On-road chasing measurement of exhaust particle emissions from diesel,CNG, LPG,and DME-fueled vehicles using a mobile emission laboratory

We designed and applied a mobile emission laboratory for on-road measurements of exhaust particles emitted from conventional diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and dimethyl ether (DME)-fueled vehicles. Fuel type and vehicle driving conditions significantly affected the particle size distribution and the number concentrations of the nucleation mode. For all buses, the size distributions of particles in the exhaust under idling conditions had larger mode diameters than at constant speed conditions of 50 km/h or 80 km/h. The nucleation mode (< 50 nm) fraction of diesel, CNG, LPG, and DME at a constant speed of 50 km/h was 53%, 63%, 79%, and 99%, respectively, indicating that the DME-fueled bus emitted the most nanoparticles. As the vehicle speed increased from 50 km/h to 80 km/h, the nucleation mode fraction of diesel, CNG, LPG, and DME changed to 43%, 99%, 99%, and 99%, representing a significant increase in the number concentrations of nanoparticles in the CNG and LPG-fueled vehicles. The particle size distributions in the exhaust of diesel, CNG, LPG, and DME-fueled vehicles were not affected by increase in the chasing distance.     

Micro deformation of automobile hood in dipping process using stiffness

Technicians have been going through trial-and-error processes to solve very small or micro deformation on automobile hood during the painting process. In order to establish a systematic improvement procedure which can replace the time-consuming trial-and-error method to reduce defects, an accurate analysis of how micro deformation occurs during the painting process is needed. We have utilized a stiffness scanning method in automobile hood and reverse engineering to build up a reliable and accurate structural analysis and measurement procedures. We measured the load-stroke data at critical locations on automobile hood through stiffness scanning to determine material constants closest to the measurement by assuming several critical hood parts, such as sealer inside the hood, hemming part, spot weld part, and other uncertain joints, as virtual elastic materials. After setting the difference between analytical and measured load-stroke data as an objective function, we computed and minimized it by using the response surface method and partial differentiation of the object function. As a result, by obtaining the reliability was over 91%, which showed a strong correlation between analysis and measured results. By comparing the actual strain measured in real painting lines with calculated strain, we confirmed the validity of our structural analysis method. It was concluded that the proper analysis tool could be utilized in determination of optimal locations of supports during the painting process.     

Large-eddy simulation of air entrainment during diesel spray combustion with multi-dimensional CFD

Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) was used to perform computations of air entrainment and mixing during diesel spray combustion. The results of this simulation were compared with those of Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) simulations and an experiment. The effect of LES on non-vaporizing and vaporizing sprays was evaluated. The validity of the grid size used for the LES analysis was confirmed by determining the subgrid-scale (SGS) filter threshold on the turbulent energy spectrum plot, which separates a resolved range from a modeled one. The results showed that more air was entrained into the jet with decreasing ambient gas temperatures. The mass of the evaporated fuel increased with increasing ambient gas temperatures, as did the mixture fraction variance, showing a greater spread in the profile at an ambient gas temperature of 920 K than at 820 K. Flame lift-off length sensitivity was analyzed based on the location of the flame temperature iso-line. The results showed that for the flame temperature iso-line of 2000oC, the computed lift-off length values in RANS matched the experimental values well, whereas in LES, the computed lift-off length was slightly underpredicted. The apparent heat release rate (AHRR) computed by the LES approach showed good agreement with the experiment, and it provided an accurate prediction of the ignition delay; however, the ignition delay computed by the RANS was underpredicted. Finally, the relationships between the entrained air quantity and mixture fraction distribution as well as soot formation in the jet were observed. As more air was entrained into the jet, the amount of air-fuel premixing that occurred prior to the initial combustion zone increased, upstream of the lift-off length, and therefore, the soot formation downstream of the flame decreased.     

Nano-particle emission characteristics of European and Worldwide Harmonized test cycles for heavy-duty diesel engines

This study was conducted for the experimental comparison of particulate emission characteristics between the European and World-Harmonized test cycles for a heavy-duty diesel engine as part of the UN/ECE PMP ILCE of the Korea Particulate Measurement Program. To verify the particulate mass and particle number concentrations from various operating modes, ETC/ESC and WHTC/WHSC, were evaluated. Both will be enacted in Euro VI emission legislation. The real-time particle emissions from a Mercedes OM501 heavy-duty golden engine with a catalyst based uncoated golden DPF were measured with CPC and DMS during daily test protocol. Real-time particle formation of the transient cycles ETC and WHTC were strongly correlated with engine operating conditions and after-treatment device temperature. The higher particle number concentration during the ESC #7 to #10 mode was ascribed to passive DPF regeneration and the thermal release of low volatile particles at high exhaust temperature conditions. The detailed average particle number concentration equipped for golden DPF reached approximately 4.783E+11 #/kWh (weighted WHTC), 6.087E+10 #/kWh (WHSC), 4.596E+10 #/kWh (ETC), and 3.389E+12 #/kWh (ESC). Particle masses ranged from 0.0011 g/kWh (WHSC) to 0.0031 g/kWh (ESC). The particle number concentration and mass reduction of DPF reached about 99%, except for an ESC with a reduction of 95%.     

Optimal design of the exhaust system layout to suppress the discharge noise from an idling engine

At the idle engine speed, the exhaust discharge noise is influenced by resonances in the whole system, which is composed of connecting pipes and silencers. This pipe resonance radiates a high level of low frequency discharge noise, which is dominated by the low order harmonics of the engine firing frequency. This low frequency noise deteriorates the vehicle’s interior noise level and quality. The following study attempted to optimize the layout of an exhaust system to minimize low frequency noise by changing the position of silencers and the lengths of inlet and outlet pipes in each silencer. After modeling the exhaust system using four-pole parameters, the acoustical performance of the system was evaluated using the system insertion loss. In the optimization, the virtual attenuation coefficient, which corresponds to the amount of attenuation coefficient required for the silencers, was calculated to find a minimum value for the layout. The simulated annealing method, which is also known as finding an optimal, was employed in searching for the optimized exhaust layout. Test examples of two cases, for two and six design variables, were used. When the number of design variables was two, the positions of the center and rear silencers were considered. When the number of design variables was six, the positions of the two silencers and the lengths of the inlet and outlet pipes were considered. Three typical layouts for the exhaust system of each case were designed, including the given system and an optimal system. By comparing the predicted and measured discharge noise level, it was confirmed that the optimized exhaust layout has a higher noise reduction than the other layout designs.     

Torque ripple minimization control of permanent magnet synchronous motors for EPS applications

This paper identifies a control method used to reduce torque ripple of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) for an electric power steering (EPS) system. NVH (Noise Vibration Harshness) is important for safe and convenient driving. Vibration caused by motor torque is a problem in column type EPS systems. Maintaining a very low torque ripple is one solution that allows for smoother steering. Theoretically, it is possible to design and drive the motor without torque ripple. However, in reality, a PMSM system torque ripple is caused by the motor itself (saturation in the iron core and EMF distortion) and the imperfect driver. This paper analyzes torque ripple of a PMSM system, and an advanced PMSM control method for the column typed EPS system is presented. Results of the analysis indicate that the compensation current is needed in order to minimize torque ripple when a PMSM is driven.     

Derivation and validation of nonlinear governing equations for an analysis of vehicle handling

Nonlinear governing equations used to analyze the handling of a ground vehicle are derived from the Lagrange equations of motion. The derived equations are coded using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) embedded in Microsoft’s Excel Software and simulated in the time domain using the 4th-order Runge-Kutta method. A total of six degrees of freedom are used in the equations; three of these are the directional translation, lateral translation, and yaw of a platform (unsprung) on the base of an inertial ground coordinate, and the other three are the roll, pitch, and yaw of a body (sprung) by a platform-fixed coordinate. Four driving torques and four wheel angles of all tires are used as input control parameters. A simplified Calspan tire model is adopted for the generalized forces of the equations. This is a combined model that can be used to obtain tractional (or braking) and side forces using the inputs of the directional and side-slip ratios and the vertical force. The VBA code realized in this study is validated by comparisons with trimmed equilibrium results and the test data cited in published papers. The major characteristics of this study are: (1) the coordinate systems of the equations are mixed with the inertial frame and the platform-fixed frame, and, as a result, almost all types of driving conditions with long mileages can be simulated; (2) vertical movement is eliminated due the focus on the handling analysis; (3) the body-yaw degree of freedom is separated from the platform-yaw degree of freedom; and (4) the programming is performed by VBA, which is rarely used in the vehicle dynamics field.     

Performance assessment of bus transport reform in Seoul

Seoul city authority implemented an innovative bus transport reform (BTR) in July 2004. This paper evaluates the performance of that reform. To this end, the paper includes a discussion of the features of the reform, an explanation of the fields and the contents of the reform, and an assessment of the performance of the reform formulated by comparing pertinent circumstances in place before and after its inception. The performance of eight fields: bus routes, bus fares, bus management, bus operation, a new smart card, a median bus lane system, vehicles and stops, and the promotion of the BTR, are measured, as are the performances of four groups influenced by the BTR. Those groups are bus passengers, bus operators, transport regulators, and members of the wider civil community. The results indicate a readily apparent decrease in traffic density in Seoul after the introduction of the reform, and it would appear that the increase in the number of public transport users bears an inverse relationship with the decrease in the transport share of private cars.     

A study of fatigue crack propagation at a web stiffener on a longitudinal stiffener

Predicting fatigue crack growth after its detection during in-service inspection is necessary to prevent a loss of serviceability, such as the oil and/or water tightness of critical compartments. This paper focuses on the most typical fatigue cracks that start at the weld joint between a flat bar stiffener on a transverse web frame and the flange of a longitudinal stiffener on a bottom plate or inner bottom plate. An experiment is carried out to observe the fatigue crack propagation for two kinds of flat bars at the abovementioned connection. The experimental results, especially the surface crack growth on the flange (which dominates during the total fatigue life of the longitudinal stiffener), are compared with crack growth curves predicted using a few existing formulas. Based on the comparative study, a formula that shows the best agreement with the experiment results is selected. Weld toe magnification factors for the web stiffener are computed from the crack propagation rates measured in the experiment, and two equations for the magnification factors versus crack depth are developed for two types of web stiffeners. The selected existing formula and the proposed equations are applied to two connections at the inner bottom and side longitudinal bulkhead of an LNG carrier. The equivalent stress approach based on a long-term distribution is employed to avoid the complexity involved in dealing with the actual stress history. Using this prediction, the remaining service life until an oil or water leakage occurs at a tank boundary can be estimated when a fatigue crack at the connection is detected.     

Hydro- and aerodynamic analysis for the design of a sailing yacht

The results of the design analysis for a sailing yacht’s hull and sails are reported. The results were used to confirm the design of a 30 ft long sloop, which was planned, designed, and built in Korea for the first time in history. Flows around a sailing yacht above and under the free surface were analyzed separately using both computational and experimental methods. For the underwater flow analysis, turbulent flow simulations with and without free surface wave effects were carried out for the canoe hull with keel/rudder. The computed drag and side forces on the hull model were compared with the measurement data obtained from the towing tank experiments. In order to assess the sail performance, another set of computations was carried out for the flow around a sail system composed of main and jib sails with a mast. The present study demonstrates that, for the design analysis of a sailing yacht, computational fluid dynamics techniques can be utilized with a reasonable level of confidence.