate oil reservoir for the metering pump. Using this 100 h test procedure, three engine oils and five automatic transmission fluids were evaluated.

Tests of laser ignition are conducted in a combustion bomb. A range of fuels is investigated comprising isooctane, cyclohexane, n-heptane, n-hexane, clear indolene, and No. 1 diesel fuel. The ignition characteristics of laser-induced sparks are compared with sparks generated with a spark plug for different air/fuel ratios. The power density required to produce laser induced sparks is investigated. Although laser ignition appears to be impractical as an ignition device because of its low efficiency and high cost, it presents some interesting possibilities compared to the standard spark plug in that the laser spark is electrodeless and can be positioned anywhere inside the combustion chamber. Its primary use appears to be as a research tool.

The conflicts in the design of turbines for an automotive gas turbine engine are examined. Considerations of stress, efficiency, engine and vehicle acceleration requirements, and compatibility of the flow path are shown to impose a number of opposing requirements. The philosophies used to compromise the conflicts in two successive engine designs are presented. Following a discussion of turbine test facilities, test results are presented for a typical turbine.

Secondary air scheduling and average delivery rate have a great influence on the performance (carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon cleanup) of rich thermal manifold reactors. A continuously modulated secondary air system was devised to provide a tailpipe air-fuel ratio that did not change significantly with engine speed or load when a “flat” carburetion calibration was incorporated. This system involved throttling the inlet of the air pump(s) so that the air pump and engine intake pressures were equal. The continuous air modulation system was compared with an unmodulated system and a step-modulated system. The secondary air systems were investigated with both GMR “small volume” cast iron thermal reactors and Du Pont V thermal reactors on modified 350 CID V-8 engines in 1969 Chevrolet passenger vehicles. It was found that thermal reactor performance improved with each increase in control of the secondary air schedule.

As the design of automobiles changed over the past seventy years, manufacturers have increased the usage of decorative trim to further enhance the beauty of styling concepts. As new trim materials were introduced and parts became more complicated in design, producers have continued their efforts to produce decorative trim parts which remain attractive during the service life of the automobile. The service performance of trim materials in several geographic locations, the use of accelerated tests to predict service performance, recent developments in improving the durability of plated parts, and requirements for producing quality exterior decorative trim are reviewed in this paper.

In-cylinder sampling appears to be the only available means for obtaining detailed information of the diesel combustion process. This information is necessary to understand pollutant formation because of the intimate relationship between formation rates and local cylinder conditions. This paper discusses efforts to (1) examine and improve sampling valve design, (2) evaluate potential effects of the valve and the sampling system on sample composition, (3) find methods to extract useful information from sampling data. Sampling hardware is currently being used to study combustion in engines, but further work is needed to quantify the influence of hardware and procedures on sample composition and to design experiments to provide data containing maximum information.

Paper deals with abnormal combustion initially existing in the Hyprex gasifier. It was found that this was mainly due to a long ignition delay period. To correct this situation, the fuel injection system was redesigned to permit later injection at higher compression pressures with good injection characteristics.

The tedious, time consuming task of hand reducing data from the California exhaust emission test has been alleviated through the use of digital data acquisition equipment and a digital computer. Analog signals from exhaust gas analyzers and an engine speed transducer are converted to digital measurements which are recorded on tape and submitted to a digital computer for data analysis and computation of results. In the data analysis, the computer identifies the required driving modes from engine speed changes, taking into account the sample delay time. “Reported” composite emissions determined by the automatic data reduction method agree within 5% with results determined by careful hand analysis of analog strip chart recordings. The results determined by the automatic data reduction system are more consistent and accurate because human errors prevalent in hand analysis have been eliminated, and because nonlinear analyzer response is accounted for.

Development of engine-vehicle prototypes for low emissions and optimum fuel control characteristics has been facilitated through use of a computerized emissions test system. Simultaneous on-line sampling of exhaust species concentrations, fuel consumption, spark advance, pressures, and temperatures provides both graphical and computed outputs of several vehicle parameters that are important to development programs. On-line display of vehicle air-fuel ratio is continuously supplied. Either of two federal driving cycles (or any random driving schedule) may be employed. Dynamic calibration, range sensing, and zero-drift correction keep operator interaction and errors to a minimum. Capability for reprocessing, plotting, and/or patching stored data provides increased computational flexibility.

This study describes the effect of spark plug location on NO and HC emissions from a single-cylinder engine with a specially modified combustion chamber. The effects of changes in combustion duration caused either by spark location, dual spark plugs, or charge dilution on NO and HC emissions were also examined. Experiments were run at constant speed, constant load, and mbt spark timing. Nitric oxide emissions were the same with the spark plug located either near the intake or exhaust valve, but were higher with the spark plug midway between the valves or with dual ignition. Hydrocarbon emissions were lowest with the spark plug nearest the exhaust valve and increased with the distance of the spark plug from the exhaust valve. With charge dilution the decrease in NO emission was isolated into a pure dilution effect and a combustion duration effect. The combustion duration effect was minimal at rich mixtures and increased with air-fuel ratio.

