9/18/2015

GreenCarCongress:Fordassessmentoftwocylinderdeactivationstrategiesforawardwinning3cyl.EcoBoost

18September2015

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Fordassessmentoftwocylinderdeactivationstrategiesfor
awardwinning3cyl.EcoBoost
23June2015

Fords1.0literEcoBoostenginerecentlyreceiveditseighth
awardinfouryearsatthe2015InternationalEngineofthe
YearAwards.Thejudgesselectedthe999ccEcoBoostas
thewinner(forthefourthconsecutiveyear)intheSub1
Litrecategory,awardingit444points.Thesecondplace
challenger,GMs999ccEcoTec3cylinderturbo,scored176
points.(AlthoughtheEcoBoostreceived61fewerpoints
thanlastyear,thegapbetweenfirstandsecondplace
widened.)Lastyear,the1.0literEcoBoostbecamethefirst
enginetobenamedoverallInternationalEngineoftheYear
threetimesinarow,andwasin2012namedBestNew
Engine.

Acomparisonofthebenefitsoftwo
differentcylinderdeactivation
operatingstrategiesfordownsized
3cylinderenginessuchasthe1.0L
EcoBoost.Thelargestdifference
provedtobeincost.Schameletal.
Clicktoenlarge.

Oneofthejudges,HormazdSorabjeeofAutocarIndiasaid,Thatsomuchcanbe
achievedfromasub1liter,threecylindermotorissimplyastounding.Thatmay
be,butFordisexploringwaystofurtherimprovethefuelefficiencyofthethree
cylinderdesign,includingthepossibleuseofcylinderdeactivation.(Earlierpost.)
Evenforanaggressivelydownsizedenginesuchasthe1.0liter
EcoBoost,asignificantimprovementinvehiclefueleconomycouldbe
foundbyexploitingcylinderdeactivation.Thehighestpriorityinthe
developmentofnewcombustionenginesforautomotiveapplicationsis
theongoingreductionoffuelconsumption.
CarstenWeber,advancedpowertrainmanager,FordofEurope
InapaperpresentedattheInternationalViennaMotorSymposiuminMay,Dr.
AndreasSchamel,director,FordGlobalPowertrain,Research&Advanced
Engineering,describedFordsanditspartnersanalyticalandexperimental
investigationintopotentialcylinderdeactivationstrategiesforuseonadownsized
threecylinderengine.Coauthorsofthepaper,inadditiontoCarstenWeber,were
Dr.MartinScheidtofSchaefflerAGandDr.HartmutFaustofLUKGmbH.
Theirfocuswasresolvingandoptimizingtwoconflictingattributesofcylinder
deactivationinsuchanengine:fueleconomyvs.vibrationbehavior.
Ina2013interviewwithAutomotiveWorld,Dr.Schamelsuggestedthat
deactivationonathreecylinderenginewouldbewassomewhattricky.Asked
aboutthatcommentnow,Schamelobservedthatjustbecauseitwastricky,it
doesntmeanwegiveuponit.Wewerepleasantlysurprisedthatweovercame
someofthedifficultelements.
Cylinderdeactivationisawellknownandincreasinglyappliedapproachto
achievingadownsizingbenefitonlargerdisplacementengines.Thedethrottling
effectandreducedfrictionunderpartloadconditionsresultingfromdeactivation
improvetheoverallefficiencyofengineswhichwouldotherwisesufferfromthe
excessdisplacement.
Basedondrivetorquedemand,eventhreecylinderenginescouldbenefitfrom
cylinderdeactivation(dependinguponloadahighloadcyclesuchasUS06
hardlybenefitsfromdeactivation,theteamnoted).However,whileinlarger
enginesanevenfiringsequenceismaintained,thethreecylinderdesignrequires
additionaltechnology.TheFordteaminvestigatedtwooptions:
Afixedcylinderdeactivationi.e.,applyinganappropriatevalve
deactivationmechanismtoonecylinder.Ona3cylinderenginethisleadsto
thecapabilitytoruna 23engine(666ccactivedisplacementforthe1.0L
EcoBoost).This,however,resultsinanunevenfiringorderleadingtoa
challenginglowengineorderexcitation.Successfullyimplementingthis

