The thermal efficiency of a differential stroke engine based on the Atkinson cycle is higher than that of engines with an Otto cycle or Diesel cycle. To fulfill the requirement of the expansion ratio that is greater than the compression ratio in the Atkinson cycle, a mechanism with an inner piston that can provide such a motion control in a differential stroke engine is needed. In order to measure both of the inner piston motion and the cylinder pressure of a differential stroke engine, this thesis is focused on building up a measurement system to inspect the design of a mechanism that achieves the motion needed in a differential stroke engine. To obtain the inner piston motion in a differential stroke engine operated at a speed, the measurement system is equipped with a laser sensor and an angular encoder to identify the difference between the theoretical and experimental results. Also, to inspect the cylinder pressure, a pressure transducer is employed with the test bed so that both of the P-T diagram and P-V diagram can be calculated by using the measured result. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed test bed, real experiments are performed. The developed measurement system has proved to be a useful tool during the developing processes of design and manufacture of differential stroke engines.

In response to the global concerns towards oil scarcity and climate change, the automotive industry is currently focusing on improving fuel economy and reducing exhaust emissions. Modern downsized gasoline engines that come with a package that includes a boosting system, variable valve train and direct fuel injection system is effective for fuel economy improvement and emission reduction. However, the knocking issue becomes severe at high load operations as a result of the high intake boosting pressure. In regard to the part load conditions, the gas exchange process requires extra work to draw in air into the cylinder due to a lower amount of pressure in the intake manifold caused by the restriction of the throttle plate. The Miller cycle is regarded as a potential strategy of knock control for downsized gasoline engines. Extensive works have sought to examine the performance improvement via the Miller cycle, yet only limited research has been conducted on the manner in which it can influence knock suppression. The focus of this thesis is to investigate early and late intake valve closing timings in terms of how they affect the compression process, the ability to suppress engine knock and meet the power output required at high loads for spark-ignited gasoline engines. Apart from that, this research also demonstrates the Miller cycle potential by utilising fully variable valve timing in controlling the load at the part load condition without using a throttle. The early intake valve closing with different valve lifts was tested in order to investigate the impact during the gas exchange process, particularly the pumping losses and the potential to improve fuel economy. This study includes both experimental and simulation studies. A Lotus single-cylinder research engine referred to as SCORE was mainly used for the experimental component of the study. The simulation work was conducted using a one-dimensional spark ignition engine model built in the Ricardo WAVE software for naturally-aspirated and downsized engines. The engine model values are validated against the experimental values from the Lotus SCORE and Lotus SABRE engines. The combustion model with a reduced kinetics mechanism was validated using a Rover K-series engine. A broad matrix of the engine operations has been investigated combining a variety of engine speeds and engine loads. The Miller cycle effects on knock suppression in a downsized engine environment have been investigated in three parts, namely the Miller cycle at different speed-load, knock suppression with extreme Miller cycle, and knock analysis with combustion kinetics. Through the works, the Miller cycle has demonstrated its capability to suppress engine knocking in a more efficient manner as opposed to the standard engine operation. This is contributed by the fact that early and late intake valve closings could affect the end gas condition at the end of the compression stroke, thus making it possible to suppress the engine knocking. The experimental study for controlling load without using throttle under the naturally-aspirated condition found that the Miller cycle with an early intake calve closing strategy able to improve fuel consumption by reducing pumping losses. The downsized engine condition, which has been evaluated via modelling work, also showed an improved performance trend using the unthrottled Miller cycle strategy. The open cycle and close cycle efficiencies have improved through the Miller cycle implementation. The contribution of this work is made in order to establish the comparison of the Miller cycle strategy in suppressing knocking between the early intake valve closing and late intake valve closing under a boosted environment. For the part load condition of the downsized engine, the research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by comparing the throttle-less Miller cycle and the standard throttled operation as a load control strategy.

Natural gas is currently an attractive substitute for diesel fuel in the Heavy-Duty (HD) diesel transportation sector. This is primarily attributed to its cost effectiveness, but also its ability to reduce the amount of CO2 and harmful engine pollutants emitted into the atmosphere. Lean-burn dual-fuel engines substitute natural gas in place of diesel but typically suffer from high engine-out methane (CH4) emissions, particularly under low load operation. In response to this issue, this work set out to improve upon the efficiency and emissions of a lean-burn dual-fuel combustion system in an HD diesel/natural gas engine. Thermodynamic experimental engine testing was performed at various steady-state operating points in order to identify the most effective methods and technologies for improving emissions and efficiency. Low Temperature Combustion (LTC) along with several valvetrain and injection strategies were evaluated for benefits, with special attention paid to low load operating conditions. LTC was proven to be a useful method for decreasing methane emissions while simultaneously improving engine efficiency. The benefits of LTC were a function of load with the greatest advantages experienced under medium load operation. Additionally, the low load strategies tested were determined to be effective techniques for reducing methane emissions and could possibly extend the dual-fuel operating regime to lighter load conditions. Overall, no operating condition tested throughout the engine map resulted in a brake engine-out methane emissions level of less than 0.5 g/kWh at gas substitutions greater than approximately 75%. It is suggested that the limits of this particular lean-burn dual-fuel design were reached, and that it would likely require improvements to either the combustion system or exhaust after-treatment if Euro VI emissions levels for methane were to be achieved.

