The new soot modeling capabilities offered by the new sectional soot model will allow car manufacturers to develop faster and better new GDI engines taking into account the production of very small particles, below 23 nm, as soon as the first design of the engine thanks to accurate soot emissions modeling. In parallel, understanding and prediction of soot formation mechanism for smaller particulates, between 10 and 23 nm, has been largely improved, allowing car manufacturers to understand technological levers that can be exploited to decrease particulate production in number and to develop the next generation of particulate free GDI engines. Based on these new tools and knowhow, an innovative in-cylinder fluid motion was tested and assessed, showing a real breakthrough in terms of particulates emissions and an improvement of efficiency when compared to the state of the art GDI engines. This new approach could benefit to the targeted reduction of emissions of next generation high efficiency gasoline engines.
The exhaust gas aftertreatment system, especially the gasoline particle filter, will be an essential part to achieve future requirements and to maximize emission control robustness in the field, in particular considering that a future particle size threshold of 10nm requires the development of solutions beyond today´s state of the art. The findings of the workpackage “Control and filtration of nanoparticles” contributed towards a competitive future of the internal combustion engine since, with the results, have been able to provide a solid basis for the development of an ultra clean vehicle as targeted in Upgrade. In a longer perspective (beyond 2025), it has been shown that a homogeneous lean burn engine especially in combination with a hybrid drivetrain can contribute to even further reductions in fuel consumption / GHG emissions. Concerning the B-segment vehicle, the 3 cylinder engine concept developed in the project will strongly impact on the competitiveness of the future engine generation. As conclusion, UPGRADE project demonstrated a potential new roadmap of gasoline engines/vehicles for current and future on road light duty transportation by means of innovative solutions. New generations of extremely efficient and clean engines are possible. The combination of Upgrade engine and electrical motor is possible in order to further increase the transport efficiency.