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GreenCarCongress:Fordassessmentoftwocylinderdeactivationstrategiesforawardwinning3cyl.EcoBoost
approachcommerciallyrequiresawaytoavoidcompromisingcustomer
expectationsonNVH.
Arollingcylinderdeactivationi.e.varyingthenumberandsequenceof
deactivatedcylinders.Thisallowstheenginetoberunindcouldbeusedto
runtheenginein 12enginemodecorrespondingtoa500ccactive
displacementfortheEcoBoostbutwiththeadvantageofanevenfiring
order.Thisapproachrequiresasignificanteffortincontrolsandcomplexity.

Percentagefueleconomybenefitforfixedcylinderdeactivation(left)androlling(right)comparedtofullengine
mode.

Thefueleconomyfortherollingcylinderdeactivationwould
thereforebebetterthanforthefixedcylinderdeactivationinlow
loaddrivecycles.Themagnitudeoftheadditionalbenefitispending
onvehicleapplicationandcycle.Thebiggestbenefitpotentialcan
beanticipatedinasmallcarduringalightloadcycleandviceversa
thesmallestbenefitwillbeachievedinabigcarduringamidto
highloadcycle.
Schameletal.
Clicktoenlarge.

Togatherrealworldfuelconsumptionresults,theFordteamtooktotheroadsin
andaroundColognewithaFordFocusequippedwiththe1.0LEcoBoostengine
matedtoasixspedmanualtransmission.TheroutecombinedAutobahn,city
drivingandruralroadsoverapproximately55km(34miles),includingaltitude
differenceswithdifferentgradients.
Theyfoundthatasignificantportionofthecommuterdrivewasperformedin
cylinderdeactivationmodeprovidingafueleconomybenefitunderrealdriving
conditions.Thebiggestcontributionofcylinderdeactivationwasreachedinthe
midspeedareaupto30%oftheoveralldistance.
Forreasonsofcost,flexibilityandpackaging,Fordchosetouseswitchableroller
fingerfollowers(SRFF)asthedeactivationmechanisminitsEcoBoostprototype
engine.SRFFcanimplementeitherdeactivationstrategy.Basedonthechosen
strategy,thedeactivationmechanismwouldbeusedforoneorforallcylinders.
Therearefourboundariestotheoperatingmapofcylinderdeactivation:two
relatedtoenginespeedandtwodependingontheengineload.
Athigherenginespeedsthedeactivationmechanismanditscontrolsarenot
fastenoughtoenablethemodeswitch,sothatanoperationindeactivated
modeathigherspeedsisnotpossible.
Thelowerspeedlimitoftheoperationrangeisdictatedbypowertrain
vibration.Atlowenginespeeds,eigenfrequenciesofthepowertrainwillbe
excitedwhichwillleadtoanunacceptableNVHbehaviour.
Themaximumpossibleloadofcylinderdeactivationisgivenbythefuel
economybenefit.Athigherengineloads,theengineismoreefficient
runningwithallcylinders.Atlowerenginespeeds,thereisaloadand
speeddependentNVHlimit.Increasingtheenginespeedandhencethe
excitationfrequencyofthemainengineorder,decreasesthevibration
angleswhichenablesoperationathigherengineloads.

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GreenCarCongress:Fordassessmentoftwocylinderdeactivationstrategiesforawardwinning3cyl.EcoBoost

Boundariestotheoperatingmapofcylinderdeactivation.Clicktoenlarge.

