DE VELO PMENT FUEL C ONSUMPTION

FUEL EFFICIENCY AS
CHALLENGE FOR FUTURE
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINES
The fuel consumption and therefore the CO2 emissions of commercial vehicle engines will have to be further
reduced in the future. In the following report, AVL evaluates promising approaches towards optimising basic
engine components on the basis of a six-cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine.

38

AUTHORS

DR. HELFRIED SORGER

is Executive Chief Engineer Design,
Simulation and Mechanical
Development in the Engineering and
Technology Powertrain Systems
Division of the AVL GmbH in Graz
(Austria).

DR. WOLFGANG SCHFFMANN

is Head of Powertrain Design in the
Engineering and Technology
Powertrain Systems Division of the
AVL GmbH in Graz (Austria).

GEORG VON FALCK

is Head of Product Line Plant and
Production Engineering in the
Engineering and Technology
Powertrain Systems Division of the
AVL GmbH in Graz (Austria).

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Further significant reductions in the fuel

consumption of modern commercial
vehicle engines require a holistic view of
the powertrain architecture. Downspeeding is being pursued, particularly for
engines in the long-haul sector, whereby
the operating range of the engines is
being pushed to lower engine speeds, .
In order to ensure sufficient climbing
ability and driveability in lower gears,
the torque characteristic of future engines
must be adapted a mating with an
automatic double-clutch transmission is
beneficial.
In combination with a further increase
in power density, the thermal load
increases, whereby further peak firing
pressure increases of over 250bar are to
be expected. This poses considerable
challenges for the base engine design,
structural stiffness and cooling, friction,
weight and cost [1]. A careful assessment
of economic viability quickly leads to a
modular approach for possible fuel consumption measures [2]:
: Conceptual measures have great influence on the manufacturing process and
therefore must be considered early in
the product definition phase. Examples
are lightweight architecture, crank
shaft offset, long connecting rod, low
friction valvetrain, minimised main
bearing diameter, switchable pistoncooling jets or so-called split cooling.
: Optimisation measures can be implemented with manageable changes in

manufacturing and final assembly

lines and are therefore mainly suitable
for introduction during a technical
revision of existing engine families.
This could be reduction of conrod big
end bearing diameter, bearing clearance optimisation, oil circuit pressure
and flow optimisation, bore distortion
reduction, optimised honing parameters and so on.
: Add-on measures can be implemented
with minor or no changes to the manufacturing and final assembly lines
and are therefore suitable for introduction to existing engine families. This
includes low friction coatings, variable
capacity coolant and oil pumps, electronically controlled thermostat, switchable air compressor and fan or electrohydraulic servo steering pumps.
The following sections will discuss
selected technology packages.
CRANKCASE LIGHTWEIGHT DESIGN

In cooperation with the Fritz Winter

GmbH, the weight and cost reduction
potential of the crankcase of a 12-l heavy
duty engine was investigated. Special
techniques in the casting process permit
structures up to 3.5mm nominal wall
thickness to be achieved. The thin casting method can be applied through targeted control of the casting and cooling
processes, whereby this method is also
suitable for compacted graphite iron
casting. In parallel, the force-transmitting structure was optimised and com-

Engine full load today

Engine full load future
2000

250
200
1000

150
110

Engine power [kW]

Engine torque [Nm]

3000

50

800

1000

1200

1400

1600 1800 2000

Engine speed [rpm]

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Torque characteristic
with downspeeding: shift
to lower engine speeds

39

DE VELO PMENT FUEL C ONSUMPTION

combinations reached the stiffness and

strength targets the risk for edge loading is a determining factor. The frictional advantage of the best variant was
approximately 8 %.
The increase in bearing clearance is a
supplementary measure to reduce the
bearing friction, whereby the limit is
determined by NVH requirements. To
achieve the largest possible nominal
clearance, a minimisation of the series
tolerance is a prerequisite. This could be
achieved by grading the crankshaft and/
or the housing and the bearing shells, or
by reducing the manufacturing tolerances for the individual components.
Weight reduction through thin casting on the crankcase of a heavy duty engine

putationally validated for a peak firing

pressure of 220bar.
A weight saving potential of over 12 %
relative to the finished component was
achieved, whereby the largest part of 5 %
naturally lies in the periphery of the
crankcase, . The production costs for
the crankcase are neutral; however the
weight advantage for a future engine
design would be approximately 31kg.
CYLINDER HEAD COOLING

Designing an engine for best fuel consumption with highest BMEP causes,
apart from higher peak firing pressures,
considerably increased thermal load of
the valve bridge and thus increased
requirements for the cylinder head cooling, particularly in the area of the valve
bridge. In the so-called Top Down cooling concept from AVL, the coolant flow
in the cylinder head is routed from the
upper water jacket in the injector area
and centrally focused on the fire deck,
. This can achieve up to 15C reduced
valve bridge temperatures compared to
standard cooling besides structural optimisations. A further advantage is the
robustness of the coolant flow against
production tolerances. The production
costs are almost neutral to conventional
cylinder heads.

from an economic viability point of view

compared to hybridisation and/or other
vehicle measures. The AVL database of
engine strip-down results enables a
friction target value definition at an individual system level as early as the concept phase.
CRANKSHAF T LAYOUT

The crankshaft bearing contributes

approximately 20 to 25 % of the total
engine friction; correspondingly, the
diameter optimisation of the main and
crankpin bearings is a clear target.
Combinations of main and connecting
rod bearings were compared in a
parameter variation, , whereby all

