Southwest Research Institute 2006 Annual Report, Office of Automotive Engineering

Southwest Research Institute’s expertise in reducing emissions, improving fuel economy and resolving other automotive issues helps meet the stringent demands of manufacturers and government agencies worldwide. For nearly 60 years, we have been improving, evaluating and qualifying products for land, rail and water transportation vehicles, as well as for stationary power equipment.

Our Beijing office, now in its fourth year of operation in China, supports automotive manufacturers and lubricant producers (chinaoffice.swri.org). Our staff is finalizing several on-highway and off-road design and development projects, creating new diesel engines that comply with the latest Chinese emissions standards while meeting strict targets for fuel efficiency, performance, and noise, vibration and harshness.

Our Ann Arbor office supports the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Mobile Sources, working closely with the San Antonio staff. The office also serves as a liaison with the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, or TARDEC (annarbor.swri.org).

SwARC, our joint venture with the China Automotive Technology and Research Center in Tianjin, experienced rapid growth of its exhaust aftertreatment testing activities in 2007. SwRI’s FOCAS® catalyst aging system is increasingly being used by SwARC to meet growing demand from international vehicle and catalyst manufacturers.

Pipeline drag-reducing agents facilitate flow of petroleum products through millions of miles of underground pipelines. For the project, we are using the Ford 2.3L IVD test specification to examine the propensity of gasolines containing these agents to form intake valve deposits.

Drayage trucks hauling shipping containers at seaports and railroad depots encounter heavy use, burning fuel and emitting pollutants in areas that typically already have heavy air pollution. We teamed with The University of Texas at Austin and Eastern Research Group to examine the benefits of replacing conventional tandem truck tires with single-wide, high-efficiency tires. We found exceptional operational improvements, reducing oxides of nitrogen, or NO_x, emissions by 7.35 percent and improving fuel economy by 9.26 percent.

The Sequence VID engine test is expected to be the cornerstone of the new gasoline-fueled engine oil category, GF-5, expected to go into effect in 2010. SwRI is one of the contract laboratories developing this new test, which measures fuel economy and satisfies one of the three major objectives of the GF-5 testing category (enginelubes.swri.org). In addition to preparing for GF-5, we are conducting a variety of non-standard engine test procedures for several major oil companies, lubricant manufacturers and additive companies.

Our staff initiated a new ultra-low sulfur diesel program that is reporting results to Reformulated Gasoline Survey Association member companies and the EPA over a secure website. Internet access facilitates rapid reporting, as well as access to field paperwork, sales receipts and photographs of the pumps used. We are converting our gasoline survey program to a web-based system in early 2008.

The U.S. Army TARDEC Fuels and Lubricants Research Facility, or TFLRF, at SwRI celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. This government-owned laboratory provides dedicated service to the Army fuels and lubricants technical program, while providing support to other government entities and private industry. The TFLRF is conducting feasibility studies for the Army that could simplify Army logistics. This effort will determine whether a single fluid can satisfy multiple component requirements (such as engine, transmission, hydraulics). This would also reduce the potential for product misapplication.

We are also helping the Army develop a fire-resistant fuel that incorporates water into the fuel in the form of a micro-emulsion. The water forms a vapor barrier over a burning pool of fuel, cutting off oxygen and extinguishing the fire.

The EPA’s increasingly stringent on- and off-road engine emission regulations include new in-use vehicle tests to verify and quantify the effectiveness of low-emission engine technologies during real-world operations. We offer in-field services to measure and quantify in-use emissions with our portable emissions measurement system (pems.swri.org). To determine exhaust emissions rates, the PEMS uses EPA-compliant measurement techniques to collect gaseous emissions data in the field for subsequent analysis at SwRI laboratories.

Rising fuel prices have generated interest in more fuel-efficient vehicles, such as diesel-powered and hybrid-electric vehicles, which generally come with higher sticker prices (enginedesign.swri.org). We are developing new diesel engine control logic on a test vehicle that uses highly dilute combustion with low engine-out NO_x and particulate emissions to minimize the required exhaust treatment for current and future standards (fineemissions.swri.org). The new control logic is essential for maintaining good noise, vibration and harshness characteristics of the highly dilute combustion during transient vehicle operation.

We integrated NO_x reduction technology, selective catalytic reduction using urea water solution, into two Class 8 trucks. As part of the program, SwRI and an industry client developed a proprietary nozzle to inject the urea water solution into the vehicle exhaust stream. After atomization in the exhaust stream, the solution evaporates and converts to ammonia, which reacts on the catalyst to convert NO_x to innocuous substances. The vehicle-mounted systems, which include a urea water solution storagetank, pump, manifold and injector, as well as a client-supplied catalyst, reduced NO_x emissions by more than 90 percent in chassis dynamometer testing.

Combining alternative combustion modes, such as low-temperature combustion, homogeneous charge compression ignition and premixed charge compression ignition, with conventional combustion, diesel engines produce significantly lower emissions while maintaining the functionality of the exhaust treatment systems (advancedenginetechnology.swri.org). However, the concept is not without challenges such as seamless switching between combustion strategies while maintaining drivability and emissions requirements. By applying advanced, state-of-the-art control and estimation techniques, we significantly improved performance on a multiple combustion mode light-duty diesel engine compared to that of conventional calibration-based control approaches.

We recently expanded the capabilities of our gas and large engine test facility to assist clients in emissions characterization and EPA certification of stationary, marine and off-road products. Recent improvements include a new control room with four test consoles, enhanced test bed facilities and a state-of-the-art emission test bench and particulate sampling system that is compliant with upcoming EPA emission test procedures commonly referred to as rule Part 1065.

Engineers conducted an independent research study to investigate design strategies to extend the peak cylinder pressure capabilities of today’s heavy-duty diesel engines (engineresearch.swri.org). We evaluated cylinder head structural design concepts that will allow future diesel engines to reduce emissions, while improving power density, fuel economy and performance.

In a project funded by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Coordinating Research Council, California Air Resources Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District and the American Chemistry Council, we are investigating the contribution of engine lubricating oils to mobile source particulate emissions using a variety of fuels — gasoline, E10, natural gas, diesel, biodiesel — and vehicle classes — normal and high-emitting light-duty cars, medium-duty pickups, heavy-duty trucks and buses.

Copyright© 2007 by Southwest Research Institute. All rights reserved under U.S. Copyright Law and International Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to the Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510, phone (210) 522-3305, fax (210) 522-3547.