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FEV to Showcase New Engine Technologies and Diesel Hybrid Concept at SAE World Congress

FEV Engine Technology will feature a number of emerging technologies and a new diesel hybrid concept vehicle in its display at the SAE 2006 World Congress, in Detroit April 3-6.

Among the advanced engine and vehicle technologies on display will be a new turbocharged, DI (direct-injection) gasoline engine; the latest development status of the opposed-piston, opposed-cylinder (opoc) engine; a new diesel-electric hybrid CUV (crossover utility vehicle) concept vehicle, and a mild-hybrid electronics display.

TurboDISI Engine. FEV will show a new 1.8-liter turbocharged, gasoline direct-injection (TurboDISI) engine that offers impressive low-end torque, smooth transient torque rise, and fuel economy typically associated with diesel engines.

FEV combined turbocharging technology, adapted-charge motion, optimized compression ratio and variable-valve timing with gasoline direct injection in this engine, designed for downsizing applications.

opoc Engine. FEV and Advanced Propulsion Technologies introduced the original opoc engine at the SAE 2005 World Congress. (Earlier post.) That engine offered a power density of more than one horsepower per pound combined with greater than 40% efficiency. This year, FEV is exhibiting the tandem version of the opoc engine, initially targeted for defense applications.

The opoc is designed to be modular, so that more cylinders can be added to generate greater power for specific applications. By using a modular displacement clutch, one module can be completely shut down when less than half the engine power is required. This “cylinder deactivation” feature ensures that power is available on demand yet allows an operating range beyond that provided by powertrains currently used in such applications.

The dual-module engine is designed to deliver 450 hp from sea level to an altitude of 15,000 feet for a specific aircraft application. The opoc engine has the thermodynamic capability to produce 650 hp at sea level for aircraft and could be modified to have similar power output for ground vehicles.

FEV also will display the opoc-s engine concept, which offers exceptional specific power and high power density. The engine has several potential applications, including as an auxiliary power unit (APU) in commercial and military applications and as a primary power source for small, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).

The intellectual property and trademarks relating to the original opoc(TM) design are owned by Advanced Propulsion Technologies, Inc. (APT). FEV has an exclusive agreement with APT to support opoc development.

Mercedes-AMG 6.3L V8. The new Mercedes-AMG 6.3-liter V8 is the first in the world to combine a high-revving concept with a large displacement engine to generate 514 hp at 6,800 rpm. With a maximum torque of 630 Nm (465 ft-lb), this new power pack is the world’s most powerful naturally aspirated eight-cylinder production engine.

Diesel-hybrid CUV. A new diesel-hybrid CUV (crossover utility vehicle) concept on display co-developed by FEV and Ssangyong of Korea will be on display.

This vehicle is equipped with a 5-cylinder, 2.7-liter turbocharged diesel engine mated to an automatic transmission with an integrated 34kW synchronous electric motor. The result is a CUV with excellent low-end torque and a greater than 24% improvement in fuel economy compared to a baseline diesel vehicle. This represents a likely improvement over today’s conventional gasoline vehicles of about 50%.

The CUV diesel-hybrid concept uses start/stop operation as part of the operating strategy. Also, engine run time is reduced, dramatically reducing particulate emissions and cutting nitrous oxide emissions below the baseline vehicle’s levels. Using the electric motor also results in a 25% increase in the 0-60 miles-per-hour performance of the vehicle. The diesel-electric hybrid CUV offers a 20-30% improvement in mid-speed acceleration.

Mild Hybrid Electronics and Controls. A hybrid electronics display demonstrates mild-hybrid technology that enables fuel consumption reductions while providing good vehicle performance. This is enabled by an operating strategy to support a downsized internal combustion engine with an electrical boost. The concept has been verified in a technology demonstrator vehicle developed by FEV.

Also on display is the new diesel Ford Ranger, recently introduced into the Asia-Pacific market. Ford, Mazda and FEV worked on the engineering of the vehicle that integrated an existing Ford automatic transmission and Mazda 4-cylinder diesel engine into the Ford Ranger vehicle.

FEV is an independent engine and powertrain systems research, design and development company, headquartered in Aachen, Germany.

Comments

Rafael Seidl

FEV always does interesting things from an engineering point of view. The AMG V8 is obscene from an environmental perpsective but so expensive that only few will ever be sold.

The opoc engine is fascinating because opposed-piston diesels offer the highest specific power of any engine design. The opposed-cylinder setup means all four pistons move along the same line such that all mass forces are eliminated. However, the design does not afaik come close to meeting vehicle emissions requirements in any country, so its uses are limited to portable generators and unmanned drone aircraft.

For the mass market, turbocharged GDI is probably the most relevant technology for Europe and hybrids for the US market. Does anyone know what the electric storage subsystem for the Ssangyong CUV looks like?

Andrey

...GDI for Europe and hybrids for US...

Hybrid is type of drivetrain, GDI is type of engine.
They can be easily combined together (is it worth turbocharging, or develop passenger-car diesel hybrid is much more complicated questions).
Your opinion?

Rafael Seidl

Andrey -

of course you could combine GDI and hybridization. It's just that both technologies are fairly new. That increases both the cost and the risk of combining them beyond what you could sell in sufficient volume in the immediate future.

Right now, hybrids have a marketing advantage in the US, engine-internal solutions one in the EU. The differences may even out as carmakers on either side of the Atlantic obtain patents on variations on these themes. Both markets are in rapid flux.

Turbocharging gasoline engines is absolutely worth it, but it's tricker than for diesels. As long as you stick with lambda=1, the mass flow ratio between idling and full power is about 1:75. This can be dealt with using lean burn at low load (requires an NOx store catalyst or SCR), by adding a VTG turbocharger, shifting into higher gears at lower RPM and, by adding a hybrid electric motor to downsize the engine and mask what turbo lag remains.

Another problem stems from the extreme temperatures (>1050 degC) a gasoline turbocharger is exposed to at full power, neccessitating the use of extremely expensive materials for VTG technology. The temperature is higher than for diesels because the compression ratio is lower - gasoline starts to knock beyond 11.5 best case. An engine designed for monovalent CNG or E100 operation features an intermediate compression ratio and hence, the maximum temperature in the turbo can be lower. Same if you sacrifice maximum power by detuning the intake valve timing (Miller or Atkinson cycle).

Ergo, a downsized turbocharged GDI engine with a beefy integrated starter-alternator-motor (ISAM) fed by ultracaps would be perfect. Subaru is apparently developing a hybrid drivetrain featuring just that minus the GDI (for now). FEV recently published a similar concept the developed for Audi, to achieve performance comparable to a 3.0L NA engine with a thriftier 1.8L powerplant.

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