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A quasidimensional engine simulation which uses the concepts of fractal geometry to model the effects of turbulence on flame propagation in a homogeneous charge SI engine has been developed. Heat transfer and blowby/crevice flow submodels are included in this code and the submodels chosen are found to be reasonable. The model predictions of cylinder pressure histories are then compared with experimental data over a range of loads, equivalence ratios, and engine speeds. The model is not adjusted in any manner to yield better agreement with the data, other than by tuning the simple turbulence model used so as to yield agreement with data for the nonreacting flow. However, current information about the flame wrinkling scales in an engine is inadequate. Therefore, predictions are made for three different assumptions about the flame wrinkling scales which span the range of physically possible scales.

A quasi-dimensional model for a direct injection diesel engine was developed based on experiments at Sandia National Laboratory. The Sandia researchers obtained images describing diesel spray evolution, spray mixing, premixed combustion, mixing controlled combustion, soot formation, and NOx formation. Dec [1] combined all of the available images to develop a conceptual diesel combustion model to describe diesel combustion from the start of injection up to the quasi-steady form of the jet. The end of injection behavior was left undescribed in this conceptual model because no clear image was available due to the chaotic behavior of diesel combustion. A conceptual end-of-injection diesel combustion behavior model was developed to capture diesel combustion throughout its life span. The compression, expansion, and gas exchange stages are modeled via zero-dimensional single zone calculations.

We present a multidimensional numerical model that calculates turbulent premixed flame propagation, assuming the flames have fractal geometries. Two scaling transformations, previously developed for laminar flames, are used to incorporate the fractal burning model in KIVA-II1, a numerical hydrodynamics code for chemically reactive flows. In this work the model is implemented for propane/air mixtures. For applications to internal combustion engines, we have also developed a fractal model for early flame kernel growth. Our multidimensional model can be used in experimental comparisons to test postulated fractal parameters, and we begin this task by comparing calculated results with measurements of propane/air combustion in a spark ignition engine. Good agreement is obtained between computed and measured flame positions and pressures in all cases except a low engine speed case.

It is a very challenging problem to reliably ignite extremely lean mixtures, especially for the low speed, high load conditions of large-bore natural gas engines. If these engines are to be use for the distributed power generation market, it will require operation with higher boost pressures and even leaner mixtures. Both place greater demands on the ignition system. The railplug is a very promising ignition system for lean burn natural gas engines with its high-energy deposition and high velocity plasma arc. It requires care to properly design railplugs for this new application, however. For these engines, in-cylinder pressure and mixture temperature are very high at the time of ignition due to the high boost pressure. Hot spots may exist on the electrodes of the ignitor, causing pre-ignition problems. A heat transfer model is proposed in this paper to aid the railplug design. The electrode temperature was measured in an operating natural gas engine.

A piezoelectric sensor to measure the mass of fuel that impacts the piston top during injection in a direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engine was developed. The sensor used a 3.18 cm (1.25-inch) long, 0.318 cm (0.125-inch) wide piezo bending motor. The principle of operation is based on the change in natural vibration frequency that occurs to the cantilever piezo beam due to a change in its mass caused by the presence of liquid fuel on its surface. An electrical impulse is used to set the piezo element in vibration after which the natural vibrational frequency is measured using a FFT analyzer. The concept was evaluated outside the engine and calibrated for the frequency shift as a function of the weight of liquid on the bending element. The change in the frequency was found to be approximately proportional to the liquid mass on the sensor. The piston top of the engine was modified to accommodate the sensor on its surface.

As natural gas engines are designed to operate leaner and with increased boost pressure, durability of the spark plugs becomes problematic. Among the various new ignition devices that have been considered to solve some of the problems facing spark plugs, railplugs appear to hold clear advantages in some areas. There are two types of railplugs: coaxial rail and parallel rail. This paper reports the results of an experimental study of various parameters that affect the performance of parallel railplugs. Their performance was quantified by the distance that the arc traveled along the rails from the initiation point. Travel along the rails is thought to be an important performance metric because rail-travel limits excessive local wear and produces a distributed ignition source which can potentially reduce mixture inhomogeneity induced ignition problems.

Laminar flow elements (LFEs) are commonly used to measure the flow rate of gases in various flow streams. Since LFEs operate on the principle of fully developed laminar pipe flow, the viscosity of the gas must be known. In many cases, the flowing gas is air of varying humidity, inlet temperature, and inlet pressure. While the viscosity of humid air has been studied extensively over the past 60+ years, the effects of humidity have not been consistently accounted for in the literature and industry documentation pertaining to LFE operation, and this can lead to errors. Additionally, the available LFE operational documentation is not presented in equation form; rather it is provided in tables and graphs which do not facilitate automation of the flow calculations during data acquisition. This paper provides a brief review of the available data and correlations for the viscosity of humid air and its application to the calculation of air flow rate using a laminar flow element.

