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In addition to our own reports on the FVV research priorities, the MTZ worldwide magazine regularly publishes articles on important research projects of the FVV. Here the research and technology performers report in detail on concrete project results after the official final project report was published and presented at an FVV Conference.
The research projects are carried out in close cooperation with the members of the FVV within the framework of the Industrial Collective Research (IGF). We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in our projects and especially the funding organisations.
Photo Credit: RWTH Aachen
Centrifugal compressors are an essential part of the industrial environment and, as such, are subject to the most stringent requirements in respect of operational efficiency in large parts of the compressor map. As part of FVV research project no. 1279 “Design and implementation of the FVV industrial compressor”, a new compressor stage was designed as a research platform at RWTH Aachen University to provide the basis for investigating the stability limit, as well as interaction phenomena, in part-load operation.
Read more THEMIS Documentation PGT »Turbomachinery«Photo Credit: KIT
Technological trends, such as electrification and automated driving, result in increasingly complex vehicle development processes. Hereby, distributed development tools can assist in a wide range of applications. In the FVV project “Method Hybrid Testing” (no. 1363) a methodology for a virtual test bench network for hybrid electric drives was developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology accompanied by APL. This allows investigations at system level to be carried out as early as at the component development stage.
Read more THEMIS Documentation PG1 »System«In stationary gas turbines and aircraft engines, thermally induced stress gradients at high temperatures have a significant influence on fatigue life. This has been investigated collaboratively at Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden), the University of Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in the FVV project (No. 1218) “Thermally Induced Stress Gradients (TISG)” on a test rig developed for this purpose and confirmed by making use of an advanced lifetime concept with the addition of numerical simulations of the thermal behavior and deformation behavior.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area TURBOMACHINERY | PGTNowadays, engine process calculation is an important tool for the development of internal combustion engines for the analysis of test bench measurements, but even more so for the prediction of engine operation during concept phase. In order to increase accuracy and forecast quality, the Research Association for Combustion Engines e. V. (FVV) initiated the project “Modeling of Turbulence II” (FVV no. 1233). At the University of Stuttgart, the current state of modeling valve flow and in-cylinder turbulence has been reviewed and enhanced.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG2Photo Credit: KIT
The aim is to reduce the number of particles in the engine, but particulate filters must also be designed more efficiently, especially in gasoline engines. Both can only be achieved through a deeper understanding of the processes in the combustion chamber and their model-based simulation. At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Technical University (TU) of Darmstadt, a methodology for simulating the particulate emissions of two gasoline engines under transient conditions was developed in the FVV project Systemic Analysis of Particle Formation on Gasoline Engines (FVV No. 1282).
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG2Photo Credit: VKA
Investigations of the oil balance at the piston are important for optimizing future engine concepts with regard to combustion processes and emissions. As part of the FVV project Fuel in Oil II (FVV No. 1225), the Institute for Combustion Engines (VKA) at RWTH Aachen University developed and used a measurement method for detailed investigations of the lubricating film thicknesses on the piston top land. At the same time, the Institute for Analytical Measurement Technology Hamburg e. V. (IAM-Hamburg) developed an exhaust gas analysis method to investigate the oil emission mechanisms.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG2Photo Credit: VKA
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) represents a short- and medium term addition to the fuel portfolio for turbo-DI spark ignition engines, as it is readily available worldwide and can contribute significantly to greenhouse gas reduction due to the low C/H ratio. As part of the FVV research project No. 1202, a homogeneous stoichiometric combustion process with direct natural gas injection in combination with high-load exhaust gas recirculation was investigated at RWTH Aachen University and Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG2Photo Credit: andriano_cz | stock.adobe.com
By using complex thermal management strategies, it is possible to make the heat distribution of the engine more accurate and dynamic, thus increasing efficiency. As part of the FVV project “Accurate Temperature Management” (FVV no. 1266) at the Otto von Guericke University (OVGU) Magdeburg and the University of Stuttgart, an engine’s water jacket was used as an example to investigate how cooling efficiency can be optimized by using simulations. Particular focus was placed on the modeling of 1-D simulations, which are more economical than 3-D ones.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG1Photo Credit: LUH, TUC
Model-based calculation tools are for early design evaluation. They can only be used in a meaningful way if thermodynamic processes can be represented realistically, for which a sufficiently deep understanding is required. For this reason, the processes at the plain bearings and the heat flow mechanisms within a passenger car turbocharger were investigated within the framework of the FVV project “Thermally influenced TC bearing friction” (FVV No. 1238) at the Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) and the Clausthal University of Technology (TUC).
