MANAGING THE TRANSITION BETWEEN LOW TEMPERATURE COMBUSTION AND CONVENTIONAL DIESEL COMBUSTION DURING A LOAD CHANGE

High-EGR diesel low temperature combustion breaks the traditional diesel NOx-PM trade-off thereby facilitating ultralow NOx emissions with simultaneously low smoke emissions. High-EGR LTC is currently limited to low and medium load and speed conditions. Therefore, in order to implement a high-EGR diesel LTC strategy in a passenger vehicle, a transition to conventional diesel operation is required when either a high load or high speed is demanded. This transition must be carefully managed to ensure smooth operation and to avoid excessive pollutant emissions-a task that is complicated by the markedly different response time-scales of the engine's turbocharger, EGR, and fuelling systems. This paper presents the results of a combination of numerical simulation and steady-state engine experiments that describe the performance and emissions of an automotive-sized 2 litre turbocharged diesel engine during a rapid transition from high-EGR LTC to conventional diesel operation. The effects of load change at constant engine speed during the Extra-Urban Drive Cycle (EUDC) part of the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) are first evaluated using a one-dimensional engine simulation (Ricardo WAVE). The inputs to the model are; the initial and final fuelling quantities, the duration of the transient events, and the response of the engine's control systems. The WAVE model out-puts the intake manifold pressure and EGR level for each cycle during the transition. The predicted intake pressure, EGR rate and the corresponding known injected fuel mass for each individual cycle are used to define a set of 'pseudo-transient' test conditions-matching the conditions encountered at discrete points within the modelled transient-for subsequent steady-state engine testing on a 0.51 litre AVL single cylinder diesel engine. These test conditions are established on the engine using independently controllable EGR and boost systems and the corresponding emissions (NON, smoke, CO, and THC) and performance data (GISFC) were recorded. The experimental emissions and performance data are subsequently presented on a cycle-by-cycle basis. The results of this study provide significant insight into the combustion conditions that might be encountered during mode switching and their deleterious effect on emissions and performance. Strategies to mitigate these effects are examined.