Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A growing body of studies is developing approaches to evaluate human interaction with Web search engines. Measuring the information retrieval effectiveness of World Wide Web search engines is costly because of the human relevance judgements involved. However, both for business enterprises and people it is important to know the most effective Web search engine, since such search engines help their users find a higher number of relevant Web pages with less effort. Furthermore, this information can be used for several practical purposes. This study does not attempt to describe all the currently available search engines, but provides a comparison of some, which are deemed to be among the most useful. It concentrates on search engines and their characteristics only. The goal is to help a new user get the most useful "hits" when using the various tools. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Al hoe meer studies word gedoen om benaderings te ontwikkel vir die evaluasie van menslike interaksie met Web-soekenjins. Om te meet hoe effektief 'n soekenjin inligting op die Wêreldwye Web kan opspoor, is duur vanweë die mens se relevansiebeoordeling wat daarby betrokke is. Dit is egter belangrik dat die bestuurders van sake-ondememings en ander mense sal weet watter die mees doeltreffende soekenjins is, aangesien sulke soekenjins hulle gebruikers help om 'n hoër aantal relevante Webblaaie met minder inspanning te vind. Hierdie inligting kan ook gebruik word om 'n paar praktiese doelwitte te verwesenlik. Daar word nie gepoog om al die soekenjins wat tans beskikbaar is, te beskryf nie, maar sommige van die soekenjins wat as die nuttigste beskou word, word vergelyk. Daar word alleenlik op soekenjins en hulle kenmerke gekonsentreer. Die doel is om die nuwe gebruiker te help om die nuttigste inligting te verkry deur gebruik te maak van verskeie hulpmiddels.

Compatibility of fuel delivery materials (FDM) with biodiesel fuel in the fuel delivery system (FDS) under real-life common rail diesel engine (CRDE) operation poses a challenge to researchers and engine manufacturers alike. Although standard methods such as ASTM G31 and ASTM D471 for metals and elastomers, respectively, are deemed suitable for evaluating the effects of water content, total acid number (TAN) and oxidation products in biodiesel on FDM degradation, they do not resemble the actual engine operation conditions such as varying fuel pressure/temperature as well as the presence of a wide range of materials in the FDS of a diesel engine. Hence, the current allowable maximum 20 vol% of biodiesel with 80 vol% of diesel (B20) for use in diesel engines to date is debatable. Additionally, biodiesel utilization beyond B20 is essential to combat declining air quality and to reduce the dependence on fuel imports. This thesis aims to elucidate the actual compatibility present between FDM and biodiesel in the FDS under real-life CRDE operation. This was achieved through multi-faceted experimentations which commenced with analyses on the deteriorated palm biodiesel samples collected during and after CRDE operation. Next, the fuel properties which should be emphasized based on the deteriorated fuel were determined. This was then followed by ascertaining the effects of the emphasized fuel properties towards FDM degradation. Ultimately, the actual compatibility of FDM with biodiesel under engine operation through modified immersion investigations was determined. FDM degradation acceleration factors such as oxidized biodiesel, TAN and water content were eliminated since these factors were not affected based on the analysed fuel samples collected after engine operation. No oxidation products such as aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids were detected while the TAN and water content were within 0.446% and 0.625% of their initial values, respectively. Instead, the biodiesel’s dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and conductivity value were not only found to have changed during and after engine operation by -93% and 293%, respectively, but were also found to have influenced biodiesel deterioration under engine operation. These two properties were subsequently discovered to have adversely affected FDM degradation independently. The copper corrosion rate and nitrile rubber (NBR) volume change increased by 9% and 13%, respectively, due to 22% increase in the conductivity value. In contrast, the copper corrosion rate and NBR volume swelling reduced by 91% and 27%, respectively, due to 96% reduction in the DO concentration. Ultimately, copper corrosion and NBR degradation were determined to be lowered by up to 92% and 73%, respectively, under modified immersion as compared to typical immersion condition. These outcomes distinctly show that acceptable to good compatibility is present between FDM and biodiesel under CRDE operation. The good compatibility is strongly supported since only a maximum lifespan reduction of 1.5 years is predicted for metal exposed to biodiesel as compared to diesel for a typical component lifespan of 15 years. For the elastomers, acceptable compatibility is found present between elastomer and biodiesel based on the determined 11% volume change which conforms to the tolerance level of elastomer degradation as stated by the elastomer manufacturers. These are especially true for the evaluated metals and elastomers investigated under the modified laboratory immersion which replicates similar conditions to a real-life CRDE. Overall, this work has contributed to the advancement of knowledge and application of biodiesel use in diesel engines.

