Powertrain Waste Heat Recovery: A Systems Approach to Maximize Drivetrain Efficiency

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Laboe ◽  
Marcello Canova
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Waste Heat Recovery ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Heat Energy ◽  
Engine Oils ◽  
Engine Cooling ◽  
Light Duty ◽  
Light Duty Vehicles

Up to 65% of the energy produced in an internal combustion engine is dissipated to the engine cooling circuit and exhaust gases [1]. Therefore, recovering a portion of this heat energy is a highly effective solution to improve engine and drivetrain efficiency and to reduce CO2 emissions, with existing vehicle and powertrain technologies [2,3]. This paper details a practical approach to the utilization of powertrain waste heat for light vehicle engines to reduce fuel consumption. The “Systems Approach” as described in this paper recovers useful energy from what would otherwise be heat energy wasted into the environment, and effectively distributes this energy to the transmission and engine oils thus reducing the oil viscosities. The focus is on how to effectively distribute the available powertrain heat energy to optimize drivetrain efficiency for light duty vehicles, minimizing fuel consumption during various drive cycles. To accomplish this, it is necessary to identify the available powertrain heat energy during any drive cycle and cold start conditions, and to distribute this energy in such a way to maximize the overall efficiency of the drivetrain.

The WLTC vs NEDC: A Case Study on the Impacts of Driving Cycle on Engine Performance and Fuel Consumption

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 9071-9081
Author(s):  
Jakub Lasocki
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
Driving Cycle ◽  
Performance Characteristics ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Light Duty ◽  
Light Duty Vehicles

The World-wide harmonised Light-duty Test Cycle (WLTC) was developed internationally for the determination of pollutant emission and fuel consumption from combustion engines of light-duty vehicles. It replaced the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) used in the European Union (EU) for type-approval testing purposes. This paper presents an extensive comparison of the WLTC and NEDC. The main specifications of both driving cycles are provided, and their advantages and limitations are analysed. The WLTC, compared to the NEDC, is more dynamic, covers a broader spectrum of engine working states and is more realistic in simulating typical real-world driving conditions. The expected impact of the WLTC on vehicle engine performance characteristics is discussed. It is further illustrated by a case study on two light-duty vehicles tested in the WLTC and NEDC. Findings from the investigation demonstrated that the driving cycle has a strong impact on the performance characteristics of the vehicle combustion engine. For the vehicles tested, the average engine speed, engine torque and fuel flow rate measured over the WLTC are higher than those measured over the NEDC. The opposite trend is observed in terms of fuel economy (expressed in l/100 km); the first vehicle achieved a 9% reduction, while the second – a 3% increase when switching from NEDC to WLTC. Several factors potentially contributing to this discrepancy have been pointed out. The implementation of the WLTC in the EU will force vehicle manufacturers to optimise engine control strategy according to the operating range of the new driving cycle.

scholarly journals Cuk Converter for Waste Heat Recovery from Automobile Engine using Thermoelectric Generator with Air as Coolant

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-252
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat Recovery ◽  
Thermoelectric Generator ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Internal Combustion ◽  
Heat Energy ◽  
Maximum Power

The growing concern on energy conservation and reduction of carbon footprint has led to a lot of inventions and innovations in terms of energy-efficient technologies in all the energy consuming applications. The automobile sector is a crucial zone where these technologies have a major role to play due to the sheer abundance of the number of automobiles.Many small refinements, alterations and innovations are happening in this field which has led to furthermore energy economic automobiles than before.But even in an advanced internal combustion engine, about two-thirds of fuel consumed by an automobile is discharged into the surroundings as waste heat. The effect of this is the increase in the surrounding air temperature which in turn contributes significantly to global warming. This paper proposes amethod to reduce the emission of heat from automobiles by designing and implementinga waste heat recovery system for internal combustion (IC) engines. The key aim is to reduce the amount of heat released into the environment and to convert it into useful energy. A thermoelectric generator (TEG) assembly is used to directly convert the wasted heat energy from the automobile into electrical energy. This electrical energy is conditioned using a Cukconverter and maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is embedded in the converter for impedance matching and maximum power transfer from TEG to the converter. The conditioned output is used to charge the battery of the vehicle. This methodologyalso increases the energy efficiency of the vehicle as a higher capacity battery can be employed.The proposed system can work well under varying temperature conditions to give a constant output. It can be implemented in any mechanical/ electrical systems were there is wastage of heat energy like gas pipelines, wearable electronics, space probes, cookstoves, boilers, thermal vision, etc. One of the thrust areas where this technology can be effectively utilized in today’s world is in electric vehicles where the energy efficiency is the most important factor.