TomitigatetheNVHeffects,theFordteamdevelopedasystemusedinthe
prototypethatcombinedadualmassflywheel(DMF)withpendulumabsorberwith
atunedclutchdisc.TheDMFwiththetunedclutchdisccounteractstheengine
excitation,andthecircumferentialPendulumDamperreducestheengineorder
vibrationbymorethan90%.heintroductionofthisdecouplingsystemalloweda
wideroperatingrangeofcylinderdeactivation.
Infact,theyfoundthatwiththeoptimizedDMFandthecircumferentialPendulum
Absorber,thevibrationbehaviorwassimilarforallthreeoperationmodes:i.e.
fixedcylinderdeactivation,rollingcylinderdeactivationandthebaseoperation
withallcylinders.
Dependingonthedrivecycleandthecylinderdeactivationstrategy,the
researchersobservedafueleconomyreductionof4to6%foraCcarsuchasa
FordFocus.Thegreatestdifferencebetweenthevariousmodeswascost.
Forthecylinderdeactivationstrategywithonefixedcylinder,one
singlecylinderhastobeactivatedsothattheactuatorsarerequired
onlyforthiscylinder.Inthecaseoftherollingdeactivation,actuators
arerequiredforallcylinders.Thecontrolseffortishigherforan
enginewithcylinderdeactivationthanforaconventionaloperating
enginewithallcylinders.Therollingcylinderdeactivationisthemost
complexsystemwithactuatorsforallthreecylindersincludingtheir
drivers.Becauseoftherequiredoilpressurefortheactuators,the
parasiticlossesarehigherforanenginewithrollingcylinder
deactivation,too.Theacousticnoiseradiationinallthreeoperation
modesissimilarduetoimprovedhardware.Therollingdeactivation
modehasasmalladvantagecomparedtothefixeddeactivationmode
becauseofthemoreevencombustionexcitation.Comparingthefuel
economybenefit,thereisasignificantbenefitforthefixedcylinder
deactivationcomparedtothebaseoperationmodewithallcylinders.
Therollingdeactivationmodeshowsafurthersmallbenefitandhas
thebestfueleconomy.
Theratiooftotalfunctionalbenefitandcostseemstobe
advantageousforthesinglecylinderdeactivationstrategyversusthe
rollingapproach.Ahighlevelcontemplationshowsa90%fuel
economybenefitfor40%ofthecost.
Schameletal.
Althoughthestudywasareallynicejointpieceofresearch,Schamelsaid,the
specificsontherollingversusthefixedstrategiesisreallyuniquetothethree
cylinderproblemstatement.Fordhasnotannouncedifitwilltakethenextstep
andcommercializethecylinderdeactivationtechnologyinthe3cylinderunit.
Iamnotexcludingit,butnoramIannouncingit.
AndreasSchamel
Resources
Dr.A.Schamel,FordForschungszentrum,AachenDr.M.Scheidt,Schaeffler

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GreenCarCongress:Fordassessmentoftwocylinderdeactivationstrategiesforawardwinning3cyl.EcoBoost
AG,HerzogenaurachDipl.Ing.C.Weber,FordWerkeGmbH,CologneDr.
H.Faust,LuKGmbH&Co.KG,Bhl.IsCylinderDeactivationaViable
OptionforaDownsized3CylinderEngine?36thInternationalViennaMotor
Symposium(2015)
June23,2015inEngines,FuelEfficiency|Permalink|Comments(2)

Comments

Thelowestfigureinfersthatitmightbeadvantageousfromafueleconomy
viewpointtostayin5thgearratherthanshiftto6thgearatsomespeeds.
Postedby:ThomasPedersen|June23,2015at04:55AM

Withaseriesparallelpowertrainandsynchronousmachines,therollingcylinder
deactivationseemssimple.Pleasereferto:
http://contest.techbriefs.com/2015/entries/automotivetransportation/5116
Notethattheinertiaofthegeneratorcanbeusedtostoresomekineticenergy
likeinaconventionalbatterywithoutcyclenumberandpowerlimitations.
Moreover,itcanalsostabilizeenginevibrations.Itsinertiais100timesmore
efficientthanifitwasinstalledatthecrankshaftedge.
Pleasereferalsoto:
http://contest.techbriefs.com/2015/entries/sustainabletechnologies/5453
Postedby:Vupilla|July01,2015at06:34AM
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