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The process improvement within an advanced car diesel engine is strongly focused on the scavenging technique, on the mixture formation strategy using direct fuel injection as well as on the combustion control. The paper presents the potentials of process improvement by the variability of the scavenging timing combined with an adaptation of gas exchange, injection and mixture formation parameters. The scavenging timing is controlled by a new developed concentric cam system. The analysis is based on a combined 1D/3D simulation of the thermodynamic process stages within the engine with model calibration by numerous experimental results. The paper presents the effects of cam profile variation and camshaft phasing for two part load operating points of NEDC (New European Driving Cycle). Compared results are presented in terms of swirl rates, fuel distribution, combustion temperature, NOX and soot curves.

The development of future internal combustion engines with high power density in correlation with drastically reduced fuel consumption / CO2 emission and pollutant emission requires both an improvement of the thermodynamic process stages such as scavenging, mixture formation and combustion as well as new strategies regarding the engine function fields. An advanced concept in this direction is the combination of down sizing with supercharging and turbocharging coupled in different configurations.

The similar targets of future spark-ignition (SI) and compression-ignition (CI) engines consisting in the noticeable increase of specific power concomitantly with the drastic reduction of fuel consumption and pollution in a wide operation range lead to similar development of thermodynamic functions and technical solutions. The achieved modular level of implementation of functions and solutions in advanced piston engines allows to establish common development platforms for both SI and CI engines. Such functions are the scavenging management, the spray-guided mixture formation by fuel direct injection, the exhaust gas recirculation and the homogeneous charge compression ignition. Under the technical solutions to their generation there are the super- or turbocharging, the variable control of intake-and exhaust valves and the direct injection techniques by common rails or by high pressure modulation.

The worldwide development of mobility - on air, earth or water - is generally characterized by a trade-off between high power and high torque against low specific energy consumption and low pollutant emission. The achieved diversity of propulsion systems and energy sources for mobility allows to develop advantageous combination scenarios between the utilized energy forms, energy conversion modules, energy storage units on board and propulsion machines. The paper presents the available energy sources and the derivable regenerative fuels, the global CO2 balance for representative propulsion configurations and the specific aspects of the energy storage on board. The most advanced concepts of propulsion - from fuel cells to the hybrid systems are presented in an overview, in relationship with their specific advantages and disadvantages.

The application of supercharging as a measure to improve the engine performances is a basic feature for downsizing concepts applied for advanced automobile engines. The adaptation of such concept to a high speed compact SI engine with a speed range between 2.000rpm and 9.000rpm forms the object of this paper. The determination of the special adapted control strategy as well as the necessary modifications of the basic engine were conducted in this work by mean of simulation with the 1D Code BOOST and coupled modules from 3D simulation by the code FIRE. The used models were generated and calibrated going out from the individual components to be connected: an 1000cc/2 cylinder/4 stroke engine and a screw type compressor. The adaptation of the engine to the supercharging concept, imposed modifications of the valve course and timing as well as of the intake ducts shaping.

The propulsion of future motorcycles and small vehicles will be determined by the reduction of dimensions, weight, fuel consumption and pollutant emission for a considered power output, implicating an improved control of the internal process stages consisting on scavenging, mixture formation and combustion. A main support of such process improvement is the internal mixture formation by gasoline direct injection. However, the compactness and the high-speed range of a small engine for two-wheelers, marine or garden equipment make the application of direct injection more difficult than for automotive engines. On the other hand, after the initially tested wall- and air- guided techniques, it is generally recognized that the only way for a successful large scale utilization of gasoline direct injection is the spray-guided mixture formation.

The present and the future legislation norms require increasingly the compliance of strict limits concerning the pollutant emissions of internal combustion engines. According to the usual standards, the measured engine performances are normalized to defined atmospheric conditions. However, the variation of the atmospheric conditions implicates a modification of the thermodynamical and chemical processes during the mixture formation and combustion. The standards take these modifications only indirectly into account in a passive mode without any active correction. The paper presents the results of analysis of the effects of different atmospheric conditions (as pressure, temperature or humidity) on the internal processes of a four-stroke four-valve research engine working with direct injection when using a specially developed integrated sensor for the simultaneous measurement of the atmospheric parameters.

