Fuel Rail Pressure Rise during Cold Start of a Gasoline Direct Injection Engine
Gasoline direct injection provides reduced engine emissions, increased power, and increased fuel economy as compared to port fuel injection (PFI). Reduced emissions are largely due to starting the engine using high fuel pressure (up to 150 bar) and injecting into the compression stroke. During a cold start, fuel pressure must be increased from lift pump pressure (typically 4 to 6 bar) to desired injection pressure (typically 25 bar minimum). Start times are therefore impacted by the high pressure pump's ability to quickly build fuel pressure during crank. This study investigates the temperature and pressure affects during engine soak which allow vapor and air to form in the fuel system. Vapor and/or air in the system cause a slower fuel pressure build and increases start times. The scope of the problem and possible solutions were determined using theoretical and empirical testing. By preventing air and vapor formation in the fuel system, reduced and more consistent start times are achieved.
Review: Fuel Volatility Standards and Spark-Ignition Vehicle Driveability
Spark-ignition engine fuel standards have been put in place to ensure acceptable hot and cold weather driveability (HWD and CWD). Vehicle manufacturers and fuel suppliers have developed systems that meet our driveability requirements so effectively that drivers overwhelmingly find that their vehicles reliably start up and operate smoothly and consistently throughout the year. For HWD, fuels that are too volatile perform more poorly than those that are less volatile. Vapor lock is the apparent cause of poor HWD, but there is conflicting evidence in the literature as to where in the fuel system it occurs. Most studies have found a correlation between degraded driveability and higher dry vapor pressure equivalent or lower TV/L = 20, and less consistently with a minimum T50. For CWD, fuels with inadequate volatility can cause difficulty in starting and rough operation during engine warmup. The Driveability Index (DI)-a function of T10, T50, and T90-is well correlated with CWD in hydrocarbon fuels. For ethanol-containing fuels, a correction factor to the DI equation improves the correlation with CWD, although the best value for that factor has still not been determined. Ethanol increases the heat of vaporization. However, this is likely insignificant for E15 and lower concentration fuels.more » The impact of ethanol on driveability is likely due to its direct effect on vapor pressure at cold temperatures. For E51-E83 or flex-fuel blends, ASTM sets a minimum vapor pressure; however, published data suggest that a correction for the amount of ethanol in the fuel is needed to accurately predict CWD, possibly because ethanol has a higher lower-flammability limit.« less
Exponential stabilization of an axially moving string with geometrical nonlinearity by linear boundary feedback
This paper addresses the vibration suppression problem of an axially moving string using boundary control. Taking into account large transverse motion of the string via the second-order component of Lagrangian strain, a nonlinear oscillation equation is derived for the problem by employing the Hamilton's Principle. Direct Lyapunov method is then adopted to demonstrate that a linear boundary control of negative speed feedback ensures the vibration response of the moving string exponentially stable. The main contributions are a new stability condition in terms of controller gain parameter, and a detailed demonstration on the equilibrium condition at the boundary where the control is applied.