Search Results

A conventional coil ignition system and two breakdown ignition systems with different electrode configurations were compared in M.I.T.'s transparent square piston engine. The purpose was to gain a deeper understanding of how the breakdown and glow discharge phases affect flame development and engine performance. The engine was operated with a standard intake valve and with a shrouded intake valve to vary the characteristic burning rate of the engine. Cylinder pressure data were used to characterize the ignition-system performance. A newly developed schlieren system which provides two orthogonal views of the developing flame was used to define the initial flame growth process. The study shows that ignition systems with higher breakdown energy achieve a faster flame growth during the first 0.5 ms after spark onset for all conditions studied.

A methodology is presented with which aggregate emissions from the in-use automobile population can be calculated for any given calendar year. The data base needed for such a calculation is discussed, and areas in which further research is needed are pointed out. Results of a series of calculations are then presented showing the effect on aggregate emissions of various control strategies. The effects of an inspection/maintenance and retrofit program, different vehicle population growth rates, catalyst deterioration in use, and various schedules of new car emission standards for post-1975 vehicles are presented. It is shown that the rate at which old, higher-polluting vehicles are retired from the in-use vehicle population is the major factor in determining the rate at which aggregate emissions will decrease in the 1970s, with the precise level of post-1975 standards only becoming important in the 1980s.

The wear patterns of the rings and grooves of a diesel engine were analyzed by using a ring dynamics/gas flow model and a ring-pack oil film thickness model. The analysis focused primarily on the contact pressure distribution on the ring sides and grooves as well as on the contact location on the ring running surfaces. Analysis was performed for both new and worn ring/groove profiles. Calculated results are consistent with the measured wear patterns. The effects of groove tilt and static twist on the development of wear patterns on the ring sides, grooves, and ring running surfaces were studied. Ring flutter was observed from the calculation and its effect on oil transport was discussed. Up-scraping of the top ring was studied by considering ring dynamic twist and piston tilt. This work shows that the models used have potential for providing practical guidance to optimizing the ring pack and ring grooves to control wear and reduce oil consumption.

The effects of two commonly used methods for altering the combustion process in a spark-ignition engine are examined using pressure measurements and high-speed schlieren photography. A square cross-section visualization engine with two quartz sidewalls was used to allow optical access over the entire four-stroke operating cycle. Engine operation with a shrouded intake valve, which changed the intake-generated flow, and with a stepped piston, which changed the compression-generated flow, are compared to a base condition. In addition, cyclic variations in burning are examined for all cases.

The high concentration of particulate matter (PM) in diesel exhaust gas causes significant soot deposition on the wall of EGR cooler, and reduces the heat transfer performance of the EGR cooler and the reduction rate of NOx. The deposition of PM tends to be occurred more severely with "heavy wet PM," which is more frequently at the LTC (low temperature combustion) engine. The objective of this work is to evaluate the effects of soluble organic fraction (SOF) on deposit characteristics of the EGR cooler. To measure reliable mean particle concentration values and surrogate SOFs, the soot generator with SOF vaporizer was used. As for two surrogate SOFs, n-dodecane and diesel lube oil, deposit mass increased when they were injected. Especially from the experiment results, it was found that the lube oil effect was more significant than the n-dodecane effect and lube oil also had a stronger effect on reduction of thermal conductivity by filling pores in deposits.

A model for predicting the performance and emissions characteristics of Wankel engines has been developed and tested. Each chamber is treated as an open thermodynamic system and the effects of turbulent flame propagation, quench layer formation, gas motion, heat transfer and seal leakage are included. The experimental tests were carried out on a Toyo Kogyo 12B engine under both motoring and firing conditions and values for the effective seal leakage area and turbulent heat transfer coefficient were deduced. The agreement between the predicted and measured performances was reasonable. Parametric studies of the effects of reductions in seal leakage and heat transfer were carried out and the results are presented.

A method for determining the flame contour based on the flame arrival time at the fiber optic (FO) spark plug and at the head gasket ionization probe (IP) locations has been developed. The experimental data were generated in a single-cylinder Ricardo Hydra spark-ignition engine. The head gasket IP, constructed from a double-sided copper-clad circuit board, detects the flame arrival time at eight equally spaced locations at the top of the cylinder liner. Three other IP's were also installed in the cylinder head to provide additional intermediate data on flame location and arrival time. The FO spark plug consists of a standard spark plug with eight symmetrically spaced optical fibers located in the ground casing of the plug. The cylinder pressure was recorded simultaneously with the eleven IP signals and the eight optical signals using a high-speed PC-based data acquisition system.

Flame propagation was detected with ionization probes located at a spark plug and a head gasket to study the relations of ionization signal to the flame propagation period. Five ionization probes were inserted at a spark plug to detect the initial flame development and eight ionization probes were inserted at a head gasket to detect the overall flame propagation. Experiments were done while the A/F ratio, load and engine speed were varied. In the fast acceleration period, lean peak phenomenon due to the fuel wall wetting occurred for one or two cycles. Ionization signals were used to determine the flame propagation duration during fast acceleration and the lean peak could be avoided by injecting proper amount of fuel.