Two limited-production hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) - a 1988 Japanese model Toyota Prius and a 2000 Honda Insight - were tested at Argonne National Laboratory to collect data from vehicle component and systems operation. The test data are used to analyze operation and efficiency and to help validate computer simulation models. Both HEVs have FTP fuel economy greater than 45 miles per gallon and also have attributes very similar to those of conventional gasoline vehicles, even though each HEV has a unique powertrain configuration and operation control strategy. The designs and characteristics of these vehicles are of interest because they represent production technology with all the compromises for production included. This paper will explore both designs, their control strategies, and under what conditions high fuel economy was achieved.

Measurements are presented for the turbulence intensities and mean velocities obtained in a research engine in which a grid was used to create a flow field characterized by negligible mean motions and homogeneous and isotropic turbulence at the time of ignition. Pressure measurements for homogeneous stoichiometric combustion indicate a very low level of cyclic variation. The combustion-induced mean flow field is shown to be characteristic of a one-dimensional compression of the unburned gases, which produces a small increase in the bulk turbulent kinetic energy ahead of the flame. Most of the effect of combustion appears to occur locally, as the turbulence in the preflame gases close to the flame front is strongly amplified in the direction of flame propagation. Parallel to the flame surface there is little effect until the flame has propagated nearly all the way across the chamber.

In premixed turbulent combustion models, two mechanisms have been used to explain the increase in the flame speed due to the turbulence. The newer explanation considers the full range of turbulence scales which wrinkle the flame front so as to increase the flame front area and, thus, the flame propagation speed. The fractal combustion model is an example of this concept. The older mechanism assumes that turbulence enables the penetration of unburned mixtures across the flame front via entrainment into the burned mixture zone. The entrainment combustion or eddy burning model is an example of this mechanism. The results of experimental studies of combustion regimes and the flame structures in SI engines has confirmed that most combustion takes place at the wrinkled flame front with additional combustion taking place in the form of flame fingers or peninsulas.

Video imaging has been used to investigate the evolution of liquid fuel films on combustion chamber walls during a simulated cold start of a port fuel-injected engine. The experiments were performed in a single-cylinder research engine with a production, four-valve head and a window in the piston crown. Flood-illuminated laser-induced fluorescence was used to observe the fuel films directly, and color video recording of visible emission from pool fires due to burning fuel films was used as an indirect measure of film location. The imaging techniques were applied to a comparative study of single and dual spray fuel injectors for both open and closed valve injection, for coolant temperatures of 20, 40 and 60°C. In general, for all cases it is shown that fuel films form in the vicinity of the intake valve seats.

EmiSense Technologies, LLC (www.emisense.com) is commercializing its electronic particulate matter (PM) sensor that is based on technology developed at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). To demonstrate the capability of this sensor for real-time PM measurements and on board diagnostics (OBD) for failure detection of diesel particle filters (DPF), independent measurements were performed to characterize the engine PM emissions and to compare with the PM sensor response. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was performed to characterize the hydrodynamics of the sensor's housing and to develop an improved PM sensor housing with reproducible hydrodynamics and an internal baffle to minimize orientation effects. PM sensors with the improved housing were evaluated in the truck exhaust of a heavy duty (HD) diesel engine tested on-road and on a chassis dynamometer at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) using their Mobile Emissions Laboratory (MEL).

A comparison of scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and laser-induced incandescence (LII) measurements of diesel particulate matter (PM) was performed. The results reveal the significance of the aggregate nature of diesel PM on interpretation of size and volume fraction measurements obtained with an SMPS, and the accuracy of primary particle size measurements by LII. Volume fraction calculations based on the mobility diameter measured by the SMPS substantially over-predict the space-filling volume fraction of the PM. Correction algorithms for the SMPS measurements, to account for the fractal nature of the aggregate morphology, result in a substantial reduction in the reported volume. The behavior of the particulate volume fraction, mean and standard deviation of the mobility diameter, and primary particle size are studied as a function of the EGR for a range of steady-state engine speeds and loads for a turbocharged direct-injection diesel engine.

