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The objectives of the present work are to investigate the regulated and unregulated (particle) emissions of a classical and modern 2-stroke and a typical 4-stroke scooter with different ethanol blend fuels. There is also comparison of two different ethanol fuels: pure ethanol (E) *) and hydrous ethanol (EH) which contains 3.9% water and is denatured with 1.5% gasoline. Special attention is paid in this research to the hydrous ethanol, since the production costs of hydrous ethanol are much less than those for (dry) ethanol. The vehicles are with carburettor and without catalyst, which represents the most frequent technology in Eastern Asia and offers the information of engine-out emissions. Exhaust emissions measurements have been performed with fuels containing ethanol (E), or hydrous ethanol (EH) in the portion of 5, 10, 15 and 20% by volume. During the test systematical analysis of particle mass (PM) and nano-particles counts (NP) were carried out.

A direct injection system in which fuel was injected through the cylinder wall was developed and detailed investigation was made for the purpose of reducing short-circuit of fuel in 2-stroke engines. As a result of dynamo tests using 430cc single cylinder engine, it was found that the injector was best attached at a location as close to TDC as possible on the rear transfer port side, and that the entire amount of fuel should be injected towards the piston top surface. Emissions were worsened if fuel was injected towards the exhaust port or spark plug. Although the higher injection pressure resulted in large emissions reduction effects, it did not have a significant effect on fuel consumption. When a butterfly exhaust valve, known to be effective against irregular combustion in the light load range, was applied, it was found to lead to further reductions in HC emission and fuel consumption while also improving combustion stability.

The CBR [1] (Controlled Burn Rate) is a port deactivation concept developed by AVL and is already applied in series production cars. The benefit of this concept is the low engine-out emission (CO, HC and NOx) and good fuel economy. By creating turbulent kinetic energy at the correct time and place in the combustion chamber a rapid and stable combustion occurs which allows to run the engine well above a Lambda Excess Air Ratio of 1.5. The CBR system features two different intake ports, one charge motion port and one filling port. Additionally a device for port-deactivation (slider, butterfly) is applied. At part load points and lower engine speeds the filling port is switched off. The CBR concept was now evoluted for compact engines as CCBR - with carburetor and as CBR Light - for engines with electronic fuel injection. CCBR stands for Carbureted Controlled Burn Rate.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are worldwide recognized as one of the best and most immediate opportunities to solve the problems of fuel consumption, pollutant emissions and fossil fuels depletion, thanks to the high reliability of engines and the high efficiencies of motors. Moreover, as transport policy is becoming day by day stricter all over the world, moving people or goods efficiently and cheaply is the goal that all the main automobile manufacturers are trying to reach. In this context, the municipalities are performing their own action plans for public transport and the efforts in realizing high efficiency hybrid electric buses, could be supported by the local policies. For these reasons, the authors intend to propose an efficient control strategy for a hybrid electric bus, with a series architecture for the power-train.

It has been long established fact that fuel economy is a key driving force of low viscosity gasoline engine oil research and development considered by the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and lubricant companies. The development of low viscosity gasoline engine oils should not only focus on fuel economy improvement, but also on the low speed pre-ignition (LSPI) prevention property. In previous LSPI prevention literatures, the necessity of applying Ca/Mg-based detergents system in the engine oil formulations was proposed. In this paper, we adopted a specific Group III base oil containing Ca-salicylate detergent, borated dispersant, Mo-DTC in the formulation and investigated the various effects of Mg-salicylate and Mg-sulfonate on the performance of engine oil. It was found that Mg-sulfonate showed a significant detrimental impact on silicone rubber compatibility while the influence from Mg-salicylate remains acceptable.

Two types of One-Way Clutch (OWC) are commonly used in automotive applications – the roller and the sprag types. Some manufacturers claim the advantages of a different type of OWC having a mechanical diode OWC. The aim of this research is to study the mechanical diode system in order to point out reasons that explain why this configuration is not a spread out system in automotive applications that require lockup functionality. To achieve this objective the research work focuses on the development of 1-D models to simulate system behavior and evaluate product performance against design variables. Improvements to the system are suggested based on the simulation results.

