A fuel blend consisting of 10% S8 by mass (a Fischer-Tropsch synthetic kerosene), and 90% ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) was investigated for their combustion characteristics and impact on emissions during RCCI (Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition) combustion in a single cylinder experimental engine utilizing a 65% by mass n-butanol port fuel injection (PFI). RCCI is a dual fuel combustion strategy achieved with the introduction of a PFI fuel of the low-reactive n-butanol, and a direct injection (DI) of a high-reactivity blend (FT-BLEND) into an experimental diesel engine. The combustion analysis and emissions testing were conducted at 1500 RPM at an engine load of 5 bar IMEP (Indicated Mean Effective Pressure), and CA50 of 9° ATDC (After Top Dead Center); CDC (Conventional Diesel Combustion) and RCCI with 65Bu-35ULSD were utilized as the baseline for AHRR (Apparent Heat Release Rate), ringing and emissions comparisons. It was found during a preliminary investigation with a Constant Volume Combustion Chamber (CVCC) that the introduction of 10% by mass S8 into a mixture with 90% ULSD by mass only increased Derived Cetane Number (DCN) by 0.8, yet it was found to have a significant effect on the combustion characteristics of the fuel blend. This led to the change in injection timing necessary for maintaining 65Bu-35F-T BLEND RCCI at a CA50 of 5° ATDC (After Top Dead Center) to be shifted 3° closer to TDC, thus affecting the Ringing Intensity (RI), Pressure Rise Rate, and heat release of the blend all to decrease. CDC was conducted with a primary injection of 14° BTDC at a rail pressure of 800 bar, all RCCI testing was conducted with 65% PFI of n-butanol by mass and 35% DI, to prevent knock, with a rail pressure of 600 bar and a pilot injection of 60° BTDC for 0.35 ms. 65Bu-35ULSD RCCI was conducted with a primary injection at 6° BTDC with neat ULSD#2, the fuel 65Bu-35F-T BLEND in RCCI had a primary injection at 3° BTDC to maintain CA50 at 9° ATDC. 65Bu-35ULSD RCCI experienced a NO x and soot emissions decrease of 40.8% and 91.44% respectively in comparison to CDC. The fuel 65Bu-35F-T BLEND in RCCI exhibited an additional decrease of NO x and soot of 32.9 and 5.3%, in comparison to 65Bu-35ULSD RCCI for an overall decrease in emissions of 73.7% and 96.71% respectively. Ringing Intensity followed a similar trend with reductions in RI for 65Bu-35ULSD RCCI decreasing only by 6.2% whereas 65Bu-35F-T BLEND had a decrease in RI of 76.6%. Although emissions for both RCCI fuels experienced a decrease in NO x and soot in comparison to CDC, UHC and CO did increase as a result of RCCI. CO emissions for 65Bu-35ULSD RCCI and 65Bu-35F-T BLEND where increased from CDC by a factor of 5 and 4 respectively with UHC emissions rising from CDC by a factor of 3.4. The fuel 65Bu-35F-T BLEND had a higher combustion efficiency than 65Bu-35ULSD in RCCI at 91.2% due to lower CO emissions of the blend.

Cetane number is one of the most important fuel performance metrics for mixing controlled compression-ignition “diesel” engines, quantifying a fuel’s propensity for autoignition when injected into end-of-compression-type temperature and pressure conditions. The historical default and referee method on a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine configured with indirect fuel injection and variable compression ratio is cetane number (CN) rating. A subject fuel is evaluated against primary reference fuel blends, with heptamethylnonane defining a low-reactivity endpoint of CN = 15 and hexadecane defining a high-reactivity endpoint of CN = 100. While the CN scale covers the range from zero (0) to 100, typical testing is in the range of 30 to 65 CN. Alternatively, several constant-volume combustion chamber (CVCC)-based cetane rating devices have been developed to rate fuels with an equivalent derived cetane number (DCN) or indicated cetane number (ICN). These devices measure ignition delay for fuel injected into a fixed volume of high-temperature and high-pressure air to simulate end-of-compression-type conditions. In this study, a range of novel fuel compounds are evaluated across three CVCC methods: the Ignition Quality Tester (IQT), Fuel Ignition Tester (FIT), and Advanced Fuel Ignition Delay Analyzer (AFIDA). Resulting DCNs and ICNs are compared for fuels within the normal diesel fuel range of reactivity, as well as very high (∼100) and very low DCNs/ICNs (∼5). Distinct differences between results from various devices are discussed. This is important to consider because some new, high-efficiency advanced compression-ignition (CI) engine combustion strategies operate with more kinetically controlled distributed combustion as opposed to mixing controlled diffusion flames. These advanced combustion strategies may benefit from new fuel chemistries, but current rating methods of CN, DCN, and ICN may not fully describe their performance. In addition, recent evidence suggests ignition delay in modern on-road diesel engines with high-pressure common rail fuel injection systems may no longer directly correlate to traditional CN fuel ratings. Simulated end-of-compression conditions are compared for CN, DCN, and ICN and discussed in the context of modern diesel engines to provide additional insight. Results highlight the potential need for revised and/or multiple fuel test conditions to measure fuel performance for advanced CI strategies.

