Effect of injection condition and swirl on D.I. diesel combustion in a transparent engine system

The objective of this work was to investigate the effects of injection conditions and swirl on D.I. diesel combustion using a transparent engine system. The test engine is equipped with a common rail injection system to control injection conditions and to obtain split injection characteristics. A combustion analysis and steady flow test were conducted to measure the heat release rate due to cylinder pressure and the swirl ratio. In addition, spray and diffusion flame images were obtained using a high speed camera. The LII & LIS methods were also used to obtain 2-D soot and droplet distributions. High injection pressure was found to shorten ignition delay, as well as to enhance peak pressure. The results also revealed that the heat release rate in the premixed combustion region was markedly reduced through the use of pilot injection, while the soot distribution and the heat release rate in the diffusion combustion region were increased. The swirl effect was found to shorten ignition delay at certain injection timings, and to enhance the heat release rate in all experimental conditions.     

Investigation of soot formation in Diesel-GTL fuel blends under quiescent conditions

In this study, a visual investigation of sprays and flames is performed, and soot formation in Diesel-GTL fuel blends is studied in a specially designed quiescent constant-volume chamber under various ambient gas temperatures and O₂ concentrations. Similar to the case of soot formation during diesel fuel combustion, the sooting zone during the mixing-controlled combustion of Diesel-GTL blends is located in the leading portion of the jet boundaries. Auto-ignition delay and soot concentration decrease with an increase of GTL content in the fuel blend. Soot also decreases with lower O₂ concentration, higher injection pressure, and lower ambient gas temperature. The lack of soot formation at lower O₂ concentrations and lower temperatures suggests that Diesel-GTL fuel blends can be successfully utilized in low-temperature diesel combustion technologies that are currently being developed. Furthermore, this mixing controlled combustion method with Diesel-GTL blends can be used to modulate various engine operation parameters, and therefore to simultaneously reduce the formation of soot and NOx within a wide range of diesel engine loads.     

Performance analysis according to the combination of energy storage system for fuel cell hybrid vehicle

The need for the unmanned ground combat vehicle (UGCV), which is used for the surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting during extremely dangerous condition on the battlefield, has steadily increased, and the transition from manned ground combat vehicles to unmanned ground combat vehicles is expected to reduce the loss of lives during battle. The UGCV needs many types of capabilities to achieve satisfactory performance. This paper focuses on the modeling and control of the power system of the UGCV, and proposes the fuel cell hybrid system (FCHS) for the power system of the UGCV. The fuel cell hybrid system has many advantages in stealth drive and the system efficiency. In addition, the FCHS is much quieter than the engine generator and generates much less heat. The benefits of the FCHS are advantageous for use in Army operations, which require ‘silent watch’ capability and the ability to operate without showing up on an enemy’s radar screen. The FCHS has a fuel cell and uses an energy storage system (ESS) as a power source. The ESS (e.g., batteries or ultracapacitors) helps the fuel cell supply power to the electric drive system and also recovers energy during deceleration. The ESS makes it possible to improve the efficiency and dynamic characteristic of the power system. In this paper, the FCHS is composed of different combinations of component models. The component sizes are chosen to satisfy performance requirements. In order to determine the power distribution between the fuel cell and the ESS, a power management strategy based on the required power and the SOC (state of charge) of the ESS is proposed. Batteries and ultracapacitor, components of the ESS, have different characteristics. Accordingly, varying the combination of ESS components can change the performance of the power system. The performance of the FCHS with respect to different combinations of ESS is analyzed using simulated results.     

Development of evolutionary cone type LSD for SUV/RV utilizing the axiomatic approach and the ultrasonic nano crystal surface modification technology

Surface topology, cone angle and the forces acting on the cone of the clutch type limited slip differential (LSD) are major design parameters for the bias ratio and the noise condition. Therefore much research has been dedicated to these developments but the results have been used to submit patents. A new cone type limited slip differential for sport utility vehicles and recreational vehicles, which has a very simple structure and easy compliance with the vehicle performance, has been developed by the axiomatic approach and the ultrasonic nano crystal surface modification (UNSM) technology. The design criteria and optimal value of the design parameters are determined by the axiomatic approach utilizing CAE tools. Test methodologies in a test rig and in a vehicle were also developed. Test results showed good performance of bias ratio and noise level but durability is still under testing. This study is an extension of F2006P266, FISITA 2006.     

Design of Integrated Chassis Control logics for AFS and ESP

The performance of most electronic chassis control systems in the past has been optimized individually. Recently, a great research effort has been dedicated to the integration of chassis control systems in an effort to improve the vehicle performance. This involves orchestration of individual control modules so that they can jointly contribute to the enhancement of their control effect. In this research, two integrated control logics for AFS (Active Front Steering) and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) have been developed. Of the two logics, one uses a supervisor that rules over the individual modules. The other logic uses a CL (Characteristic Locus) method, which is a frequency-domain multivariable control technique. The two logics have been tested under various driving conditions to investigate their control effects. The results indicate that the proposed integrated control logics can yield vehicle performance that is superior to that of the individual control modules without any integration scheme.     

Tensile properties of different chemical compositions for TRIP-assisted multiphase steel for automobile structures

The microstructural changes and the tensile properties of TRIP-assisted steels resulting from different chemical compositions were investigated by using SEM, TEM, XRD and UTM. As a result of microscopic observation, the morphology of retained austenite could be characterized by two types: a granular type in steel containing higher Si and a film type in steel having higher C. In the case of the steel containing higher C with a tensile strength of 860 MPa and a total elongation of 38%, the film type retained austenite could be observed among the lath bainitic ferrites. Actually, the metastable retained austenite was required for good formability, which means that the chemical composition plays a significant role in the microstructure and tensile property of TRIP-assisted steel. With respect to the tensile property, each steel type that contained an suitable amount of Si and Mn demonstrated a typical TRIP effect on a stress-strain curve while steel that contained a higher Mn content exhibited similar behaviors, as demonstrated in the dual phase steels.     

Dependence of fatigue limit of high-tension bolts on mean stress and ultimate tensile strength

High tension bolts in critical joints in internal combustion engines are susceptible to fatigue failure. Computeraided bolted joint design procedures require knowledge of the dependence of bolt fatigue limit on the mean stress and ultimate tensile strength. This dependence is investigated with staircase fatigue limit tests. The test results show that when the bolt fatigue limit is estimated with the nominal stress of the bolt, it decreases with increasing tensile strength and nominal mean stress. However, there is a range of the nominal mean stress where the bolt fatigue limit is almost constant. The test results are interpreted with finite element analysis.     

Structural optimization of a circumferential friction disk brake with consideration of thermoelastic instability

This research suggests a new disk brake design using circumferential friction on the disk of a front-wheel-drive passenger car. The paper compares mechanical performance between the conventional and suggested disk brakes under dynamic braking conditions. Thermoelastic instability is considered in simulation of the test condition. An optimization technique using a metamodel is introduced to minimize the weight of the suggested disk brake. To achieve this goal, the response defined in the optimization formulation is expressed in a mathematically explicit form with respect to the design variables by using a kriging surrogate model, resulting in a simple optimization problem. Then, the simulated annealing algorithm is utilized to find the global optimum. The design results obtained by the kriging method are compared with those obtained from ANSYS analysis.     

Experimental study on performance of automotive air conditioning system using R-152a refrigerant

Recently, as climate changes have manifested worldwide, every country is making efforts to prevent ozone depletion and global warming. In the automotive industry, R-134a refrigerant is widely used in air conditioning systems because it has zero ozone depletion potential (ODP). Unfortunately, its global warming potential (GWP) is high. Therefore, alternative refrigerants are needed as a replacement for R-134a. R-152a is considered to be one of the better alternative refrigerants due to zero ODP and low GWP. In this paper, the performance of an automotive air conditioning system using R-134a and one using R-152a are compared experimentally at the bench level. The experimental apparatus simulated a real automotive air conditioning system consisting of a cabin and engine room structure. The cooling capacity, condensing capacity, coefficient of performance (COP) and power consumption characteristics of the automotive air conditioning system are evaluated by changing the air velocity entering the condenser and the compressor rotation speed with the optimized refrigerant charge amount. Also, the performance of the R-152a system was investigated by changing the thermostatic expansion valve which is set of values. The results of this study show that the R-152a system is slightly better than the R-134a system, not only under driving conditions but also under idling condition. R-152a refrigerant thus shows promise as an alternative refrigerant to replace the current standard, R-134a, in automotive air conditioning systems.     

HCCI combustion characteristics during operation on DME and methane fuels

The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine has attracted much interest because it can simultaneously achieve high efficiency and low emissions. However, the ignition timing is difficult to control because this engine has no physical ignition mechanism. In addition, combustion proceeds very rapidly because the premixed mixture ignites simultaneously at multiple locations in the cylinder, making it difficult to increase the operating load. In this study, an HCCI engine was operated using blended test fuels comprised of dimethyl ether (DME) and methane, each of which have different ignition characteristics. The effects of mixing ratios and absolute quantities of the two types of fuel on the ignition timing and rapidity of combustion were investigated. Cool flame reaction behavior, which significantly influences the ignition, was also analyzed in detail on the basis of in-cylinder spectroscopic measurements. The experimental results revealed that within the range of the experimental conditions used in this study, the quantity of DME supplied substantially influenced the ignition timing, whereas there was little observed effect from the quantity of methane supplied. Spectroscopic measurements of the behavior of a substance corresponding to HCHO also indicated that the quantity of DME supplied significantly influenced the cool flame behavior. However, the rapidity of combustion could not be controlled even by varying the mixing ratios of DME and methane. It was made clear that changes in the ignition timing substantially influence the rapidity of combustion.