The road transportation sector is undergoing significant changes, and new green scenarios for sustainable mobility are being proposed. In this context, a diversification of the vehicles’ propulsion, based on electric powertrains and/or alternative fuels and technological improvements of the electric vehicles charging stations, are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The adoption of internal combustion engines operating with alternative fuels, like methanol, may represent a viable solution for overcoming the limitations of actual grid connected charging infrastructure, giving the possibility to realize off-grid charging stations. This work aims, therefore, at investigating this last aspect, by evaluating the performance of an internal combustion engine fueled with methanol for stationary applications, in order to fulfill the potential demand of an on off-grid charging station.

The Lunar Electric Rover (LER), which was formerly called the Small Pressurized Rover (SPR), is currently being carried as an integral part of the lunar surface architectures that are under consideration in the Constellation Program. One element of the LER is the suit port, which is the means by which crew members perform Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). Two suit port deliverables were produced in fiscal year 2008: a 1-g suit port concept evaluator for functional integrated testing with the LER 1-g concept vehicle and a functional and pressurizable Engineering Unit (EU). This paper focuses on the 1-g suit port concept evaluator test results from the Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) October 2008 testing at Black Point Lava Flow (BPLF), Arizona. The 1-g suit port concept evaluator was integrated with the 1-g LER cabin and chassis concepts.

This paper describes the potential motorcycle application of a parallel hybrid powertrain that was conceptualized, designed, developed and tested (for passenger car application) at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). The patented powertrain mechanical layout and controller are described in this paper. The transitioning between operating modes has been analyzed for satisfactory performance. Initial fuel consumption simulations of the parallel hybrid drivetrain indicate more than double the fuel economy of an equivalent-size conventional drivetrain. The model has been previously validated on a passenger vehicle-sized prototype. The Southwest Research Institute inventors have been recently awarded U.S. Patent 6,110,066 for the parallel hybrid drivetrain.

A 10 KWe dual-mode space power system concept has been identified which is based on INEL's Small Externally-fueled Heat Pipe Thermionic Reactor (SEHPTR) concept. This power system will enhance user capabilities by providing reliable electric power and by providing two propulsion systems; electric power for an arc-jet electric propulsion system and direct thrust by heating hydrogen propellant inside the reactor. The low thrust electric thrusters allow efficient station keeping and long-term maneuvering. The direct thrust capability can provide tens of pounds of thrust at a specific impulse of around 730 seconds for maneuvers that must be performed more rapidly. The direct thrust allows the nuclear power system to move a payload from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) in less than one month using approximately half the propellant of a cryogenic chemical stage.

Since 1978, the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) of MITI has promoted research and development of “Large-Scale Energy Conservation Technology” popularly known as the “Moonlight Project”. As the first step, “system technology tests” using improved lead acid batteries started at Kansai Electric's Tatsumi Electric Energy Storage System Test Plant on October 1, 1986. The results showed that this system can work not only as a load-leveling apparatus but also as a high-quality power source which can support the utility power system with its load frequency control and voltage regulation capabilities. As the second step of these R&D activities, a 1MW/8MWh sodium-sulfur battery pilot plant was constructed at the same Tatsumi site. On July 11, 1991, 1000 kW× 8H facility, the largest of its type in the world, was completed and started operation. This paper describes the construction experience and operation results of the pilot plant.

A prototype 2007 ISL Cummins diesel engine equipped with a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), diesel particle filter (DPF), variable geometry turbocharger (VGT), and cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) was tested at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) under a high-load accelerated durability cycle for 1000 hours with B20 soy-based biodiesel blends and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel to determine the impact of B20 on engine durability, performance, emissions, and fuel consumption. At the completion of the 1000-hour test, a thorough engine teardown evaluation of the overhead, power transfer, cylinder, cooling, lube, air handling, gaskets, aftertreatment, and fuel system parts was performed. The engine operated successfully with no biodiesel-related failures. Results indicate that engine performance was essentially the same when tested at 125 and 1000 hours of accumulated durability operation.