The deactivation of a cylinder on a 1.0litre three cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine has been investigated providing novel information on thermal and fuel consumption effects associated with the technology. This comes in light of providing solutions to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions resulting from internal combustion engines. The investigation has been carried out through the PROgram for Modelling of Engine Thermal Systems (PROMETS). A version of PROMETS was extensively developed to characterise a commercially produced TCE not fitted with cylinder deactivation technology. Developments include an improved gas-side heat transfer expression to account for increased heat transfer to coolant due to the addition of an integrated exhaust manifold; addition of an expression to represent natural convection to model heating of quiescent coolant in the block; and a method to estimate the boosted intake manifold pressure past the throttle due to turbocharging on a gasoline engine. The 0-D approach used in this thesis compared to higher resolution computational tools has allowed for thermal and performance predictions to be made within a couple of minutes compared to several hours or days. In effect, PROMETS has been a time and cost effective tool during the development stages of a prototype engine. The PROMETS model indicated that no adverse changes in engine thermal behaviour arose with cylinder deactivation. The largest temperature change of < 400 occurs in the exhaust valve lower stem for the deactivated cylinder. Temperature changes in other components throughout the engine are an order of magnitude smaller. Although the largest temperature differences between the deactivated and firing cylinders were found to be in the range of < 70 , these remain within normal engine operating temperatures of < 100 . Also, by on-setting deactivation past an oil temperature of 40 , warm-up times were marginally extended compared to operation on all cylinders from key-on. Experimental inputs representing changes in engine gross indicated thermal efficiency and the work loss associated with the motoring of a piston complemented modelling work in predicting fuel consumption changes due to deactivation. Reductions in pumping losses account for the majority of the fuel consumption benefit associated with deactivating a cylinder. The main limitation in the employment of cylinder deactivation stems from the deterioration in the gross indicated thermal efficiency. Modelled results show that fuel consumption improvements are highest on low and part load operation envelopes. As such over the NEDC and FTP-75 benefits are in the range of 3.5%. Applying the technology over dynamically loaded cycles such as the WLTC and ARTEMIS, results in benefits of less than 1.6%. Further to modelling work on cylinder deactivation, experimental work has been carried out with the aim of allowing any engine size to be tested to cover transient drive cycles for future research. Future research could be in the aim of investigating technologies to reduce CO2 and emissions resulting from ICEs. Results show that the control solution implemented has allowed eddy-current dynamometers normally used for constant speed and brake load conditions to operate cycles such as the WLTC or any transient brake torque and engine speed pattern. Benchmark fuel consumption values for two engines of differing swept volume are within a 4g error band equivalent to a 0.36% and 0.67% percentage error band demonstrating the excellence of the control system.

High levels of soot-in-oil can cause an increase in engine wear and oil viscosity, thus reducing oil drain intervals. The mechanisms by which soot particles are entrained into the bulk oil are not well understood. The research reported in this thesis addresses questions on the mechanisms of soot transfer to the lubricating oil in light-duty diesel engines with high pressure EGR systems. Deposition as a result of blow-by gas passing the piston ring pack and by absorption to the oil film on the cylinder liner via thermophoresis are soot transfer mechanisms that have been considered in detail. The investigations are based on analytical and simulation studies, and results based on complementary experimental studies are used to validate these. The experimental investigations aimed at evaluating the typical rate of accumulation and size distribution of soot agglomerates in oil. The oil samples analysed were collected during regular services from light-duty diesel engine vehicles. These were representative of vehicles meeting Euro IV and V emission regulation standards driven under real-world conditions. The rate of soot-in-oil was determined by thermogravimetric analysis and results showed a concentration of approximately 1 wt% of soot-in-oil after 15,000 km. The particle size distribution was determined using a novel technique, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA), applied for the first time to soot-laden oil samples by the author [1, 2]. Results showed an average particle size distribution of 150 nm, irrespective of oil drain interval. Almost the totality of the particles were between 70 and 400 nm, with micro particles not detected in any of the samples analysed. For the samples investigated in this work, the Euro standard did not influence either the rate of soot deposition or the particles size distribution. To the author’s best knowledge, this is the first time that rate of soot deposition and particles size distribution from oil samples collected from vehicles of different Euro standard driven under real-world conditions are analysed and compared. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is a common technique used in diesel engines in order to reduce NO¬x emissions. However, it has the drawback that it increases the production of soot. In this work, particular attention has been given to its effects on the rate of soot deposition in oil. Both its influence on the soot produced during the combustion process and on the soot re-introduced in the combustion chamber by the EGR gas has been investigated through CFD simulations using Kiva-3V. Examining the relative importance of near–surface transport of soot by thermophoresis to the oil film on the liner and from blow-by gases to surfaces in the ring pack shows the former to be the dominant mechanism of soot transfer. EGR increases the rate of deposition of soot on the liner not only by increasing net production of soot, but also through the re-cycled particles. At EGR levels higher than 20%, the contribution of the Re-cycled soot becomes the major source for soot-in-oil. The study of soot deposition was evaluated during the entire engine cycle, including compression stroke and post-Exhaust Valve Opening (EVO) period. Existing deposition models found in the literature typically limit the domain to only from the Start of Injection (SOI) to (EVO) period [3-5]. Results from this thesis indicated that compression stroke and post-EVO period can contribute up to 30% of the total rate of soot deposition into oil.

No description available.

