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Engines and Fuels Research Consortium Members
This Consortium has been actively engaged in engine research since 1981. The current membership of companies includes US and European light-duty vehicle manufacturers and petroleum companies. Some of these members have been involved in the Consortium since its inception. The focus of research projects in recent years has been on spark-ignition engine combustion, emissions formation processes, and mixture preparation issues. More recently we have worked on gasoline direct-injection engine processes, and on fundamental soot formation processes in diesel engines.
Research themes and individual projects evolve through discussions with Consortium members at our regular four-monthly meetings. Relative emphasis on each theme area (e.g. port fuel injected spark-ignition engines compared with direct-injection engines, diesel-related projects) is reviewed periodically, and individual project proposals are presented, discussed, selected, and
The central theme of this Consortium is to optimize the engine, lubricants and additives for robust emission aftertreatment systems. This Consortium brings together synergistically participants from the lubricant, additive, engine, catalyst, emission-control industries and the government to address the complex interactions in the combined engine-oil-aftertreatment system. Currently, there are ten members including Caterpillar, Chevron (Oronite and Global Lubricants), Ciba Specialty Chemicals/BASF, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Komatsu, NGK, Sud-Chemie, Valvoline/Ashland and the US DOE. Ford and Lutek participated early in the Consortium. Research covers three major areas:
(1) The detailed characterization of the evolution and properties of ash compounds in the exhaust aftertreatment system, their sensitivity to lubricant/additive formulations, catalysts, substrates, duty-cycles and effects on aftertreatment system performance and regeneration. Carefully controlled experiments using a combinations of test benches with simulated exhaust and multicylinder diesel engines are performed. Detailed computer simulations are conducted in parallel to describe and understand the phenomena.
(2) Modeling and diagnostics of lubricant composition changes in the engine due to contamination from fuel and combustion products, as well as degradation and oxidation.
(3) Modeling and validation of engine-oil interactions: additive and material surface design and mechanisms affecting wear, deposits, and friction.
improved. Projects are either Masters degree theses (1-2 years), or Ph.D. degree theses (3-4 years), and occasionally shorter term activities.Oil and Engine-Lubricant-Aftertreatment Research Consortium
The detailed computer simulations include the lubricant/additive species transport and transformation processes in the engine, degradation, oxidation and volatilization of oil and additive compounds, as well as deposition and deactivation mechanisms of ash on aftertreatment catalyst, washcoat and substrate systems. Aftertreatment system performance on a heavy-duty diesel engine and oil composition measurements via sampling in the ring pack have been made. In-situ diagnostics currently being developed include FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) oil analysis at the piston-liner interface via Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) and other spectroscopic techniques. This research program builds upon, extends, and complements other studies conducted elsewhere or at sponsor organizations. The fundamental understanding so developed will be useful to participants in optimizing the combined lubricant/additive, engine, and aftertreatment system. Contact: Dr. Victor W. Wong -Tel: 617-253-5231, Fax: 617-253-9453, Email: vwong@mit.edu for further information.
Oil and Lubrication Research Consortium Members
The overall goal of the consortium is to provide engineering knowledge and models of the engine lubrication systems by conducting engine experiments, engine tests, and theoretical modeling. Currently, our specific focus has been on understanding and modeling the mechanical behavior of the components of the power cylinder system, which governs the outcomes of the system in oil consumption, friction, blowby, and wear. In the modeling area, we have developed fundamental models for the dynamics and lubrication of the piston rings including detailed models for multi-piece oil control rings, gas flows within the ring pack, and oil flows on the piston surfaces as well as the Oil Consumption Analysis Package (OCAP) integrating all our knowledge and analytical tools for oil consumption analysis. Our models have been extensively used by our industry partners in all the phases of engine and component developments. On the experimental side, we developed Two-Dimensional Laser Induced Fluorescence technique in a single cylinder SI engine that is able to operate up to 6000 rpm and this system enables us to investigate the oil flows in the piston ring pack and the liner for oil transport studies. Additionally, we are using the sulfur tracer technique to measure real time oil consumption in a production engine to understand the contribution of the different oil transport mechanisms to engine oil consumption.
