Experimental evaluation of SOF effects on EGR cooler fouling under various flow conditions

An experiment was conducted to characterize the effects of SOF on EGR cooler fouling. A removable singletube test rig combined with a soot generator was developed to represent an EGR cooler and diesel exhaust gas. The use of a soot generator, which controlled the size and concentration of soot particles, enabled independent variables to be completely controlled. Either n-dodecane or diesel lube oil as substitute SOFs were vaporized and injected into the test rig to evaluate their effects on the growth of PM deposits and the degradation performance of the EGR cooler. Coolant temperature, which seemed to be associated with SOF content, was chosen as an independent variable, and PM deposit mass per unit area and the effectiveness drop versus time increased as the coolant temperature decreased. The PM deposit mass per unit area and effectiveness drop had maximum values at a coolant temperature of 40°C for every n-dodecane injection rate. For substitute SOFs tested in this experiment, the deposit mass increased when either n-dodecane or diesel lube oil was injected, but the effect of lube oil was more significant. Diesel lube oil seemed to have a stronger effect on the reduction of thermal conductivity by filling pores in the deposits. When diesel lube oil was injected, the deposit mass per unit area increased 127% compared to dry soot without injection. The effectiveness drop after 10 hours increased only 12.5%.     

A simplified model for evaluating tire wear during conceptual design

In the field of vehicle dynamics, commercial software can aid the designer during the conceptual and detailed design phases. Simulations using these tools can quickly provide specific design metrics, such as yaw and lateral velocity, for standard maneuvers. However, it remains challenging to correlate these metrics with empirical quantities that depend on many external parameters and design specifications. This scenario is the case with tire wear, which depends on the frictional work developed by the tire-road contact. In this study, an approach is proposed to estimate the tire-road friction during steady-state longitudinal and cornering maneuvers. Using this approach, a qualitative formula for tire wear evaluation is developed, and conceptual design analyses of cornering maneuvers are performed using simplified vehicle models. The influence of some design parameters such as cornering stiffness, the distance between the axles, and the steer angle ratio between the steering axles for vehicles with two steering axles is evaluated. The proposed methodology allows the designer to predict tire wear using simplified vehicle models during the conceptual design phase.     

Experimental studies on the heating performance of the PTC heater and heat pump combined system in fuel cells and electric vehicles

In this study, a combined system consisting of a heat pump and a PTC heater was developed as a heating unit in electric vehicles. The system consists of a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, an expansion device and a PTC heater. Experiments were conducted to examine the steady-state performance and dynamic characteristics of this system. The compressor speed, outdoor air inlet temperature, and indoor air inlet temperature were varied, and the performance of the system was experimentally investigated. The heating capacity, compressor power consumption and COP were obtained. Warm-up experiments were performed to investigate the dynamic characteristics of the system with a heat load of 1.5 kW in the indoor chamber. For the heat pump system, the PTC heater and the combined system, the heating performance and efficiency were investigated to determine an optimal control method. The results of this study agree well with the experimental results available in literature. This study provides experimental data of good quality for heating system design and the development of electric vehicles.     

Study of n-C<Subscript>12</Subscript>H<Subscript>26</Subscript> reforming over DFC catalyst in a simulated diesel exhaust

In lean-DeNOX catalysis reactions, hydrogen is a good reducing agent in PGM catalysts as well as an effective promoter in selective catalytic reduction reactions over base metal oxide catalysts. However, such a lean-DeNOX system, which uses hydrogen, requires an on-board fuel reforming system applicable to internal combustion engines. In this study, catalytic partial oxidation (CPOx) performance was tested in a laboratory for various reactants and hydrocarbon conditions. Volume concentrations of 5–10% oxygen and 0-5% water vapor were used to simulate diesel exhaust, and n-C₁₂H₂₆ was used as the feedstock for the reforming reaction. In the CPOx of n-C₁₂H₂₆, the highest hydrogen selectivity was 64% and was achieved at 100,000 h-1 GHSV. Additionally, the C/O ratio was less than unity in the absence of water vapor. However, as the water concentration was increased to 2.5 and 5.0 vol. % in the n-C₁₂H₂₆ CPOx reactions, the maximum hydrogen selectivity was increased from 64% in the absence of water to 70% and 75%, respectively. This effect is a consequence of the water-gas shift reaction over the catalyst bed. Regarding oxygen concentration effects, hydrogen selectivity slightly increased with increasing oxygen concentration from 10% to 15%. It was also found that the CPOx reaction of n-C₁₂H₂₆ can be ignited at temperatures below 300 C. Accordingly, it can be concluded that CPOx is a useful and feasible device for promoting diesel DeNOx catalysis in terms of hydrogen productivity and reaction initiation.     

Simplified dynamics model for axial force in tripod constant velocity joint

Tripod constant velocity (TCV) joints are common components in automotive and mechanical applications. The benefits of the TCV joint are its high plunge capacity and high torque capacity. During power transmission, the friction inside the joint generates an axial force according to the kinematics. This force causes noise and vibration problems. In this study, a simplified multi-body dynamic model based on a phenomenological TCV joint friction model is developed. This model considers the generated axial force (GAF) of a TCV joint with different lubricate conditions. The efficiency and accuracy are verified by comparison with other prediction models and experiments. Thus, this model can be used to design and control the manufacture process of TCV joints.     

