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Abstract The ASTM D130 was first issued in 1922 as a tentative standard for the detection of corrosive sulfur in gasoline. A clean copper strip was immersed in a sample of gasoline for three hours at 50°C with any corrosion or discoloration taken to indicate the presence of corrosive sulfur. Since that time, the method has undergone many revisions and has been applied to many petroleum products. Today, the ASTM D130 standard is the leading method used to determine the corrosiveness of various fuels, lubricants, and other hydrocarbon-based solutions to copper. The end-of-test strips are ranked using the ASTM Copper Strip Corrosion Standard Adjunct, a colored reproduction of copper strips characteristic of various degrees of sulfur-induced tarnish and corrosion, first introduced in 1954. This pragmatic approach to assessing potential corrosion concerns with copper hardware has served various industries well for a century.

Abstract In recent years, lean-burn gasoline Spark-Ignition (SI) engines have been a major subject of investigations. With this solution, in fact, it is possible to simultaneously reduce NOx raw emissions and fuel consumption due to decreased heat losses, higher thermodynamic efficiency, and enhanced knock resistance. However, the real applicability of this technique is strongly limited by the increase in cyclic variation and the occurrence of misfire, which are typical for the combustion of homogeneous lean air/fuel mixtures. The employment of a Pre-Chamber (PC), in which the combustion begins before proceeding in the main combustion chamber, has already shown the capability of significantly extending the lean-burn limit. In this work, the potential of an ultralean PC SI engine for a decisive improvement of the thermal efficiency is presented by means of numerical and experimental analyses.

Abstract A pre-chamber ignition system has the potential to reduce the burn duration of lean-burn gasoline engine combustion and can achieve a reduced knock occurrence from the distributed ignition sources. Pre-chamber ignition produces high-velocity turbulent jets, and these jets often reach sonic velocity and produce shock waves inside the combustion chamber. These shock waves make knock detection difficult with a conventional surface-mounted acoustic knock sensor. This article discusses how an acoustic knock sensor works with a pre-chamber ignition and evaluates different cylinder pressure-based knock detection strategies and proposes a method that eliminates the influence of jet-induced oscillations on knock detection.

Abstract Three-dimensional patterns representing crosshatched plateau-honed cylinder bores based on two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of measured surfaces were generated and used to calculate pressure flow, shear-driven flow, and shear stress factors. Later, the flow and shear stress factors obtained by numerical simulations for various surface patterns were used to calculate lubricant film thickness and friction force between piston ring and cylinder bore contact in typical diesel engine conditions using a mixed lubrication model. The effects of various crosshatch honing angles, such as 30°, 45°, and 60°, and texture heights on engine friction losses, wear, and oil consumption were discussed in detail. It is observed from numerical results that lower lubricant film thickness values are generated with higher honing angles, particularly in mixed lubrication regime where lubricant film thickness is close to the roughness level, mainly due to lower resistance to pressure flow.

Abstract Due to the incoming phase out of fossil fuels from the market in order to reduce the carbon footprint of the automotive sector, hydrogen-fueled engines are candidate mid-term solution. Thanks to its properties, hydrogen promotes flames that poorly suffer from the quenching effects toward the engine walls. Thus, emphasis must be posed on the heat-up of the oil layer that wets the cylinder liner in hydrogen-fueled engines. It is known that motor oils are complex mixtures of a number of mainly heavy hydrocarbons (HCs); however, their composition is not known a priori. Simulation tools that can support the early development steps of those engines must be provided with oil composition and properties at operation-like conditions. The authors propose a statistical inference-based optimization approach for identifying oil surrogate multicomponent mixtures. The algorithm is implemented in Python and relies on the Bayesian optimization technique.

Abstract To reduce particulate emissions, the use of particulate filters in diesel engines is meanwhile state of the art, while the integration of such systems in gasoline engines is now also necessary in order to comply with today’s regulations. Over its lifetime, a gasoline particulate filter (GPF) collects ash components of fuel, lubrication oil, and materials originating from the catalytic coating and from engine abrasion. In the development and application process, synthetic ashing from GPFs is challenging. The ash of the lubrication oil can be increased in various ways, like oil-doped fuel, a separate oil burner, or changes in the piston-cylinder system of the engine. However, these methods show major disadvantages.