Condensation of fuel vapor on the cold surfaces within the combustion chamber is investigated as a possible mechanism for increased HC emissions from SI engines during cold start. A one-dimensional, transient, mass diffusion analysis is used to examine the condensation of single-species fuels on the surfaces of the combustion chamber as the pressure within the cylinder rises during compression and combustion, and re-vaporization during expansion, blowdown, and exhaust. The effects of wall temperature, fuel volatility, and engine load and speed on this mechanism are also discussed. This analysis shows that low-volatility fuel components can condense on the surfaces of the combustion chamber when the surface temperatures are sufficiently low. This condensed fuel may re-vaporize during the power and exhaust strokes, or it may remain in the combustion chamber until surface temperatures rise, perhaps tens of seconds later.

A recently developed spark plug equipped with fiber-optic flame-arrival detectors has been used to measure the motion and rate of growth of the early flame kernel. The cylinder pressure and gas velocity in the spark gap were measured simultaneously with the flame kernel measurements, permitting the data to be analyzed on a cycle-by-cycle basis to identify cause-and-effect correlations between the measured parameters. The data were obtained in a homogeneous-charge research engine that could be modified to produce three very different flow fields: (1) high swirl with high turbulence intensity, (2) tumble vortex with moderate turbulence intensity, and (3) negligible bulk motion with low turbulence intensity. The results presented show a moderate correlation between the combustion duration and the rate of growth of the flame kernel, but virtually no correlation with either the magnitude or direction of movement of the flame kernel away from the spark gap.

An infrared fiber optic instrumented spark plug probe has been used to measure the fuel concentration in the vicinity of the spark gap in a port injected gasoline fueled SI engine. The probe measured the fuel concentration spatially averaged over a distance of 6.3 mm near the spark plug for consecutive firing cycles. The crank angle resolution of the measurements was 2.5 degrees, for a temporal resolution of between 0.9 and 0.3 ms depending on the engine speed. Quantitative measurements of the fuel concentration in the pre-ignition regions of the engine cycle were obtained. Qualitative results are reported for unburned hydrocarbons in the post-combustion regions. The measurements were made in a single cylinder research engine over a range of speed, load, and stoichiometric conditions. Strong mixture inhomogeneities were measured during the intake stroke and the inhomogeneities decreased through the compression stroke.

Ionization probes installed in the head gasket of a spark ignition engine are used to measure the cycle-resolved arrival time of the flame at eight discrete points at the perimeter of the cylinder bore. Simultaneous data acquisition of the ionization probe and cylinder pressure measurements permits the flame burn pattern, the combustion rate, and the cyclic variability of these quantities to be observed on a video monitor m real-time as engine operating parameters are varied. To demonstrate the technique, measurements are presented for uniformly-spaced and clustered arrangements of ionization probes and differing conditions of fluid motion, spark location, spark plug configuration, and equivalence ratio.

The Rotating Liner Engine (RLE) is an engine design concept where the cylinder liner rotates in order to reduce piston assembly friction and liner/ring wear. The reduction is achieved by the elimination of the mixed and boundary lubrication regimes that occur near TDC. Prior engines for aircraft developed during WW2 with partly rotating liners (Sleeve Valve Engines or SVE) have exhibited reduction of bore wear by factor of 10 for high BMEP operation, which supports the elimination of mixed lubrication near the TDC area via liner rotation. Our prior research on rotating liner engines experimentally proved that the boundary/mixed components near TDC are indeed eliminated, and a high friction reduction was quantified compared to a baseline engine. The added friction required to rotate the liner is hydrodynamic via a modest sliding speed, and is thus much smaller than the mixed and boundary friction that is eliminated.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) can be designed and operated to satisfy many different operational missions. The three most common HEV types differ with respect to component sizing and operational capabilities. However, HEV technology offers design opportunities beyond these three types. This paper presents a detailed HEV categorization process that can be used to describe unique HEV prototype designs entered in college and university-level HEV design competitions. We explored possible energy management strategies associated with designs that control the utilization of the two on-board energy sources and use the competition vehicles to illustrate various configurations and designs that affect the vehicle's capabilities. Experimental data is used to help describe the details of the power control strategies which determine how the engine and electric motor of HEV designs work together to provide motive power to the wheels.

Because only the unburned gases in the crevices can contribute to hydrocarbon emissions, a model was developed that can be used to determine the temporal and spatial histories of both burned gas and unburned gas flow into and out of the piston-liner crevices. The burned fraction in the top-land is primarily a function of engine design. Burned gases continue to get packed into the inter-ring volume until well after the end of combustion and the unburned fuel returned to the chamber from this source depends upon both the position of the top ring end gap relative to the spark plug and of the relative positions of the end gaps of the compression rings with respect to each other. Because the rings rotate, and because the fuel that returns to the chamber from the inter-ring crevice dominates the sources between BDC and IVO when conditions are unfavorable to in-cylinder oxidation, these represent two sources of variability in the HC emissions.