Validation and Enhancement of the Multi-Zone MATLAB-Based Model for an Advanced High Power Density Diesel Engines for Military Applications

Principal Investigator
Nabil Chalhoub (Wayne State U.)

University Researchers
Naeim A. Henein, Walter Bryzik (Wayne State U.)

Industry
Bogdan Nitu (AVL)

Government
Peter Schihl (TARDEC)

Students
Mohannad Al-Hakeem, Nasim Khaled (Wayne State U.)

A detailed multi-zone diesel engine model will be developed on the flexible MATLAB\Simulink platform. The developed code will be used in the design of control strategies that yield peak engine power and minimize black and white smoke under severe transient modes of operation. Moreover, it can be used as a test bed to assess the engine performance or can be integrated with a vehicle model for an overall vehicle simulation.

This project is a continuation of an on-going effort to develop a MATLAB\Simulink based, multi-zone, diesel engine model. The model combines the thermodynamics aspect of the engine with a reduced chemical kinetic model and couples them with the dynamics of the engine moving parts. Its formulation accounts for processes inside the intake and exhaust systems, flows through the intake and exhaust valves including reverse flows, processes inside the cylinder, a chemical kinetic model using seven chemical reactions and eleven species, blow-by, positive crankcase circulation, mixture compositions in all the above processes, engine friction and multi-body dynamics of the crank-slider mechanism. In addition, the model introduces several zones to model the fuel spray. The latter considers the fuel atomization and evaporation processes along with the air-entrainment into the zones. It accounts for the spray penetration and wall impingement effects. Moreover, a reduced chemical kinetic model complemented by the extended Zeldovitch mechanism is implemented in each zone to determine the localized combustion products. This model is further enhanced by considering a dynamic model for the fuel injector accounting for the cavitation characteristics of the injector nozzle. This model is being developed to yield the time history of the localized temperatures and mixture compositions within the zones. Currently, we are heavily involved in validating the model by comparing its results to those that have been generated experimentally at WSU.