Vehicle type approval drive cycles have become a mainstay for benchmarking performance of engines in the development cycle. However, they are typically long and costly to test, with questions of repeatability and real-world relevance. With the move to Real Driving Emission (RDE) style testing, complete foreknowledge of the cycle is no longer guaranteed. This paper presents a methodology for identifying key behaviours (or information rich regions) from the current worldwide harmonised light-duty test cycle (WLTC) type approval test using a moving 2-minute window approach. Three techniques for pattern recognition are presented and applied to data collected from a modern Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDI) engine, run through the WLTC. The techniques examine different points in the process, with the first examining response data, and working backwards to the original vehicle speed cycle specification. The first two techniques, Intensity Ratio (IR) for cumulative responses and Energy Residency (ER) for engine inputs, are newly developed in this paper. The final technique, Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) is a new application of an existing tool to the subject of vehicle drive cycles. The techniques are examined in isolation and discussed, before being brought together to identify commonly agreed information rich sub-cycle candidates that best represent the parent cycle. The techniques make use of a combination of time windowing, signal derivative and peak analysis methods. The two-minute window is chosen based on the length of an existing sub-cycle that was identified as part of earlier work, and this method is also described and validated in this paper. One sub-cycle identified by the approach represents a duration reduction of 93% to a containable 2-minute transient. This segment accounts for 15% of the overall WLTC fuel used. A discussion of the techniques and their applications is presented to motivate future work in this area.

The thermal efficiency of an Otto cycle engine is directly related to the compression ratio (CR). However, in a spark-ignited engine, the CR is often restricted by full load knock, thus limiting part load efficiency. A proof of concept design and experimental study has been conducted on a 4-cylinder naturally aspirated spark-ignited (SI) engine whereby a four-bar linkage mechanism has been implemented to vary the CR. The base engine selected was a production 2.0L GM-LNF SI 4-cylinder engine with a stock CR of 9.2:1 and with a bore and stroke of 86mm and 86mm, respectively. The engine was modified to allow the centerline axis of rotation of the crankshaft to translate in an arc about a fixed point. With the use of the four-bar mechanism, and larger dome volume pistons, a range of 8:1 to 11.5:1 CR was achieved. The prototype VCR engine was tested and analyzed at three different CR’s at a fixed load of 600 kPa net indicated mean effective pressure gross (IMEP GROSS ) at an engine speed of 1000 revolutions per minute (RPM). At this condition, a sweep of combustion phasing was conducted. with a stoichiometric air to fuel mixture for each case. The CR’s selected for engine testing were 8.7:1, 10.2:1, and 11.1:1. The processed data includes averaged cycle analysis of each of the test conditions including combustion phasing, combustion duration, and cycle variation. The combustion data was also analyzed to determine overall heat release, indicated gross, net, pumping mean effective pressures, and indicated fuel conversion efficiency for each of the CR’s. The studies show an indicated fuel conversion efficiency of 31.2% for the 8.7:1 CR. As the CR was increased to 10.2:1 and 11.1:1 the relative increase in efficiency was 7.1% and 9.7% respectively at MBT combustion phasing.

