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Cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is widely applied in modern diesels to effectively control nitric oxides (NOx) emission. However, unfiltered high-pressure loop EGR leads to EGR cooler fouling and loss of its effectiveness. Reduced EGR cooler effectiveness often leads to increased NOx emission through increased intake charge temperature and/or reduced EGR flows. Therefore, there is a desire to avoid EGR cooler fouling and its associated problems. Filtering the EGR upstream from the EGR cooler is considered a potential solution to preserve EGR cooler effectiveness over long operating periods and simplify the control of the EGR system. The effect of EGR filter filtration efficiency on the EGR cooler effectiveness was investigated at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). Alantum, a filter manufacturer from Korea, developed EGR filters having 50 and 70 percent filtration efficiency for this study. A 2008 calibration, V8, A350 International diesel engine was used in this work.

The technique of using cylinder pressure data for diagnosing the combustion process in a reciprocating internal combustion engine has been used for some time. Much of the early work, however, was qualitative comparisons of the heat release rate diagrams. Only recently have efforts been made to reduce the heat release diagrams to functional or numerical representations which could be used to make fuel-to-fuel and engine-to-engine comparisons. This paper describes work in which cylinder pressure measurements were taken from an operating diesel engine using a high-speed data acquisition system. Combustion chamber pressure measurements were made at approximately 1.0- degree increments over several engine cycles using a real-time data acquisition system. The pressure data were used to calculate apparent heat release and indicated horsepower. Both radiative and convective heat transfer computations were included in the calculational procedures.

To counter the adverse impact on the formation of harmful unregulated emissions such as nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAH), catalyst companies and researchers have been developing catalytic coatings that have the capability of suppressing the formation of NO2. NO2 is formed at low exhaust temperatures with potentially greater concentrations at part load engine operation. Haldor Topsoe, a catalyst company from Denmark, developed such a catalytic coating for DPFs. A sample was provided to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to conduct this research with a view of potentially improving NO2-suppressing formulations in the future. The Haldor Topsoe diesel particulate filter (DPF) with its novel coating was tested together with three other DPFs and the results confirmed the capability of this DPF to suppress the formation of NO2. This characteristic was apparent in all five engine test modes selected to cover the full engine operating range.

During the 1980's, vegetable oils, microemulsions containing fatty alcohols as surfactants, and fatty esters have been extensively investigaed as alternative fuels to #2 diesel fuel (DF-2) used in farm tractors. Despite the importance of vegetable oils (mainly triglycerides) and fatty derivatives to the alternative fuel program, cetane numbers for pure triglycerides and many fatty derivatives were not reported. In the current study, estimated cetane numbers of these materials have been determined by use of a constant volume combustion bomb. Prior research has shown that this equipment can produce cetane numbers that correlate satisfactorily with engine cetane numbers as determied by ASTM D 613. The influence of chemical structure on ignition delay and cetane number was investigated. Evidence is presented that shows the current cetane number scale is not always suitable for these fatty materials. Suggestions are made as to what might be done to remedy this problem.

The widely accepted best practice for spark-ignition combustion is the four-valve pent-roof chamber using a central sparkplug and incorporating tumble flow during the intake event. The bulk tumble flow readily breaks up during the compression stroke to fine-scale turbulent kinetic energy desired for rapid, robust combustion. The natural gas engines used in medium- and heavy-truck applications would benefit from a similar, high-tumble pent-roof combustion chamber. However, these engines are invariably derived from their higher-volume diesel counterparts, and the production volumes are insufficient to justify the amount of modification required to incorporate a pent-roof system. The objective of this multi-dimensional computational study was to develop a combustion chamber addressing the objectives of a pent-roof chamber while maintaining the flat firedeck and vertical valve orientation of the diesel engine.

The objective of the work reported in this paper was to develop and demonstrate an injection nozzle which can be used to inject both diesel fuel and methanol in to a direct injection diesel engine. The constraints on the nozzle were that it must provide acceptable fuel metering and atomization for the diesel fuel so that the engine can be operated at rated load on diesel fuel alone, or operate at full load with the diesel fuel as a pilot for the methanol. An additional constraint was that the nozzle design was to be easily adaptable to the existing injection nozzle so that engine head modifications are not required. The initial design was evaluated in a constant volume test chamber in which the pressure was varied from atmospheric to engine compression pressures.

Changing fuel quality, increasingly stringent exhaust emission standards, demands for higher efficiency, and the trend towards higher specific output, all contribute to the need for a better understanding of the ignition process in diesel engines. In addition to the impact on the combustion process and the resulting performance and emissions, the ignition process controls the startability of the engine, which, in turn, governs the required compressions ratio and several of the other engine design parameters. The importance of the ignition process is reflected in the fact that the only combustion property that is specified for diesel fuel is the ignition delay time as indicated by the cetane number. The objective of the work described in this paper was to determine the relationship between the ignition process as it occurs in an actual engine, to ignition in a constant volume combustion bomb.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) experiments were performed in a variable compression ratio single cylinder engine. This is the fourth paper resulting from work performed at Southwest Research Institute in this HCCI engine. The experimental variables, in addition to speed and load, included compression ratio, EGR level, intake manifold pressure and temperature, fuel introduction location, and fuel composition. Mixture preparation and start of reaction control were identified as fundamental problems that required non-traditional mixture preparation and control strategies. The effects of the independent variable on the start of reaction have been documented. For fuels that display significant pre-flame reactions, the start of the pre-flame reactions is controlled primarily by the selection of the fuel and the temperature history of the fuel air mixture.

