5

RECENT TRENDS

Air assisted Combustion, Homogeneous charge compression ignition engines – Variable

Geometry turbochargers – Common Rail Direct Injection Systems - Hybrid Electric
Vehicles – NOx Absorbers - Onboard Diagnostics.

5.1 HOMOGENEOUS CHARGE COMPRESSION IGNITION ENGINE

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is a form of
internal combustion in which well -mixed fuel and oxidizer (typically air) are
compressed to the point of auto -ignition. As in other forms of combustion,
this exothermic reaction releases chemical energy into a sensible form that
can be transformed in an engine into work and heat.

Operation & Methods

A mixture of fuel and air will ignite when the concentration and
temperature of reactants is sufficiently high. The concentration and/or
temperature can be increased by several different ways

 High compression ratio

 Pre-heating of induction gases
 Forced induction
 Retained or re-inducted exhaust gases
Once ignited, combustion occurs very quickly. When auto-ignition occurs
too early or with too much chemical energy, combustion is too fast and high
in-cylinder pressures can destroy an engine. For this reason, HCCI is
typically operated at lean overall fuel mixtures
In an HCCI engine (which is based on the four-stroke Otto cycle), fuel
delivery control is of paramount importance in controlling the combustion
process. On the intake stroke, fuel is injected into each cylinder's
5.2 Recent Trends

combustion chamber via fuel injectors mounted directly in the cylinder head.
This is achieved independently from air induction which takes place through
the intake plenum. By the end of the intake stroke, fuel and air have been
fully introduced and mixed in the cylinder's combustion chamber.
As the piston begins to move back up during the compression stroke,
heat begins to build in the combustion chamber. When the piston reaches the
end of this stroke, sufficient heat has accumulated to cause the fuel/air
mixture to spontaneously combust (no spark is necessary) and force the
piston down for the power stroke. Unlike conventional spark engines (and
even diesels), the combustion process is a lean, low temperature and
flameless release of energy across the entire combustion chamber. The entire
fuel mixture is burned simultaneously pro ducing equivalent power, but using
much less fuel and releasing far fewer emissions in the process.

Advantages
 HCCI provides up to a 30 -percent fuel savings, while meeting current
emissions standards.
 Since HCCI engines are fuel-lean, they can operate a t a Diesel-like
compression ratios (>15), thus achieving higher efficiencies than
conventional spark-ignited gasoline engines.
 Homogeneous mixing of fuel and air leads to cleaner combustion and
lower emissions. Actually, because peak temperatures are
significantly lower than in typical spark ignited engines, NOx levels
are almost negligible. Additionally, the premixed lean mixture does
not produce soot.
 HCCI engines can operate on gasoline, diesel fuel, and most
alternative fuels.
In regards to gasoline eng ines, the omission of throttle losses improves
HCCI efficiency.

Disadvantages
 HCCI engines have a small power range, constrained at low loads by
 Lean flammability limits and high loads by in -cylinder pressure
restrictions.
 Carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) pre -catalyst emissions
are higher than a typical spark ignition engine, caused by incomplete
Recent Trends 5.3

oxidation (due to the rapid combustion event and low in -cylinder

temperatures) and trapped crevice gases, respectively
5.2 COMMON RAIL DIRECT INJECTION DIESEL ENGINE
Common rail direct fuel injection is a modern variant of direct fuel injection system for petrol
and diesel engines

Figure 5.1 Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engine

Figure 5.2 Common Rail Direct Injection Diesel Engine

5.4 Recent Trends

A diesel fuel injection system employing a common pressure accumulator, called the rail,
which is mounted along the engine block. The rail is fed by a high pressure fuel pump. The injectors,
which are fed from the common rail, are activated by solenoid valves. The solenoid valves and the
fuel pump are electronically controlled. In the common rail injection system the injection pressure is
independent from engine speed and load. Therefore, the injection parameters can be freely controlled.
Usually a pilot injection is introduced, which allows for reductions in engine noise and NOx
emissions. This system operates at 27,500 psi (1900 BAR). The injectors use a needle-and seat-type
valve to control fuel flow and fuel pressure is fed to both the top and bottom of the needle valve. By
bleeding some of the pressure off the top, the pressure on the bottom will push the needle off its seat
and fuel will flow through the nozzle holes.

