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The current Indian biofuel policy focuses on the use of alcohol as a potential gasoline blending component to achieve a target of 20% alcohol in gasoline by 2025. The automotive vehicle fuel system uses a variety of metals and non-metals (elastomers and plastics). The fuel system is designed to run with a dedicated fuel, say gasoline or diesel. The use of alternative fuels, i.e., fuels that blend with straight gasoline or diesel, is increasing, and it is critical to understand the impact of these fuels on engine fuel system components. High octane fuels like ethanol and methanol are blended with gasoline to increase engine performance and reduce exhaust emissions, but the alcohols are hygroscopic and corrosive in nature. These fuels' permeation, swelling, and other effects cause changes in material properties. The test fuel is a gasoline-ethanol-methanol (GEM blend of A20 blend), which contains 5% ethanol, 15% methanol, and 80% gasoline.

In line with Global targets of reducing CO2 Emissions, transportation industry is witnessing a significant shift in focus — from emissions to fuel economy — by regulators, researchers, OEMs, fuels and lubricant manufactures. Improvements in fuel economy can have a significant bottom-line impact for fleets and owner operators alike. There are many paths to take when looking at a program to reduce fuel consumption. These include new engine and transmission designs, new metallurgies, surface finish, coatings, new injection technologies, turbochargers and of course through engine and transmission lubricants. Passenger car engine lubricants are being upgraded time to time and customized for fuel economy and emission compliance benefits as the vehicle technology evolved to meet the emerging regulations. New vehicle technology has shifted surface tribology more towards boundary regime as new designs are compact, offer high operating temperatures and pressures.

Improvement in fuel economy and reduction in emissions are the two major driving forces in the advancement of automotive engine technologies, fuel quality, lubricants, and aftertreatment devices. Engine design, operating conditions such as speed and load, and engine oil behavior have a significant influence on engine friction and then the vehicle fuel economy. There is no standard short duration engine test available to evaluate engine oil’s friction. This study developed a test protocol to discriminate friction reduction efficacy of engine oils/additives to support in the development of engine oils. The engine test facility was modified to conduct the motoring test over the speed range of 1000 - 4500 rpm and at 50 - 100 °C coolant and oil temperatures. Different viscosity grades and additive chemistry i.e. combination of friction modifiers & viscosity modifiers was evaluated over the motored torque test.

Ambient temperature conditions, engine design, fuel, lubricant and fuel injection strategies influence the cold start performance of gasoline engines. Despite the cold start period is only a very small portion in the legislative emission driving cycle, but it accounts for a major portion of the overall driving cycle emissions. The start ability tests were carried out in the weather controlled transient dynamometer - engine test cell at different ambient conditions for investigating the cold start behavior of a modern generation multi-point fuel injection system spark ignition engine. The combustion data were analyzed for the first 200 cycles and the engine performance and emissions were analyzed for 300 s from key-on. It is observed that cumulative fuel consumption of the engine during the first 60 s of engine cold starting at 10 °C was 60% higher than at 25 °C and resulted in 8% increase in the value of peak speed of the engine.

To tackle the problems associated with the volatility of crude oil prices and ever stringent emission norms, oil industries and automobiles manufacturers are experimenting with various alternative fuels to increase its percentage share in the energy mix and to reduce the vehicular emissions. Alcohols are preferred choice of alternative fuels for the gasoline engines as it does not require any major engine modification and new infrastructure for the fuel distribution network. Ethanol as sole fuel or blending component for gasoline for use in spark ignition engines has been investigated many decades. Currently, 10% ethanol is blended in motor gasoline in India and the ethanol concentration may be further increased in future. In order to study the effect of higher blends of ethanol (upto 20%) on engine in-cylinder combustion, performance and emission, investigations were carried out on a latest generation passenger car engine in a climatic controlled test cell.

Ambient temperature has significant impact on engine start ability and cold start emissions from diesel engines. These cold start emissions are accounted for substantial amount of the overall regulatory driving cycle emissions like NEDC or FTP. It is likely to implement the low temperature emissions tests for diesel vehicles, which is currently applicable only for gasoline vehicles. This paper investigates the potential of the intake heating strategy on reducing the driving cycle emissions from the latest generation of turbocharged common rail direct injection diesel engines at low ambient temperature conditions. For this investigation an air heater was installed upstream of the intake manifold and New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) tests were conducted at -7°C ambient temperature conditions for the different intake air temperatures. Intake air heating reduced the cranking time and improved the fuel economy at low ambient temperatures.

Alcohols are preferred choice of alternative fuel for gasoline engines to tackle the problems associated with nation’s energy security and environmental pollution. Ethanol can be used as a sole fuel or gasoline blending component for use in spark ignition engines. BIS Specification 2796: 2013 permitted to blend 10% ethanol in gasoline and the concentration may be further increased in coming years in India. Research on combustion of ethanol blended gasoline on modern gasoline engine is highly desirable. This paper highlights the experimental investigation carried out on the latest generation multipoint fuel injection system passenger car engine fueled with ethanol-gasoline blends in a climatic controlled test cell to study the in-cylinder combustion, performance and emission characteristics. Part load tests at regular speed intervals were conducted using ethanol blends. Combustion duration decreased with increase in engine load and speed for the all test fuels.

Diesel engines are the versatile power source and is widely used in passenger car and commercial vehicle applications. Environmental temperature conditions, fuel quality, fuel injection strategies and lubricant have influence on cold start performance of the diesel engines. Strategies to overcome the cold start problem at very low ambient temperature include preheating of intake air, coolant, cylinder block. The present research work investigates the effect of coolant temperatures on passenger car diesel engine’s performance and exhaust emission characteristics during the cold start at cold ambient temperature conditions. The engine is soaked in the -7°C environment for 6 hours. The engine coolant is preheated to the desired coolant temperatures of 10 and 20°C by an external heater and the start ability tests were performed.