Search Results

A single-cylinder Gasoline Direct Injection Engine (GDI) engine with a centrally mounted spray-guided injection system (150 bar fuel pressure) has been operated with stoichiometric and rich mixtures. The base fuel was 65% iso-octane and 35% toluene; hydrogen was aspirated into a plenum in the induction system, and its equivalence ratios were set to 0, 0.02, 0.05 and 0.1. Ignition timing sweeps were conducted for each operating point. Combustion was speeded up by adding hydrogen as expected. In consequence the MBT ignition advance was reduced, as were cycle-by-cycle variations in combustion. Adding hydrogen led to the expected reduction in IMEP as the engine was operated at a fixed manifold absolute pressure (MAP). An engine model has also been set up using WAVE. Particulate Matter (PM) emissions were measured with a Cambustion DMS500 particle sizer.

The paper first describes three linked computational models which allow the estimation of: swirl generated during the induction process; the modification of swirl with bowl-in-piston combustion chambers during compression as the piston approaches top dead centre; the interaction of the fuel sprays with swirl including relative crosswind velocities between the air and the fuel sprays and spray impingement velocities. The paper then presents experimental results from a single-cylinder direct injection diesel engine, during which both the fuel spray and swirl parameters were changed systematically. Finally, the predicted spray impingement and crosswind velocities for this engine are correlated with the engine performance obtained experimentally, in particular, with fuel economy and smoke emission.

In the introduction of Automotive Engineering Fundamentals, Richard Stone and Jeffrey K. Ball provide a fascinating and often amusing history of the passenger vehicle, showcasing the various highs and lows of this now-indispensable component of civilized societies. The authors then provide an overview of the publication, which is designed to give the student of automotive engineering a basic understanding of the principles involved with designing a vehicle. From engines and transmissions to vehicle aerodynamics and computer modeling, the intelligent, interesting presentation of core concepts in Automotive Engineering Fundamentals is sure to make this an indispensable resource for engineering students and professionals alike.

The burn rate and the instantaneous in-cylinder heat transfer have been studied experimentally in a spray-guided direct-injection spark-ignition engine with three different fuels: gasoline, iso-octane and toluene. The effects of the ignition timing, air fuel ratio, fuel injection timing and injection strategy (direct injection or port injection) on the burn rate and the in-cylinder heat transfer have been experimentally investigated at a standard mapping point (1500 rpm and 0.521 bar MAP) with the three different fuels. The burn rate analysis was deduced from the in-cylinder pressure measurement. A two-dimensional heat conduction model of the thermocouple was used to calculate the heat flux from the measured surface temperature. An engine thermodynamic simulation code was used to predict the gas-to-wall heat transfer.

Engine downsizing is a key approach employed by many vehicle manufacturers to help meet fleet average CO2 emissions targets. With gasoline engines in particular reducing engine swept volume while increasing specific output via technologies such as turbocharging, direct injection (DI) and variable valve timing can significantly reduce frictional and pumping losses in engine operating areas commonly encountered in legislative drive cycles. These engines have increased susceptibility to abnormal combustion phenomena such as knock due to the high brake mean effective pressures which they generate. This ultimately limits fuel efficiency benefits by demanding use of a lower geometric compression ratio and sub-optimal late combustion phasing at the higher specific loads experienced by these engines.

Spray guided Direct Injection Gasoline Engines are a key enabler to reducing CO2 emissions and improving the fuel economy of light duty vehicles. Particulate emissions from these engines have been shown to be lower than from first generation direct injection gasoline engines, but they may still be significantly higher than port fuel injected engines due to the reduced time available for mixture preparation and increased incidence of fuel impingement on the piston crown and combustion chamber surfaces. These factors are particularly severe in the period following a cold start. Both nuclei and accumulation mode particle size and number concentration were measured using a Cambustion differential mobility spectrometer. These data are reported for different coolant temperature intervals during the warm-up period. The bulk composition was determined using thermo-gravimetric analysis, and PM mass fractions are given for different volatility ranges and for elemental carbon.

Comparisons have been made between the ignition delay and combustion performance of sunflower oil and diesel fuel. The experimental results have been obtained in a naturally aspirated direct injection diesel engine, and particular attention has been given to the heat release analysis, ignition delay, combustion noise and lubricant degradation. The anomalous behaviour of sunflower oil is explained by reference to its physical properties and ignition quality, as reported in the literature from bomb tests. It is concluded that the power output and brake efficiency are largely unaffected by the use of the sunflower oil, and that lubricant degradation is not likely to be significant. However, the build up of combustion deposits already widely reported in the literature was observed. Suggestions are made as to how this might be ameliorated through modifications to the injection system.

