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A side impact is one of the severest crash configurations among real-world accidents. In the US market, even though most vehicles have achieved top ratings in crash performance assessment programs in recent years, there has hardly been any sign of a decline in side-impact fatalities for the last few years, according to statistics retrieved from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. In response to this trend, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is planning to introduce a new test protocol for side impact assessment. One of the points to be clarified in current side impact tests is whether the present side moving deformable barrier (MDB), which includes the barrier face and cart, faithfully reproduces a real-world car-to-car crash.

There are not only large amounts of energy, but also many different kinds of energy in manned spacecraft, which provide chance to optimize a thermal management system in the spacecraft. When water in atmosphere in pressured cabins was removed, waste heat in atmosphere was removed synchronously. Due to this phenomenon, a thermal management system, in which heat transfer in human zone and electrical equipment zone was considered together, was presented here. In the thermal management system, air loops in human zone and electrical equipments zone was reconstructed to decouple the waste heat and water removing processes, improve the heat exchange efficiency and make it possible to use waste heat produced by electrical equipments in other cabin with insufficient energy.

The drag reduction capability of a trailer underbody fairing is investigated using steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations of a full-scale heavy vehicle traveling at highway speed within a crosswind. The flow field about the vehicle is modeled for two different fairing designs of varying length that yield reductions in the drag coefficient ranging from 0.013 to 0.042. Analysis of the trailer underbody flow field indicates that the fairings decrease the size of a recirculation zone that exists immediately downstream of the tractor drive wheels by providing a surface to which the separated underbody flow can reattach. A comparison of the pressure coefficients across the surface of the fairings demonstrates that the longer fairings produce greater pressure coefficients, hence resulting in a larger reduction in drag than the shorter fairings. One of the fairings is shown to outperform traditional trailer side skirts, which yield a reduction in the drag coefficient of 0.035.

This paper is a follow-up of the authors' earlier paper(1)* in which the development and evaluation of a mathematical model for turbulent flame propagation in the S.I. Engine had been described. The present paper gives a report of further studies regarding the general applicability of this model for S.I. engine combustion prediction. A simplified scheme has also been suggested to predict the pollutant emission by a correlation of the computed equilibrium mole fractions to the measured emission levels of ‘CO’ and ‘NOx’ in the exhaust. A wide variety of operating conditions has been considered and the model is applied in a simulation program to compute the combustion and exhaust emission characteristics for each operating condition. The predicted results, in general, are in conformity with the experimentally measured results reported in literature.

Automotive powertrain is diversifying. It is needed to adopt optimal powertrain considering CO2 reduction and convenience for the users. Diesel engines are beneficial from the points of view of thermal efficiency and reliability, but further emission reduction is needed. To reduce soot formation and late combustion, lowering equivalence ratio at the lift-off position, or fuel-rich spray core is thought to be effective. One approach to realize this is by enhancing air introduction from entrainment section (“(1)Increasing entrainment amount”), diluting the entire spray core. In addition to the conventional approach, this study discusses an alternative approach in which entrained air is selectively supplied to over-rich region to homogenize equivalence ratio at lift-off point, (“(2)Homogenization”). The investigations were performed by varying not only injection method like injection pressure or nozzle hole specification, but also fuel properties.

Biofuels for internal combustion engines have been explored worldwide to reduce fossil fuel usage and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, increased spark ignition (SI) engine part load efficiency has been demanded by recent emission legislation for the same purposes. Considering theses aspects, this study investigates the use of non-conventional valve timing strategies in a 0.35 L four valve single cylinder test engine operating with anhydrous ethanol. The engine was equipped with a fully variable valve train system enabling independent valve timing and lift control. Conventional spark ignition operation with throttle load control (tSI) was tested as baseline. A second valve strategy using dethrottling via early intake valve closure (EIVC) was tested to access the possible pumping loss reduction. Two other strategies, negative valve overlap (NVO) and exhaust rebreathing (ER), were investigated as hot residual gas trapping strategies using EIVC as dethrottling technique.

