Study of Impact of Engine and Vehicle Level Parameters for Reduction in Engine Oil Consumption for Advanced Emission Architecture Commercial Vehicles

Abstract

Automotive industry has seen implementation of advanced emission regulations like BS-VI in India along with growing market demand for increased product performance and reduction in total cost of ownership. This has made the engine architecture more intricate leading to complex interaction among engine and vehicle level parameters. This poses technical challenge for achieving critical product attributes like increased power density, higher fluid economy and reduced oil consumption (OC). The current paper focusses on reducing engine oil consumption across diverse duty cycles using simulation tools, vehicle data analytics and test cell Design of Experiments (DOE). The contribution of oil consumption mechanisms viz. oil evaporation, oil throw and oil transport have been understood across different loads and duty cycles patterns. The critical parameters at engine and vehicle levels are identified affecting low load and high load oil consumption. Vehicle testing is conducted, and the real time data analytics was used to identify correlation of vehicle duty cycle parameters like percentageof Idling,Thermal Management Operation, Coolant Temperature, etc. with measured oil consumption. Piston ring dynamics simulation has been used to optimize critical ring parameters impacting oil consumption through directional trends. DOE was conducted in engine test cell environment to assess effect of critical parameters like combustion temperature and oil ring tension for high load oil consumption. The new test cycles for verifying oil consumption at various loads are described. Results of interaction and main effects for individual factors are discussed. The parameters having weaker co-relations are also highlighted. The proposed solution is a combination of piston ring pack geometry features, thermal management calibration strategyand vehicle idling controls. The demonstration of final recipe of solution at vehicle level showed substantial improvement in oil consumption over baseline as well as over global industry benchmark. The improvement is demonstrated in the actual vehicle applications for mining tippers and tractors