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Current developments in automotive industry such as hybrid powertrains and the continuously increasing demands on emission control systems, are pushing complexity still further. Validation of such systems lead to a huge amount of test cases and hence extreme testing efforts on the road. At the same time the pressure to reduce costs and minimize development time is creating challenging boundaries on development teams. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to utilize testing and validation prototypes in the most efficient way. It is necessary to apply high levels of instrumentation and collect as much data as possible. And a streamlined data pipeline allows the fleet managers to get new insights from the raw data and control the validation vehicles as well as the development team in the most efficient way. In this paper we will demonstrate a data-driven approach for validation testing.

Two parallel HEV control concepts: ‘thermostat’ and ‘power split’ are compared in this paper. To achieve a substantial improvement in fuel economy, the ‘thermostat’ or ‘on/off’ control technique intended to improve the fuel efficiency of a series HEV has been adopted and designed for parallel HEV. Among different ‘power split’ concepts developed for parallel hybrids only the ‘electrically assist’ algorithm is considered in this paper. These two control concepts are compared for three parallel HEV architectures: pre-transmission, post-transmission and continuous variable transmission hybrids. The comparison study also includes the effect of hybridization factor-the ratio of the electric power to the total propulsion power. The matrices of comparison are level of performance, energy consumption and exhaust emissions. The SAE J1711 partial charge test procedure is followed.

The use of state of the art simulation tools for effective front-loading of the calibration process is essential to support the additional efforts required by the new Real Driving Emission (RDE) legislation. The process needs a critical model validation where the correlation in dynamic conditions is used as a preliminary insight into the bounds of the representation domain of engine mean values. This paper focuses on the methodologies for correlating dynamic simulations with emissions data measured during dynamic vehicle operation (fundamental engine parameters and gaseous emissions) obtained using dedicated instrumentation on a diesel vehicle, with a particular attention for oxides of nitrogen NOx specie. This correlation is performed using simulated tests run within AVL’s mean value engine and engine aftertreatment (EAS) model MoBEO (Model Based Engine Optimization).

OBD (On Board Diagnosis) has been applied to detect malfunctions in powertrains. OBD requirements have been extended to detect various failures for ensuring the vehicle emission control system being normal. That causes further costs for additional sensors and software works. Two layers diagnosis system is proposed for a passenger car gearbox system to detect changes from normal behavior. Conventional physical constraints based diagnosis is placed on the base layer. Model based diagnosis and specific symptom finding diagnosis are built on the second layer. Conventional physical constraints based diagnosis is direct and effective way to detect the failure of system if the detected signals exceed their normal ranges. However under the case of system failure with related signals still remain in normal ranges, the conventional detection measures can not work normally. Under this case, Model based diagnosis is proposed to enhance the functionality of diagnosis system.

The European Emissions Stage 5b standard for diesel passenger cars regulates particulate matter to 0.0045 g/km and non-volatile part/km greater than 23 nm size to 6.0x10₁₁ as determined by the PMP procedure that uses a heated evaporation tube to remove semi-volatile material. Measurement artifacts associated with the evaporation tube technique prevents reliable extension of the method to a lower size range. Catalytic stripper (CS) technology removes possible sources of these artifacts by effectively removing all hydrocarbons and sulfuric acid in the gas phase in order to avoid any chemical reactions or re-nucleation that may cause measurement complications. The performance of a miniature CS was evaluated and experimental results showed solid particle penetration was 50% at 10.5 nm. The sulfate storage capacity integrated into the CS enabled it to chemically remove sulfuric acid vapor rather than rely on dilution to prevent nucleation.

In the present work, a scalable simulation methodology is presented that enables the assessment of the impact of SI-engine cycle-to-cycle combustion variations on fuel consumption and hence CO2 emissions on three different levels of modeling depth: in-cylinder, steady-state engine and transient engine and vehicle simulation. On the detailed engine combustion chamber level, a 3D-CFD approach is used to study the impact of the turbulent in-cylinder flow on the cycle-resolved flame propagation characteristics. On engine level, cycle-to-cycle combustion variations are assessed regarding their impact on indicated mean effective pressure, aiming at estimating the possible fuel consumption savings when cyclic variations are minimized. Finally, on the vehicle system level, a combined real-time engine approach with crank-angle resolved cylinder is used to assess the potential fuel consumption savings for different vehicle drivecycle conditions.