The development trends of advanced automobile engines towards high power-to-volume and power-to-mass ratios are partially in contradiction with the requirements regarding drastically reduced fuel consumption and pollutant emission. The development way of the engine between customer acceptance and limitations by law is mainly determined by the optimization of scavenging, mixture formation and combustion characteristics, as functional base for the engine design. The paper presents a new direct injection concept and its optimization correlated with the scavenging process. The process simulation - as a base for the engine development - was carried out using concomitantly two CFD codes - FIRE and VECTIS. The main optimization parameters were the combustion chamber design, the injector location, the spray characteristics, the spark location, the injection timing and duration.

The internal mixture formation by gasoline direct injection offers a remarkable potential to improve the engine performances and to reduce the pollutant emission, due to the large possibilities of process control. On the other hand, the control mechanisms their selves are more complex and sensitive at speed or load variations than the ones used for external mixture formation. The spray characteristics, as well as the shape of injection rate have to be accurately adapted to every condition of load, speed and surrounding. This paper presents a method for the effective optimization of GDI techniques for SI engines, which is exemplified by a system with direct injection by high pressure modulation. The method is based on the interactive optimization of the processes within the injection system respectively during the spray evolution, by a feed-back strategy between separate numerical simulations of both processes.

The paper presents the results of a down-sizing concept implicating gasoline direct injection, which is applied to a four-stroke four-valve SI engine with a displacement of 500 ccm per cylinder. The typical features of a down sized engine such as a high level of engine speed, high power density at low fuel consumption and a low level of pollutant emission form the main targets of this study. Numerical models of the process stages have been developed in 1D and 3D CFD codes. The accurateness of the models has been proved using experimental results. The main work consisted on the application of a direct injection system to the engine. The compact engine design and the high compression ratio have been maintained resulting in a combustion chamber design without any cavities or bowls. To obtain accurate results, the simulation work has been carried out using two different CFD-codes (FIRE and VECTIS); the results have been analyzed and compared.

Direct Injection Systems: The Next Decade in Engine Technology explores potentials that have been recognized and successfully applied, including fuel direct injection, fully variable valve control, downsizing, operation within hybrid scenarios, and use of alternative fuels.

The paper presents a GDI concept applied to a four-stroke four-valve single cylinder engine in base of the original “crevice-like” combustion chamber of the basic engine with external mixture formation. For such application both, an adapted shape of injection rate as well as a good correlation of location and timing between injection and spark is requested. The shape of injection rate is adapted in base of a pressure pulse injection system. The paper presents the special features of the system conceived for this aim, as well as the results for different locations of injector and spark plug. The best results in terms of bmep, bsfc and pollutant emissions are obtained with a twin spark configuration. The mixture formation and combustion particularities of this concept are analyzed going from the experimental results at the engine test bench for full and part-load in condition of widely unthrottled operation.

The spray characteristics are determining factors for the quality of mixture formation respectively for the combustion, when applying GDI. Their variation with load and speed is a basic criterion for the adaptability of an injection system type to an engine with known requirements. CFD models of the fluid flow dynamics, mixture formation and combustion are a determining condition for such adaptation. The paper presents the development results of a GDI four-stroke, four-valve, single cylinder engine. The pressure pulse injection system involved in this application is analyzed and presented from the fluid-dynamic behavior up to the obtained injection spray characteristics. The mixture formation and combustion processes are simulated for different load and speed values, respectively for favorable combinations of parameters, such as the injection system configuration, the opening pressure of the applied mechanical injector and the injection duration.

The worldwide demand for vehicles, respectively for their diversity, corresponding to specific utilizations, increases continuously. On the other hand, the energy resources, the ecological aspects and the traffic flow lead to severe requirements to every new vehicle and propulsion system. Between necessities, specific utilization aspects and requirements, numerous configurations of propulsion systems are conceivable. This paper presents a classification of conventional and advanced propulsion systems and of their combination concepts in base of following criteria: energy resources, ecological aspects, technical feasibility, expected costs. The paper gives an overview of different propulsion systems and of the required energy form - including storage or conversion on board.

