Koichiro Nakatani

Improvement of diesel engine performance by variable valve train system

The effects of variable valve timing and lift are studied in order to improve the thermal efficiency of a diesel engine, while maintaining low emission levels. At high load conditions, early closing of one of the intake valves or early intake valve opening realizes an enhancement of swirl intensity without increased pumping losses, and retarded intake valve closing reduces the effective compression ratio, both of which result in an increased exhaust gas recirculation ratio and an advanced fuel injection timing. Consequently low NO x formation and an improved thermal efficiency can be achieved simultaneously. At low load conditions, the injected fuel is dispersed in the cylinder by air swirl because of the small fuel quantity, and the increased effective compression ratio achieved by the early intake valve closing becomes effective at reducing hydrocarbon emissions. It is confirmed that the variable valve timing and lift system introduced in this research can flexibly change the engine parameters that govern engine combustion at various engine operating conditions. As a result, a 40 per cent reduction of engine-out NO x emissions and 4 per cent improvement of fuel consumption in the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) are achieved. Furthermore, low-end torque could be increased by 40 per cent, utilizing exhaust pressure pulsation by matching of exhaust valve opening timing, and the overlap of intake and exhaust valve opening around top dead centre in the intake stroke. To enhance these benefits a new piston chamber with deep valve pockets is developed and its effect is investigated.

A control strategy of low-pressure loop exhaust gas recirculation and NOx storage catalyst for diesel engines

Low-pressure loop exhaust gas recirculation systems are effective means of simultaneously reducing the NOx emissions and fuel consumption of diesel engines. Further lower emission levels can be achieved by adopting a system that combines low-pressure loop exhaust gas recirculation with a NOx storage and reduction catalyst. However, this combined system has to overcome the issue of combustion fluctuations resulting from changes in the air–fuel ratio due to exhaust gas recirculation from rich operating conditions. The aim of this research was to reduce combustion fluctuations by developing low-pressure loop exhaust gas recirculation control logic. In order to control the combustion fluctuations caused by low-pressure loop exhaust gas recirculation, it is necessary to estimate the recirculation time. First, recirculation delay was investigated, and a model was developed. A good correlation was found between actual measurements and the recirculation delay estimated by this model. Next, the control logic for low-pressure loop exhaust gas recirculation was studied. The recirculation gas under rich operating conditions was detected by an air–fuel ratio sensor to examine a method of controlling the exhaust gas recirculation valve in accordance with the timing for the rich gas to reach the exhaust gas recirculation valve actually. Thus, fluctuations in torque and combustion noise were improved.