NOx and Fuel Economy Challenges With EMD Two-Stroke Engines: Variable Injection and Valve Timing

NOx emissions are a major cause of ozone formation. Several technologies to mitigate NOx in internal combustion engines have been developed, both in-cylinder and aftertreatment. Some of these newer technologies are being implemented on new engines, but older engines, especially large diesel engines, have few options to reduce these emissions substantially. The most common method of NOx reduction is retarding the start of injection timing but this has a penalty in fuel economy. A program has been undertaken on an EMD 645E two-stroke diesel engine to combine a simple mechanical system with both retarded and variable start of injection — to mitigate NOx — with variable valve timing to offset the fuel economy penalty. Simulation modeling and on-engine experimentation have been carried out to quantify the extent of the NOx reduction with the impact on fuel economy.