The injection rate modulation and the spray characteristics are determining factors for the quality of mixture formation when applying GDI. Their variation with load and speed is a basic criterion for the adaptability of a type of injection system to an engine with known requirements. The increased interest for the utilization of regenerative fuels - such as methanol obtained from biomass - as well as the success of previous utilization scenarios of variable gasoline/methanol mixture using manifold injection formed the base of the present analysis: the paper describes the results concerning injection performances and spray characteristics when using gasoline/methanol mixtures with different ratios in a direct injection system with high pressure modulation. The results are compared for different parameters of the injection systems as follows: injection volume, injector opening pressure, needle lift, pintle/seat geometry.

The fuel direct injection in SI engines is demonstrating a remarkable potential regarding the reduction of consumption and pollutant emission. Nevertheless, the management of the mixture formation “in-cylinder” - in conditions of a short duration and of a complex fluid dynamic configuration imposes both an accurate modeling and an exact control of the process. The problem gains on complexity when considering the use of alternative fuels which becomes more and more a subject of actuality. The paper presents a comparative analysis of mixture formation process and engine performances, when applying direct injection of gasoline, respectively of ethanol in a four-stroke single cylinder SI engine. The modulation of the injection rate shape is the result of a fuel high pressure wave, generated in a pressure pulse direct injection system.

The development of advanced techniques for an improved control of scavenging, mixture formation and thereby of the combustion in IC engines is more and more supported by numerical simulation models. However, the benefits in reducing the specific fuel consumption and the pollutant emission are not spectacular. On the other hand, the recent evolution of the fuel cell systems - which let expect a commercial application for automotive propulsion in the next years - demonstrates a remarkable efficiency. There appears a challenge for the IC engines, considering the utilization of similar energetic sources for both systems. This imposes an accelerated optimization of the processes in thermal engines - the central problem being the control of combustion. In this context, the basic models should be reconsidered.

The balance of the exchange between internal combustion engines and the environment regarding both consumption and emissions depends principally on the type of working substance, respectively on their management during the process within the engine. Regarding the process management, the internal mixture formation by direct injection has a better potential for reduction of both consumption and pollutant emission than external mixture formation, by carburetor or manifold injection. This fact results from the possibilities of control extended up to the start of combustion and is well demonstrated by recent developments. On the other hand, the limited availability of fossil resources, as well as the stringent requirement of a partial CO2 re-circulation in the atmosphere imposes an increased use of alternative fuels. The paper presents the performances obtained with a direct injection system with high pressure modulation when using different gasoline/methanol ratios.

The potential of fuel direct injection regarding the performances of a SI engine is transformable in significant advantages only by an accurate control of the internal air/fuel mixture formation. A main control element is the adaptability of the injection law, respectively of the spray characteristics to the thermodynamic conditions within the combustion chamber for different load and speed. This paper presents a method for the effective implementation of GDI techniques to SI engines, which is exemplified by a system with injection law modulation by pressure. The method is based of the interactive optimization of the processes within the combustion chamber respectively within the injection system, by a feed-back strategy between separate numerical simulations of both systems. For both modules the calibration is ensured by appropriate experimental analysis.

The control of mixture formation by gasoline direct injection requires the continuous adaptation of the fuel spray characteristics in a broad range of load and speed. This paper presents an experimental analysis of the main spray characteristics for a jet generated by a GDI system with high pressure modulation (Zwickau Ram Tuned). The experimental method is based on spray visualization by a laser sheet technique. The radiation of a Nd-Yag pulsed laser is scattered by the spray droplets laying on the lighted plane and collected by a CCD camera, being fed to a frame grabber. Time and space related structure can be analyzed in any cross section of interest, giving information about jet form and penetration length. In particular, a suitable elaboration (Presence Probability Imaging) of several image series, collected at different delay times after injection start, supplies information about the probability of presence in space of spray liquid fractions.