Abstract The acidification of lubricating oils during engine operation, and the subsequent additive neutralization, is an important challenge for Original Equipment Manufacturers and end-users. Often the decline in Total Base Number (TBN) and increase in Total Acid Number (TAN) is measured during engine operation as an indication of the oil’s condition and lifetime. This is clearly an oversimplification given that no consideration is given to the type of acid, how corrosive it is, or the type of base and how effective it is at neutralizing. Acids can be broadly categorized into mineral acids such as sulfuric/nitric and organic acids such as acetic. Traditionally, research has focused on understanding the effects of mineral acids such as sulfuric, which can be formed during the combustion of sulfur-containing fuel.

Abstract Neutralization of acidic contaminants in engine lubricating oil is an important topic for engine manufacturers. Often, the deterioration in total base number (TBN) and increase in total acid number (TAN) during engine test operation is used as an indication of oil lifetime. This is clearly an oversimplification given that no consideration is given to how corrosive the acid is, and how effective the base is at neutralizing different acids. The work detailed here will explore how the presence of inorganic acids can be combated by lubricant additives, such as overbased detergents, through rapid neutralization. To achieve this, stopped-flow UV/visible spectroscopy has been used to measure the reaction kinetics between an overbased detergent and sulfuric acid containing water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion droplets. The key structural properties of overbased detergents that contribute to effective acid neutralization will be explored.

Abstract In the last few years, the artificial neural networks have been widely used in the field of engine modeling. Some of the main reasons for this are, their compatibility with the real-time systems, higher accuracy, and flexibility if compared to other data-driven approaches. One of the main difficulties of using this approach is the calibration of the network itself. It is very difficult to find in the literature procedures that guide the user to completely define a network. Typically, the very last steps (like the choice of the number of neurons) must be selected by the user on the base of his sensitivity to the problem.

Abstract We come across multiphase flow (oil and air) in many applications in automotive, aerospace, marine, chemical, and power grid industries. The present study presents a model that describes the flow of oil and air through an orifice from one chamber to another based on gravity, viscosity, and density difference. The aim of this study is to provide a simulation technique that finds the total time required for the complete percolation of oil/air to drain out from the respective chambers. This technique uses the Volume Of Fluid (VOF) using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software STAR CCM+. VOF technique is a multiphase model and is very effective in determining the free-surface phenomenon. This technique uses an implicit unsteady and k-ε turbulence model at ambient conditions. Test results validate the CFD analysis. There is a good agreement between the simulation and test results.

Abstract An increase in the efficiency of internal combustion engines is a key challenge for engineers today. Mechanical losses contribute significantly to engine inefficiency, and the piston assembly has the largest share in these losses. Various measures are therefore taken to reduce friction between the piston and the rings against the cylinder. However, the undertaken changes most frequently generate new challenges. For instance, lowering the viscosity of the engine oil or increasing the engine load may lead to accelerated wear of the mating surfaces. In order to resolve this problem, more and more complex materials and anti-wear coatings have to be used. Furthermore, under these conditions, the shape of the ring’s sliding surface becomes more important. This article presents the results of experimental research on the influence of the geometry of the sliding surface and the use of various anti-wear coatings.

Abstract To improve the lubrication and friction of the crankpin bearing (CB) in the engine, the design of surface textures on the bearing surface is proposed and researched based on the CB hydrodynamic dynamic model. To enhance the reliability of the research results and its closeness to reality, the optimal CB parameters, the experimental data of the external dynamic load W0 acting on the crankpin, and the CB surface roughness in the well-known existing researches are referred to as input data for the simulation process. The effect of the distribution density {n, m}, diameter D, and depth of the microcircular textures hd on improving the lubrication and friction are then analyzed based on the indexes of the increase in the oil film pressure, decrease in the solid asperity contacts in the mixed lubrication region (MLR), friction force, and coefficient of friction (COF) between the crankpin and bearing surfaces, respectively.

Abstract Piston internal combustion engines used in the propulsion of ultralight aircraft are characterized by special operating conditions, especially an increased engine oil temperature. Most of the engines intended for the drive of the propeller drivetrain are air cooled. Failure to introduce an additional cooling agent so as to absorb and remove heat from the running engine makes the average lubricating oil temperature rise to about 140°C in the pistohn ring part. With such a thermal load, changes in the moments of resistance to motion of the engine are difficult to determine in the conditions of engine tests due to difficulties in temperature stabilization. The performance of aircraft engines requires taking into account many variables that are difficult to determine, which may affect changes in the moment of resistance to movement of the engine, especially when using oils of low dynamic viscosity.