Aerospace structures manufacturers find themselves frequently engaged in large-scale 3D metrology operations, conducting precision measurements over a volume expressed in meters or tens of meters. Such measurements are often done by metrologists or other measurement experts and may be done in a somewhat ad-hoc fashion, i.e., executed in the most appropriate method according to the lights of the individual conducting the measurement. This approach is certainly flexible but there are arguments for invoking a more rigorous process. Production processes, in particular, demand an automated process for all such “routine” measurements. Automated metrology offers a number of advantages including enabling data configuration management, de-skilling of operation, real time input data error checking, enforcement of standards, consistent process execution and automated data archiving. It also reduces training, setup time, data manipulation and analysis time and improves reporting.

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) is one of the most commonly used materials in the aerospace industry today. CFRP in pre-impregnated form is an anisotropic material whose properties can be controlled to a high level by the designer. Sometimes, these properties make the material hard to predict with regards to how the geometry affects manufacturing aspects. This paper describes eleven design rules originating from different guidelines that describe geometrical design choices and deals with manufacturability problems that are connected to them, why they are connected and how they can be minimized or avoided. Examples of design choices dealt with in the rules include double curvature shapes, assembly of uncured CFRP components and access for non-destructive testing (NDT). To verify the technical content and ensure practicability, the rules were developed by, inter alia, studying literature and performing case studies at SAAB Aerostructures.

The EUROMIR-95 flight was selected as model for the HUBES experiment: a similar duration (135 days), a similar crew (3 men), similar schedule organisation (8 hours work, 8 hours sleep, 8 hours off-duties), similar workload for the crew and the mission control (performance of scientific experiments), similar setup for communication and data processing, and similar layout of the MIR station, as the simulation was performed in the MIR simulator located at the Institute for BioMedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow. The Scientific Programme of HUBES had been elaborated by integration of 31 experiments from more than 80 research proposals from Principal Investigators from Europe, USA and Russia, in domains of Physiology, Psychology, Operations and Technology.

This paper provides an overview about the consequences of a 14/42 V - Electrical Power Supply System for the Electrical Interconnection and Switching Technology. It presents design guidelines and solutions for connector systems including advanced applications like fuse and relay boxes and gives an overview of those existing connectors already suited for 42 V and even higher voltages. The problem of arcing due to the increased voltage is discussed for the case that mating and unmating under load has to be taken into consideration. Arcing also has a tremendous impact on the design of 42 V proof relays. Therefore, some basic results be presented along with proposals how these problems can be overcome by appropriate designs. Another part of the paper looks at the electrical power supply system itself. Here interconnection techniques for new battery systems are discussed. Finally, the chances for new technologies are highlighted.

System requirements and Interface Control Drawings (ICDs) make a variety of demands for MIL-STD-1553 remote terminals (RTs). Among these requirements are the need to ensure data integrity and sample data consistency, the need to perform bulk (multi-message) data transfers, and the need to offload the operation of the host CPU to the greatest degree possible. This latter requirement is reflected in such specifications as CPU spare bandwidth. The latest 1553 terminals provide a variety of choices for performing the different types of transfers. This paper provides a discussion of the hardware and software techniques for achieving these objectives. Three different schemes for RT subaddress memory management are presented: single message, circular buffer, and double buffered. For receive and transmit messages, these include fully synchronous single message transfers, asynchronous single message transfers, and multi-message transfers.

A Microprocessor Data Acquisition System has been designed to be cab-mounted in vehicles or used in laboratories to acquire up to 16 channels of test data. This data may be acquired as time-at-level histograms in one or two dimensions with min-max-mean data recovery, time histories, or peaks and valleys stored on digital tape. The system includes a microcomputer-based Playback/Support Box that simplifies playback of data tapes for computer analysis or stand-alone data plotting using a graphics terminal.

Because of the size and weight of the various components going into the machine, new approaches were used to solve the practical limitations of manufacturing facilities, shipping clearances, and erection procedures. Although the general appearance of the machine is similar to previous units, there are a number of new design features incorporated in the unit. This paper will be limited to the major design considerations as follows: adaption to stripping two seams of coal simultaneously; dipper with two doors; computerized hydraulic steering maintaining Ackerman correction; double end drive crawlers and belt tensioning; and electrical innovations.