Glow plugs are widely used to promote the desired cold start and post-cold start combustion characteristics of light duty diesel engines. The importance of the glow plug becomes more apparent when the compression ratio is low. An experimental investigation of combustion initiation and development aided by the glow plug has been carried out on a single cylinder HPCR DI diesel engine with a low compression ratio of 15.5:1. High speed imaging of combustion initiated by the glow plug in a combustion bomb has been used to add understanding of initiation process. Complementary CFD studies have been carried out using ANSYS Fluent 14.0 to explore the interactions between the glow plug and the spray behavior. Observation of successful combustion initiation show that two conditions must be met, compression heating and heat transfer from the glow plug must raise temperature of gas nearby to at least 413ºC and the vapour/air equivalence ratio no lower than 0.15-0.35. The initiation site was at spray edge close to the glow plug, the flame grew locally before expanding downstream in direction of spray penetration after the end of the main injection. Experimental studies carried out on the engine indicated that the engine IMEP, heat release and combustion stability were continuously improved by using the glow plug at ambient temperatures higher than the temperature requiring the glow plug for initiation of combustion. A rapid development of premixed combustion was achieved associated with improved engine work output, heat release rate and cycle-by-cycle stability. The premixed combustion was enhanced by strengthening spray vaporization through the glow plug. In this study, the combustion behavior was enhanced by the glow plug up to ambient temperature of 20ºC. Initiation delay was shortened by a rapid development of combustion aided by the glow plug. An initiation delay model was developed to account for both physical part (transport delay) and chemical part (chemical delay). The transport delay (ms) is equivalent to the time for spray to transport to the vicinity of the glow plug, dictated by parameters including S, distance between the glow plug tip and the injector tip (mm).

Pressure data measurements have been made in a single-cylinder, spark-ignition engine over 100 consecutive cycles. The engine was operated on natural gas at a wide range of engine speed and equivalence ratios. The effects of spark electrode geometry, combustion chamber geometry, spark gap and throttling have also been examined. From these pressure measurements standard deviations in burning times in mass-fraction-burned values were determined. Because of the existing evidence that the origin of cyclic variations is in the early combustion period, the standard deviations of cyclic variation in time required for a small (almost zero) mass-fraction-burned is estimated by extrapolation. These extrapolated values of standard deviation are compared with the implication of a hypothesis that cyclic variations in combustion in spark-ignition engines originate in the small-scale structure of turbulence (after ignition). The nature of turbulence structure during combustion is deduced from existing knowledge of mixture motion within the combustion chamber of the engine. This research determines the turbulent parameters, such as turbulence intensity, turbulent length scales and laminar burning velocity. The standard deviation in burning times in the early stages of combustion is estimated, within experimental uncertainty, by the parameter ⋋/4uℓ where ⋋ is the Taylor microscale and uℓ is the laminar burning velocity of the unburned mixture. This parameter is the consequence of the Tennekes model of small-scale structure of turbulence and Chomiak's explanation of the high flame propagation rate in regions of concentrated vorticity and the assumption that theignition behaves as though it were from a point source. The general conclusion reached is that the standard deviation in the burning time for small mass-fraction-burned is associated with the early stages of burning-predictable from the knowledge of the Taylor microscale and the laminar burning velocity. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Mechanical Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Internal diesel injector deposits (IDIDs) have become a prolific issue in the last decade, increased number of incidences have occurred since the introduction of ultra-low sulfur diesel and biodiesel. The IDIDs have caused concerns for customers such as injector systems misfiring or blocking, increased emissions and fuel consumption. Interest into the origins of the deposits has steadily grown, with identified possible causes including contaminants, degraded additives, or thermal and pressure stresses of the engine. Most examples in previous studies only provide surface analysis of IDIDs, however, the surface only provides a relatively small part of the story. In order to understand how an IDID has formed the history needs to be explained, to do this the lower layers of the IDID need to be analysed. Outcomes of this research include the first example of focused ion beam and secondary ion mass spectrometry being used in combination to analyse IDIDs and clearly shows different chemical layers, demonstrating that these deposits are made up of multiple complex chemistries. Raman spectroscopy can provide graphitic content information for IDIDs giving evidence of formation however, a method to remove fluorescence from carbonaceous structures was first devised and validated in order to allow this to be performed. The jet fuel thermal oxidation test (JFTOT) has been proven to be an effective method of replicating deposits on comparison with IDIDs from failed field engines, and key chemistries have been identified for B20 biodiesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). This work has used existing analytical methods to understand IDIDs and found novel insights that have not been previously observed in the literature.

No description available.

An analytical investigation was attempted of a solar driven free-piston Stirling engine driving a second free-piston Stirling engine as a heat pump. A dynamic model and a thermodynamic model with free convection heat transfer were derived. The governing equations were programmed to obtain numerical solutions by computer. Graphs of piston displacements, volumes, pressures, mass cycles, and temperatures versus time are presented. Engine work output, operating frequencies, and efficiencies are calculated. Effects of parameter variations are presented. However, because proper phase angles could not be obtained for this model, the cooling performance of the system could not be evaluated. Limitations of the computer analysis are discussed and areas for possible further investigation are suggested