Abstract The objective of this work is to analyze the signal of a piezoelectric washer installed under the spark plug and to compare the combustion metrics evaluated with such signal to the indexes from a standard piezoelectric sensor for the in-cylinder pressure measurement, considered as the reference. In the first part of the article, the spectrum analysis of the piezoelectric washer pressure trace is proposed. It is demonstrated how such a signal can be used to measure the main combustion and knock indexes. Nevertheless, due to the intrinsic characteristics of the system, the knock index evaluated from the raw pressure trace cannot be directly used to estimate the instantaneous knock intensity. For this reason, a model-based algorithm for Real-Time (RT) application is developed to calculate a corrective factor of the high-frequency content of the signal.

Abstract The greatest frictional contributor in an internal combustion engine is the contact between the piston ring pack and cylinder liner. Therefore, an improved lubrication regime has the potential to raise engine efficiency while lowering emissions, aiding to meet environmental regulations. Previous ultrasonic measurements of the oil film thickness (OFT) between piston rings and the cylinder liner in a marine engine have been subject to several unexpected trends. This article refines the measurement to identify and remove these factors, the trends were found to have arisen due to the detection of ultrasonic reflections from the piston ring outside of the expected alignment zone. The extent of these undesired reflections is thought to be due to the liner thickness providing a relatively large distance for spreading of the ultrasonic wavefront.

Abstract The lubricating properties of diesel are an imperative aspect for the optimal functioning of fuel injection components. Regulatory standards followed by refineries utilize accelerated wear testing methodologies. These tests provide indicative results for judging the lubricity but are not conclusive for determining wear in functional applications attributed to higher loads and other environmental factors. In the course of this article, a tribological evaluation was carried out on Low-Sulfur Diesel (LSD) and Ultralow Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) by utilizing modified test parameters incorporating higher loads and a more extensive gradient of temperature on High-Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR) tribotester. The variance in the resultant coefficient of friction (COF) and wear scar concerning the change in parameters was observed as well as a comparative analysis was drawn between both test fuels.

Abstract Low-Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI) events occur in highly boosted direct-injected gasoline engines when operating at a low-speed and high-load region. The LSPI event appears once per several thousand cycles; once happening, it could last for a few cycles and suddenly returns to normal combustion. These features are coincident with intermittent lubricating oil piston crown scattering behavior, which experiences accumulation and heavy scattering. In this work, the theory originally proposed by Bradley to classify the auto-ignition propagation modes triggered by hot spots is developed to be capable of analyzing the reaction front propagation generated from the lubricating oil clouds, where the auto-ignition is induced by a reactivity gradient. A critical condition related to the interaction between the reaction and acoustic waves is defined with respect to the density gradient that characterizes the oil clouds.

Abstract The need for high efficiency automotive engines has led to more complex air handling and fuel injection systems, higher compression ratios, more advanced combustion and aftertreatment systems, and the use of fuels with higher octane ratings. Higher octane fuels have a lower propensity to knock. This work studies the influence of changing fuel octane rating on two modern production gasoline vehicles, one with a naturally aspirated, port injected engine and the other with a turbocharged, direct injected engine, using fuels with four different octane number grades (with 85, 87, 91, and 93 anti-knock indices) and operated over a variety of driving cycles and temperature conditions. Unlike previous studies, this effort develops and demonstrates a methodology that isolates fuel effects on fuel consumption and provides a clear view of the octane impact on existing vehicles.

Abstract Possible oil contamination of aircraft bleed air is an ongoing operational issue for commercial aircraft. A sensitive and reliable method to detect contamination, especially at very low levels, has been elusive due, in part, to the lack of information about the physical nature of oil that results when entrained in the bleed air by an engine compressor. While it was expected that high shear rates in the compressors would result in very finely dispersed particles, detailed data on the size characteristics of these droplets were not available, making it difficult to develop reliable detection techniques. The goal of the reported research was to collect experimental data to provide this information. The concentration and size distribution of particles were measured for bleed air with different rates of controlled oil contamination under various engine operating conditions.

Abstract The purpose of this article is to study the antifriction and anti-wear effect of GCr15 bearing steel under paraffin base oil and the base oil with two additives of T405 sulfurized olefin and nano-MoS2 and compare the synergistic lubrication effect of two different additives (MoS2 and T405) in paraffin base oil. The tribological properties of GCr15 bearing steel under different lubrication conditions were tested on a ball-on-disk tribometer. The three-dimensional profile of disk’s worn surfaces and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs of corresponding steel balls were analyzed at the same time. The wettability of lubricating oils on the surface of friction pairs and the dispersibility of MoS2 in base oil were characterized.