A single cylinder Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI) engine with optical access has been used for combustion studies with both early injection and late injection for stratified charge operation. Cylinder pressure records have been used for combustion analysis that has been synchronised with the imaging. A high speed cine camera has been used for imaging combustion within a cycle, while a CCD camera has been used for imaging at fixed crank angles, so as to obtain information on cycle-by-cycle variations. The CCD images have also been analysed to give information on the quantity of soot present during combustion. Tests have been conducted with a reference unleaded gasoline (ULG), and pure fuel components: iso-octane (a representative alkane), and toluene (a representative aromatic). The results show diffusion-controlled combustion occurring in so-called homogeneous combustion with early injection.

A Waukesha VR 220 naturally aspirated Diesel Engine has been modified to operate with a high compression ratio fast-burn spark-ignition combustion system. Since the application of greatest interest is for Combined Heat and Power (CHP), the majority of data have been obtained with the engine operating at full throttle and 1500 rpm. The philosophy of the open chamber combustion system design is described, and this includes a discussion on the selection of the compression ratio. Results are presented for the energy balance and the emissions, for a wide range of air fuel ratios. The experiments have been conducted with natural gas and natural gas/carbon dioxide mixtures (to simulate bio-gas). Comparisons are made with the baseline engine performance data, some of which has been published earlier(1)*.

Exhaust gas temperatures in a 1.4 L, sparked ignition engine have been measured using fine wire thermocouples at different loads and speeds. However the thermocouples are not fast enough to resolve the rapid change in exhaust temperature. This paper discusses a new thermocouple compensation technique to resolve the cycle-by-cycle variations in exhaust temperature by segmentation. Simulation results show that the technique can find the lower time constants during blowdown, reducing the bias from 28 to 4%. Several estimators and model structures have been compared. The best one is the difference equation-least squares technique, which has the combined error between -4.4 to 7.6% at 60 dB signal-to-noise ratio. The compensated temperatures have been compared against combustion parameters on a cycle-by-cycle basis. The results show that the cycle-by-cycle variations of the exhaust temperatures and combustion are correlated.

In-cylinder temperatures and their cyclic variations strongly influence many aspects of internal combustion engine operation, from chemical reaction rates determining the production of NOx and particulate matter to the tendency for auto-ignition leading to knock in spark ignition engines. Spatially resolved measurements of temperature can provide insights into such processes and enable validation of Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations used to model engine performance and guide engine design. This work uses a combination of Two-Colour Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (TC-PLIF) and Laser Induced Grating Spectroscopy (LIGS) to measure the in-cylinder temperature distributions of a firing optically accessible spark ignition engine. TC-PLIF performs 2-D temperature measurements using fluorescence emission in two different wavelength bands but requires calibration under conditions of known temperature, pressure and composition.

A Cambustion Differential Mobility Spectrometer (DMS500), Dekati Electrical Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI), TSI Condensation Particle Counter (CPC) and AVL Photo-Acoustic Soot Sensor (PASS) were compared for measurements of emitted Particulate Matter (PM) from a Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI) vehicle on the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) and at steady speed operating points. The exhaust was diluted in a Constant Volume Sampler (CVS) before being measured. Transient size spectral data from the DMS500 and ELPI is presented. PM Number rate and total PM number emissions are presented for the DMS500, ELPI and CPC. The DMS500 and ELPI data are post-processed for PM mass, and presented with data from the PASS. The instrument responses were correlated against each other. Qualitative agreement was generally found between all instruments. The agreement was closer for PM mass measurements than for measurements of PM number.

Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON) are used to describe gasoline combustion which describe antiknock performance under different conditions. Recent literature suggests that MON is less important than RON in modern cars and a relaxation in the MON specification could improve vehicle performance. At the same time, for the same octane number change, increasing RON appears to provide more benefit to engine power and acceleration than reducing MON. Some workers have advocated the use of an octane index (OI) which incorporates both parameters instead of either RON or MON to give an indication of gasoline knock resistance. Previous Concawe work investigated the effect of RON and MON on the power and acceleration performance of two Euro 4 gasoline passenger cars during an especially-designed acceleration test cycle.