Combustion characteristics of LPG and biodiesel mixed fuel in two blending ratios under compression ignition in a constant volume chamber

This study aims to investigate the combustion characteristics of mixed fuel of liquefied propane gas (LPG) and biodiesel under compression ignition (CI) in an effort to develop highly efficient and environmentally friendly mixed fuelbased CI engines. Although LPG fuel is known to be eco-friendly due to its low CO₂ emission, LPG has not yet been widely applied for highly efficient CI engines because of its low cetane number and is usually mixed with other types of CI-friendly fuels. In this study, a number of experiments were prepared with a constant volume chamber (CVC) setup to understand the fundamental combustion characteristics of mixed fuel with LPG and biodiesel in two weight-based ratios and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) conditions. The results from the current investigations verify the applicability of mixed fuel of LPG and biodiesel in CI engines with a carefully designed combustion control strategy that maximizes the benefits of the mixed fuel. Based on the results of this study, ignition is improved by increasing the cetane value by using higher blending ratios of biodiesel. As the blending ratios of biodiesel increased, CO and HC decreased and CO₂ and NO_x increases.     

Analytical study of pressure pulsation characteristics according to the geometries of the fuel rail of an MPI engine

In a conventional MPI engine, a pulsation damper is usually mounted on the fuel rail to diminish undesirable noise in the vehicle cabin room; however, pulsation dampers are quite expensive. Therefore, several studies have focused on reducing fuel pressure pulsation by increasing the self-damping characteristics of the fuel rail. This paper details the development of a fuel rail that reduces pulsation using a self-damping effect. Using an oil hammer simulation technique, pressure pulsation characteristics were investigated with respect to the aspect ratio of the cross-section, wall thickness, and fuel rail material. Increasing the aspect ratio and decreasing the wall thickness efficiently reduced the pressure pulsation. In addition, the pressure pulsation characteristics were investigated with respect to the resonant engine speed and injection period. These simulated data can be used to reduce the pressure pulsation peak and to avoid the resonant point in the design stage during the development of a fuel rail.     

Optimized dynamic battery model suited for power based vehicle energy simulation

Ever increasing demand for the petroleum is causing faster than expected oil shortages in the supply and demand balance around the world and furthermore, many specialists in the field of oil production such as Association for the Study of Peak Oil and World Energy Outlook are claiming that the petroleum is around the peak of its production (Figure 1). Such shortage made the greatest impact on the gasoline price hikes at the gas pump and thus, this impact was felt by the consumers severely and became the greatest motivation for automotive industries to strive to pioneer the researches for the next generation vehicle configurations ranging from HEV, PHEV, Pure EV to FCHEV (collectively noted as xEV). While the great deal of researches has been carried over the last few decades, it is still far from mass productions for consumer use except for the HEV mainly due to the high cost involved with other types of xEV configurations. Therefore, it is critical to design the vehicle to maximize the use of each component at its highest point regardless of any cost scenarios and it is clear that this optimization can only be achieved through the accurate energy balance simulation for a specific target vehicle prior to the actual hardware implementation. In this paper, it is our intention to introduce modified dynamic battery modeling scheme that would provide a more accurate way of simulating the battery behavior when used in the vehicle energy simulation system. Starting from a typical battery dynamic model to predict the voltage given an imposed current request, we have introduced a new scheme to establish the relationship between the voltage and the power (rather than the current) requested by the vehicle simulation system. The proposed scheme handles the power request from the vehicle simulator considering the dynamic battery characteristics and in turn, contributes to the better estimation of the current integrated energy usage and battery SOC level in the given battery dynamic system used in the vehicle energy simulation system.     

Development of an electric active rollcontrol (ARC) algorithm for a SUV

Cornering maneuvers with reduced body roll and without loss in comfort are leading requirements for car manufacturers. An electric active roll control (ARC) system controls body roll angle with motor-driven actuators installed in the centers of the front and rear stabilizer bars. A vehicle analysis model developed using a CarSim S/W was validated using vehicle test data. Two ARC algorithms for a sports utility vehicle (SUV) were designed using a sliding-mode control algorithm based on a nonlinear roll model and an estimated lateral acceleration based on a linearized roll model. Co-simulation with the Matlab simulink controller model and the CarSim vehicle model were conducted to evaluate the performance of two ARC control algorithms. To validate the ARC performance in a real vehicle, vehicle tests were conducted at KATECH proving ground using a small SUV equipped with two ARC actuators, upper and lower controllers and a few subsystems. From the simulation and vehicle validation test results, the proposed ARC control algorithm for the developed ARC actuator prototypes improves the vehicle’s dynamic performance.     

Cold performance of various biodiesel fuel blends at low temperature

This study examines the cold performance of biodiesel blends in a passenger car and a light duty truck at −16 °C and −20 °C. Six different types of biodiesels derived from soybean oil, waste cooking oil, rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil and jatropha oil were blended with different volume ratios (B5 (5 vol. % biodiesel — 95 vol. % diesel), B10 and B20). The cold filter plugging point (CFPP) and the cloud point had an effect on the startability and driveability of both the passenger car and the light duty truck. The startability and driveability of the passenger car with all biodiesel blends (B5) were generally good at −20 °C. In the light duty truck, biodiesel blends (B10 and B20) of soybean, waste cooking, rapeseed and jatropha tended to be good at −20 °C in the startability and driveability tests than the biodiesel blends (B10 and B20) of cottonseed and palm. In particular, the palm biodiesel blend (B10) failed at −20 °C, and the palm biodiesel blend (B20) also failed at −16 °C in the startability test. The cold flow properties of biodiesel dictate that the length of the hydrocarbon chains and the presence of unsaturated structures significantly affect the low temperature properties of biodiesel.