A single-cylinder, direct-injection diesel engine was modified to operate on compression ignition of homogenous mixtures of diesel fuel and air. Previous work has indicated that extremely low emissions and high efficiencies are possible if ignition of homogeneous fuel-air mixtures is accomplished. The limitations of this approach were reported to be misfire and knock. These same observations were verified in the current work. The variables examined in this study included air-fuel ratio, compression ratio, fresh intake air temperature, exhaust gas recirculation rate, and intake mixture temperatures. The results suggested that controlled homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is possible. Compression ratio, EGR rate, and air fuel ratio are the practical controlling factors in achieving satisfactory operation. It was found that satisfactory power settings are possible with high EGR rates and stoichiometric fuel-air mixtures.

Three different carbon blacks were used to formulate nine different slurries in DF-2. The rheological properties of each formulation were examined to determine deviations from Newtonian behavior. The spray characteristics of selected formulations were then examined in a high-pressure, high-temperature injection bomb. The cone angle decreased and the penetration rates increased for all of the slurries tested as compared to straight DF-2. These changes were more pronounced as the concentration of carbon black increased. Six formulations of three types of carbon black were tested in a single-cylinder, direct-injection CLR engine. Apparent heat release rates were computed as a function of crankangle from the cylinder pressure data. Based on the engine performance tests and some limited durability testing it appears that well-formulated carbon black slurries have only minor effects on engine performance and durability.

A new diesel engine system adopting alternative combustion with rich and near rich combustion, and an airflow-dominant control system for precise combustion control was used with a 4-way catalyst system with LNT (lean NOx trap) to achieve Tier II Bin 5 on a 2.2L TDI diesel engine. The study included catalyst temperature control, NOx regeneration, desulfation, and PM oxidation with and without post injection. Using a mass-produced lean burn gasoline LNT with 60,000 mile equivalent aging, compliance to Tier II Bin 5 emissions was confirmed for the US06 and FTP75 test cycles with low NVH, minor fuel penalty and smooth transient operation.

Fumigation, inline mixing, chemically stabilized emulsions and cetane improvers were evaluated as a means of using ethanol in diesel engines. Two turbocharged six-cylinder engines of identical bore and stroke were used, differing in combustion chamber type. Three alcohol proofs were evaluated: 200, 190, and 160. Alcohol was added at the following concentrations: 10, 25, and 50% except in the case of the cetane-improved alcohol. In the latter case a commercial ignition improver for diesel fuel, DII-3, was added to neat alcohol in the proportions of 10, 15, and 20%. Generally, the emissions of CO, total hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen reflected the trends observed in the thermal efficiencies. At light loads, CO and HC emissions were higher than baseline, decreasing to near baseline levels at heavy loads accompanied with higher NOx.

At first, the dynamic electromagnetic characteristics of a pulsed solenoid valve is analyzed by experiments. The fast valve response is obtained by material modifications. Then, the intelligent solenoid driving method is discussed. The new techniques of the “active” PWM and the “d2i/dt2” detection are developed for feedback control of the solenoid holding current and the valve closure timing. Finally, the control and diagnosis method for the valve closure duration is investigated. A sensing mechanism utilizing momentary camshaft speed fluctuations of fuel injection pump is presented, which provides the basis for feedback control and diagnosis of the valve closure duration and diesel fuel injection process.

The new Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) engine, an evolution of the 2.3L 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine from Saab, was designed, built, and tested with close collaboration between BAIC Motor Powertrain Co., Ltd. and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI®). The upgraded engine was intended to achieve low fuel consumption and a good balance of high performance and compliance with Euro 6 emissions regulations. Low fuel consumption was achieved primarily through utilizing cooled low pressure loop exhaust gas recirculation (LPL-EGR) and dual independent cam phasers. Cooled LPL-EGR helped suppress engine knock and consequently allowed for increased compression ratio and improved thermal efficiency of the new engine. Dual independent cam phasers reduced engine pumping losses and helped increase low-speed torque. Additionally, the intake and exhaust systems were improved along with optimization of the combustion chamber design.

Four-way catalyst system consisting of diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), diesel particulate filter (DPF) and lean NOx trap (LNT) with alternative combustion such as low temperature combustion (LTC) and premixed controlled compression ignition (PCCI) is one of the effective ways to achieve the US Tier 2 Bin 5 and future European emissions for light duty diesel vehicles. However, thermal responses such as substrate temperature and temperature gradient of each catalyst component in the exhaust treatment system are different under different combustion modes and operation conditions. One exhaust treatment component's performance or durability can not be sacrificed for the sake of another. In this paper, thermal management strategies for exhaust treatment component temperature and temperature gradient by controlling lean and rich conditions of low temperature combustions as well as premixed controlled combustion, EGR rate and exhaust flow are demonstrated on a Renault G9T600 engine.

Vegetable oils are candidates for alternative fuels in diesel engines. These oils, such as soybean, sunflower, rapeseed, cottonseed, and peanut, consist of various triglycerides. The chemistry of the degradation of vegetable oils when used as alternate diesel fuels thus corresponds to that of triglycerides. To study the chemistry occurring during the precombustion phase of a vegetable oil injected into a diesel engine, a reactor simulating a diesel engine was constructed. Pure triglycerides were injected into the reactor in order to determine differences in the precombustion behavior of the various triglycerides. The reactor allowed motion pictures to be prepared of the injection event as the important reaction parameters, such as pressure, temperature, and atmosphere were varied. Furthermore, samples of the degradation products of precombusted triglycerides were collected and analyzed (gas chromatography / mass spectrometry).