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area TURBOMACHINERY | PGTPhoto Credit: IFA
Long-term reliability and high conversion rates are major criteria for engine exhaust aftertreatment with selective catalytic reduction by a Urea-water Solution. Unfavorable operating conditions may lead to the formation of solid deposits which degrade the system efficiency. Within the framework of the FVV project no. 1262, at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Vienna University of Technology (TUW), fundamental experimental and numerical investigations on deposit for mation and decomposition were carried out.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG6 »Emissions & Immissions«Photo Credit: am | stock.adobe.com
Internal deposits in diesel injectors can lead to engine operating problems or a changed dynamic behavior of injectors. Common rail injectors for heavy-duty engines are particularly in focus because of their special requirements. These engines in particular are characterized by applications with the highest rail pressures, a high proportion of high-load operation and fields of application in a wide variety of regions and markets. To avoid loss of performance in current and future injection systems, a laboratory test method for preventive fuel screening with regard to the tendency to build up deposits was developed in a research project (FVV No. 1285) at LKV Rostock and verified with injection bench tests.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG4 »Strength & Tribology«Photo Credit: VKA
The increasing complexity of modern powertrains requires innovative control concepts. In the scope of the FVV research project Controls for High-Load Exhaust Gas Recircula tion (FVV No. 1265) conducted at the RWTH Aachen University, a model-predictive air path control for a two-stage boosted gasoline engine with low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation was developed, integrated into a prototype vehicle and evaluated regarding the achievable control performance.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG1 »System«Deposits on components of the Exhaust Aftertreatment (EAT) are often only detected after the failure of the respective component. Within the FVV project EAT Clogging (FVV project no. 1271), the Technical University of Braunschweig investigated which parameters have an impact on deposit formation and in which stages this takes place. The investigations include dynamic endurance runs and stationary tests.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG6 »Emissions & Immissions«Photo Credit: Ford
Internal combustion engine technology can also be applied in order to meet future greenhouse gas and pollutant emission targets, if the fuel characteristics are included as free parameters within the ptimization of the powertrain. Therefore, a BMWi-funded consortium investigated oxygenated low-carbon fuels for the application in compression ignition engines, in order to study their combustion and pollutant formation properties on the engine and within a vehicle application.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG3 »Combustion CI«Photo Credit: TUBS, LUH
Downsizing in a single-stage turbocharged engine concept goes hand in hand with the trade-off between high rated power and acceptable performance in the lower engine speed range. In order to extend the stable characteristic map range, a variable cross-section concept for the radial compressor has been analyzed. The investigations were carried out as part of an FVV research project at the Leibniz University Hannover and the Technical University Braunschweig.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG1 »System«Photo Credit: IAV
Alternative powertrain concepts are currently being researched in many places and some are already ready for the market. However, the activities in this area are mainly to be seen in passenger cars. It is not yet clear where heavy-duty trucks are headed. The University of Stuttgart and IAV, in a research project of the Research Association of Internal Combustion Engines (FVV), have investigated the powertrains of future heavy-duty trucks for long-distance transport, which should emit as little CO2 as possible.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG1 »System«Photo Credit: LKV
Due to the growing importance of bio-alcohol blends, it is necessary to understand the impact on the engine lubricating oil system. For this reason the University of Rostock has investigated as part of the FVV research project no. 1228 the influence of higher bio-alcohol contents in gasoline on the aging of lubricating oil and the wear of engine components. The results can also be applied to the use of synthetic alcohols (e-fuels) as blending components.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG4 »Strength & Tribology«Archive
Photo Credit: SAM TU Darmstadt
Bioethanol-containing fuels from regenerative sources, such as wheat straw and sugar cane, are used to blend fossil fuels in order to reduce climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions. The hygroscopic properties of ethanol in such fuels represent new requirements for the materials used in fuel-carrying components with regard to corrosion. Within the framework of a Research Association for Internal Combustion Engines and German Research Foundation-funded research project, the corrosive influence of biogenic fuels on the fatigue behavior of application-relevant steels was investigated in a cooperation of the research group for System Reliability, Adaptive Structures and Machine Acoustics (SAM) as well as the Center of Structural Materials (MPA-IfW) of the Technical University of Darmstadt and the Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering (IWT) in Bremen.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG4 »Strength & Tribology«Photo Credit: MAN Energy Solutions SE