The performance aspect of gasoline combustion has traditionally been measured using Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON) which describe antiknock performance under different conditions. Recent literature suggests that MON is less important than RON in modern cars and a relaxation in the MON specification could improve vehicle performance, while also helping refiners in the production of gasoline. At the same time, for the same octane number change, increasing RON appears to provide more benefit to engine power and acceleration than reducing MON. It has also been suggested that there could be fuel efficiency benefits (on a tank to wheels basis) for specially adapted engines, for example, operating at higher compression ratio, on very high RON (100+). Other workers have advocated the use of an octane index (OI) which incorporates both RON and MON to give an indication of octane quality.

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel which can be used as a direct replacement for fossil Diesel fuel as a calorific source in Diesel Engines. It consists of fatty acid mono-alkyl esters, which are produced by the trans-esterification reaction of plant oils with monohydric alcohols. The Plant oils and alcohols can both be derived from biomass, giving this fuel the potential for a sustainable carbon dioxide neutral life-cycle, which is an important quality with regard to avoiding the net emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Depending on its fatty ester composition, Biodiesel can have varying physical and chemical properties which influence its combustion behaviour in a Diesel engine. It has been observed by many researchers that Biodiesel can sometimes lead to an increase in emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) compared to fossil Diesel fuel, while emitting a lower amount of particulate mass.

Synthetic bio-fuels, which can be obtained through the gasification of biomass into synthesis gas and the subsequent catalytic reaction of the synthesis gas into liquid fuel molecules, could play a key-role in providing a sustainable source of automotive fuels during the coming decades. This paper presents an attempt to understand the effect of molecular structure of potential oxygenated synthetic bio-fuel molecules of different structure on the diesel combustion process in both stratified and homogeneous combustion modes. Specifically, the effects of molecular structure on the energy release rates, gaseous exhaust emissions and the sub-micron particulate matter distribution were examined. The experiments were carried out on a single-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine using a specially adapted common-rail fuel-system which allowed the injection of small single-molecule fuel samples at high pressure.

The main focus nowadays for the development of future vehicle powertrain systems is the improvement in fuel efficiency alongside the reduction of pollutant emissions and greenhouse gasses, most notably carbon dioxide. The automotive community is already engaged in seeking solutions to these issues, however, the ideal solution, namely zero emission vehicle is still regarded as being a long way from fruition for the mass market. In the meantime steps are being taken, in terms of engineering development, towards improved fuel efficiency and sustainability of relatively conventionally powered vehicles. One approach to the decarbonization of road vehicles is to supplement existing fossil fuels with sustainable biofuels.

A two-dimensional finite element model has been used to analyze the unsteady heat conduction behavior of an eroding type of surface thermocouple. The impulse response of the thermocouple was analyzed by using both a one-dimensional solution and a two-dimensional model. The experimental impulse response of the thermocouple was investigated by a laser impulse excitation experiment to validate the modeling results. The modeling results showed that there was a significant difference between the two-dimensional modeling and the one-dimensional analytical solution, especially before 1 ms. The two-dimensional modeling result is closer to the laser impulse experiment result, which implies the existence of a multi-dimensional effect on the transient heat conduction within the eroding thermocouple.

One of the limits on the maximum fuel efficiency benefit to be gained from turbocharged, downsized gasoline engines is the occurrence of pre-ignitions at low engine speed. These pre-ignitions may lead to high pressures and extreme knock (megaknock or superknock) which can cause severe engine damage. Though the mechanism leading to megaknock is not completely resolved, pre-ignitions are thought to arise from local autoignition of areas in the cylinder which are rich in low ignition delay “contaminants” such as engine oil and/or heavy ends of gasoline. These contaminants are introduced to the combustion chamber at various points in the engine cycle (e.g. entering from the top land crevice during blow-down or washed from the cylinder walls during DI wall impingement).

Fast throttle opening in port-injected gasoline engines often results in a lean air-fuel ratio excursion lasting several engine cycles. Even when the engine is equipped with a three-way catalyst this lean excursion can lead to high tailpipe emissions. This paper will describe an in-cylinder method of measuring these air-fuel ratio excursions, using a fast flame ionisation detector. Examples will be given of air-fuel ratio excursions obtained on a four-valve-per-cylinder sequentially-injected gasoline engine equipped with a lambda sensor. The air-fuel ratio excursions together with measurements of the engine air flow are used to estimate me build up of the fuel film on the inlet manifold walls. Whilst air-fuel ratio excursions have been recorded previously by other investigators, their results were obtained from exhaust gas analysis using fast oxygen sensors.