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Green Heavy Duty Engine

Project

GREEN - Green Heavy Duty Engine


Funding origin:
European
European Union
STRIA Roadmaps:
Vehicle design and manufacturing (VDM)
Vehicle design and manufacturing
Low-emission alternative energy for transport (ALT)
Low-emission alternative energy for transport
Transport mode:
Multimodal
Multimodal
Transport sectors:
Passenger transport
Passenger transport
Freight transport
Freight transport
Project website:
Duration:
Start date: 01/03/2005,
End date: 31/05/2008

Status: Finished
Funding details:
Total cost:
€21 749 770
EU Contribution:
€12 000 000

Overview

Background & policy context:

The development of heavy-duty (HD) engines is undergoing a rapid evolution. Increased demand for fuel efficiency, emissions and global competition are driving forces. HD engines operate under constraints much more severe than those of passenger cars, such as:

  • higher durability (> 600 000 km) of the engine and of the related after-treatment;
  • higher mechanical and thermal stress of the engine (heavier load factor);
  • higher pressure on reliability (up-time), investment and fuel economy.

The above constraints characterise the HD engines for their more general applications: not only trucks and urban vehicles but also the rail traction and the inland waterway vessels of the directive 2002/765.

New technologies will help in meeting future emission and fuel consumption targets by:

  • a new combustion process enabled by variable components;
  • new control strategies;
  • considering the engine and the exhaust after-treatment as one system;
  • considering sustainable fuels.

Objectives:

The main objective of the integrated project GREEN was to perform research leading to subsystems for a heavy duty powertrain based on the intelligent integration of a new engine concept, characterised by: 

  • flexible components;
  • an improved combustion process;
  • models for a model based closed loop emission control;
  • high power density ;
  • integrated exhaust after-treatment system with good reliability at low load in wide range of operating conditions;
  • on a competitive cost base;
  • with the highest fuel conversion efficiency of the Diesel cycle;
  • near-zero real world pollutant emissions and significant reduction of CO2.

Methodology:

The work in GREEN was divided into sub-projects:

Subproject A1
Perform a gas engine with maximum thermal efficiency potential with:

  • Electro-hydraulic variable valves motion management (EVMG)
  • Very near to valves multipoint port-gas injection and experimental study of DI injection;
  • Cooled EGR
  • Gas quality assessment.

Subproject A2
Evaluate the potential of different variability in combination with tailored exhaust after-treatment systems based on novel fuel injection and variable valve actuation (VVA) system combined with:

  • Functional particulate filter and catalyst
  • New control strategies for filter regeneration and injection
  • Assessment of different concepts.

Subproject A3
Develop the concept of a new combustion process and the first step to a model based closed loop powertrain control characterised by:

  • High pressure engine with optimised combustion chamber
  • Totally new amplified common rail (CR) system with variable nozzle
  • Raw emission, thermodynamic and exhaust system models
  • Assessment of the developed models in the context of a model based closed loop emission control.

Subproject A4
Investigate the potential of a high BMEP engine with development of:

  • One- and two-stage turbochargers
  • New engine design
  • Variable compression ratio system
  • An exhaust gas energy recovery system.

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