Diesel engines are facing increased competition from gasoline engines in the light-duty and small non-road segments, primarily due to the high relative cost of emissions control systems for lean-burn diesel engines. Advancements in gasoline engine technology have decreased the operating cost advantage of diesels and the relatively high initial-cost disadvantage is now too large to sustain a strong business position. SwRI has focused several years of research efforts toward enabling diesel engine combustion systems to operate at stoichiometric conditions, which allows the application of a low-cost three-way catalyst emission control system which has been well developed for gasoline spark-ignited engines. One of the main barriers of this combustion concept is the result of high smoke emissions from poor fuel/air mixing.

Threaded, potted inserts are commonly used as a standard connecting element for sandwich components, which are used for aircraft interior. Since they often offer the only detachable connection, they are used in very high quantities. To ensure a material bond between the inserts and the honeycomb structure, the joint is filled with adhesive. Despite the high number of inserts, this process is performed manually. Recent research has shown new approaches for automated gripping and placement of the inserts by an industrial robot that yield high potential for cost savings and increased productivity. Automated adhesive insertion, so-called potting, has not been considered so far but is an essential contribution to the full automation of the entire process chain. The amount of adhesive varies depending on the type of insert and its position on the honeycomb structure.

In this work two concepts of automotive power trains are analyzed and compared using multi-physical simulation. The focus of the presented investigation is the energy consumption improvement due to the electrification of the air conditioning (AC) system in a sport utility vehicle (SUV). A full vehicle model representing a real SUV with conventional power train (internal combustion engine (ICE), clutch, gearbox, multi speed transmission gear, differential and driving axles) is developed. This conventional SUV model gets compared with a mild hybrid concept including a starter-generator, a battery and an inverter fed drive with control unit. Mechanical, electrical and detailed thermal effects are considered in the simulations. By comparing the energy consumptions, the potential of efficiency improvement due to the implementation of an electrified AC system is shown at the example of a state-of-the-art SUV.

Requirements to future internal combustion engines (ICEs) regarding sustainability and efficiency are continuing to rise while on the other hand, pollutant emission regulations are continuously tightened. Dual-fuel combustion (DFC) of diesel and natural gas is an approach to reduce soot emissions while still profiting from the high efficiency of the diesel combustion process. Using natural gas as the main fuel also helps to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions due to the favorable C/H-ratio of methane (CH4) as its primary constituent. To reduce both pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions further, diesel can be replaced by an e-fuel. The use of C1-oxygenates – such as polyoxymethylene dimethyl ether (POMDME or “OME”) – as pilot fuel promises to reduce both soot and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. For the present investigation, a 4.5l tractor diesel engine has been converted to a biogas-OME dual-fuel engine. A fully variable valve train has been integrated into the cylinder head.

Recent research activities have greatly expanded the understanding of HCCI, its controlling mechanisms, and operation strategies. However, substantially more work is required before HCCI engines will be ready for production. This includes development of a methodology for feedback and closed-loop control of the fuel and air systems to realize HCCI combustion over the speed load range in a production vehicle. In this paper, we use in-cylinder ion sensing to extract the timing of start of combustion and monitor other combustion information such as knocking as feedback signals for closed loop control of HCCI engines. The ion sensor we use is modified from the existing glow plug. This method will minimize the cost relative to an in-cylinder pressure sensor and signal conditioning circuitry while providing equivalent combustion information for the ECU to control the engine.

An inexpensive piezoelectric pressure sensor capable of detecting the internal combustion peak pressure position has been developed by Oceana Sensor Technologies for mass production. This paper describes the principle, structure and the Finite Element model of the designed sensor. A state-space model of the piezoelectric input/output system is extracted based on model reduction method. The performance of this sensor is evaluated using test engine and compared with a commercially available sensor.

Over the past years, the question as to what may be the powertrain of the future has become ever more apparent. Aiming to improve upon a given technology, the internal combustion engine still offers a number of development paths in order to maintain its position in public and private mobility. In this study, an innovative combustion process is investigated with the goal to further approximate the ideal Otto cycle. Thus far, similar approaches such as Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) shared the same objective yet were unable to be operated under high load conditions. Highly increased control efforts and excessive mechanical stress on the components are but a few examples of the drawbacks associated with HCCI. The approach employed in this work is the so-called Spark Assisted Compression Ignition (SACI) in combination with a pre-chamber spark plug, enabling short combustion durations even at high dilution levels.