CRANKSHAFT OFFSET

By introducing an axial offset between

the cylinder liner and the crankshaft, the
lateral piston forces can be reduced in
the relevant operating ranges. The optimal crankshaft offset lies in the range 10
to 15 % of the cylinder bore diameter. In
commercial vehicle engines the cylinder
liner requires a recess to ensure space
for the conrod. The liner must therefore
have an angular orientation. Such
designs have been state-of-the-art for
many years for marine engines with
three stage conrods.
The reduction in friction can be predicted and optimised using piston
motion simulation to a high degree of
accuracy, , and lies at approximately
10 %, or corresponds to 2,5 to 3,5 %
reduction in engine FMEP. For a new
engine design, the add-on cost for the

FRICTION REDUCTION

The reduction of mechanical losses in

the engine is gaining in importance,
since engine optimisation is attractive

40

Top Down cooling on a cylinder head of a heavy duty engine

~5-8 % reduction of
crankshaft friction
(stroke/bore < 1.2)

THERMAL MANAGEMENT

FMEP [bar]

0.1 bar

1000

1250

1500

1750

2000

2250

2500

Engine speed [rpm]

Parameter variation for crankshaft dimensioning (heavy duty diesel engine, 240 bar PFP)

105

Piston FMEP [%]

Pin offset -0.5 mm

Pin offset -0.8 mm

100

-10 % piston FMEP

Range of
best configuration

Offse
Offset

95

90

85
0

12

15

18

21

Crankshaft offset [mm]

FMEP reduction through crankshaft offset (in-line six-cylinder heavy duty engine,
connecting rod ratio 0.27, 1200 rpm, high part load)

implementation of an offset is considered

to be almost neutral.
PISTONS AND PISTON RINGS

Piston ring development requires a balance between friction, oil consumption,

blow-by and wear. Increasing the clearance between the piston and the bore
generally leads to a reduction in friction,
limited by NVH requirements. A crankshaft offset tends to permit a somewhat
greater clearance at a constant NVH
level, whereby the piston pin offset
needs to be considered.
There is a clear trend towards narrow
ring heights, which are less stiff. Coatings
such as diamond-like carbon (DLC), when
combined with optimised design offer significant friction reduction, currently however, still with a noticeable cost impact.
Compact steel pistons for heavy duty
engines offer significant friction advantages the reduced compression heights
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are typically advantageous for the engine

height. Comparative measurements on a
six-cylinder heavy duty engine show a 12
to 15 % reduction in piston friction.

Fuel consumption reductions of up to

2 % in a typical driving cycle under average environmental conditions can be
achieved via consistent optimisation of
the engine and vehicle thermal management [4]. In part load, considerable savings potential is reachable by implementing a map controlled coolant pump and
increasing the coolant temperature to the
maximum permitted level. Split cooling
can be used to independently route the
coolant flow to the cylinder liner and the
cylinder head. Split cooling is ideally
combined with the Top Down cylinder
head cooling from AVL.
The cooling fan has a particularly
important role in commercial vehicles.
Due to the high power of up to approximately 50kW (for EGR concepts), it
should only be activated when sufficient
cooling cannot be achieved through
other means. Reductions in fuel consumption of up to 0.8 % are possible, if
multi-stage or actively controllable fully
variable cooling fan clutches are used.
ON-DEMAND AUXILIARY CONTROL

The full installation power of the steering servo pump and the air compressor
is very seldom required during long-haul
operation. The auxiliaries normally operate at reduced power and cause parasitic
losses that cannot be ignored. With conventional air compressors without power
limitation in idle, the cumulative parasitic
losses over the complete test cycle that
could be eliminated amount to 1.3 % of

Cost impact of CO2 reduction measures without development amortisation

41

DE VELO PMENT Fuel C onsumption

the total fuel consumption; even air com

pressors with power limitation could, if
decoupled from the drive, save 0.3% fuel.
SUMMARY OF THE MEASURES,
COST IMPACT AND OUTLOOK

AVL employs a should-cost analysis

method to make early predictions of the
cost impact of concept alternatives and
to involve them in the concept decision
[5]. This analysis is based on manufacturing processes and cost structures, or
on best practice manufacturing processes. Using the example of a six-cylinder heavy duty diesel engine, the additional product cost when introducing the
fuel reduction measures displayed are
calculated individually, each without
apportioning the development costs, .

42

The accumulated on costs for the

introduced technology packages lead to
an return on investment (ROI) of signi
ficantly less than one year, taking into
account the total cost of ownership
(TCO) view. The combined potential of
all optimisation measures on the base
engine offers, when compared to conventional designs, a 3 to 5% fuel saving in
typical long-haul operation. Supported
by thermal management measures overall improvements of up to 7% are
achievable. The optimised base engine
represents in any case a starting point
for further fuel reduction measures, like
waste heat recovery (WHR) and electrification/hybridisation measures for the
entire powertrain, whose cost/benefit
ratio needs to be considered depending
on the application.

REFERENCES
[1] Schffmann, W.; Breitenberger, M. et al: Challenges to the base engine structures of future MD &
HD engine commercial vehicle engines. VDI conference, 2012
[2] Howlett, M.; Enzi, B. et al: CO 2 Reduction
Potential through Improved Mechanical Efficiency of
the Internal Combustion Engine-Technology Survey
and Cost-Benefit Analysis. SAE conference, 2013
[3] Schffmann, W.; Weibck, M. et al: High performance and friction reduction challenge or contradiction? Future diesel and gasoline engine family
with common architecture. 22 nd International AVL
conference Engine & Environment, Graz, 2010
[4] Ennemoser, A. et al: Optimized operating
s trategy for auxilliaries in truck engines. In: MTZ 73
(2012), No. 3
[5] Schffmann, W.; Sorger, H. et al: Lightweight
Design, Function Integration and Friction Reduction
the Base Engine in the Challenge between Cost
and CO 2-Optimization. 34 th Vienna International
Engine Symposium, 2013

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