A quantitative study of diesel fuel injection was conducted to investigate minute differences in spray plume development from several unique injector tips. In this study, a set of six eight-hole injector tips was assessed to evaluate distinguishable spray characteristics. The tips have known variability in soot and NOx data during in-engine testing. A spray fixture was constructed with a cam-pressurized electronic unit injector and a 5.1L, nitrogen-pressurized spray chamber. Injection conditions such as injection timing and duration were experimentally controlled to replicate actual engine load conditions. A copper-vapor laser illuminated the fuel spray, and a high-speed digital camera was timed to capture the injection events. Digital analysis of the spray images produced quantified penetration length, cone angle, and two-dimensional area data as a function of crank angle. The first five observed spray images (up to a spray radius of approximately 6 cm) of each injection event are presented. Initial qualitative analysis of the spray images indicated clear and repeatable asymmetries, as well as plume development differences between the injector tips. These observations suggest that early penetration length measurements may be indicative of emissions trends. It is assumed that variations in spray shapes can be correlated to NOx and soot data. The level of these differences, however, is minute, suggesting that detailed characterization strategies must be implemented to detect the spray patterns that are most influential to engine emissions.

The turbocharger match plays a key role for a successfully developed engine. Properly matched turbochargers ensure a good gas exchange, the right air flow rates, and air-fuel ratios as required for the combustion fine tuning. AVL LIST GmbH in Graz, Austria, starting from a blank computer display, designed, developed and tested a medium speed diesel engine to cover three applications: power generation, marine propulsion and drilling rig drive. The 12 cylinder vee engine has 2370 HP rated power at 1500 rpm rated engine speed. For the drilling rig drive application 8% torque backup at low engine speed is available. The turbocharging challenge was to specify a turbocharger to suit all three applications. Thus, the turbocharger operation ranged from the constant engine speed operation for power generation, to variable engine speed operation for marine propulsion and with torque backup for the drilling rig drive application. The paper reports test results which demonstrate that AVL could match the engine over a wide application range. The engine performance and system layout calculations performed prior to testing were validated by tests. The engine performance software used is presented. A special emphasis is placed on the implementation, operation and impact of a bypass and waste-gate system as an aid to match the turbocharger for the engine operation with torque back-up.

To overcome the trade-off between NOx and particulate emissions for future diesel vehicles and engines it is necessary to seek methods to lower pollutant emissions. The desired simultaneous improvement in fuel efficiency for future DI diesels is also a difficult challenge due to the combustion modifications that will be required to meet the exhaust emission mandates. This study demonstrates the emission reduction capability of EGR and other parameters on a High Speed Direct Injection (HSDI) diesel engine equipped with a common rail injection system using an RSM optimization method. Engine testing was done at 1757 rev/min, 45% load. The variables used in the optimization process included injection pressure, boost pressure, injection timing, and EGR rate. RSM optimization led engine operating parameters to reach a low-temperature and premixed combustion regime called the MK combustion region, and resulted in simultaneous reductions in NOx and particulate emissions without sacrificing fuel efficiency. It was shown that RSM optimization is an effective and powerful tool for realizing the full advantages of the combined effects of combustion control techniques by optimizing their parameters. It was also shown that through a close observation of optimization processes, a more thorough understanding of HSDI diesel combustion can be provided.

The development of alloys, coatings, surface treatments, and lubricants for improved cylinder liners and rings has historically included friction and wear testing. The correlation of results from motored engines or laboratory-scale tribotests with those from full-scale, fired engines remains a subject of contention. Attempts to develop valid engine wear simulators have met with varying degrees of success. Complexities in understanding and duplicating the relevant contact conditions in fired engines have challenged the designers of sub-scale, simulative laboratory tests. The current paper describes one aspect of this problem; namely, simulating the cylinder bore surface finish for use in bench tests. A rapid method to prepare cast iron test specimens that have similar surface roughness parameters to a production cast iron cylinder liner has been developed. To compare the sliding response of simulated liners with actual liners, cast iron specimens were friction-tested in both new and used 15W40 commercial diesel engine oil, in mineral oil, and without liquid lubrication. A reciprocating, ball-on-flat testing machine was used with test lengths that ranged from 100 to 20,000 cycles. Kinetic friction coefficient data compared favorably between the simulated cylinder liner specimens and actual cylinder liner segments. The friction coefficients obtained in tests with different lubricants on the simulated surfaces were related through a second-degree polynomial to the change in arithmetic average roughness that occurred during running-in. Additional elements of the fired engine environment will be added in the next stages of this research to determine the degree of complexity that is needed to obtain increasingly better simulations.