5.3 GASOLINE DIRECT INJECTION (GDI)

In internal combustion engines, Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI), also known as Petrol Direct
Injection or Direct Petrol Injection or Spark Ignited Direct Injection (SIDI) or Fuel Stratified Injection
(FSI), is a variant of fuel injection employed in modern two-stroke and four-stroke gasoline engines.
The gasoline is highly pressurized, and injected via a common rail fuel line directly into the
combustion chamber of each cylinder, as opposed to conventional multi-point fuel injection that
happens in the intake tract, or cylinder port.

Operation:

The major advantages of a GDI engine are increased fuel efficiency and high power output.
Emissions levels can also be more accurately controlled with the GDI system. The cited gains are
achieved by the precise control over the amount of fuel and injection timings that are varied according
to engine load. In addition, there are no throttling losses in some GDI engines, when compared to a
conventional fuel-injected or carburetted engine, which greatly improves efficiency, and reduces
'pumping losses' in engines without a throttle plate. Engine speed is controlled by the engine control
unit/engine management system (EMS), which regulates fuel injection function and ignition timing,
instead of having a throttle plate that restricts the incoming air supply. Adding this function to the
EMS requires considerable enhancement of its processing and memory, as direct injection plus the
engine speed management must have very precise algorithms for good performance and drivability.

The engine management system continually chooses among three combustion modes: ultra-
lean burn, stoichiometric, and full power output .Ultra lean burn or stratified charge mode is used for
light-load running conditions, at constant or reducing road speeds, where no acceleration is required.
The fuel is not injected at the intake stroke but rather at the latter stages of the compression stroke. The
combustion takes place in a cavity on the piston's surface which has a steroidal or an ovoid shape, and
 Recent Trends 5.5

is placed either in the centre (for central injector), or displaced to one side of the piston that is closer to
the injector. The cavity creates the swirl effect so that the small amount of air-fuel mixture is optimally
placed near the spark plug. This stratified charge is surrounded mostly by air and residual gases, which
keeps the fuel and the flame away from the cylinder walls. Decreased combustion temperature allows
for lowest emissions and heat losses and increases air quantity by reducing dilation, which delivers
additional power. This technique enables the use of ultra-lean mixtures that would be impossible with
carburettors or conventional fuel injection.
Stoichiometric mode is used for moderate load conditions. Fuel is injected during the intake stroke,
creating a homogeneous fuel-air mixture in the cylinder. From the stoichiometric ratio, an optimum
burn results in a clean exhaust emission, further cleaned by the catalytic converter.
Full power mode is used for rapid acceleration and heavy loads (as when climbing a hill). The air-fuel
mixture is homogeneous and the ratio is slightly richer than stoichiometric, which helps prevent
detonation (pinging). The fuel is injected during the intake stroke.

Figure 5.3 Gasolines Direct Injection (GDI)

5.4 DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

The requirements of a combustion data acquisition system are to record cylinder pressure data
and align it to cylinder volume data. This is achieved by using a triggered acquisition, (acquisition
does not begin until TDC is reached), and sampling using an external clock, (one acquisition per
clock pulse). In addition to cylinder pressure data other parameters may be measured including:
 Inlet or exhaust manifold pressure
5.6 Recent Trends

 Spark current
 Injector needle lift
 Fuel pressure
 Engine angular velocity
 Acceleration of engine components

Figure 5.4 Data Acquisition System

ADC Resolution
The analogue to digital converter (ADC) resolution determines the minimum amount of
pressure change that can be recorded

Where P is the total pressure range (typically 100 bars) and r is the bit resolution of the ADC.
Triggering
In order to phase the measured data with the cylinder volume it is necessary to
accurately determine at what point in the engine’s thermodynamic cycle the data acquisition
started. A common method is to begin the acquisition when the crank is a TDC. This has the
disadvantage that the recorded data may begin at either compression TDC or exhaust TDC. A
simple check can be used to correct this by comparing data acquired at zero and 360 degrees.
 Recent Trends 5.7

External Clock provides a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) signal that indicates when a certain
amount of engine rotation has occurred.

Pressure Transducers
Piezoelectric pressure transducers are the most commonly used form of pressure transducer for
the purpose of acquiring in-cylinder pressure data. They however have several disadvantages, these
include sensitivity to thermal shock, long and short-term drift, sensitivity to temperature and that the
output has to be referenced to an absolute pressure.

Charge Amplifiers
Charge amplifier range and time constants should be set to give the longest system time with
minimal signal drift. The time constant of a piezoelectric system is a measure of the time for a given
signal to decay, not the time it takes the system to respond to an input. It is important that all
connections between the charge amplifier and transducer be degreased with contact cleaner. This is
because low insulation resistance in the transducer or cables and connection causes drift of the charge
amplifier output. Charge amplifier is allowed to warm up for one hour before measurements are taken.

5.5 NOX ABSORBER CONCEPT

The concept of NOx absorbers has been developed based on acid-base wash coat chemistry. It
involves storage of NOx on the catalyst wash coat during lean exhaust conditions and release during
rich operation and/or increased temperatures. Depending on the NOx release strategy, NOx absorber
systems can be classified as:

I. Active NOx absorbers, or

II. Passive NOx absorbers.

5.5.1 Active NOx absorbers

In active NOx absorbers, stored NOx is periodically released with a typical frequency of
about once per minute during a short period of rich air-to-fuel ratio operation, called NOx
absorber regeneration. The released NOx is catalytically converted to nitrogen, in a process similar to
that occurring over three-way catalysts (TWC) widely used in stoichiometric gasoline engines.
Normally, three-way catalysts are inactive in converting NOx under lean exhaust conditions, when
oxygen is present in the exhaust gas. By alternating the lean storage and rich release-and-conversion
phases, the applicability of the three-way catalyst has been extended to lean burn engines. The
technology was first commercialized on gasoline direct injected (GDI) engines, followed by light-duty
diesel engines around 2007/2009. NOx absorber systems have also been introduced for NOx control
from stationary natural gas turbine applications
5.8 Recent Trends

Due to their declining NOx reduction performance at higher exhaust temperatures, active
NOx absorbers found only very limited application on heavy-duty truck engines. Considering the
trends in light-duty emission regulations, the use of active NOx absorbers can be also expected to
decline in future light-duty vehicles. Increasing focus on in-use emissions and the expected
introduction of real driving emissions (RDE) testing requirements in the EU will pose a challenge for
the NOx absorber technology high NOx conversions may be required at operating conditions outside
of the regulatory test cycle, including high engine load operation.

5.5.2 Passive NOx absorbers

Passive NOx absorbers (PNA) a more recent and simpler variant of the technology adsorb
NOx during vehicle cold start and release it when the exhaust temperature increases without a rich
regeneration to be converted over a downstream NOx reduction catalyst. Hence, passive NOx
absorbers (or traps) are not a stand-alone NOx control technology rather; they can be used with urea-
SCR after treatment to improve the low temperature performance of the system. An early
demonstration of PNA technology was conducted by Cummins on their 2.8.

It should be noted that “part-time”, active NOx absorbers have been also used to control cold
start/low temperature NOx emissions in some light-duty diesels with urea-SCR systems. A close-
coupled, actively regenerated NOx absorber is used during cold start. Once exhaust temperatures
increase, NOx is reduced over the SCR catalyst using urea. This and other configurations of emission
systems with NOx absorbers are discussed in the paper on NOx absorber applications.

5.5.2.1 Other Concepts

A technique called Selective NOx Recirculation (SNR) was an early concept of a NOx
absorber system without catalytic reduction of NOx. In the SNR concept, two NOx absorbers are
installed in parallel in the exhaust system. Control valves allow switching the gas flow, so each of the
absorbers alternates between adsorption and desorption modes. While in the desorption mode, the
NOx carrying gas from the absorber is recirculated to the engine intake air. This way, the desorbed
NOx can be reduced through in-cylinder reactions during combustion. The regeneration strategy of
SNR absorber was not demonstrated. In experiments involving feeding NO/NO2 from bottles to the
diesel engine air intake port i.e., not accounting for the absorber performance a NOx reduction
efficiency of 60% was achieved.

5.5.2.2 Terms & Definitions

Different authors use different terms when discussing (active) NOx absorbers, such as:

 NOx absorber catalyst (NAC),

 Lean NOx trap (LNT),
 DeNOx trap (DNT),
 Recent Trends 5.9

 NOx storage catalyst (NSC), or

 NOx storage/reduction (NSR) catalyst.

All these names are synonyms describing the same emission control technology. The term lean NOx
catalyst, on the other hand, refers to the selective catalytic reduction of NOx by hydrocarbons an
entirely different technology that should not be confused with NOx absorbers.

We should also introduce the basic definitions related to the process of adsorption (these terms are
confused in some NOx absorber literature):
 Adsorption A process in which atoms or molecules move from a bulk phase (typically gas, but
also liquid) onto a solid or liquid surface (for example gas purification using activated
charcoal). It is different from absorption, where molecules move into the bulk of the other
phase, such as gas molecules being dissolved in a liquid. The term sorption covers both
adsorption and absorption, while desorption is the reverse process.
 At lower temperatures, adsorption is usually caused by intermolecular forces; it is then
called physical adsorption. At higher temperatures, above about 200°C, the activation energy
is available to form chemical bonds; if such mechanism prevails, the process is
called chemisorptions.
 Adsorbent A material that adsorbs, such as activated charcoal. A related term sorbent refers
to both adsorption and absorption. In the NOx absorber technology, barium oxides a
common absorbent.
 Adsorbate A substance that has been adsorbed. A related term sorbate refers to both
adsorption and absorption. In the case of NOx absorbers, the (ad) sorbate is nitrogen oxides.

5.6 HYBRID ELECTRICAL VEHICLES

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) has two types of energy storage units, electricity and fuel.
Electricity means that a battery (sometimes assisted by ultra caps) is used to store the energy, and
that an electromotor (from now on called motor) will be used as traction motor. Fuel means that a
tank is required, and that an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE, from now on called engine) is used
to generate mechanical power, or that a fuel cell will be used to convert fuel to electrical energy. In
the latter case, traction will be performed by the electromotor only. In the first case, the vehicle will
have both an engine and a motor.
Depending on the drive train structure (how motor and engine are connected), we can
distinguish between parallel, series or combined HEVs. Depending on the share of the electromotor to
the traction power, we can distinguish between mild or micro hybrid (start-stop systems), power assist
hybrid, full hybrid and plug-in hybrid. Depending on the nature of the non-electric energy source, we
can distinguish between combustion (ICE), fuel cell, hydraulic or pneumatic power, and human
power. In the first case, the ICE is a spark ignition engines (gasoline) or compression ignition direct
5.10 Recent Trends

injection (diesel) engine. In the first two cases, the energy conversion unit may be powered by
gasoline, methanol, compressed natural gas, hydrogen, or other alternative fuels.
Motors are the "work horses" of Hybrid Electric Vehicle drive systems. The electric traction
motor drives the wheels of the vehicle. Unlike a traditional vehicle, where the engine must "ramp up"
before full torque can be provided, an electric motor provides full torque at low speeds. The motor
also has low noise and high efficiency. Other characteristics include excellent "off the line"
acceleration, good drive control, good fault tolerance and flexibility in relation to voltage
fluctuations. The front-running motor technologies for HEV applications include PMSM (permanent
magnet synchronous motor), BLDC (brushless DC motor), SRM (switched reluctance motor) and AC
induction motor. A main advantage of an electromotor is the possibility to function as generator. In
all HEV systems, mechanical braking energy is regenerated. The maximum operational braking
torque is less than the maximum traction torque; there is always a mechanical braking system
integrated in a car.
The battery pack in a HEV has a much higher voltage than the SIL automotive 12 Volts
battery, in order to reduce the currents and the I2R losses.
Accessories such as power steering and air conditioning are powered by electric motors
instead of being attached to the combustion engine. This allows efficiency gains as the
accessories can run at a constant speed or can be switched off, regardless of how fast the
combustion engine is running. Especially in long haul trucks, electrical power steering
saves a lot of energy.
(b) ICE + electric power: if more energy is needed (during acceleration or at high speed),
the electric motor starts working in parallel to the heat engine, achieving greater power
(c) ICE + battery charging: if less power is required, excess of energy is used to charge the
batteries. Operating the engine at higher torque than necessary, it runs at a higher
efficiency.

Figure 5.5 A parallel HEV can have an extra generator for the battery (left)
Without generator, the motor will charge the battery (right)
Recent Trends 5.11

Example of PHEV
Honda Civic. Honda's IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) uses a rather traditional ICE
with continuously variable transmission, where the flywheel is replaced with an electric
motor. Influence of scale: a Volvo 26 ton truck (12 ton own weight, 14 ton max load)
equipped with 200 kg of batteries can drive on pure electric power for 2 minutes only!
Because of space constraints, it is not possible to build in more batteries. BMW7Series Active
Hybrid.
5.6.1 Combined hybrid
Combined hybrid systems have features of both series and parallel hybrids. There is a double
connection between the engine and the drive axle: mechanical and electrical. This split power path
allows interconnecting mechanical and electrical power, at some cost in complexity.
Power-split devices are incorporated in the power train. The power to the wheels can be either
mechanical or electrical or both. This is also the case in parallel hybrids. But the main principle
behind the combined system is the decoupling of the power supplied by the engine from the power
demanded by the driver.

Figure 5.6 Simplified structure of a combined hybrid electric vehicle

In a conventional vehicle, a larger engine is used to provide acceleration from
standstill than one needed for steady speed cruising. This is because a combustion engine's
torque is minimal at lower RPMs, as the engine is its own air pump. On the other hand, an
electric motor exhibits maximum torque at stall and is well suited to complement the
engine's torque deficiency at low RPMs. In a combined hybrid, a smaller, less flexible, and
highly efficient engine can be used. It is often a variation of the conventional Otto cycle,
such as the Miller or Atkinson cycle. This contributes significantly to the higher overall
efficiency of the vehicle, with regenerative braking playing a much smaller role.
At lower speeds, this system operates as a series HEV, while at high speeds, where
the series power train is less efficient, the engine takes over. This system is more expensive
5.12 Recent Trends

than a pure parallel system as it needs an extra generator, a mechanical split power system
and more computing power to control the dual system.

5.7 ON BOARD DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS (OBD)

All modern vehicles, equipped with internal combustion engines, contain several
systems/components which have the specific purpose of reducing toxic exhaust gas emissions. This is
mandatory because every new vehicle sold needs to be compliant with the current emission limit
legislation (e.g. SULEV, Euro 6, etc.). The engine systems and components, which have impact on
exhaust gas emissions, must be monitored continuously to make sure that the toxic emission limits
required by law/legislation are achieved on a daily basis.
OBD (On-board Diagnostics) is a set of rules, software and hardware, with the specific
purpose of monitoring the power train components/systems, whose functionality has an impact on
exhaust gas toxic emissions levels. With other words, if a specific power train component, in case of a
defect/failure, leads to increased toxic exhaust gas emission levels, it must be OBD monitored.
The OBD standard specifies that the driver must be warned if there is a failure with any
system/component which has impact on the level of toxic exhaust gas emissions. If such a failure
occurs, the driver is informed through the MIL lamp on the dashboard. There are two types of MIL
lamps: an icon with the shape of an engine, and an icon with the message “SERVICE ENGINE
SOON”. Both have the same meaning; they inform the driver about an OBD related
system/component failure.

5.7.1 History of On-Board Vehicle Diagnostic

Starting with 1980, many new vehicles were equipped with Electronic Control Units (ECU),
mainly for engine fuel control. As the complexity of the electronic control systems increased, vehicle
manufacturers started to add on-board diagnostic functions into the ECU software. Early diagnostics
were mainly for the electrical circuits (open circuit, shortcut to ground, etc.) of the sensors and
actuators. The detected failures were reported as fault codes using a series of voltage pulses. Each
fault code was referenced to a particular sensor, actuator or circuit. These diagnostic procedures were
initially put in place to help the service technicians identify the failed components. The drawback was
that they were not standardized; each manufacturer had their own fault codes and test procedures. In
April 1985, California Air Resource Board (CARB) adopted the first OBD requirements. These are
know as the first generation of on-board diagnostic procedures, OBD-1. Vehicles needed to be
compliant with OBD-1 requirements starting with 1988 model year. The purpose of OBD-1 was to
define what on-board diagnostic tests needs to be performed in an ECU, in order to identify failed
components, which have impact on exhaust gas emission levels. The OBD-1 standard also stated that
the driver must be aware of failed components through the activation of the MIL lamp in the
Recent Trends 5.13

dashboard. The OBD-1 standard imposed also the storage of the fault codes in the ECU memory for a
later reading. Compared to current, modern diagnostic requirements, OBD-1 standard was fairly
simple. It requested the monitoring of the emission-related electric components for open circuit and
shortcut to ground/battery. It also contained performance monitoring for the following components:

 ECU
 Fuel injection system
 Ignition system
 Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system (if equipped)

In 1992, after close collaboration with vehicle manufacturers, Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), CARB adopted the revised version of the
OBD regulations. This new version, known as OBD-2, applied to all newly sold passenger vehicles
(gasoline, diesel and alternative fuel) starting with 1996. European version of OBD-2 is
named EOBD and basically contains the same rules and regulations as OBD-2. EOBD became
mandatory for vehicle homologation starting with 2001 for gasoline powered vehicles, and with 2004
for diesel engine vehicles For simplification, since the latest applicable standards are OBD-2 for US
and EOBD for EU, we are going to use the general abbreviation OBD for both of them. OBD
regulation states that all systems and components which are related to exhaust gas emission levels,
must be monitored if, in case of a malfunction, failure or defect, they can cause an increase in toxic
exhaust gas emissions. The component monitoring is going to be performed in the appropriate ECU,
by means of software functions. The result of the monitoring function must be reported to an external
diagnostic device (scan tool) in the format specified by the standard. Depending on the type of engine,
the OBD regulations demands the following components to be monitored (inside the engine control
software)

Gasoline Engine Diesel Engine

Non-Methane Hydrocarbon (NMHC) Converting
Catalyst Monitoring Catalyst Monitoring

Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) Converting Catalyst

Heated Catalyst Monitoring Monitoring

Misfire Monitoring

Evaporative System Monitoring Crankcase Ventilation (CV) System Monitoring

Secondary Air System Monitoring NOx Absorber Monitoring

Fuel System Monitoring

5.14 Recent Trends

Exhaust Gas Sensor Monitoring

Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) System Monitoring

Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV)

System Monitoring Boost Pressure Control System Monitoring

Engine Cooling System Monitoring

Cold Start Emission Reduction Strategy Monitoring

Air Conditioning (A/C) System Component Monitoring

Variable Valve Timing and/or Control (VVT) System Monitoring

Direct Ozone Reduction (DOR) System

Monitoring Particulate Matter (PM) Filter Monitoring

Comprehensive Component Monitoring

Other Emission Control or Source System Monitoring