Upcoming, increasingly stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) as well as emission limits demand for powertrain electrification throughout all vehicle applications. Increasing complexity of electrified powertrain architectures require an overall system approach combining modular component technology with integration and industrialization requirements when heading for further significant efficiency optimization. At the same time focus on reduced development time, product cost and minimized additional investment demand reuse of current production, machining, and assembly facilities as far as possible. Up to date additive manufacturing (AM) is an established prototype component, as well as tooling technology in the powertrain development process, accelerating procurement time and cost, as well as allowing to validate a significantly increased number of variants. The production applications of optimized, dedicated AM-based component design however are still limited.

For nearly twenty years, DiMethyl Ether has been known to be an outstanding fuel for combustion in diesel cycle engines. Not only does it have a high Cetane number, it burns absolutely soot free and produces lower NOx exhaust emissions than the equivalent diesel. However, the physical properties of DME such as its low viscosity, lubricity and bulk modulus have negative effects for the fuel injection system, which have both limited the achievable injection pressures to about 500 bar and DME's introduction into the market. To overcome some of these effects, a common rail fuel injection system was adapted to operate with DME and produce injection pressures of up to 1000 bar. To understand the effect of the high injection pressure, tests were carried out using 2D optically accessed nozzles. This allowed the impact of the high vapour pressure of DME on the onset of cavitation in the nozzle hole to be assessed and improve the flow characteristics.

Light duty diesel vehicles continue to win recognition and market shares in Europe due to their convincing economy, reliability and driveability features. The diesel boom finds a fresh rationale in the CO2 emission legislation to come, however, the competitiveness of diesel cars may be impaired in future in consequence of the progression of the exhaust emission legislation and its impact on vehicle cost. This paper reviews the technologies currently pursued on the side of the engine and its subsystems, as well as the exhaust gas aftertreatment concepts required to satisfy the European legislation. An integral system approach is suggested, aiming at an optimum match of vehicle design parameters, transmission gear and the engine including aftertreatment elements and control.

The last quarter century has seen CO2 emissions increase at a steadily increasing rate. In the U.S.A. alone from 1970 to 1992 the CO2 emissions have increased from 5.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to 6.6 bmt. The transportation industry contributes currently (1991 figures) 24.7% of the total emissions from the United States. Transportation utilization has grown faster, however, but more efficient vehicles allow for more travel without increasing the CO2 proportionally. The advancements made in the 1980s have reduced emissions by 21 million tons of CO2 per year on average. Electric Vehicles have been a proposed method of reducing the CO2 emissions due to transportation. Electric vehicles produce no emissions while driving, making them ideal candidates for heavily polluted and concentrated areas such as urban locations. However, it is debatable if electric vehicles are feasible on the global scale of CO2 reduction.

The paper describes a zero-dimensional crank angle resolved combustion model which was developed for the analysis and prediction of combustion in compression ignition (CI) engines. The model relies on the multi zone combustion model (MZCM) approach of Hiroyasu. The main sub-models were taken from literature and extended with additional features described in this paper. A special procedure described in a previous paper is used to identify the mechanisms of the combustion process on the basis of the measured cylinder pressure trace. Based on the identified mechanisms the present work concentrates on the analysis of the causal effects that predominantly control the combustion process and the formation of NOx and Soot. The focus lies on the changes of the thermodynamic states and the composition of the reaction zones caused by different emission control strategies.

The internal combustion engine contains several actuators to control engine performance and emissions. These are controlled within the engine ECU and follow a specific operating strategy to achieve objectives such as NOx reduction and fuel economy. However, these two goals are conflicting and a compromise is required. The operating state depends on system constraints such as engine speed, load, temperature levels, and aftertreatment system efficiency. This results in constantly changing target values to stay within the defined limits, especially the legal emission limits. The conventional approach is to use multiple operating modes. Each mode represents a specific compromise and is activated accordingly. Multiple modes are required to meet emissions regulations under all required conditions, which increases the calibration effort. This new control approach uses an artificial neural network to replace the conventional multiple mode approach.

Non-combustible particles, commonly summarized as ash, influence the lifetime performance of wall flow filters. This study aims to investigate this influence by means of simulation. An existing transient 1D+1D wall flow filter model is extended by dedicated transport balances for soot and ash (1), by a discrete cake model describing changing soot and ash compositions over the cake height (2), by a phenomenological cake filtration model (3), by dedicated cake property models (4) and by a phenomenological model capturing the radial mobility of solids within the cake (5). Results of three different types of simulations are shown. First, the various sub-models are assessed in isolated simulation configurations. The combination of these shall serve as theoretical model validation. Second, isolated loading and passive regeneration simulations are performed.

The paper describes a universally structured simulation platform which is used for the analysis and prediction of combustion in compression ignition (CI) engines. The models are on a zero-dimensional crank angle resolved basis as commonly used for engine cycle simulations. This platform represents a kind of thermodynamic framework which can be linked to single and multi zone combustion models. It is mainly used as work environment for the development and testing of new models which thereafter are implemented to other codes. One recent development task focused on a multi zone combustion model which corresponds to the approach of Hiroyasu. This model was taken from literature, extended with additional features described in this paper, and implemented into the thermodynamic simulation platform.

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 increasing number of gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles on the roads has drawn attention to their particulate matter (PM) emissions, which are greater both in number and mass than port fuel injected (PFI) spark ignition (SI) engines [1]. Regulations have been proposed and implemented to reduce exposure to PM, which has been shown to have negative impacts on both human health and the environment [2, 3]. Currently, the gasoline particulate filter (GPF) is the proposed method of reducing the amount of PM from vehicle exhaust, but modifications to improve the filtration efficiency (FE) and reduce the pressure drop across the filter are yet needed for implementation of this solution in on-road vehicles. This work evaluates the impacts of wall thickness and cell density on filtration efficiency and backpressure using a benchtop filtration system.

Finding a replacement for fossil fuels is critical for the future of automotive transportation. The compression ignition (CI) engine is an important aspect of everyday life by means of transportation and shipping of materials. Biodiesel is a viable augmentation for conventional diesel fuel in compression ignition engines. Biodiesel-fuelled diesel engines produce less particulate matter (PM) relative to conventional diesel and biodiesel has the ability to be a carbon dioxide (CO₂) neutral fuel, which may come under government regulation as a greenhouse gas. Although biodiesel is a viable diesel replacement and has certain emissions benefits, it typically also has a known characteristic of higher oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions relative to petroleum diesel. Advanced modes of combustion such as low temperature combustion (LTC) have attained much attention due to ever-increasing emission standards, and could also help reduce NOx in biodiesel.

Non-exhaust emissions are clearly one of the focal points for the upcoming Euro 7 legislation. The new United Nations Global Technical Regulation (UN GTR) defining the framework for brake emission measurements is about to be officially published. The first amendment to this text is already on the way through the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) hierarchy for decision making. In real life, the final emission factor as the ultimate result of a test is influenced by inaccuracies of numerous parts of the measurement system as well as additional contributing factors like the performance of the particulate filter handling process, which might not be primarily related to equipment specifications.

The need for significant reduction of fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions has become the major driver for development of new vehicle powertrains today. For the medium term, the majority of new vehicles will retain an internal combustion engine (ICE) in some form. The ICE may be the sole prime mover, part of a hybrid powertrain or even a range extender; in every case potential still exists for improvement in mechanical efficiency of the engine itself, through reduction of friction and of parasitic losses for auxiliary components. A comprehensive approach to mechanical efficiency starts with an analysis of the main contributions to engine friction, based on a measurement database of a wide range of production engines. Thus the areas with the highest potential for improvement are identified. For each area, different measures for friction reduction may be applicable with differing benefits.

In the wake of global focus shifting towards the health and conservation of the planet, greater importance is placed upon the hazardous emissions of our fossil fuels, as well as their finite supply. These two areas remain intense topics of research in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles, a sector which is a major contributor to society's global CO₂ emissions and consumer of fossil-fuel resources. A particular solution to this problem is the diesel engine, with its inherently fuel-lean combustion, which gives rise to low CO₂ production and higher efficiencies than other potential powertrain solutions. Diesel engines, however, typically exhibit higher nitrogen oxides (NOx) and soot engine-out emissions than their gasoline counterparts. NOx is an ingredient to ground-level ozone production and smoke is a possible carcinogen, both of which are facing stricter emissions regulations.