The main aim of this thesis is the analysis of influence of inlet valve opening length and compression ratio on performance and thermodynamic parameters of Miller cycle using GT-SUITE software. Next step was an optimization of inlet and exhaust valve timing with goal of increasing motor effective power. For chosen option was designed cam shaft with regard of kinematic and dynamic magnitude courses.

The diploma thesis deals with the calculation of thermodynamic parameters of a turbocharged petrol engine with Miller cycle. A drive unit from Volkswagen, the EA211EVO model line, was chosen as the engine. The engine has a displacement of 1498 cm3 and engine power reaches 110kW at 5000 to 6000 RPM. In this work, a basic description of the thermodynamics of cycles of spark ignition engines is performed, then the problem of turbocharging and methods of its control are presented. The following are the created engine models in GTSuite environment in variants with WasteGate and Variable Turbine Geometry. Finally, operation optimizations with various valve timing changes are presented. The individual variants are the compared.

This thesis deals with the design of a spark-ignition internal combustion engine with extended expansion. It explains the principle of extended expansion using the Atkinson or Miller cycle and the possibilities of achieving it. In addition, a design study and engine cycle is carried out. Subsequently, the course of the kinematic quantities and forces in the mechanism is determined. At the end, the strength analysis of the connecting rod of the designed mechanism is performed.

