DieselNet Technology Guide
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Engine Intake Charge Management
Hannu Jääskeläinen, Magdi K. Khair
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Abstract: Managing the supply of air and other components of the cylinder ’s intake charge to the combustion
chamber is an impor tant process to ensure consistent and r eliable performance of modern engines. Intak e
charge management encompasses all aspects that aff ect the quantity, composition, temp erature, pressure,
bulk motion and cleanliness of the cylinder ’s contents at the star t of the heat release period. Details of the
intake system, cylinder head and v alve train design, pressure boosting technology and char ge dilution
requirements are all important aspects of intak e air management.
Introduction
Volumetric Efficiency
Charge Pressure Management
Effect on Performance
Turbochargers
Superchargers
Multiple Compressors
Charge Temperature Management
Charge Composition Management
Control of Flow into and out of the Combustion Chamber
Crankcase Ventilation
1. Introduction
Managing the supply of the intake charge up to the start of combustion is a critical aspect
of modern engines and can impact emissions, performance and fuel economy. Intake
charge management is the process that is used to ensure that the intake charge supplied to
the combustion chamber at all operating conditions meets a number of requirements
including:
a sufficient quantity of oxygen is available to ensure complete combustion,
a sufficient amount of diluent (e.g., EGR) is present to control the combustion
temperature,
the temperature and pressure (density) of the charge air is controlled,
suitable bulk motion and kinetic energy is imparted to the charge air in the cylinder
to support the mixing of air, fuel and intermediate combustion products, and
the size and concentration of impurities such as dust and dirt is acceptable.
Commonly, elements of this process are referred to as air management. However, the term
air management is not clearly defined and can also be misleading as it implies that only
airflow needs to be managed. For modern engines, the cylinder contents at the start of
combustion can also include diluents such as recirculated exhaust gas and in SI engines,
fuel as well. Thus, a term that more accurately incorporates these elements is needed. In
this paper, intake charge management is used.
In older diesel engine designs that did not have to meet stringent exhaust emissions
requirements, intake charge management systems were in fact air management systems
and were relatively straightforward. In some cases, it was sufficient to simply ensure that
the air was clean and that the flow capacity of the intake system was adequate to ensure
peak torque and power objectives were met. These diesel engines were also commonly
design to impart swirl to the air as it entered the combustion chamber to support the fuel
injection system in the task of mixing of air and fuel. Typically, no active control of any
intake side hardware was required. Even as many engines started to adopt turbochargers
and other forms of intake air compression, it was sufficient to simply ensure a proper
match between the engine and compressor. Naturally aspirated gasoline SI engines had a
throttle plate for load control and had the added complication of premixing air and fuel in
the intake system. The intake system would have needed to be designed to ensure that the
distribution of air and fuel mixture generated by the carburetor met the design
requirements of the engine and that measures were taken to minimize the accumulation
of a liquid fuel film in the intake system.
Pressure to lower emissions while maintaining or improving other engine performance
parameters required that the intake air properties be better controlled and matched to
suit the engine operating condition. This required the introduction more hardware to
control these intake air properties. In diesel engines for example, wastegate control on the
turbocharger was introduced to enable improved intake air boosting at lower engine
speeds and to limit turbine speeds at high engine speeds, valves were introduced to mix
some exhaust gas (EGR) into the intake air at some engine operating conditions,
turbocharger controls become more complicated to ensure that boost and EGR
requirements could be met and higher and higher intake air pressures required that the
higher intake air temperatures resulting from compression be limited. All of this added
complexity required that more sophisticated control systems with sensors and
sophisticated control algorithms be incorporated to ensure everything functions as
expected.
There are a number of important aspects of intake charge management including:
Charge Pressure Management. Managing the pressure of the intake charge is
critical for power density. In diesel engines, turbochargers have been a common
feature because the low power density of the overall lean nature of the combustion
process would not be acceptable in many applications. In gasoline engines, load
control is normally achieved by varying the density of the fuel/air mixture in the
intake manifold.
Charge Temperature Management. Managing the temperature of the cylinder
contents at the time of fuel injection in diesel engines is critical to ensure proper
engine operation. Steps to limit this temperature can be taken in the intake system as
well as in-cylinder. There are two aspects of intake charge temperature
management:
limiting the maximum temperature, and
managing low charge temperatures to facilitate engine start-up, warm-up and
emissions control.
If charge temperatures are too high, the intake charge density will be lower and
combustion temperatures can become too high. This can limit engine output and
lead to increased exhaust emissions. If temperatures are too low, starting the engine
at low temperatures can be problematic and/or emissions during engine warm-up
can become excessive. Various pieces of engine hardware are commonly used to
achieve proper charge temperature. In boosted engines, charge air coolers are used
to keep charge temperatures from becoming too high, these can transfer heat from
the charge air to the engine coolant, the ambient air or a separate lower temperature
liquid. Ensuring sufficient charge air temperature for cold starting and to maintain it
during warm-up can be achieved with glow plugs, electric grid heaters or flame-type
aids.
Charge Composition Management (Exhaust Gas Recirculation). Exhaust gas
recirculation (EGR), the process of recirculating some of the exhaust gas back into
the intake system, is an important technology that has allowed modern diesel
engines to achieve very low engine out NOx emissions. As can be imagined,
introducing relatively high temperature exhaust gas into the intake air can have
significant impacts on the temperature and composition of the combustion air
supplied to the combustion chamber. In order to ensure proper functioning of an
engine with EGR, various hardware components, such as valves and coolers have to
be introduced to control the flow, temperature and distribution of EGR supply and
the resulting mixture with intake air. As well, turbocharger sizing and technology
choices can also be affected and steps must be taken to ensure sufficient oxygen is
still available for combustion and sufficient EGR flow is available at all engine
operating conditions.
Control of Flow into and out of the Combustion Chamber. From the intake
manifold, the flow must be transferred to the cylinder. In four stroke engines, this is
accomplished with a port located in the cylinder head with a poppet type valve to
open and close the port. A different set of valve(s) controls the timing of the flow of
exhaust gas out of the cylinder and into the exhaust port. Valve timing in four-stroke
engines can be either fixed or variable.
In two stroke engines, ports in the cylinder liner located near the piston’s BDC
location that are alternately covered and uncovered by the piston are commonly
used to control intake flow. After combustion is complete, the burned gases from a
two-stroke are expelled from the cylinder either through exhaust valves or a
different set of exhaust ports located near the piston’s BDC position. The portion of
the cycle available for expelling exhaust gases and admitting intake gases in two-
strokes is relatively short. Generally, the intake gases must be pressurized in order to
allow the incoming air to quickly fill the cylinder and scavenge it of exhaust gases.
Crankcase Ventilation. Engines with closed crankcase ventilation systems vent
gases from the crankcase into the intake air system to be recirculated into the
engine. This recirculated blowby must be properly managed. Also, while the
recirculated gases are filtered, a small amount of oil and particulate can still be
introduced into the intake system and accumulate on critical components such as the
compressor. Over time, if a sufficient accumulation of this material occurs, it can
have a significant impact on engine performance.
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