Turbocharged engines are the standard architecture for designing efficient spark ignition and compression ignition reciprocating internal combustion engines (ICE). Turbochargers characterization and modeling are basic tasks for the analysis and prediction of the whole engine system performance and this information is needed in quite early stages of the engine design. Turbocharger characteristics (efficiency, pressure ratio, mass flow rates...) traditionally rely in maps of pseudo non-dimensional variables called reduced variables. These maps must be used by reciprocating ICE designer and modeler not only for benchmarking of the turbocharger, but for a multiplicity of purposes, i.e: assessing engine back-pressure, boost pressure, load transient response, after-treatment inlet temperature, intercooler inlet temperature, low pressure EGR temperature, ... Maps of reduced variables are measured in gas-stands with steady flow but non-standardized fluids conditioning; neither temperatures nor flows. In concrete: turbine inlet gas temperature; lubrication-oil flow and temperature; water-cooling flow and turbo-machinery external heat transfer are non-standardized variables which have a big impact in assessing said multiplicity of purposes. Moreover, adiabatic efficiency, heat losses and friction losses are important data, hidden in the maps of reduced variables, which depend on the testing conditions as much as on the auxiliary fluids temperature and flow rate. In this work it is proposed a methodology to standardize turbochargers testing based in measuring the maps twice: in close to adiabatic and in diathermal conditions. Along the paper it is discussed with special detail the impact of the procedure followed to achieve said quasi-adiabatic conditions in both the energy balance of the turbocharger and the testing complexity. As a conclusion, the paper proposes a methodology which combines quasi-adiabatic tests (cold and hot gas flow) with diathermal tests (hot gas flow) in order to extract from a turbocharger gas-stand all information needed by engine designers interested in controlling or 1D-modelling the ICE. The methodology is completed with a guide for calibrating said control-oriented turbocharger models in order to separate aerodynamic efficiency (adiabatic) from heat transfer losses and from friction losses in the analysis of the turbocharger performance. The outsourced calibration of the turbocharger model allows avoiding uncertainties in the global ICE model calibration, what is very interesting for turbochargers benchmarking at early ICE-turbo matching stages or for global system analysis at early control design stages.

In this work, an external air and EGR emulation facility has been designed that can replicate a wide range of boosting and EGR delivery systems to a multi-cylinder engine platform. The facility works by removing the incumbent air path and replacing it with externally boosted fresh air that is conditioned using a transient flow and temperature controller. The facility also recycles the actual exhaust gases from the engine whilst removing the constraints of required pressure differences to drive this flow. The resulting system is able to control the boundary conditions of intake air flow - pressure and temperature, engine back-pressure and EGR flow rate independently. Three testing approaches have been described that allow to obtain valuable data across a wide range of the engine map (based on an example of a 1.0L direct injection gasoline engine) also beyond its typical hardware related limits. The facility is designed to be used as part of an engine design optimisation process. The facility generates data of the engine combustion system independently of the associated air path subsystems and excites the boundary conditions beyond those that would be expected from a specific air path design. The data is then used to populate 1D engine models which can be confidently used to predict the performance of a specific air path hardware combination and control strategy.

In the late 1980’s Enterprise Engine Company performed a single cylinder test of micro-pilot high pressure direct injection as a retrofit technology for conventional dual fuel engines. While that testing demonstrated a number of benefits for this technology, non-technical considerations led to the use of low pressure Pre-Combustion Chamber (PCC) micro-pilot technology as the retrofit technology instead. Thirty years later, when the automotive components of the PCC micro-pilot system were no longer available, the opportunity again arose to test the capabilities of an off the shelf high pressure direct injection micro-pilot system as a retrofit technology for a conventional dual fuel engine. Single cylinder and full engine testing of the high pressure direct injection micro-pilot injection confirmed the results of the 1980’s testing. The test results also corroborated modern analytical and experimental testing of high pressure pilot technology. In particular, the interaction between the diesel pilot and primary fuel gas charge is very complex and sometimes counterintuitive. Likewise performance optimization requires careful balance of injection timing, injection quantity and fuel gas air/fuel ratio. Even then, exhaust gas methane emissions remain counterintuitive. This paper reviews modern single cylinder and full engine test results focusing on optimization parameters for high pressure direct injection micro-pilot for retrofit and new engine applications.