I jämförelse med sina föregångare, har moderna lastbilsmotorer genomgått en betydandeutveckling och har utvecklats till effektiva kraftmaskiner med låga utsläpp genom införandet avavancerade avgasbehandlingssystem. Trots att de framsteg som gjorts under utvecklingen av lastbilsmotorer har varit betydande, så framhäver de framtida förväntningarna vad gällerprestanda, bränsleförbrukning och emissioner behovet av snabba samt storskaliga förbättringar av dessa parametrar för att förbränningsmotorn ska fortsätta att vara konkurrenskraftig och hållbar. Utmaningen i att uppfylla dessa till synes enkla krav är den invecklade, ogynnsammabalansgång som måste göras mellan parametrarna. Förbränningsmotorns kärna är förbränningsprocessen, som i sin tur är kopplad till motorns luftbehandlings- och bränsleregleringssystem. I denna studie undersöks Millercykeln som en potentiell lösning till att nå de motstridiga kraven för framtida lastbilsmotorer, framförallt med fokus på potentialen att förbättra prestandan samtidigt som NOx-emissionerna hålls på konstantnivå. Traditionellt har utvärderingen av Millercykeln utförts på encylindriga forskningsmotorer, vilket också har utgjort utgångspunkten i denna studie. Även om studier på flercylindriga simuleringsmodeller och forskningsmotorer har gjorts med konstanta inställningar för Millercykeln, så utförs de inte i samband med undersökningar av encylindriga motorer. Dessutom så möts inte kraven från insugssystemet på samma sätt mellan de olika motorkonfigurationerna. Denna studie undersöker och jämför potentialen för ökad prestanda med Miller-cykeln mellan encylindrig och flercylindrig motorkonfiguration för en lastbilsmotor med ett tvåstegs turboladdningssystem, som representerar ett realistiskt insugssystem som möjliggör implementeringen av Millercykeln. För att undersöka motorprestationen så används i denna studie den kommersiella mjukvaran GT-Power. Ytterligare resultat från studien innefattar kvantifiering av prestandakraven för ett högeffektivt tvåstegs turboladdningssystem och dess inverkan på temperaturen i inloppet till avgasbehandlings-systemet. En kvalitativ förståelse av betydelsen av interaktionen mellan cylindrar och effekten på cylinder-cylinder variationer med Millercykel utfördes också i simuleringar med flercylindrig motorkonfiguration. Studien utvärderade Millertiming inom ett intervall på -90 till +90 graders vev vinkel från utgångsvinkeln för stängning av insugsventilen. Utvärderingen utfördes vid systemjämvikt vid en fullastpunkt (1000RPM), där basfallet för både encylindrig och flercylindrig motor för utvärdering av Millercykeln var det välkända fallet med konstant specifik NOx. Ett ytterligare fall framhäver NOx-reduktionspotentialen med Miller vid konstant EGR-flöde på en encylindrig konfiguration. Fallen med ökad prestation realiserades genom att öka lufttillförseln, bränslemängden och det geometriska kompressionsförhållandet. Maximal prestandaökning observerades i fallet med ökad bränslemängd, och endast i detta fall utvärderades även konfigurationen med fler cylindrar för jämförelse av prestationsförbättringen med en encylindrig motsvarighet med Millertiming. Den flercylindriga motorn innefattade EGR som en lågtryckskrets, och medan detta antagande förenklade i avseende på modellering och kontroll, så var det till fördel för konfigurationen meden flercylindrig motor (jämfört med encylindrig) på grund av reducerade pumpförluster. Som påföljd gjordes en jämförande undersökning med encylinder-modellen med motsvarande mottryck för flercylinder-modellen inställt som gränsvärde. Resultaten visar att encylindermodellen representerar medelvärdet för cylindrarna i flercylinder-motorn när lämpligagränsvillkor tillämpas som kontrollparametrar. Studien ger en grund för jämförelse av Millertiming på encylindrig samt flercylindriga konfigurationer, samtidigt som kraven på insugssystemet fastställs och utgör en utgångspunkt föratt utvärdera Millercykeln och bestämma insugssystemets krav för hela motorns arbetsområde. / Modern heavy-duty engines have undergone considerable development over their predecessors and have evolved into efficient performance machines with a reducing emission footprint through the incorporation of advanced aftertreatment systems. Although, the progress achieved in heavy-duty engine development has been significant, the future expectation from heavy-duty engines in terms of performance, fuel consumption and emissions stresses the need for rapid large-scale improvements of these metrics to keep the combustion engine competitive and sustainable. The challenges in resolving these apparently straightforward demands are the intricate unfavourable trade-off that exists among the target metrics. The core of the combustion engine lies in the combustion process which is inherently linked to the air handling and fuel regulating systems of the engine. This study explores adopting the Miller cycle as a potential solution to the conflicting demands placed on future heavy-duty engines with an emphasis on the performance enhancement potential while keeping the specific NOX emission consistent. Traditionally, evaluation of the Miller cycle is performed on single-cylinder research engines and formed the starting point in this study. While studies on full-engine simulation models and test engines with fixed Miller timing have been evaluated, they appear to be performed in isolation of the favoured single-cylinder approach. Additionally, the charging system requirements are not consistently addressed between the two approaches. This study investigates and contrasts the performance enhancement potential of the Miller cycle on single-cylinder and serial enginemodels of a heavy-duty engine along with a two-stage turbocharging system to represent a realistic charging system that enables implementation of Miller timing. The commercial engine performance prediction tool GT-Power was used in this study. Additional outcomes of the study included quantifying the performance demands of a high efficiency two-stage turbocharging system and its impact on the inlet temperature of the exhaust aftertreatment system. A qualitative understanding of the significance of cylinder interaction effects on cylinder-cylinder variations with Miller timing was also performed on the serial engine cases. The study evaluated Miller timing within a range of -90 to +90 CAD from the baseline intake valve close angle. The evaluation was performed at steady-state operation of the engine at one full load point (1000RPM) wherein both the single-cylinder and serial engine Miller evaluation included a base case which characterises the Miller effect for constant specific NOX. An additional case highlights the NOX reduction potential with Miller for a constant EGR rate on the single-cylinder configuration. The performance enhancement cases were realised by increasingthe air mass, fuel mass and the geometric compression ratio. Maximum performance increase was observed in the increased fuel mass case and only this case was evaluated on the serial engine for contrasting single-cylinder and serial engine performance enhancement with Miller timing. The serial engine incorporated EGR as a low-pressure circuit and while this simplified modelling and controller considerations, it led to biasing of results in favour of the serial engine configuration (over the single-cylinder) due to reduced pumping loss. A subsequent comparison case was evaluated on the single-cylinder model with backpressure settings from the serial engine model. The results show that the single-cylinder model is representative of the cylinder averaged responses of the serial engine when appropriate boundary conditions are imposed as controller targets. The study provides a basis for contrasting Miller timing on single-cylinder and serial configurations while determining the charging system requirements and presents a starting point to evaluate Miller timing and determine air system demands over the entire engine operating range.

The scope of this thesis is the Miller engine cycle analysis and its practical application on a turbocharged spark ignited engine. Based on the sensitivity analysis of the limits affecting the ideal Miller cycle thermal efficiency a thermodynamic model of the engine with a prolonged expansion was set up in the GT-POWER software. The results of the analyses were used to evaluate the feasibility of the reference engine conversion for an operation with Miller cycle.