System-level 1-D Analysis to Investigate Variable Valve Actuation Benefits in a Heavy-Duty Gasoline Compression Ignition Engine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen Kumar ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Michael Traver ◽  
John Watson
Keyword(s):  
System Level ◽  
Compression Ignition ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Compression Ignition Engine ◽  
Variable Valve Actuation ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
Variable Valve ◽  
Valve Actuation

Impact of Geometric Compression Ratio and Variable Valve Actuation on Gasoline Compression Ignition in a Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Praveen Kumar ◽  
Meng Tang ◽  
Yuanjiang Pei ◽  
Brock Merritt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Compression Ratio ◽  
Premixed Combustion ◽  
Compression Ignition ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Variable Valve Actuation ◽  
Partially Premixed Combustion ◽  
Heavy Duty Diesel Engine ◽  
Heavy Duty Diesel ◽  
Variable Valve ◽  
Valve Actuation

Abstract Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) is a promising powertrain solution to simultaneously address the increasingly stringent regulation of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and a new focus on greenhouse gases. GCI combustion benefits from extended mixing times due to the low reactivity of gasoline, but only when held beneath the threshold of the high temperature combustion regime. The geometric compression ratio (GCR) of an engine is often chosen to balance the desire for low NOx emissions while maintaining high efficiency. This work explores the relationship between GCR, variable valve actuation (VVA) and emissions when using GCI combustion strategies. The test article was a Cummins ISX15 heavy-duty diesel engine with an unmodified production air and fuel system. The test fuel was an ethanol-free gasoline with a market-representative research octane number (RON) of 91.4–93.2. In the experimental investigation at 1375 rpm/10 bar BMEP, three engine GCRs were studied, including 15.7, 17.3, and 18.9. Across the three GCRs, GCI exhibited a two-stage combustion process enabled through a split injection strategy. When keeping both NOx and CA50 constant, varying GCR from 15.7 to 18.9 showed only a moderate impact on engine brake thermal efficiency (BTE), while its influence on smoke was pronounced. At a lower GCR, a larger fraction of fuel could be introduced during the first injection event due to lower charge reactivity, thereby promoting partially-premixed combustion and reducing smoke. Although increasing GCR increased gross indicated thermal efficiency (ITEg), it was also found to cause higher energy losses in friction and pumping. In contrast, GCI performance showed stronger sensitivity towards EGR rate variation, suggesting that air-handling system development is critical for enabling efficient and clean low NOx GCI combustion. To better utilize gasoline’s lower reactivity, an analysis-led variable valve actuation investigation was performed at 15.7 GCR and 1375 rpm/10 bar BMEP. The analysis was focused on using an early intake valve closing (EIVC) approach by carrying out closed-cycle, 3-D CFD combustion simulations coupled with 1-D engine cycle analysis. EIVC was shown to be an effective means to lengthen ignition delay and promote partially-premixed combustion by lowering the engine effective compression ratio (ECR). By combining EIVC with a tailored fuel injection strategy and properly developed thermal boundary conditions, simulation predicted a 2.3% improvement in ISFC and 47% soot reduction over the baseline IVC case while keeping NOx below the baseline level.

Potential of the Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) Strategy on a Heavy Duty CNG Engine

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirko Baratta ◽  
Roberto Finesso ◽  
Daniela Misul ◽  
Ezio Spessa ◽  
Yifei Tong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Intake Valve ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Engine Emissions ◽  
Variable Valve Actuation ◽  
Cng Engine ◽  
Variable Valve ◽  
Working Point ◽  
Valve Actuation

The environmental concerns officially aroused in 1970s made the control of the engine emissions a major issue for the automotive industry. The corresponding reduction in fuel consumption has become a challenge so as to meet the current and future emission legislations. Given the increasing interest retained by the optimal use of a Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) technology, the present paper investigates into the potentials of combining the VVA solution to CNG fuelling. Experiments and simulations were carried out on a heavy duty 6-cylinders CNG engine equipped with a turbocharger displaying a twin-entry waste-gate-controlled turbine. The analysis aimed at exploring the potentials of the Early Intake Valve Closure (EIVC) mode and to identify advanced solutions for the combustion management as well as for the turbo-matching. The engine model was developed within the GT-Power environment and was finely tuned to reproduce the experimental readings under steady state operations. The 0D-1D model was hence run to reproduce the engine operating conditions at different speeds and loads and to highlight the effect of the VVA on the engine performance as well as on the fuel consumption and engine emissions. Pumping losses proved to reduce to a great extent, thus decreasing the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) with respect to the throttled engine. The exhaust temperature at the turbine inlet was kept to an almost constant value and minor variations were allowed. This was meant to avoid an excessive worsening in the TWC working conditions, as well as deterioration in the turbocharger performance during load transients. The numerical results also proved that full load torque increases can be achieved by reducing the spark advance so that a higher enthalpy is delivered to the turbocharger. Similar torque levels were also obtained by means of Early Intake Valve Closing strategy. For the latter case, negligible penalties in the fuel consumption were detected. Moreover, for a given combustion phasing, the IVC angle directly controls the mass-flow rate and thus the torque. On the other hand, a slight dependence on the combustion phasing can be detected at part load. Finally, the simulations assessed for almost constant fuel consumption for a wide range of IVC and SA values. Specific attention was also paid to the turbocharger group functioning and to its correct matching to the engine working point. The simulations showed that the working point on the compressor map can be optimized by properly setting the spark advance (SA) as referred to the adopted intake-valve closing angle. It is anyhow worth observing that the engine high loads set a constraint deriving from the need to meet the limits on the peak firing pressure (PFP), thus limiting the possibility to optimize the working point once the turbo-matching is defined.

A physics-based approach to the control of homogeneous charge compression ignition engines with variable valve actuation

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
G M Shaver ◽  
M J Roelle ◽  
P A Caton ◽  
N B Kaahaaina ◽  
N Ravi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Combustion Engines ◽  
Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
System Control ◽  
Compression Ignition ◽  
Variable Valve Actuation ◽  
Variable Valve ◽  
Homogeneous Charge ◽  
Valve Actuation

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is a promising low-temperature combustion strategy for reducing NOx emissions and increasing efficiency in internal combustion engines. However, HCCI has no direct combustion initiator and, when achieved by reinducting or trapping residual exhaust gas with a variable valve actuation (VVA) system, becomes a dynamic process as the temperature of the residual gas couples one cycle to the next. These characteristics of residual-affected HCCI present a challenge for control engineers and a barrier to implementing HCCI in a production engine. In order to address these challenges, this paper outlines physics-based control strategies for both the VVA system and the HCCI combustion process. The results show that VVA system control can provide arbitrary valve timings on a cycle-to-cycle basis, enabling tight control of HCCI. By abstracting these valve timings further into an inducted gas composition and an effective compression ratio, model-based controllers can be developed to control simultaneously load and combustion timing in an HCCI engine.

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