Potential of Negative Valve Overlap for Part-Load Efficiency Improvement in Gasoline Engines 2018-01-0377

This article reports on the potential of negative valve overlap (NVO) for improving the net indicated thermal efficiency (η _NIMEP) of gasoline engines during part load. Three fixed fuel flow rates, resulting in indicated mean effective pressures of up to 6 bar, were investigated. At low load, NVO significantly reduces the pumping loses during the gas exchange loop, achieving up to 7% improvement in indicated efficiency compared to the baseline. Similar efficiency improvements are achieved by positive valve overlap (PVO), with the disadvantage of worse combustion stability from a higher residual gas fraction (x_r). As the load increases, achieving the wide-open throttle limit, the benefits of NVO for reducing the pumping losses diminish, while the blowdown losses from early exhaust valve opening (EVO) increase. However, a symmetric NVO strategy combined with a shorter exhaust duration has a higher potential for reduction in part-load fuel consumption, as the EVO timing can be optimized to minimize the blowdown losses.