The prediction of ignition delay times is very useful during the development phase of internal combustion engines. When it comes to biofuels such as ethanol and its blends with gasoline, its importance is enhanced, especially when it comes to flex-fuel engines and the need to address current and future emissions legislations and efficiency goals. The ignition delay time measured as the angular difference between the spark discharge time, as commanded by the ECU and a relevant fraction of fuel mass burned (usually, 2, 5 or 10%). Experimental tests were performed on a downsized state-of-the-art internal combustion engine. Engine speed of 2500 rpm, with load of 6 and 13 bar IMEP were set for investigation. Stoichiometric operation and MBT or knock-limited spark timings were used, while valve overlap was varied, in order to address the effects of scavenging and residuals on ignition delay times.

The challenge to find optimal solutions regarding energy efficiency in vehicle systems such as transmissions, engine and chassis involves the understanding of friction torque, friction losses and loading conditions interactions. Design variables such as internal dimensions, component profile and roughness will lead to a final component from which needs input energy to start and maintain movement. Even a component without load requires a minimal amount of energy and assembled in a vehicle will contribute to fuel consumption and emissions. The same component over loading conditions will turn these values higher due to the energy balance. Using engineering modeling techniques, the loading conditions, such as radial forces and rotation speed were implemented by parametric analysis and a dynamic model was built to obtain the variable contribution in energy-based design.

This paper presents some simulative and experimental results of a low emission small two-stroke cycle engine. A 23.6cc air-head stratified scavenging engine complied with CARB Tire II exhaust emission regulation was used as a base engine. A mechanism of air/fuel mixture short-circuiting cause of THC emission was investigated by numerical simulation by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for the base engine. To reduce the air/fuel mixture short-circuiting, port design was improved and evaluated by means of CFD. New engine performance adopted the CFD results was compared with that of the base engine. As the results of the investigation, the new engine performance at a rated speed was achieved 40% reduction of THC emission having almost same power compared with the base engine. The new 23.6cc air-head stratified scavenging two-stroke cycle engine can meet to EPA Phase2 and CARB Tire III regulations without catalyst.

Emerging technologies are making hybrid vehicles more popular in today’s world, in which sustainability and reduced carbon emissions are primary development requisites. These vehicles satisfy these demands by combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor, together providing the power needed for movement to happen. Understanding how the power from each source is combined and used is the basis to select the combustion engine and the electric motor. Moreover, its advantages relative to a combustion-only vehicle can be compared. In this paper we investigate the powertrain of different types of hybrid vehicles. They are compared to combustion-only vehicles regarding engine size and transmission systems, as well as fuel consumption. This study provides an understanding of how hybridization affects the design parameters of the powertrain and its impacts on the future of mobility.

Diesel engines produce harmful exhaust emissions and high exhaust noise levels. One way of mitigating both exhaust emissions and noise is via the use of after treatment devices such as Catalytic Converters (CC), Selective Catalytic Reducers (SCR), Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOC), and Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF). The objective of this investigation is to characterize and simulate the acoustic performance of different types of filters so that maximum benefit can be achieved. A number of after treatment device configurations for trucks were selected and measured. A measurement campaign was conducted to characterize the two-port transfer matrix of these devices. The simulation was performed using the two-port theory where the two-port models are limited to the plane wave range in the filter cavity.

A cooling fan is an essential device of the engine cooling system which is used to remove the heat generated inside the engine from the system. An essential element for successful fan designs is to evaluate the pressure over the fan blade since it can generate annoying noices, which have a negative impact on the fan’s performance and on the environment. Reducing the acoustic surface power will assist in building improved designs that comply with standards and regulations in achieving a more quiet environment. The usage of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), with support of mesh morphing, can provide simulation study for optimizing the shape of a fan blade to reduce the aeroacoustic effects. The investigation process will assist in examining and analyzing the acoustic performance of the prototype, impact of different parameters, and make a solid judgement about the model performance for improvement and optimization.