Hydrogen-supplemented fuel was investigated as a means of extending lean operating limits of gasoline engines for control of NOx. Single-cylinder engine tests with small additions of hydrogen to the fuel resulted in very low NOx and CO emissions for hydrogen-isooctane mixtures leaner than 0.55 equivalence ratio. Significant thermal efficiency improvements resulted from the extension beyond isooctane lean limit operation. However, HC emissions increased markedly at these lean conditions. A passenger car was modified to operate at 0.55-0.65 equivalence ratio with supplemental hydrogen. Vehicle emissions, as established by the 1975 Federal Exhaust Emissions Test, demonstrated the same trends as the single-cylinder engine tests. The success of the hydrogen-supplemented fuel approach will ultimately hinge on the development of both a means of controlling hydrocarbon emissions and a suitable hydrogen source on board the vehicle.

Engine oil test Sequences IIA and IIIA have been developed to replace Sequences I, II, and III. These new sequences are designed to evaluate lubricants for use in current passenger car engines under severe (MS) service conditions. Lubricant performance is evaluated with respect to scuffing wear, rust, corrosion, deposits, and rumble. The Sequence IIA and IIIA test procedure involves major changes which affect the evaluation of engine rusting and provides improved correlation between test results and short-trip service. Average engine rust ratings correlate with service data within ±0.5 numbers. The new test also provides better repeatability and reproducibility in a significantly shorter schedule. The rust repeatability and reproducibility is less than ±0.2 and ±0.6 numbers, respectively. Test time has been reduced 52%.

A brief review of the testing of automatic transmission fluid for compatibility with seals is presented. The total immersion test used in fluid qualification, while apparently effective in predicting the compatibility of fluids and seals in service, does not correlate well with transmission tests with respect to hardness change of piston seals. The Dip-Cycle Test, developed to overcome this limitation, is a procedure for alternately immersing seal specimens in the test fluid and suspending them in the hot air-fluid vapor atmosphere above the fluid. Correlation of the Dip-Cycle Test with transmission piston seal results is much improved over that with the total immersion test. It is the purpose of this paper to review these developments and to present an improved test procedure (dip cycle test) for evaluating the effect of fluids on transmission piston seal materials.

The exhaust hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide concentrations of a single-cylinder engine, operating on a 25% (wt.) ethyl alcohol – 75% gasoline fuel, are compared to those operating on gasoline. For comparisons at the same airfuel ratio but lower than 15.3, the addition of ethyl alcohol to gasoline reduces the exhaust hydrocarbon concentrations and increases the nitrogen oxide concentrations. At the same air-fuel ratio but higher than 15.3, the addition of ethyl alcohol reduces both the hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide concentrations. However, tests with automobiles, operating at the same air-fuel ratio with both fuels, indicate that the addition of ethyl alcohol causes an increase in “surge” and, in some cases, results in a power loss. To overcome these performance problems, the ethyl alcohol-gasoline fuel should be operated at about the same percent theoretical air as gasoline.

THIS PAPER discusses the Stirling thermal enging from four points of view: 1. The ideal, thermodynamic point of view, showing the inherent potentialities of the ideal Stirling cycle in comparison to the basic cycles of other engines. 2. The physical engine and its method of operation with respect to the ideal cycle and the limitations of practical mechanics. 3. Performance data from the first modern Stirling engines ever operated in the United States, evaluating the relationship between the new engine and other more familiar engines of similar sizes. This comparative discussion serves to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of the Stirling engine and to indicate its proper place in the 1960 family of prime movers. 4. A look backward into the century of history behind the modern engine pointing out significant milestones in the engine's development.

Two steam-powered passenger ears have been designed, built, and tested. The SE-101 is an intermediate sport coupe incorporating the comfort and convenience features of a modern passenger car and vehicle performance comparable to a low-powered automobile. The SE-124 is a very low-power intermediate sedan with manual start and semiautomatic control. The characteristics of these cars were evaluated relative to the operational requirements of current transportation needs, with particular emphasis on exhaust emissions. Start-up time, exhaust emissions, fuel economy, acceleration, and water consumption data are presented. Although any one of these characteristics may be improved at the expense of others, it does not appear that any compromise can satisfy all of the areas required by today's motorist.

Convective heat transfer coefficients were determined for thermocouple junctions oriented parallel to the gas flow for Reynolds numbers (based on wire diameter) from 163 to 17,500. Chromel-alumel wires of 0.013-0.051 in. diameter were tested in air and products of natural gas combustion at temperatures of 60, 500, and 1000 F. Transient response was used to determine the heat transfer coefficient, and all data were corrected for variation of metal specific heat and radiant heat transfer. The affect on apparent heat transfer coefficient was determined for variations in junction weld-bead size, junction length, and wire separation. An empirical equation has been derived relating Nusselt number and Reynolds number that fits 92% of the test data within ± 10%.