Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering 

About: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering is an academic journal published by SAGE Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Computer science & Engineering. It has an ISSN identifier of 0954-4070. Over the lifetime, 487 publications have been published receiving 398 citations. The journal is also known as: Journal of automobile engineering.

Computational analysis of the lean-burn direct-injection jet ignition hydrogen engine

Abstract: This paper presents a new in-cylinder mixture preparation and ignition system for various gaseous fuels including hydrogen. The system consists of a centrally located direct-injection (DI) injector and a jet ignition (JI) device for combustion of the main chamber (MC) mixture. The fuel is injected in the MC with a new-generation, fast-actuating, high-pressure, high-flowrate DI injector capable of injection shaping and multiple events. This injector produces a bulk lean stratified mixture. The JI system uses a second DI injector to inject a small amount of fuel in a small pre-chamber (PC). A spark plug then ignites a slightly rich mixture. The MC mixture is then bulk ignited through multiple jets of hot reacting gases. Bulk ignition and combustion of the lean jet-controlled stratified MC mixture resulting from coupling DI with JI makes it possible to burn MC mixtures with fuel-to-air equivalence ratios reducing almost to zero for a throttleless control of load diesel-like and high efficiencies over almost the full range of loads. Computations are performed with hydrogen as the PC and MC fuel.

Command steering of trailers and command-steering-based optimal control of an articulated system for tractor-track following

Abstract: First the effectiveness of command steering of trailers in reducing off-tracking during a 90° turn for a truck with three trailers is examined. In command steering, front trailer axles are ...

Whole-body vibration influences on sound localization in the median plane:

Abstract: The present study investigates human multisensory perception of sound and vibration, highlighting its potential impact in the design of novel user interfaces, including those used in the automobile industry. Specifically, the present study investigates whether frontback sound localization could be altered by concurrent whole-body vibration. Previous research has shown that, when auditory and tactile stimuli are presented synchronously but from different positions, the perceived location of the auditory event is mislocalized of the tactile stimulus. Here, sounds were presented at the front or the back of participants, in isolation, or together with vibrations. Participants made a three-alternative forced choice regarding their perceived location of the sounds.Results indicate that front-back sound localization was affected by the presence of concurrent vibrations, which biased the localization of front sounds towards the partipants' rear space. Since the perceived location of events modulates the perceivers' understanding and involvement in these events, the possibility of manipulating the location of sound events using vibrations has a potential for the design of multisensory interfaces such as those included in automotive applications, where it is strongly needed to capture the attention of drivers, to provide navigational information, and to reduce sensory load.

An analytical study on heat transfer performance of radiators with non-uniform airflow distribution

Abstract: Heat exchangers used in modern automobiles usually have a highly non-uniform air velocity distribution because of the complexity of the engine compartment and underhood flow fields; hence ineffective use of the core area has been noted To adequately predict the heat transfer performance in typical car radiators, a generalized analytical model accounting for airflow maldistribution was developed using a finite element approach and applying appropriate heat transfer equations including the epsilon-NTU (effectiveness - number of heat transfer units) method with the Davenport correlation for the air-side heat transfer coefficient The analytical results were verified against a set of experimental data from nine radiators tested in a wind tunnel and were found to be within +24 and - 10 per cent of the experimental results By applying the analytical model, several severe non-uniform velocity distributions were also studied It was found that the loss of radiator performance caused by airflow maldistribution, compared with uniform airflow of the same total flowrate, was relatively minor except under extreme circumstances where the non-uniformity factor was larger than 05 The relatively simple set of equations presented in this paper can be used independently in spreadsheets or in conjunction with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, enabling a full numerical prediction of aerodynamic as well as thermodynamic performance of radiators to be conducted prior to a prototype being built

Experimental and computational analysis of the combustion evolution in direct-injection spark-controlled jet ignition engines fuelled with gaseous fuels:

Abstract: Jet ignition and direct fuel injection are potential enablers of higher-efficiency, cleaner internal combustion engines (ICEs), where very lean mixtures of gaseous fuels could be burned with pollutants formation below Euro 6 levels, efficiencies approaching 50 per cent full load, and small efficiency penalties operating part load. The lean-burn direct-injection (DI) jet ignition ICE uses a fuel injection and mixture ignition system consisting of one main-chamber DI fuel injector and one small jet ignition pre-chamber per engine cylinder. The jet ignition pre-chamber is connected to the main chamber through calibrated orifices and accommodates a second DI fuel injector. In the spark plug version, the jet ignition pre-chamber includes a spark plug which ignites the slightly rich pre-chamber mixture which then, in turn, bulk ignites the ultra-lean stratified main-chamber mixture through the multiple jets of hot reacting gases entering the in-cylinder volume. The paper uses coupled computer-aided engineering and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to provide better details of the operation of the jet ignition pre-chamber (analysed so far with downstream experiments or stand-alone CFD simulations), thus resulting in a better understanding of the complex interactions between chemistry and turbulence that govern the pre-chamber flow and combustion.