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A new criterion for the determination of the start of combustion (SOC) from the diesel engine in-cylinder pressure diagram was developed. It is defined as the maximum of the third-order derivative of the cylinder pressure with respect to the crank angle. This criterion declares SOC more precisely than other previously published criteria based on pressure diagnostics. This fact was proven analytically and was discernable from the analysis of the experimental data. Besides its accuracy it is also robust enough to allow automatic evaluation of the SOC during processing of the pressure data for a large number of cycles. By applying the first law of thermodynamics analysis to the engine cylinder it was discovered that the third-order derivative of the in-cylinder pressure with respect to the crank angle is the most suitable criterion for determination of the SOC from the in-cylinder pressure diagram. Subsequently, the criterion was validated through experimental data analysis of the in-cylinder pressure diagrams for various engine speeds and loads. In order to evaluate the rate of heat release (ROHR), which formed the base for the experimental validation, in-cylinder pressure diagrams were processed with a computer code based on the first law of thermodynamics. The cylinder pressure was measured with an advanced piezoelectric sensor at the resolution 0.1 deg CA. Top dead center was determined with the capacitive top dead center sensor. Due to the analytic foundation of the developed method and its validation through highly accurate experimental data it can be concluded that new criterion is credible for the determination of the SOC.

The aim of this paper is to present a simulation and analytical analysis of the energy conversion efficiency in parallel and series hybrid powertrains. The analytical approach is based on the energy balance equations, whereas the simulation approach is based on an accurate and fast forward-facing simulation model for simulating parallel and series hybrid powertrains. A very good agreement between simulation and analytical results gives confidence pertaining to the accuracy of the performed analysis and confirms the validity of the analytical framework. Thus, combined simulation and analytical analysis enables deep insight into the energy conversion phenomena in hybrid powertrains and reveals the advantages and disadvantages of both hybrid concepts running under different operating conditions. It is obvious from the presented results that the parallel hybrid powertrain features better fuel economy than the series one for the applied test cycles, whereas both hybrid powertrain concepts feature the best fuel economy at light-duty application.

On-road exhaust emissions of a Euro 5 factory bi-fuel CNG/gasoline light-duty vehicle equipped with the TWC were assessed considering the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) guidelines. The vehicle was equipped with a Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS) that enabled the measurement of THC, CO, NOx, CO2, and CH4. With respect to the characteristics of the vehicle, the appropriate Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycles (WLTC) were selected and based on the requirements of the RDE legislation a suitable route was conceived. In addition to the moderate RDE-based route, an extended RDE-based route was also determined. The vehicle was driven along each defined route twice, once with each individual fuel option and with a fully warm vehicle.RDE routes feature a multitude of new driving patterns that are significantly different to those encountered in the NEDC. However, as these driving patterns can greatly influence the cumulative emissions an insight in to local time trace phenomena is crucial to understand, reason and to possibly reduce the cumulative emissions. Original contributions of this paper comprise analyses of the RDE-LDV local time resolved driving emissions phenomena of a CNG-powered vehicle that are benchmarked against the ones measured under the use of gasoline in the same vehicle and under similar operating conditions to reason emission trends through driving patterns and powertrain parameters and exposing the strong cold-start independent interference of CO and N2O infrared absorption bands in the non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) analyzer. The paper provides experimental evidence on this interference, which significantly influences on the readings of CO emissions. The paper further provides hypotheses why CO and N2O interference is more pronounced when using CNG in LDVs and supports these hypotheses by PEMS tests.The study reveals that the vehicle's NOx real-world emission values of both conceived RDE-based routes when using both fuels are within Euro 5 and type-approval limits. Additionally, the THC and the NMHC emissions of both RDE-based routes using both fuels are within the Euro 5 limits indicating reasonable CH4 emissions. Notable increases above the type-approval and Euro 5 limits appeared in the CO emissions profile when using gasoline, while the CO2 emissions profile expectedly also exceeded the type-approval specifications. Highlights• A factory bi-fuel CNG/gasoline LDV was assessed considering the proposed RDE guidelines • CNG RDE-LDV results are benchmarked against the ones of the gasoline fuel