Potential of hybrid powertrains in a variable compression ratio downsized turbocharged VVA Spark Ignition engine

[EN] After the diesel emissions scandal, also known as Dieselgate, Direct Injection Spark-Ignited (DISI) internal combustion engines (ICE) appears as the most promising alternative to mitigate the harmful tailpipe emissions from passenger cars. In spite of that, the current ICE technologies are not enough to achieve the fuel consumption/CO2 emissions targets set by the new transportation legislation (4.1 L-gasoline/100 km, 95 gCO(2)/km for 2021). In this complex scenario, the electrification of the powertrain using high efficiency electric motors and battery package together with sophisticated DISI engines appears as potential solution to meet these requirements. The aim of this work is to study the fuel consumption and pollutant emissions in transient conditions from a passenger car equipped with a variable compression ratio (VCR) DISI engine and electrified powertrain technologies. The vehicle behavior was simulated by means of a 0D GT-Suite model fed by experimental results obtained in an engine test bench. Mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) and full hybrid electric vehicle (FHEV) architectures using a VCR DISI engine were studied. Moreover, an optimization methodology is presented to select the best vehicle configuration in terms of hardware and control strategies by means of a design of experiments (DoE). The results show that VCR allows a fuel improvement of 3% with respect to the conventional DISI fixed CR along the worldwide harmonized light vehicles test cycles (WLTC). The benefits found when combining the VCR technology with hybrid powertrains are even higher. In this sense, the fuel improvements were higher as the electrification levels increased, with 8% for MHEV-VCR and around 20% for FHEV-VCR. In terms of emissions, the two clear benefits with FHEV-VCR were the reduction of particle number (PN) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC) of around 60% and 15%, respectively, as compared to the conventional DISI.The authors acknowledge FEDER and Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad for partially supporting this research through TRANCO project (TRA2017-87694-R). The authors also acknowledge the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for partially supporting this research through Convocatoria de ayudas a Primeros Proyectos de Investigacion (SP20180148).García Martínez, A.; Monsalve-Serrano, J.; Martínez-Boggio, SD.; Wittek, K. (2020). Potential of hybrid powertrains in a variable compression ratio downsized turbocharged VVA Spark Ignition engine. Energy. 195:1-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.117039119195González, R. M., Marrero, G. A., Rodríguez-López, J., & Marrero, Á. S. (2019). Analyzing CO2 emissions from passenger cars in Europe: A dynamic panel data approach. Energy Policy, 129, 1271-1281. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2019.03.031Dua, R., White, K., & Lindland, R. (2019). Understanding potential for battery electric vehicle adoption using large-scale consumer profile data. Energy Reports, 5, 515-524. doi:10.1016/j.egyr.2019.04.013Benajes, J., García, A., Monsalve-Serrano, J., & Boronat, V. (2016). Dual-Fuel Combustion for Future Clean and Efficient Compression Ignition Engines. Applied Sciences, 7(1), 36. doi:10.3390/app7010036Lanzarotto, D., Marchesoni, M., Passalacqua, M., Prato, A. P., & Repetto, M. (2018). Overview of different hybrid vehicle architectures. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 51(9), 218-222. doi:10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.07.036Pasini, G., Lutzemberger, G., Frigo, S., Marelli, S., Ceraolo, M., Gentili, R., & Capobianco, M. (2016). Evaluation of an electric turbo compound system for SI engines: A numerical approach. Applied Energy, 162, 527-540. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.10.143Zhou, X., Qin, D., & Hu, J. (2017). Multi-objective optimization design and performance evaluation for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle powertrains. Applied Energy, 208, 1608-1625. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.201Benajes, J., García, A., Monsalve-Serrano, J., & Martínez-Boggio, S. (2020). Emissions reduction from passenger cars with RCCI plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology. Applied Thermal Engineering, 164, 114430. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.114430Asghar, M., Bhatti, A. I., Ahmed, Q., & Murtaza, G. (2018). Energy Management Strategy for Atkinson Cycle Engine Based Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle. IEEE Access, 6, 28008-28018. doi:10.1109/access.2018.2835395Solouk, A., Shakiba-herfeh, M., & Shahbakhti, M. (2017). Analysis and Control of a Torque Blended Hybrid Electric Powertrain with a Multi-Mode LTC-SI Engine. SAE International Journal of Alternative Powertrains, 6(1), 54-67. doi:10.4271/2017-01-1153Wang, C., Zhang, F., Wang, E., Yu, C., Gao, H., Liu, B., … Zhao, C. (2019). Experimental study on knock suppression of spark-ignition engine fuelled with kerosene via water injection. Applied Energy, 242, 248-259. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.123Wolfgang, S., Sorger, H., Loesch, S., Unzeitig, W., Huettner, T., & Fuerhapter, A. (2017). The 2-Step VCR Conrod System - Modular System for High Efficiency and Reduced CO2. SAE Technical Paper Series. doi:10.4271/2017-01-0634Wittek, K., Geiger, F., Andert, J., Martins, M., Cogo, V., & Lanzanova, T. (2019). Experimental investigation of a variable compression ratio system applied to a gasoline passenger car engine. Energy Conversion and Management, 183, 753-763. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2019.01.037Kleeberg, H., Tomazic, D., Dohmen, J., Wittek, K., & Balazs, A. (2013). Increasing Efficiency in Gasoline Powertrains with a Two-Stage Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) System. SAE Technical Paper Series. doi:10.4271/2013-01-0288Teodosio, L., De Bellis, V., Bozza, F., & Tufano, D. (2017). Numerical Study of the Potential of a Variable Compression Ratio Concept Applied to a Downsized Turbocharged VVA Spark Ignition Engine. SAE Technical Paper Series. doi:10.4271/2017-24-0015Luján, J. M., García, A., Monsalve-Serrano, J., & Martínez-Boggio, S. (2019). Effectiveness of hybrid powertrains to reduce the fuel consumption and NOx emissions of a Euro 6d-temp diesel engine under real-life driving conditions. Energy Conversion and Management, 199, 111987. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2019.111987Benajes, J., García, A., Monsalve-Serrano, J., & Martínez-Boggio, S. (2019). Optimization of the parallel and mild hybrid vehicle platforms operating under conventional and advanced combustion modes. Energy Conversion and Management, 190, 73-90. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2019.04.010Morra, E., Spessa, E., Ciaravino, C., & Vassallo, A. (2012). Analysis of Various Operating Strategies for a Parallel-Hybrid Diesel Powertrain with a Belt Alternator Starter. SAE International Journal of Alternative Powertrains, 1(1), 231-239. doi:10.4271/2012-01-1008Huo, Y., Yan, F., & Feng, D. (2018). A hybrid electric vehicle energy optimization strategy by using fueling control in diesel engines. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering, 233(3), 517-530. doi:10.1177/0954407017747372Liu, Z., Ivanco, A., & Filipi, Z. S. (2016). Impacts of Real-World Driving and Driver Aggressiveness on Fuel Consumption of 48V Mild Hybrid Vehicle. SAE International Journal of Alternative Powertrains, 5(2), 249-258. doi:10.4271/2016-01-1166Wang, R., Yu, W., & Meng, X. (2018). Performance investigation and energy optimization of a thermoelectric generator for a mild hybrid vehicle. Energy, 162, 1016-1028. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2018.08.103Solouk, A., Shakiba-Herfeh, M., Arora, J., & Shahbakhti, M. (2018). Fuel consumption assessment of an electrified powertrain with a multi-mode high-efficiency engine in various levels of hybridization. Energy Conversion and Management, 155, 100-115. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2017.10.073Rouhani, A. (2013). A Comprehensive Method for Optimum Sizing of Hybrid Energy Systems using Intelligence Evolutionary Algorithms. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 6(6), 1-11. doi:10.17485/ijst/2013/v6i6.3Varella, R., Giechaskiel, B., Sousa, L., & Duarte, G. (2018). Comparison of Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS) with Laboratory Grade Equipment. Applied Sciences, 8(9), 1633. doi:10.3390/app8091633Hochmann, G., Berger, A., & Mayrhofer, H. (2019). Achieving Compliance to RDE - How Does This Development Target Impact the Development Process, Testing Methodologies and Tools. SAE Technical Paper Series. doi:10.4271/2019-26-0358Shields, M. D., & Zhang, J. (2016). The generalization of Latin hypercube sampling. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 148, 96-108. doi:10.1016/j.ress.2015.12.002Kašpar, J., Fornasiero, P., & Hickey, N. (2003). Automotive catalytic converters: current status and some perspectives. Catalysis Today, 77(4), 419-449. doi:10.1016/s0920-5861(02)00384-xFavre, C., Bosteels, D., & May, J. (2013). Exhaust Emissions from European Market-Available Passenger Cars Evaluated on Various Drive Cycles. SAE Technical Paper Series. doi:10.4271/2013-24-0154Pavlovic, J., Ciuffo, B., Fontaras, G., Valverde, V., & Marotta, A. (2018). How much difference in type-approval CO2 emissions from passenger cars in Europe can be expected from changing to the new test procedure (NEDC vs. WLTP)? Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 111, 136-147. doi:10.1016/j.tra.2018.02.002García, A., Monsalve-Serrano, J., Sari, R., Dimitrakopoulos, N., Tunér, M., & Tunestål, P. (2019). Performance and emissions of a series hybrid vehicle powered by a gasoline partially premixed combustion engine. Applied Thermal Engineering, 150, 564-575. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.01.03