scholarly journals Expander Technologies for Automotive Engine Organic Rankine Cycle Applications

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuhaid Alshammari ◽  
Apostolos Karvountzis-Kontakiotis ◽  
Apostolos Pesyridis ◽  
Muhammad Usman
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Organic Rankine Cycle ◽  
Rankine Cycle ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Automotive Engine ◽  
Selection Of

The strive towards ever increasing automotive engine efficiencies for both diesel and gasoline engines has in recent years been forced by ever-stringent emissions regulations, as well as the introduction of fuel consumption regulations. The untapped availability of waste heat in the internal combustion engine (ICE) exhaust and coolant systems has become a very attractive focus of research attention by industry and academia alike. Even state of the art diesel engines operating at their optimum lose approximately 50% of their fuel energy in the form of heat. As a result, waste heat recovery (WHR) systems have gained popularity as they can deliver a reduction in fuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions. Of these, the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a well matured waste heat recovery technology that can be applied in vehicle powertrains, mainly due to the low additional exhaust backpressure on the engine and the potential opportunity to utilize various engine waste heat sources. ORCs have attracted high interest again recently but without commercial exploitation as of today due to the significant on-cost they represent to the engine and vehicle. In ORCs, expansion machines are the interface where useable power production takes place; therefore, selection of the expander technology is directly related to the thermal efficiency of the system. Moreover, the cost of the expander-generator units accounts for the largest proportion of the total cost. Therefore, selection of the most appropriate expander is of great importance at the early stage of any automotive powertrain project. This study aims to review the relevant research studies for expansion machines in ORC-ICE applications, analyzing the effects of specific speed on expander selection, exploring the operational characteristics of each expander to further assist in the selection of the most appropriate expander, and comparing the costs of various expanders based on publically available data and correlations.

Analytical Investigation of a Thermal-Supercharged Internal Combustion Engine Compounded With Organic Rankine Cycle for Waste Heat Recovery

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Jiménez-Arreola ◽  
Fabio Dal Magro ◽  
Alessandro Romagnoli ◽  
Meng Soon Chiong ◽  
Srithar Rajoo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Combustion Engine ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Rankine Cycle ◽  
Internal Combustion ◽  
Analytical Investigation ◽  
Back Pressure ◽  
Recovery Method

Waste heat recovery is seen as one of the key enablers in achieving powertrain of high efficiency. The exhaust waste heat from an internal combustion engine (ICE) is known to be nearly equivalent to its brake power. Any energy recovered from the waste heat, which otherwise would be discarded, may directly enhance the overall thermal efficiency of a powertrain. Rankine cycle (indirect-recovery method) has been a favorable mean of waste heat recovery due to its rather high power density yet imposing significantly lesser back pressure to the engine compared to a direct-recovery method. This paper presents the analytical investigation of a thermal-supercharged ICE compounded with Rankine cycle. This system removes the turbocharger turbine to further mitigate the exhaust back pressure to the engine, and the turbocharger compressor is powered by the waste heat recovered from the exhaust stream. Extra caution has been taken when exchanging the in/output parameters between the engine and Rankine cycle model to have a more realistic predictions. Such configuration improves the engine BSFC performance by 2.4–3.9%. Water, Benzene and R245fa are found to be equally good choice of working fluid for the Rankine cycle, and can further advance the BSFC performance by 4.0–4.8% despite running at minimum pressure setting. The off-design analyses suggested the operating pressure of Rankine cycle and its expander efficiency have the largest influence to the gross system performance.

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