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2005-01-1150

SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES

Divided Exhaust Period – A Gas Exchange

System for Turbocharged SI Engines
Christel Elmqvist Möller, Pontus Johansson and Börje Grandin
Fiat-GM Powertrain - Sweden

Fredrik Lindström
Royal Institute of Technology

Reprinted From: New SI Engine and Component Design 2005

(SP-1966)

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April 11-14, 2005

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 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of California Berkeley, Saturday, August 04, 2018
Divided Exhaust Period – A Gas Exchange System for
Turbocharged SI Engines
Christel Elmqvist Möller, Pontus Johansson and Börje Grandin
Copyright © 2005 SAE International
ABSTRACT
The necessity to limit the boost pressure in turbocharged
gasoline engines results in higher exhaust pressure than
inlet pressure at engine speeds when the wastegate is
opened. This imbalance has a negative influence on the
exhaust scavenging of the engine and results in high
levels of residual gas and consequently the engine is
more prone to knock.
This paper presents a study of a gas-exchange system
for turbocharged SI engines. The concept aims at
improving the performance and emissions of a
turbocharged SI engine by dividing the exhaust flow
from the two exhaust valves into two different exhaust
manifolds, one connected to the turbocharger and one
connected to a close coupled catalyst. By separating the
valve opening period of the two valves and keeping the
duration of both valve opening events shorter than 180
crank angle degrees, the disturbance of the exhaust
blowdown pressure pulse during valve overlap in a four
cylinder engine can be completely eliminated.
The study was carried out both experimentally on a four
cylinder turbocharged SI engine and with extensive 1-D
simulation of the system. A positive pressure difference
over the engine could be realized over the entire speed
range by using the concept system. Simulations show
up to 60 % reduction of residual gas content compared
to a standard turbocharged engine. The study also
showed that the time to catalyst light off could be
reduced with over 35% compared to a standard
turbocharged engine with a conventional exhaust
system.
INTRODUCTION
It is a well-known fact that the emission levels from the
transport sector needs to be decreased. At the same
time customer request is for more powerful engines with
less fuel consumption. These different requirements can
2005-01-1150
Fiat-GM Powertrain - Sweden
Fredrik Lindström
Royal Institute of Technology
be hard to meet at the same time and is a major
challenge for engine manufactures and researchers.
Using turbochargers can be a viable solution to this
challenge. The major advantage of the turbocharged
engine is achieving the same power output with a
smaller displaced volume, thereby decreasing the fuel
consumption. However, turbocharged engines have
some drawbacks. The turbine increases the pressure in
the exhaust manifold, thereby increasing the amount of
residual gas trapped in the cylinder. This decreases the
knock resistance of the engine [1] and also reduces the
volumetric efficiency [2]. In a four stroke turbocharged
engines with four cylinders and a single turbine, the
blowdown pulse from one cylinder can interfere with the
previous cylinder in firing order during exhaust-intake
overlap. This further impairs the scavenging of the
combustion chamber and as a consequence increases
the charge temperature and reduces volumetric
efficiency and knock resistance. Other drawbacks are
the relatively high pumping losses compared to a
naturally aspirated engine and delayed catalyst light off
due to the turbine acting as a heat sink in the exhaust
system. Finding ways to avoid these shortcomings
would of course improve the performance of the
turbocharged engine.
One way mentioned as early as 1924 in a British patent
[3] has been further investigated on a modern four-
cylinder turbocharged engine. In this paper the potential
of this concept, which will be called DEP (Divided
Exhaust Period), will be examined. The concept has
been investigated by means of 1-D simulation as well as
by tests on a prototype engine. This paper will deal with
the theories behind the concept, the development of a
1-D simulation model and experience gained from a
prototype engine. In particular cold start catalyst light-off
time and full load performance of the DEP engine with
varying exhaust valve lift profiles have been studied.
High full power potential of a new engine concept is
important to enable a high degree of downsizing.
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Inter- Exhaust Exhaust Intake

