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This paper reports 1D and 3D CFD analyses aiming to improve the gas-dynamic noise emission of a downsized turbocharged VVA engine through the re-design of the intake air-box device, consisting in the introduction of external or internal resonators. Nowadays, modern spark-ignition (SI) engines show more and more complex architectures that, while improving the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), may be responsible for the increased noise radiation at the engine intake mouth. In particular VVA systems allow for the actuation of advanced valve strategies that provide a reduction in the BSFC at part load operations thanks to the intake line de-throttling. In these conditions, due to a less effective attenuation of the pressure waves that travel along the intake system, VVA engines produce higher gas-dynamic noise levels.

Nowadays, the development of a new engine is becoming more and more complex due to conflicting factors regarding technical, environmental and economic issues. The experimental activity has to comply with the above complexities, resulting in increasing cost and duration of engine development. For this reason, the simulation is becoming even more prominent, thanks to its lower financial burden, together with the need of an improved predictive capability. Among the other numerical approaches, the 1D models represent a proper compromise between reliability and computational effort, especially if the engine behavior has to be investigated over a number of operating conditions. The combustion model has a key role in this contest and the research of consistent approaches is still on going. In this paper, two well-assessed combustion models for Spark Ignition (SI) engines are described and compared: the eddy burn-up theory and the fractal approach.

Control of knock phenomenon is becoming more and more important in modern SI engine, due to the tendency to develop high boosted turbocharged engines (downsizing). To this aim, improved modeling and experimental techniques are required to precisely define the maximum allowable spark advance. On the experimental side, the knock limit is identified based on some indices derived by the analysis of the in-cylinder pressure traces or of the cylinder block vibrations. The threshold levels of the knock indices are usually defined following an heuristic approach. On the modeling side, in the 1D codes, the knock is usually described by simple correlation of the auto-ignition time of the unburned gas zone within the cylinders. In addition, the latter methodology commonly refers to ensemble-averaged pressure cycles and, for this reason, does not take into account the cycle-by-cycle variations.

In this paper, the results of an extensive experimental analysis regarding a twin-cylinder spark-ignition turbocharged engine are employed to build up an advanced 1D model, which includes the effects of cycle-by-cycle variations (CCVs) on the combustion process. Objective of the activity is to numerically estimate the CCV impact primarily on fuel consumption and knock behavior. To this aim, the engine is experimentally characterized in terms of average performance parameters and CCVs at high and low load operation. In particular, both a spark advance and an air-to-fuel ratio (α) sweep are actuated. Acquired pressure signals are processed to estimate the rate of heat release and the main combustion events. Moreover, the Coefficient of Variation of IMEP (CoVIMEP) and of in-cylinder peak pressure (CoVpmax) are evaluated to quantify the cyclic dispersion and identify its dependency on peak pressure position.

In this paper, a downsized twin-cylinder turbocharged spark-ignition engine is experimentally investigated at test-bench in order to verify the potential to estimate the peak pressure value and the related crank angle position, based on vibrational data acquired by an accelerometer sensor. Purpose of the activity is to provide the ECU of additional information to establish a closed-loop control of the spark timing, on a cycle-by-cycle basis. In this way, an optimal combustion phasing can be more properly accomplished in each engine operating condition. Engine behavior is firstly characterized in terms of average thermodynamic and performance parameters and cycle-by-cycle variations (CCVs) at high-load operation. In particular, both a spark advance and an A/F ratio sweep are actuated. In-cylinder pressure data are acquired by pressure sensors flush-mounted within the combustion chamber of both cylinders.

The description of knock phenomenon is a critical issue in a combustion model for Spark-Ignition (SI) engines. The most known theory to explain this phenomenon is based on the Auto-Ignition (AI) of the end-gas, ahead the flame front. The accurate description of this process requires the handling of various aspects, such as the impact of the fuel composition, the presence of residual gas or water in the burning mixture, the influence of cool flame heat release, etc. This concern can be faced by the solution of proper chemistry schemes for gasoline blends. Whichever is the modeling environment, either 3D or 0D, the on-line solution of a chemical kinetic scheme drastically affects the computational time. In this paper, a procedure for an accurate and fast prediction of the hydrocarbons auto-ignition, applied to phenomenological SI engine combustion models, is proposed. It is based on a tabulated approach, operated on both ignition delay times and reaction rates.

Research activities concerning the development and set up of a theoretical model for the analysis of spark-ignition two-stroke engines are reported. The engine system is identified by the definition of both zero-dimensional time-varying control volumes (i.e., cylinders or crankcases) and one-dimensional devices (i.e., intake or exhaust manifolds, transfer ducts, etc.). Fundamental processes such as combustion, fluid dynamics and scavenging, are modelled using up-to-date approaches. In particular, a fractal sub-model is adopted for the evaluation of flame area and burning rate; a high resolution upwind TVD scheme is utilized for the prediction of wave propagation within ducts. The overall prediction level is estimated through the comparison with experimental data measured on a small-size engine under both motored and firing conditions.

1D codes are nowadays commonly used to investigate a turbocharged ICE performance, turbo-matching and transient response. The turbocharger is usually described in terms of experimentally derived characteristic maps. The latter are commonly measured using the compressor as a brake for the turbine, under steady “hot gas” tests. This approach causes some drawbacks: each iso-speed is commonly limited to a narrow pressure ratio and mass flow rate range, while a wider operating domain is experienced on the engine; the turbine thermal conditions realized on the test rig may strongly differ from the coupled-to-engine operation; a “conventional” net turbine efficiency is really measured, since it includes the effects of the heat exchange on the compressor side, together with bearing friction and windage losses.

In the recent years, the interest in heavy-duty engines fueled with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is increasing due to the necessity to comply with the stringent CO2 limitation imposed by national and international regulations. Indeed, the reduced number of carbon atoms of the NG molecule allows to reduce the CO2 emissions compared to a conventional fuel. The possibility to produce synthetic methane from renewable energy sources, or bio-methane from agricultural biomass and/or animal waste, contributes to support the switch from conventional liquid fuels to CNG. To drive the engine development and reduce the time-to-market, the employment of numerical analysis is mandatory. This requires a continuous improvement of the simulation models toward real predictive analyses able to reduce the experimental R&D efforts. In this framework, 1D numerical codes are fundamental tools for system design, energy management optimization, and so on.

In the present paper, two different methodologies are adopted and critically integrated to analyze the knock behavior of a last generation small size spark ignition (SI) turbocharged VVA engine. Particularly, two full load operating points are selected, exhibiting relevant differences in terms of knock proximity. On one side, a knock investigation is carried out by means of an Auto-Regressive technique (AR model) to process experimental in-cylinder pressure signals. This mathematical procedure is used to estimate the statistical distribution of knocking cycles and provide a validation of the following 1D-3D knock investigations. On the other side, an integrated numerical approach is set up, based on the synergic use of 1D and 3D simulation tools. The 1D engine model is developed within the commercial software GT-Power™. It is used to provide time-varying boundary conditions (BCs) for the 3D code, Star-CD™.

Modern VVA systems offer new potentialities in improving fuel consumption for spark-ignition engines at low and medium load, meanwhile they grant a higher volumetric efficiency and performance at high load. Recently introduced systems enhance this concept through the possibility of modifying the intake valve opening, closing and lift, leading to the development of almost ‘throttle-less’ engines. However, at low loads, the absence of throttling, while improving the fuel consumption, also produces an increased gas-dynamic noise at the intake mouth. Wave propagation inside the intake system is in fact no longer absorbed by the throttle valve and directly impact the radiated noise. In the paper, 1D and 3D simulations of the gas-dynamic noise radiated by a production VVA engine are performed at full load and in two part-load conditions. Both models are firstly validated at full load, through comparisons with experimental data.

In this work, various techniques are numerically investigated to assess and quantify their relative effectiveness in reducing the Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) of a downsized turbocharged spark-ignition Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) engine. The analyzed solutions include the Variable Compression Ratio (VCR), the port Water Injection (WI), and the external cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR). The numerical analysis is developed in a 1D modeling framework. The engine is schematized in GT-Power™ environment, employing refined sub-models of the in-cylinder processes, such as the turbulence, combustion, knock, and heat transfer. The combustion and knock models have been extensively validated in previous papers, at different speed/load points and intake valve strategies, including operations with a relevant internal EGR rate and with liquid WI.

It is widely recognized that spatial and temporal evolution of both macro- and micro- turbulent scales inside internal combustion engines affect air-fuel mixing, combustion and pollutants formation. Particularly, in spark ignition engines, tumbling macro-structure induces the generation of a proper turbulence level to sustain the development and propagation of the flame front. As known, 3D-CFD codes are able to describe the evolution of the in-cylinder flow and turbulence fields with good accuracy, although a high computational effort is required. For this reason, only a limited set of operating conditions is usually investigated. On the other hand, thanks to a lower computational burden, 1D codes can be employed to study engine performance in the whole operating domain, despite of a less detailed description of in-cylinder processes. The integration of 1D and 3D approaches appears hence a promising path to combine the advantages of both.

The optimal control of hybrid powertrains represents one of the most challenging tasks for the compliance with the legislation concerning CO2 and pollutant emission of vehicles. Most common off-line optimization strategies (Pontryagin minimum principle - PMP - or dynamic programming) allow to identify the optimal control along a predefined driving mission at the expense of a quite relevant computational effort. On-line strategies, suitable for on-vehicle implementation, involve a certain performance degradation depending on their degree of simplification and computational effort. In this work, a simplified control strategy is presented, where the conventional power-split logics, typical of the above-mentioned strategies, is here replaced with an alternative utilization of the thermal and electric units for the vehicle driving (Efficient Thermal Electric Skipping Strategy - ETESS).

Recently, the car manufacturers are moving towards innovative Spark Ignition (SI) engine architectures with unconventional combustion concepts, aiming to comply with the stringent regulation imposed by EU and other legislators. The introduction of burdensome cycles for vehicle homologation, indeed, requires an engine characterized by a high efficiency in the most of its operating conditions, for which a conventional SI engine results to be ineffective. Combustion systems which work with very lean air/fuel mixture have demonstrated to be a promising solution to this concern. Higher specific heat ratio, minor heat losses and increased knock resistance indeed allow improving fuel consumption. Additionally, the lower combustion temperatures enable to reduce NOX production. Since conventional SI engines can work with a limited amount of excess air, alternative solutions are being developed to overcome this constraint and reach the above benefit.

This paper reports a numerical and experimental analysis on a twin-cylinder turbocharged Spark Ignition engine carried out to investigate the cylinder-to-cylinder variability in terms of performance, combustion evolution and exhaust emissions. The engine was tested at 3000 rpm in 20 different steady-state operating conditions, selected with the purpose of observing the influence of cylinder-by-cylinder A/F ratio variations and the EGR effects on the combustion process and exhaust emissions for low to medium/high loads. The experimental outcomes showed relevant differences in the combustion evolution (characteristic combustion angles) between cylinders and not negligible variations in the emissions of the single cylinder exhaust and the overall engine one. This misalignment resulted to be due to differences in the injected fuel amount by the port injectors in the two cylinders, mainly deriving from the specific fuel rail geometry.

In this paper, an experimental and numerical analysis of combustion process and knock occurrence in a small displacement spark-ignition engine is presented. A wide experimental campaign is preliminarily carried out in order to fully characterize the engine behavior in different operating conditions. In particular, the acquisition of a large number of consecutive pressure cycle is realized to analyze the Cyclic Variability (CV) effects in terms of Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP) Coefficient of Variation (CoV). The spark advance is also changed up to incipient knocking conditions, basing on a proper definition of a knock index. The latter is estimated through the decomposition and the FFT analysis of the instantaneous pressure cycles. Contemporary, a quasi-dimensional combustion and knock model, included within a whole engine one-dimensional (1D) modeling framework, are developed. Combustion and knock models are extended to include the CV effects, too.

Increasingly stringent pollutant and CO2 emission standards require the car manufacturers to investigate innovative solutions to further improve the fuel economy and environmental impact of their fleets. Nowadays, NOx emissions standards are stringent for spark-ignition (SI) internal combustion engines (ICEs) and many techniques are investigated to limit these emissions. Among these, an extremely lean combustion has a large potential to simultaneously reduce the NOx raw emissions and the fuel consumption of SI ICEs. Engines with pre-chamber ignition system are promising solutions for realizing a high air-fuel ratio which is both ignitable and with an adequate combustion speed. In this work, the combustion characteristics of an active pre-chamber system are experimentally investigated using a single-cylinder research engine. The engine under exam is a large bore heavy-duty unit with an active pre-chamber fuelled with compressed natural gas.

In this work, a promising technique, consisting of a liquid Water Injection (WI) at the intake ports, is investigated to overcome over-fueling and delayed combustions typical of downsized boosted engines, operating at high loads. In a first stage, experimental tests are carried out in a spark-ignition twin-cylinder turbocharged engine at a fixed rotational speed and medium-high loads. In particular, a spark timing and a water-to-fuel ratio sweep are both specified, to analyze the WI capability in increasing the knock-limited spark advance. In a second stage, the considered engine is schematized in a 1D framework. The model, developed in the GT-Power™ environment, includes user defined procedures for the description of combustion and knock phenomena. Computed results are compared with collected data for all the considered operating conditions, in terms of average performance parameters, in-cylinder pressure cycles, burn rate profiles, and knock propensity, as well.

The technique of liquid Water Injection (WI) at the intake port of downsized boosted SI engines is a promising solution to improve the knock resistance at high loads. In this work, an existing 1D engine model has been extended to improve its ability to simulate the effects of the water injection on the flame propagation speed and knock onset. The new features of the 1D model include an improved treatment of the heat subtracted by the water evaporation, a newly developed correlation for the laminar flame speed, explicitly considering the amount of water in the unburned mixture, and a more detailed kinetic mechanism to predict the auto-ignition characteristics of fuel/air/water mixture. The extended 1D model is validated against experimental data collected at different engine speeds and loads, including knock-limited operation, for a twin-cylinder turbocharged SI engine.