Liquid fuel flow into the cylinder an important source of hydrocarbon (HC) emissions of an SI engine. This is an especially important HC source during engine warm up. This paper examines the phenomena that determine the inflow of liquid fuel through the intake valve during a simulated start-up procedure. A Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) was used to measure the size and velocity of liquid fuel droplets in the vicinity of the intake valve in a firing transparent flow-visualization engine. These characteristics were measured as a function of engine running time and crank angle position during four stroke cycle. Droplet characteristics were measured at 7 angular positions in 5 planes around the circumference of the intake valve for both open and closed-valve injection. Additionally the cone shaped geometry of the entering liquid fuel spray was visualized using a Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) setup on the same engine.

The occurrence of liquid fuel in the cylinder of automotive internal combustion engines is believed to be an important source of exhaust hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, especially during the warm-up process following an engine start up. In this study a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) has been used in a transparent flow visualization combustion engine in order to investigate the phenomena which govern the transport of liquid fuel into the cylinder during a simulated engine start up process. Using indolene fuel, the engine was started up from room temperature and run for 90 sec on each start up simulation. The size and velocity of the liquid fuel droplets entering the cylinder were measured as a function of time and crank angle position during these start up processes. The square-piston transparent engine used gave full optical access to the cylinder head region, so that these droplet characteristics could be measured in the immediate vicinity of the intake valve.

The liquid fuel entry into the cylinder and its subsequent behavior through the combustion cycle were observed by a high speed CCD camera in a transparent engine. The videos were taken with the engine firing under cold conditions in a simulated start-up process, at 1,000 RPM and intake manifold pressure of 0.5 bar. The variables examined were the injector geometry, injector type (normal and air-assisted), injection timing (open- and closed-valve injection), and injected air-to-fuel ratios. The visualization results show several important and unexpected features of the in-cylinder fuel behavior: 1) strip-atomization of the fuel film by the intake flow; 2) squeezing of fuel film between the intake valve and valve seat at valve closing to form large droplets; 3)deposition of liquid fuel as films distributed on the intake valve and head region. Some of the liquid fuel survives combustion into the next cycle.

A combined experimental and analytical approach was followed in this work to study stress distributions and causes of failure in diesel cylinder heads under steady-state and transient operation. Experimental studies were conducted first to measure temperatures, heat fluxes and stresses under a series of steady-state operating conditions. Furthermore, by placing high temperature strain gages within the thermal penetration depth of the cylinder head, the effect of thermal shock loading under rapid transients was studied. A comparison of our steady-state and transient measurements suggests that the steady-state temperature gradients and the level of temperatures are the primary causes of thermal fatigue in cast-iron cylinder heads. Subsequently, a finite element analysis was conducted to predict the detailed steady-state temperature and stress distributions within the cylinder head. A comparison of the predicted steady-state temperatures and stresses compared well with our measurements.

An experimental study was carried out that qualitatively examined the mixture preparation process in port fuel injected engines. The primary variables in this study were intake valve lift, intake valve timing, injector spray quality, and injection timing. A special visualization engine was used to obtain high-speed videos of the fuel-air mixture flowing through the intake valve, as well as the wetting of the intake valve and head in the combustion chamber. Additionally, videos were taken from within the intake port using a borescope to examine liquid fuel distribution in the port. Finally, a simulation study was carried out in order to understand how the various combinations of intake valve lifts and timings affect the flow velocity through the intake valve gap to aid in the interpretation of the videos.

The oil control ring is the most critical component for oil consumption and friction from the piston system in internal combustion engines. Three-piece oil control rings are widely used in Spark Ignition (SI) engines. However, the dynamics and lubrication of three piece oil control rings have not been thoroughly studied from the theoretical point of view. In this work, a model was developed to predict side sealing, bore sealing, friction, and asperity contact between rails and groove as well as between rails and the liner in a Three Piece Oil Control Ring (TPOCR). The model couples the axial and twist dynamics of the two rails of TPOCR and the lubrication between two rails and the cylinder bore. Detailed rail/groove and rail/liner interactions were considered. The pressure distribution from oil squeezing and asperity contact between the flanks of the rails and the groove were both considered for rail/groove interaction.

To understand the effects of crevices on the engine-out hydrocarbon emissions, a series of engine experiments was carried out with different piston crevice volumes and with simulated head gasket crevices. The engine-out HC level was found to be modestly sensitive to the piston crevice size in both the warmed-up and the cold engines, but more sensitive to the crevice volume in the head gasket region. A substantial decrease in HC in the cold-to-warm-up engine transition was observed and is attributed mostly to the change in port oxidation.