Recent particulate regulations for gasoline passenger cars have prompted the utilization of Gasoline Particulate Filters (GPF’s) to mitigate particulate emissions. This study overviews a comprehensive experimental methodology for examination of essential GPF parameters: spatial exothermic temperature rise, particulate trapping efficiency, and the pressure rise versus particulate loading. A GDI vehicle equipped with a subfloor catalytically washcoated GPF downstream of the three-way catalyst was operated on a chassis dynamometer for data collection. Accelerated soot accumulation procedures were developed to expedite the testing while avoiding passive particulate regeneration based on both particulate concentration and size distributions. Soot concentrations pre and post GPF were used to measure the soot trapping efficiency and total soot accumulation. Fuel-cut coast events, common in real-world driving, were utilized to initiate worst case GPF regenerations, namely regenerations which produce maximum temperature rise due to the limited exhaust flow through the GPF. CO 2 measurements simultaneously measured before and after the GPF were examined to calculate the quantity of soot burned during each regeneration event. Thermocouples located inside the GPF were implemented to obtain the spatially disparate, transient temperature traces and analyzed to obtain insights on the soot distribution inside the GPF. The maximum exothermic temperature rise within the GPF was tracked for different soot loadings and regeneration temperatures to ensure GPF substrate and catalytic washcoat health. Most initial soot loadings required multiple ‘fuel-cut coast’ regenerations for complete soot oxidation of all trapped particulate mass. Additionally, externally supplied oxygen was utilized to obtain complete GPF regeneration in a single event. This purpose built system created O 2 availability while maintaining constant GPF temperatures, similar to actively commanding lean A/F ratios during vehicle operation. Emissions measurements indicated that this system successfully regenerated all GPF soot. However, due to magnitude disparity between exhaust flow and total exothermic heat released, the thermocouples inside the GPF recorded only minimal exothermic temperature rises, providing confidence that lean active regeneration strategies pose little threat to GPF health.

The balancing of the electric grid has become more challenging due to the expansion of fluctuating renewable energy sources for electric power generation. The importance of power plants driven by internal combustion engines will increase since they can react flexibly and quickly to changes in the energy demand. With regard to the emission of pollutants and CO 2 , gas fueled engines are favored for gensets. However, it is more challenging to meet the dynamic load requirements with a gas engine than with a conventional diesel engine because the load acceptance of the gas engine is limited by the occurrence of knocking combustion. Dual fuel engines are a good compromise between these two engine concepts; they can use gaseous fuel during steady state engine operation and increase the diesel share during transient modes to improve the dynamic behavior. The high number of degrees of freedom of dual fuel combustion concepts requires advanced operating strategies. The aim of this paper is to investigate and evaluate strategies to improve the transient behavior of a 20-cylinder large bore diesel-gas engine (displacement 6.24 dm 3 per cylinder) for a genset application. In the investigations, the latest turbocharging technology is applied in combination with a turbine waste gate. A wide range diesel injector that covers the whole diesel injection range of approximately 1 % to 100 % diesel fraction 1 of the rated power fuel mass provides the basis for the most flexible diesel injection. A 1D simulation tool was used to model and optimize the genset in transient operation. The combustion process was simulated with Vibe heat release rate models. The optimized transient engine operating strategies were validated on a highly dynamic single cylinder research engine test bed. The paper provides a comparison of different strategies that use these technologies to improve the dynamic behavior of the genset in island mode operation during a 50 % load step. Key to meeting the challenging requirements is an optimized diesel injection strategy or even a switch from gas operation mode to diesel operation mode during the load step. Based on the results of simulation and engine testing, potential ways to minimize engine speed drop and recovery time after the load demand increase are evaluated.

Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) is a cost-effective approach to achieving diesel-like efficiencies with low emissions. Traditional challenges with GCI arise at low-load conditions due to low charge temperatures causing combustion instability and at high-load conditions due to peak cylinder pressure and noise limitations. The fundamental architecture of the two-stroke Achates Power Opposed-Piston Engine (OP Engine) enables GCI by decoupling piston motion from cylinder scavenging, allowing for flexible and independent control of cylinder residual fraction and temperature leading to improved low load combustion. In addition, the high peak cylinder pressure and noise challenges at high-load operation are mitigated by the lower BMEP operation and faster heat release for the same pressure rise rate of the OP Engine. These advantages further solidify the performance benefits of the OP Engine and demonstrate the near-term feasibility of advanced combustion technologies, enabled by the opposed-piston architecture. This paper presents initial results from a steady state testing on a brand new 2.7L OP GCI multi-cylinder engine. A part of the recipe for successful GCI operation calls for high compression ratio, leading to higher combustion stability at low-loads, higher efficiencies, and lower cycle HC+NO x emissions. In addition, initial results on catalyst light-off mode with GCI are also presented. The OP Engine’s architectural advantages enable faster and earlier catalyst light-off while producing low emissions, which further improves cycle emissions and fuel consumption over conventional engines.

Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) using a single gasoline-type fuel for port fuel and direct injection has been shown as a method to achieve low-temperature combustion with low engine-out NO x and soot emissions and high indicated thermal efficiency. However, key technical barriers to achieving low temperature combustion on multi-cylinder engines include the air handling system (limited amount of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)) as well as mechanical engine limitations (e.g. peak pressure rise rate). In light of these limitations, high temperature combustion with reduced amounts of EGR appears more practical. Furthermore, for high temperature GCI, an effective aftertreatment system allows high thermal efficiency with low tailpipe-out emissions. In this work, experimental testing was conducted on a 12.4 L multi-cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine operating with high temperature GCI combustion using EEE gasoline. Engine testing was conducted at an engine speed of 1038 rpm and brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) of 14 bar. Port fuel and direct injection strategies were utilized to increase the premixed combustion fraction. The impact on engine performance and emissions with respect to varying the injection and intake operating parameters was quantified within this study. A combined effect of reducing heat transfer and increasing exhaust loss resulted in a flat trend of brake thermal efficiency (BTE) when retarding direct injection timing, while increased port fuel mass improved BTE due to advanced combustion phasing and reduced heat transfer loss. Overall, varying intake valve close timing, EGR, intake pressure and temperature with the current pressure rise rate and soot emissions constraint was not effective in improving BTE, as the benefit of low heat transfer loss was always offset by increased exhaust loss.

There are many articles and papers published about the developments in engine downsizing as an effective means in reducing vehicle fuel consumption while improving engine performance. The increase in performance of gasoline turbo charged direct injected (GTDI) engines, in conjunction with diverse vehicle platform performance targets (i.e. towing capability) and higher gear transmissions pushes the engine to operate with higher torques at lower engine speeds. This operating condition has increased the propensity of an abnormal combustion event, known as Low Speed Pre-Ignition (LSPI) or Stochastic Pre-Ignition (SPI). The power cylinder unit (PCU) components exposed to this pre-ignition event can experience failure. The engine manufacturers, as well as MAHLE, continue to ensure engine and PCU component survivability against LSPI by performing life cycle robustness testing. MAHLE’s research of LSPI continues to focus on the robustness of PCU components in the presence of LSPI events, as well as investigating design developments that have the potential to minimize the propensity of LSPI to occur. The test procedure development for evaluating natural LSPI events will be presented. Various test results and parameter sensitivities that were documented during this procedure development, along with the many challenges associated with engine performance repeatability will be discussed. Parameters that were found to influence LSPI propensity, as well as parameters that were found not to influence LSPI propensity will be discussed.

The integration of sensors in engine components has been a long-standing wish of engine manufacturers and researchers. Conventional probes are particularly difficult to mount in moving engine parts and require time-intensive and costly preparation, while often still not reaching the site of interest close enough. The advances recently made in the field of printed electronics enable new possibilities for sensor integration that previously were not possible. Particularly, crankshaft engine bearings are an interesting component to apply those new sensors to. An important enabling factor for the successful sensor integration has been the increasing market penetration of polymer overlays for crankshaft bearings. The driving force behind this development was the pressure from legislation to reduce CO 2 emissions, which in turn brought about new technologies such as start-stop and mild hybrids. Engine components now have to operate in much more aggressive environments, which in many cases only polymer overlays withstand. The unique application process of those coatings together with their material properties, such as robustness and non-conductivity, now allow embedding of electronic components right at the running surface of the bearings. This paper details the development of a printed sensor that has been integrated into the bearing polymer overlay coating. Various results from respective rig testing of the sensor feedback throughout different load and speed conditions during operation are reported.