cooler blowdown scavenging valves
Exhaust valve valve
blow-down

Valve lift
system

Exhaust
scavenging
system
Catalyst
Charge air C T
system 90 180 270 TDC 450 540 630
Trapping
valve Crank angle [aTDC]
Figure 2 Valve lift curves for the blowdown, scavenging and intake
valves.
Figure 1 Schematic view of the of the exhaust systems configuration in
the DEP engine.
duration of the blowdown phase. Figure 3 shows
TECHNICAL CONCEPT simulated mass flow in both of the DEP engine exhaust
systems compared to a standard turbocharged engine at
The Divided Exhaust Period (DEP) concept is an 5500 rpm. Over 60% of the mass flow and the highest
alternative way of accomplishing the gas exchange in a enthalpy levels are found in the blow-down pulse at
turbocharged engine. The aim is to improve the 5500 rpm in the standard turbocharged engine. The
performance of a turbocharged engine, regarding low- remainder of the mass flow is generated by the piston
end torque, peak power and emissions. In the DEP displacement, which can be seen in the figure as a
engine the two exhaust ports from each cylinder have second peak in the mass flow.
been separated. The blowdown pulse is evacuated
through the blowdown valve, which leads to the In previous sections five main difficulties with a 4-
turbocharger. As the pressure in the exhaust is cylinder conventional turbocharged engine were
decreased and the piston displacement phase described:
commence, the scavenging valve open and lead the • Cylinder evacuation
remaining exhaust gas directly to a close-coupled • Negative PMEP
catalyst (CCC). By bypassing the turbine the high • Pulse interaction between cylinders
pressure in the manifold connected to the blowdown • Knock sensitivity
valve is avoided and the gas exchange is improved. The • Cold start
engine is schematically shown in Figure 1. Figure 2
show the valve lifts for the blowdown valve leading The same reasoning as for a conventional turbocharged
towards the turbine and the scavenging valve connected engine holds true for the DEP concept when it comes to
to the close-coupled catalyst. choosing between a small or large turbine. The main
driving force behind the DEP concept is to avoid or
Important parameters for turbine performance are the decrease the negative effects coupled to a small turbine.
mass flow, the pressure difference and temperature The turbine is restricted in mass flow so that a
difference over the turbine, since these are related to the wastegate needs to be used at high load. Using a
enthalpy. Ideally the high enthalpy blowdown pulse is
located around BDC and a positive pressure difference
exists between cylinder and exhaust manifold. When the
standard t/c
pressure in the cylinder decreases, the positive pressure
difference decrease. By opening the cylinder to the 0.3
scavenging manifold, which has a lower pressure DEP
Mass flow rate [kg/s]

compared to the blowdown manifold, positive pressure blow-down

difference can be achieved over the engine during the 0.2 system DEP
Valve lift

exhaust/intake overlap higher up in the speed range of scavenging

the engine. system
0.1

The majority of exhaust gases are evacuated during the

blowdown pulse. The crank angle duration and mass 0.0
blow-down
fraction evacuated during the blowdown phase depend valve
scavenging
on engine speed. With increased engine speed the valve
pressure difference between the cylinder and the
90 135 180 225 270 315 360 405
exhaust manifold decreases and as a consequence the
mass fraction evacuated during the displacement phase Crank angle [aTDC]
increases. Choking of the exhaust valves influences the Figure 3 Simulated mass flows in the DEP engine exhaust systems
compared to a standard turbo charged engine at 5500 rpm.
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wastegate is a loss of potential work. With the DEP EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP

concept the mass flow is divided already in the cylinder,
which has the same effect as a wastegate at high load, SIMULATION MODEL - In order to investigate the DEP
i.e. bypassing the turbine. concept more thoroughly an engine model was
developed in the 1-D software GT-Power [4]. The aim
Dividing the mass flow already in the cylinder, as with was to gain a more in-depth understanding of the gas
the DEP concept, has other advantages compared to a exchange process and to optimize the engine design
wastegate. Cylinder evacuation was mentioned as an with respect to valve timing and pipe design. 1-D
important factor for engine performance. By opening up simulation is based on the solution of the governing
the cylinder to a low pressure exhaust manifold, which in equations; momentum-, energy- and mass-
a sense is connected to the atmosphere, the high conservation, in 1-D. However, in order to transform a
pressure created by the turbine can be avoided. This 3-D problem to 1-D some additional information is
enables a better evacuation of the cylinder. needed. Figure 4 give some example of areas
dependent on input data.
By making the duration of the exhaust blowdown valve
only slightly longer than 180° CA, the pulse interference
between cylinders at blowdown can be eliminated. By 3-D phenomena 1-D model
• Combustion Representation of 3-D
eliminating the pulse into the cylinder the DEP engine • Pipes phenomena in 1-D
should be able to decrease the amount of hot residual • Valves ⇒
gases in the engine and decrease the gas exchange • Turbocharger Dependence on quality
pumping losses, thus enabling better volumetric • Intercooler of input data
efficiency, knock resistance and overall engine • …
efficiency.

Catalyst light-off time has a great influence on cold start Additional information
emissions. Hence, it is important to keep as much heat • Measurement data
• Coefficients
in the exhaust as possible in order to quickly reach • