AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Justin W. Behrens, for the Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, presented on June 24, 2011 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: MODIFICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A MONO-VALVE ENGINE MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Suri Rajan A four-stroke engine utilizing one tappet valve for both the intake and exhaust gas exchange processes has been built and evaluated. The engine operates under its own power, but has a reduced power capacity than the conventional 2-valve engine. The reduction in power is traced to higher than expected amounts of exhaust gases flowing back into the intake system. Design changes to the cylinder head will fix the back flow problems, but the future capacity of mono-valve engine technology cannot be estimated. The back flow of exhaust gases increases the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate and deteriorates combustion. Intake pressure data shows the mono-valve engine requires an advanced intake valve closing (IVC) time to prevent back flow of charge air. A single actuation camshaft with advanced IVC was tested in the mono-valve engine, and was found to improve exhaust scavenging at TDC and nearly eliminated all charge air back flow at IVC. The optimum IVC timing is shown to be approximately 30 crank angle degrees after BDC. The mono-valve cylinder head utilizes a rotary valve positioned above the tappet valve. The open spaces inside the rotary valve and between the rotary valve and tappet valve represent a common volume that needs to be reduced in order to reduce the base EGR rate. Multiple rotary valve configurations were tested, and the size of the common volume was found to have no effect on back flow but a direct effect on the EGR rate and engine performance. The position of the rotary valve with respect to crank angle has a direct effect on the scavenging process. Optimum scavenging occurs when the intake port is opened just after TDC.

No description available.

Durante o processo de admissão do ar em motores de combustão interna, nota-se que sua aspiração não é ideal, ou seja, o volume do cilindro não é completamente ocupado, devido à variação de sua massa específica e perdas de carga ao longo do sistema de alimentação. Conseqüentemente, a eficiência volumétrica no cilindro atinge valores ínfimos de desempenho, o que afeta diretamente a potência do motor. O trabalho consiste em um estudo numérico e experimental do sistema de admissão de um motor de combustão interna. A solução numérica foi obtida por um código comercial que resolve as equações de transporte, baseada nos princípios de conservação de massa, quantidade de movimento e energia, pelo método de discretização de volumes finitos. Os resultados numéricos foram validados através dos resultados obtidos em uma bancada experimental, que possibilitou medidas de vazão mássica, pressão e temperatura do ar admitido. A bancada é formada por um motor de combustão interna acionado por um motor elétrico e o estudo foi realizado sem a presença de combustível e por conseqüência sem a ocorrência de combustão. Através da utilização do software, demonstrou-se que foi possível construir um coletor inédito que proporcionou ao motor estudado um aumento de eficiência volumétrica de 6% a 3.500 rpm. / During the process of intake air in the internal combustion engine it has been noted that air flow is not ideal, i.e., the cylinder volume is not completely occupied concerning the variation of specific mass and the charge loss along the feed system. Consequently, the volumetric efficiency in the cylinder reaches low values of performance, affecting the engine power. The aims of this work were a numerical and experimental study of the intake manifold in an internal combustion engine. The numerical solution is obtained through a commercial code which solves the transport equations, according to the continuity, momentum and energy principles by the method of finite volume discretization. Numerical data were validated by the experimental results set-up, enabling the mass flow, pressure and temperature measures of the intake air. The flow bench is composed by an internal combustion engine turned on by an electric engine. The study was developed without fuel and combustion. Regarding the software, it was possible to build an original intake manifold which provides to engine studied an increase in the volumetric efficiency of 6% at 3,500 rpm.

<p>The objective of the work was to develop a basic control system for an advancedexperimental engine from scratch. The engine this work revolves around is a Saabvariable compression engine.A new control system is developed based on the naked engine, stripped of theoriginal control system. Experiments form the basis that the control system isbuilt upon. Controllers for throttles, intake manifold pressure for pressures lessthan ambient pressure and exhaust gas oxygen ratio are developed and validated.They were found to be satisfactory. The lambda controller is tested with severalparameter sets, and the best set is picked to be implemented in the engine. Modelsnecessary for the development and validation of the controllers are developed.These models include models for the volumetric efficiency, the pressure dynamicsof the intake manifold, the fuel injectors and wall wetting.</p>

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF AMIT SHRESTHA, for the Master of Science degree in MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, presented on July 6th 2009, at the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. TITLE: DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A MONO-VALVE ENGINE MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Suri Rajan A new Mono-Valve engine head was fabricated and assembled for a standard 4-stroke single cylinder Two-Valve gasoline engine with an aim to achieve an improved air flow characteristics than that of the Two-Valve engine. The Mono-Valve engine has only one valve in the cylinder head with the intake and exhaust ports controlled by an auxiliary Rotary-Valve. The two engines were tested under cold flow motoring conditions at engine speeds ranging from 1000 to 2500 rpm under fully open and half open throttle conditions in order to study and compare their volumetric efficiencies. Variable intake pipe lengths of 8.25, 25.5 and 39 inches were used to study their effect on volumetric efficiencies and in-cylinder pressure characteristics of both the engines. The results of the experiments showed that the average in-cylinder peak pressure, intake and exhaust pressures characteristics are similar for both the engine heads. However, the volumetric efficiency of the new Mono-Valve engine head was found to be 2-7% less than that of the original Two-Valve engine head depending upon the length of the intake pipe. This is mainly due to the opening angle in the Rotary-Valve that mostly controls the duration of the intake and the exhaust processes, and also due to the timing of the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust ports.

Durante o processo de admissão do ar em motores de combustão interna, nota-se que sua aspiração não é ideal, ou seja, o volume do cilindro não é completamente ocupado, devido à variação de sua massa específica e perdas de carga ao longo do sistema de alimentação. Conseqüentemente, a eficiência volumétrica no cilindro atinge valores ínfimos de desempenho, o que afeta diretamente a potência do motor. O trabalho consiste em um estudo numérico e experimental do sistema de admissão de um motor de combustão interna. A solução numérica foi obtida por um código comercial que resolve as equações de transporte, baseada nos princípios de conservação de massa, quantidade de movimento e energia, pelo método de discretização de volumes finitos. Os resultados numéricos foram validados através dos resultados obtidos em uma bancada experimental, que possibilitou medidas de vazão mássica, pressão e temperatura do ar admitido. A bancada é formada por um motor de combustão interna acionado por um motor elétrico e o estudo foi realizado sem a presença de combustível e por conseqüência sem a ocorrência de combustão. Através da utilização do software, demonstrou-se que foi possível construir um coletor inédito que proporcionou ao motor estudado um aumento de eficiência volumétrica de 6% a 3.500 rpm. / During the process of intake air in the internal combustion engine it has been noted that air flow is not ideal, i.e., the cylinder volume is not completely occupied concerning the variation of specific mass and the charge loss along the feed system. Consequently, the volumetric efficiency in the cylinder reaches low values of performance, affecting the engine power. The aims of this work were a numerical and experimental study of the intake manifold in an internal combustion engine. The numerical solution is obtained through a commercial code which solves the transport equations, according to the continuity, momentum and energy principles by the method of finite volume discretization. Numerical data were validated by the experimental results set-up, enabling the mass flow, pressure and temperature measures of the intake air. The flow bench is composed by an internal combustion engine turned on by an electric engine. The study was developed without fuel and combustion. Regarding the software, it was possible to build an original intake manifold which provides to engine studied an increase in the volumetric efficiency of 6% at 3,500 rpm.

The objective of the work was to develop a basic control system for an advancedexperimental engine from scratch. The engine this work revolves around is a Saabvariable compression engine.A new control system is developed based on the naked engine, stripped of theoriginal control system. Experiments form the basis that the control system isbuilt upon. Controllers for throttles, intake manifold pressure for pressures lessthan ambient pressure and exhaust gas oxygen ratio are developed and validated.They were found to be satisfactory. The lambda controller is tested with severalparameter sets, and the best set is picked to be implemented in the engine. Modelsnecessary for the development and validation of the controllers are developed.These models include models for the volumetric efficiency, the pressure dynamicsof the intake manifold, the fuel injectors and wall wetting.

<p>Positive displacement gear machines are widely used in a variety of industrial applications ranging from fuel injection applications to fluid handling systems to fluid power machinery. Simulation models for these machines are increasingly being developed with greater applicability and more accuracy to meet the industry needs. In this work, a research study is done on contact forces in positive displacement gear machines towards improving the accuracy of the simulation models, which can help gain insights on the underlying physics that govern the performance of the machines.</p> <p><br></p> <p>First, the importance of considering contact forces in simulating a positive displacement gear machine is addressed. For this purpose, an orbit motor reference unit is chosen. A multi-domain simulation tool to evaluate the performance of this reference unit, considering contact features, is developed. The approach for creating the simulation tool is based on coupling of different models: pre-processor tools are created that can provide information needed by fluid dynamic model; a 2D CFD model is created that can evaluate leakages through the lubricating gaps based on pressures from fluid dynamic model; and a fluid dynamic model that can accept inputs from other models and evaluate the primary flow of the unit using a lumped parameter approach. This approach allows an accurate prediction of performance characteristics of orbit unit and the results are compared with those of experiments in terms of flow rate (maximum deviation up to 2.5%) and torque (maximum deviation up to 10%). Variation of performance of the unit by modification of contact features is presented, thus drawing the importance of contact forces in simulating a positive displacement gear machine.</p> <p><br></p> <p>After presenting the importance of contact forces, emphasis is placed on creating an accurate model of the traction contact force, in terms of traction coefficient. The traction coefficient is evaluated  by solving a mixed thermal EHL system, for the case of lubricated non-conformal contacts, considering possible asperity effects and temperature change. A few required characteristics of the reference lubricant are obtained using experiments, along with asperity friction coefficient for the lubricant-solid combination for two different roughnesses. The solver is further validated, both in magnitude and trend, against experimental results for the variation of roughness and slide-to-roll ratio of the surfaces. The solver is further used to obtain curve-fit relations of the traction coefficient components with reasonable accuracy.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Lastly, the curve-fit relations of the traction coefficient are used to evaluate the meshing torque loss, and thus the hydro-mechanical efficiency for the case of two external gear machine units, having different gear flank roughnesses. The simulated hydro-mechanical efficiencies are further validated using the results from experiments, with a maximum deviation of up to 3%, but less than 0.5% deviation at many operating conditions. The experimentally obtained variation of hydro-mechanical efficiency with respect to gear flank roughness is captured in the simulations at majority of the operating conditions, thus laying emphasis on the importance of accurate contact force models.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The approaches followed in this work, along with the findings and proven accuracy with experiments, can be considered valuable and can be used to create simulation models that can capture the effects of interference/clearance and gear flank roughness on the performance of positive displacement gear units.</p>

No description available.

Environmental health awareness has elevated in recent years alongside the evidence that supports the need to mitigate harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from non-renewable energy resources. The transportation sector alone significantly contributes to the pollutants on a global scale. Although it is commonly used for its superior energy-density and fuel efficiency, diesel engines are a significant portion of the transportation sector that contributes to these pollutants. As a result, this motivates novel research to simultaneously drive fuel efficiency improvements and emissions reductions. <div><br></div><div>The aftertreatment system for a diesel engine is critical in reducing the amount of harmful tailpipe emissions. Efficient operation of these aftertreatment systems generally requires elevated temperatures of 250◦C or above. In this effort, a flexible valvetrain will be utilized to demonstrate fuel-efficient strategies via intake valve closure (IVC) modulation at elevated speeds and loads. In addition, thermal management strategies will be demonstrated at low-to-moderate loads via cylinder deactivation (CDA), cylinder cutout, exhaust valve opening (EVO) modulation, and high-speed idle operation.</div><div><br></div><div>At elevated engine speeds, late intake valve closure (LIVC) enables improved cylinder filling via a dynamic charging effect. It is experimentally and analytically demonstrated that LIVC at 2200 RPM and 7.6 bar to 12.7 bar BMEP can be used to increase the volumetric efficiency and enable higher exhaust gas recirculation fractions without penalizing the air-to-fuel ratio. As a result, efficiency improving injection advances are implemented to achieve 1.2% and 1.9% fuel savings without sacrificing NOx penalties. In order to implement the LIVC benefits on a cammed engine, production-viable valve profile solutions were investigated. It is demonstrated that lost-motion-enabled and/or added-motion-enabled boot shape profiles are capable of improving volumetric efficiency at elevated engine speeds and loads. These profiles were also considered for one (of two) -valve modulation and two-valve modulation. Nearly 95% of the volumetric efficiency benefits are possible using production-viable boot or phase profiles, while 80% of the benefits are possible for single-valve modulation. </div><div><br></div><div>At curb idle, CDA and cylinder cutout operation realize stay-warm aftertreatment thermal management improvements by leveraging their impact on the gas exchange process. Specifically, cylinder cutout demonstrates 17% fuel savings, while CDA demonstrates 40% fuel savings, over the conventional six-cylinder thermal calibration. Additionally, the performance of cylinder cutout is subject to the geometry of the exhaust manifold, location of the EGR loop, and ability to control the exhaust manifold pressure. </div><div><br></div><div>Elevating the idle speed, while maintaining the same idle load, enables improved aftertreatment warm-up performance with engine-out NOx and PM levels no higher than a state-of-the-art thermal calibration at conventional idle operation. Elevated idle speeds of 1000RPM and 1200 RPM, compared to conventional idle at 800 RPM, realized 31% to 51% increase in exhaust flow and 25◦C to 40◦C increase in engine-out temperature, respectively. Additional engine-out temperature benefits are experimentally demonstrated at all three idle speeds considered (800, 1000, and 1200 RPM), without compromising the exhaust flow rates or emissions, by modulating the EVO timing. </div><div><br></div><div>At low-to-moderate loads modern diesel engines manipulate exhaust manifold pressures to drive EGR and thermally manage the aftertreatment. In these engines exhaust manifold pressure control is typically achieved via either a valve after the turbine, a variable geometry turbine, or wastegating. It is experimentally demonstrated that valvetrain flexibility enables efficient engine and aftertreatment operation without requiring exhaust manifold pressure control. Specifically, IVC modulation and CDA at elevated engine speeds, along with EVO modulation, CDA, and internal EGR at low engine speeds can match, or improve, efficiency and thermal management performance compared to a stock thermal calibration that requires exhaust manifold pressure control.<br></div>