Effect of Injection Parameters and Strategy on the Noise From a Single Cylinder Direct Injection Diesel Engine

Acoustic noise emitted by a diesel engine generally exceeds that produced by its spark-ignited equivalent and may hinder the acceptance of this more efficient engine type in the passenger car market (1). This work characterizes the combustion noise from a single-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine and examines the degree to which it may be minimized by optimal choice of injection parameters. The relative contribution of motoring, combustion and resonance components to overall engine noise are determined by decomposition of in-cylinder pressure traces over a range of load, injection pressure and start of injection. The frequency spectra of microphone signals recorded external to the engine are correlated with those of in-cylinder pressure traces. Short Time Fourier Transformation (STFT) is applied to cylinder pressure traces to reveal the occurrence of motoring, combustion noise and resonance in the frequency domain over the course of the engine cycle. Loudness is found to increase with enhanced resonance, in proportion to the rate of cylinder pressure rise and under conditions of high injection pressure, load and advanced injection timing.