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Paper describes analysis of the design process of modern automotive LPG and CNG containers. Over decade experience in the field of both computer based analysis as well as in the real conditions testing has been collected and presented in the paper. Authors present the potentials of modern FEM methodologies in the optimization and production of lightweight steel containers. It has been proved that the most sophisticated numerical analysis have to be followed by the construction verification, particularly considering direct exposure to fire. Bonfire test have become obligatory for both liquid and compressed gases containers. Properly chosen fire protection system, together with the adequate level of quality of materials applied for its production together with proper directing of the gas flowing out from safety devices are the essential factors defining gas containers fire safety.

The availability of gaseous fuels such as natural gas and propane butane mixtures has led to worldwide popularity of internal combustion engines running dual fuel or alternatively gas powered. These gaseous fuels are known as fuels more resistant to knocking than conventional liquid fuels and as less ones pollutant. Their better mixing with air is also well recognized. There are some works published on the use of gaseous fuels, but the problem of the combustion noise, as a very important source of information regarding the combusted fuel, is not receiving much attention. Combustion noise occurs in two forms, direct and indirect. It is transmitted throughout the engine block as a vibration at a different spectrum of frequencies. In this study an attempt is made to relate the combustion noise to the operating parameters for LPG, CNG and Hydrogen enriched CNG powered engine as compared to petrol fueled engine.

EU environmental law requires 30 ozone precursor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to be measured for urban air quality control. In this study, 28 ozone precursor VOCs were measured at a rate of 0.5 Hz by an in-vehicle FTIR emission measurement system along with other VOCs. The vehicle used was a Euro 3 emission compliant diesel van. The test vehicle was started from a cold ambient temperature soak and driven under real world urban driving conditions. Diesel and B100 (100% Biodiesel) were compared using the same repeat journeys. The VOC emissions and OFP (ozone formation potential) were investigated as a function of engine warm up and ambient temperatures during cold start. The exhaust temperatures were measured along with the exhaust emissions. The temperature and duration of light off of the catalyst for VOC were monitored and showed a cold start period to catalyst light off that was considerably longer than would occur on the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle).

The availability of gaseous fuels like natural gas and propane butane mixtures has lead to worldwide popularity of internal combustion engines running dual fuel or alternatively gas powered. These gaseous fuels are known as fuels more resistant to knocking than conventional liquid fuels and as ones less pollutant, their better mixing with air is also well recognized. There have been many published works on the use of gaseous fuels but actually the problem of the combustion noise, as a very important source of acoustic discomfort is not receiving attention. Combustion noise occurs in two forms, direct and indirect. It is transmitted throughout the engine block as a vibration at a different spectrum of frequencies. In this study an attempt is made to relate the combustion noise to the operating parameters for LPG powered engine as compared to petrol fueled engine.

The potential of hydrogen-methane blends application in dual-fuel SI engines in their overall performance improvement has been evaluated and described in this paper. The 1.6 litre engine alternatively fed with petrol, CNG and with methane-hydrogen blends has been tested. Generated outboard methane-hydrogen blends, used in the research programme featured following hydrogen-CNG ratios: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30%. For selected engine operating conditions, a complete set of data defining engine overall performance, such as power output, in-cylinder pressure variation, manifold pressure and finally mass fuel consumption has been acquired. On the basis of registered data for all the tested fuels, with the use of mathematical model describing the exhaust gases formation it was possible to estimate the NO, CO and CO2 emission levels.

A study on the overall performance of an engine powered with hydrogen-enriched NG at stoichiometric condition, for different hydrogen shares have been described in this paper. The research has been carried on a General Motors Company X16SZR 4-cylinder, 4-stroke 1600 cm3 engine. Engine dynamometer tests were complemented with mathematical model calculations. Tested engine has been equipped with an aftermarket CNG feeding system where fuel is being injected into intake manifold simultaneously under low overpressure. Research program provided analysis for fuel blends with variable methane/hydrogen volume proportion (%): 100/0, 95/5, 90/10, 85/15, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40 and 50/50. Ignition timing and all other strategies, excluding EGR, remained unvaried. Testing procedure provided three different steady-state engine operation points for each of 8 different fuels: idle, high speed without load and full power at speeds in range of 1500-3500 rpm.

The main goal of this project was the identification of the influence of gas injector location on air - fuel mixture formation. Stand tests and roller bench tests results for an alternatively gas powered engines were presented in the paper. Important influence of gas injection direction on mixture formation and as a result on emission levels has been proved. A detailed analysis of a proper aftermarket gas feeding system application procedure was described.

The transport sector is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. This study investigated three greenhouse gases emitted from road transport using a probe vehicle: CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ emissions as a function temperature. It should be highlighted that methane is a greenhouse gas that similarly to carbon dioxide contributes to global warming and climate change. An oxidation catalyst was used to investigate CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ GHG emissions over a real-world driving cycle that included urban congested traffic and extra-urban driving conditions. The results were determined under hot start conditions, but in congested traffic the catalyst cooled below its light-off temperature and this resulted in considerable N₂O emissions as the oxidation catalyst temperature was in the N₂O formation band. This showed higher N₂O during hot start than for diesel fuel and B100 were compared. The B100 fuel was Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), derived from waste cooking oil, which was mainly RME.