Turbocharging is known to be a well-established technology for an engine’s efficiency and power output by forcing extra compressed air into the combustion chamber. The centrifugal loads, necessary flow deflections, unsteady pressure fluctuations, and structural temperature gradients put a high strain on rotating components. Additionally, those components are prone to high-cycle fatigue. The Chair of Structural Mechanics and Vehicle Vibrational Technology at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg investigated the impact of manufacturing tolerances on the vibrational behavior of several turbine and compressor impellers. Finally, it is shown that intentional mistuning can lead to significantly lower stresses.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area TURBOMACHINES | PGTPhoto Credit: Universität Stuttgart
To reduce CO2 emissions, diesel engines operating in dual-fuel mode use natural gas in the charge mixture to partly substitute the injected diesel mass. For this mode of operation a phenomenological combustion model based on extensive measurements in a rapid compression expansion machine and a single-cylinder engine test bench was developed and validated. The model reproduces the complex underlying processes of dual-fuel diesel combustion and contributes to new knowledge of the governing in-cylinder phenomena.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG3 »Combustion CI«Photo Credit: Technische Universität Wien
A modular thermochemical heat storage prototype, developed at the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology at the Vienna University of Technology, was integrated in the coolant circuit of an SI engine for passenger cars. The aim was to analyze the basic suitability of the system as well as the potential for reduction of fuel consumption through storage of engine waste heat. The functionality of the system was confirmed in the framework of the conducted driving cycles – it has been proven that improvements of energy density and power release are needed for an effective series application.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG1 »System«Photo Credit: Technical University of Munich
In order to achieve extreme power densities at high efficiencies with a spark-ignition gas engine for combined heat and power, there are some challenges to overcome. Components with a high thermomechanical strength have to be developed, as well as a a combustion process that both expands the operating range regarding knock and misfire, and provides feasible boundary conditions for peripheral engine systems such as the charging system. These were examined systematically at the Technical University of Munich and the Leibniz University of Hannover within an FVV project.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG2 »Combustion SI«Photo Credit: Universität Kassel
To improve existing simulation tools regarding the emitted airborne sound of internal combustion engines the emergence and the transmission of structure-borne sound inside the crank drive offers enormous potential. By using specifically designed in-situ measurement techniques, the Institute of Internal Combustion Engines and Automotive Engineering of the University of Stuttgart produced previously unavailable values which are used for an improved representation of dynamic processes inside the hydrodynamic bearings of a thermo-elasto hydrodynamic lubrication simulation model running at the Institute for Powertrain and Vehicle Technology, Machine Elements and Tribology of the University of Kassel.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG5 »Engine Dynamics & Acoustics«Photo Credit: Technische Universität Braunschweig
The application of gasoline direct injection with a small cylinder diameter is chal lenging for the mixture formation. Due to a short free path length, disadvantages in emission performance can occur as a consequence of wall wetting. As part of an FVV research project, the mixture formation of small-volume gasoline engine concepts with different injector positions was examined in optical and numerical investigations at the Technische Universität Braunschweig.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG2 »Combustion SI«Photo Credit: Technische Universität Darmstadt
In the academic community, Large Eddy Simulation is an established research approach while simulations based on Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations are mostly used in industry. Since many stochastic engine phenomena such as cycle-to-cycle variations, knock or misfire can only be predicted qualitatively using this approach, there is an increasing interest in the industrial sector in also establishing Large Eddy Simulation. As part of the FVV research project 1215, the Technical University of Darmstadt evaluated the current degree of utilization of the Large Eddy Simulation in the academic and industrial environment.
Read more THEMIS Documentation Research Area ENGINES | PG2 »Combustion SI«Research Association for Combustion Engines eV
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