xcel
11-04-2008, 12:50 PM
Lotus and Continental Powertrain engine design achieves 15% better_FE via lean burn without the NOx CAT. (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=163156)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Opel_Astra_3-cylinder_Mild_Hybrid_with_GDI_engine.jpgWayne Gerdes – CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) – Nov. 4, 2008
Lotus/Continental converted Opel Astra with the research GDI, 3-Cylinder mild hybrid.
Lotus Engineering recently won the ‘The Engineer Technology + Innovation Awards 2008’ with a project called Hotfire. Hotfire is a gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine concept that increase FE by up to 15% and was named the leading academic collaborative project in the automotive sector.
Project HOTFIRE studied the efficiency gains of spraying fuel directly into the cylinders of a gasoline engine rather than introducing a fuel/air mixture. With promising early results, the project progressed into a working concept- engine which has attracted the attention from a number of automobile manufacturers.
Mike Kimberley, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus Plc said: “I am absolutely delighted that our global high technology Lotus engineering division is continually being recognised for leading the industry across a number of advanced technologies which are contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Project HOTFIRE is an excellent example of an industry and academic partnership producing world-class research for the benefit of the environment and the car buyer.”
Kimberley continued: “The most important part of the project is that the technologies developed are available and affordable and as we have already shown, can be easily implemented into next generation models to produce lower emissions.”
Geraint Castleton-White, Head of Powertrain at Lotus Engineering said: “The project studied the benefits of homogeneous, early, direct injection for a spark ignition engine, using inlet valve events to minimize throttling losses. Being able to introduce the fuel separately from the air gives you freedom with how you operate the engine, there is no fuel lost to the exhaust, so hydrocarbon emissions are reduced, and you get more efficiency from the engine. It is our dedication to research such as this that keeps Lotus Engineering at the forefront of advanced combustion technologies, which ultimately will find their way into engines of the future.”
Two single cylinder research engines were designed and constructed. The in-cylinder geometry of the two engines was identical and features a close spaced direct injection system with a centrally-mounted injector architecture.
One of the engines is being optically studied while the second is being tested for both emissions and fuel economy. The principle of the investigation was to use early inlet valve closing as a means of controlling the load on the engines, with a minimum amount of throttle to decrease fuel consumption. The emission testing is essential as the fuel savings can not come at the expense of exhaust emissions.
The projects goal is to find a direct injection spark ignition engine architecture that does not require stratified lean burn combustion to achieve significant, fuel economy savings. This ensures that the system can be used over all speed/load ranges and eliminates the need for an expensive lean NOx trap which is usually required when lean combustion is employed.
Early results from this project were so successful that Lotus Engineering and Continental Powertrain with funding from the Energy Saving Trust (EST) delivered a 3-cylinder mild-hybrid engine incorporating the cylinder head design in Opel Astra test mule.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Opel_Astra_3-cylinder_Mild_Hybrid_with_GDI_engine.jpgWayne Gerdes – CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) – Nov. 4, 2008
Lotus/Continental converted Opel Astra with the research GDI, 3-Cylinder mild hybrid.
Lotus Engineering recently won the ‘The Engineer Technology + Innovation Awards 2008’ with a project called Hotfire. Hotfire is a gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine concept that increase FE by up to 15% and was named the leading academic collaborative project in the automotive sector.
Project HOTFIRE studied the efficiency gains of spraying fuel directly into the cylinders of a gasoline engine rather than introducing a fuel/air mixture. With promising early results, the project progressed into a working concept- engine which has attracted the attention from a number of automobile manufacturers.
Mike Kimberley, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus Plc said: “I am absolutely delighted that our global high technology Lotus engineering division is continually being recognised for leading the industry across a number of advanced technologies which are contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Project HOTFIRE is an excellent example of an industry and academic partnership producing world-class research for the benefit of the environment and the car buyer.”
Kimberley continued: “The most important part of the project is that the technologies developed are available and affordable and as we have already shown, can be easily implemented into next generation models to produce lower emissions.”
Geraint Castleton-White, Head of Powertrain at Lotus Engineering said: “The project studied the benefits of homogeneous, early, direct injection for a spark ignition engine, using inlet valve events to minimize throttling losses. Being able to introduce the fuel separately from the air gives you freedom with how you operate the engine, there is no fuel lost to the exhaust, so hydrocarbon emissions are reduced, and you get more efficiency from the engine. It is our dedication to research such as this that keeps Lotus Engineering at the forefront of advanced combustion technologies, which ultimately will find their way into engines of the future.”
Two single cylinder research engines were designed and constructed. The in-cylinder geometry of the two engines was identical and features a close spaced direct injection system with a centrally-mounted injector architecture.
One of the engines is being optically studied while the second is being tested for both emissions and fuel economy. The principle of the investigation was to use early inlet valve closing as a means of controlling the load on the engines, with a minimum amount of throttle to decrease fuel consumption. The emission testing is essential as the fuel savings can not come at the expense of exhaust emissions.
The projects goal is to find a direct injection spark ignition engine architecture that does not require stratified lean burn combustion to achieve significant, fuel economy savings. This ensures that the system can be used over all speed/load ranges and eliminates the need for an expensive lean NOx trap which is usually required when lean combustion is employed.
Early results from this project were so successful that Lotus Engineering and Continental Powertrain with funding from the Energy Saving Trust (EST) delivered a 3-cylinder mild-hybrid engine incorporating the cylinder head design in Opel Astra test mule.