According to current worldwide trends for homologation vehicles in real driving conditions, is forced to test the engines in altitude and in highly dynamic driving cycles in order to approach nowadays and next future emissions standard. Up to now, there were two main options to perform this type of tests: round-robin tests of the whole vehicle or hypobaric chambers, both with high costs and low repeatability. In this paper a new device is described, which can emulate ambient conditions at whatever altitude between sea level and 5000m high. Even it can be used to emulate ambient conditions at sea level when test bench is placed up to 2000 m high. The main advantages of the altitude simulation equipment are: dynamic emulation of all the psychrometric variables affecting the vehicles during round-robin tests; lower space usage and low energy consumption. The altitude simulator has been validated comparing with results from a hypobaric chamber at different altitudes. Previously a research about the dispersion in the measurements of both testing devices has been done for assessing the results of the comparison experiment. Final conclusion resulted in the same operating performance and emissions of the studied engine with both types of testing equipments for altitude simulation.

Different air systems such as turbochargers (TC), hybrid boosting, turbo compounding and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) are increasingly used to improve the thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines (ICE). One dimensional (1D) gas dynamic codes supports their development and integration by modelling the engine and air systems and reducing testing time. However, this approach currently relies on steady flow characteristic maps which are inaccurate for simulating transient engine conditions. This is a key weakness of using gas-stand measured maps in engine simulations. Performing TC mapping on an engine would in principle solve this problem, however engine-based mapping is limited by the engine operating range and on these facilities, high-precision measurements are challenging. In addition, simple turbocharging can no longer be constrained to an individual TC supplying boost air to an engine. Instead, modern downsized engines require air-path system making use of multiple components including TCs, mechanical superchargers, electrically driven compressors (EDCs), EGR paths and control valves. Thus studying multiple air systems requires an experimental test facility to understand how they work in synergy. This is also useful in developing empirical models to minimize test time. Therefore the aim of this paper is to present a novel experimental facility that is flexibly designed for evaluating air systems individually and also at the system level representing a complicated air path both in steady and transient condition. The advanced test facility is built around a 2.2 l diesel engine to test the above air systems which can isolate the thermal and load transients from engine pulsating flows. Removing the flow pulsation allows study of the system characteristics in a steady state. Several examples of component and system level tests including a two-stage air path comprising of a VGT (variable geometry turbine) TC and a 48V EDC with typical operating condition (provided by 1D modeling) are discussed.

Electrically-assisted engine boosting systems lend themselves to better throttle response, wider effective operating ranges, and can provide the ability to extract excess energy during deceleration and high-load events (and store it in a vehicle’s onboard batteries). This can lead to better overall vehicle performance, emissions, and efficiency while allowing for further engine downsizing and increased power density. In this research effort, a hybrid-electric turbocharger, variable-frequency drive (VFD), and novel sensorless control algorithm were developed. An 11kW permanent-magnet machine was coupled to a commercial turbocharger via an in-line, bolt-on housing attached to the compressor inlet. A high-efficiency, high-temperature variable-frequency drive, consisting of custom control and power electronics, was also developed. The variable-frequency drive uses SiC MOSFETS to achieve high-switching frequency and can be cooled using an existing engine coolant loop operating at up to 105 °C at an efficiency greater than 98%. A digital sliding mode-observer (DSMO) sensorless speed control algorithm was created to command and regulate speed and achieved ramp rates of over 68,000 rpm/sec. A two-machine benchtop motor/generator test stand was constructed for initial testing and tuning of the VFD and sensorless control algorithm. A gas blow-down test stand was constructed to test the mechanical operation of the hybrid-electric turbocharger and speed control using the VFD. In addition, a liquid-pump cart was assembled for high-temperature testing of the VFD. Initial on-engine testing is planned for later this year. This paper intends to present a design overview of the in-line, hybrid-electric device, VFD, and performance characterization of the electronics and sensorless control algorithm.