The powertrain scene circa today [with a glimpse at the not-too-distant tomorrow]: in which Peter Brown of Ricardo—an engineering consultancy that's worked on projects from the Hummer H2 to the HEMI to powertrains that they've taken a vow of silence regarding—talks about what's going on under the hoods - Supply Side

Automotive Design & Production, Jan, 2004 by Gary S. Vasilash

POWER SELLS

In the world of powertrain engineering, which Peter Brown, vice president, Powertrain Projects & Design, Ricardo Inc. (Van Buren Twsp., MI), knows more than a little about, there is something of a slight disconnection between what is desired by the market and what is a requirement for vehicle manufacturing. That is, Brown observes, "There is a focus on emissions and fuel economy"--for the vehicle manufacturers--"but there's a strong recognition that you can't sell either of those things to the buying public." So, while vehicle manufacturers and Tier One suppliers work with Ricardo--which has some 1,400 employees worldwide, and specializes in engines, transmissions and drivelines--on fuel economy and emissions, they also go to the firm for assistance with what are arguably seriously powerful engines: like the Chrysler Group's 5.7-liter HEMI Magnum V8, which Ricardo engineers, designers, and CAE engineers worked on with personnel from Chrysler. "We're seeing more new engine programs focused on even higher levels of performance," Brown says. He notes, for example, that General Motors' cylinder deactivation program is a means by which larger engines can remain within vehicles while still providing comparative fuel efficiency. (A)

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THE DIESEL DILEMMA

Although there is a lot of talk--speeches, conferences, presentations, water-cooler chatter--about diesel engines for passenger car and light truck applications--after all, everyone knows that the Europeans are buying diesels like mad: during a conference in October, 2003, Alastair Bedwell, research manager, J.D. Power-LMC, described it as a "diesel explosion in Europe," and noted that the penetration in the western European market for diesels in 2003 is an estimated 44%, and he claimed that the compression ignition engine is now "the default choice for some in Europe"--Peter Brown sees the U.S. vehicle manufacturers being somewhat cautious. Although there is, what he describes as "significant growth and interest in the technology" by vehicle manufacturers in the U.S., he also goes on to note: "Everybody is trying to be positioned to take advantage of the market if the market takes off. There's concern about not spending any more than you have to be to be in that position." There is what may be considered bet-hedging because, he says, "No one knows if the diesel is going to take off significantly in the U.S." Where is Ricardo on this question? "We think it will."

THE DIESEL DILEMMA, 2

One of the big challenges to moving diesels into the mainstream American market is related to emissions. "N[O.sub.x] is clearly the issue, and the catalytic systems for treating N[O.sub.x] are challenging on diesel engines," Brown explains. Oh, yes, and he adds, "And quite expensive, too." Those precious metals for catalysts don't come cheaply. The Ricardo approach to handling diesel emissions is, consequently, to reduce engine-out emissions as much as possible, then using the catalytic systems to treat what's left.

And there's another issue related to diesels and costs, which is that compared to a spark-ignition engine (i.e., a gasoline-powered vehicle), the diesel is more expensive. So there is the likelihood that if diesels go forward in any significant way in the U.S. market, they'll be moving along in high-end vehicles or those that provide some profit margins to work with. "If you had to install diesels on small, economical vehicles," Brown posits, "it would probably be a loss situation." The margins are too thin there.

Speaking of the cost situation as regards diesels, Brown notes that vehicle manufacturers are paying a whole lot of attention to improving gasoline engines because they know that they can make more money that way.

MANUFACTURING MATTERS

"The manufacturing capabilities that we have today are so much better than they used to be, and that allows us to design engines with much closer tolerances. That makes those engines have lower friction levels, be much quieter, perform better overall, and be much more reliable."

Sure, while the control capabilities--Brown says that electronic control systems "have allowed all kinds of developments that we couldn't have thought of 10 years ago"--have made a big difference in what engines can do, it is the fundamental manufacturing of these engines that make a tremendous difference. (B)

WHAT WOULD HE DO?

Let's assume that Peter Brown was able to put together his ideal engine. What would it be like? This: "An all-aluminum engine with no iron cylinder liners. It would have four valves per cylinder. It would have dual overhead cams. Two cam phasers. It might have some other unique valve-train configuration like the BMW Valvetronic. Direct injected. Probably turbocharged."

Ideal, yes. But Brown admits: "Not every vehicle needs that kind of engine."

MERGER?

"The day will come--maybe in the not-too-distant future--when you don't refer to a 'gasoline engine' or a 'diesel engine' or a 'spark ignition' or a 'compression ignition' engine," Brown says. The engine in question, he explains, will be something of a hybrid. And it will be called an "HCCI engine." That's as in "Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition."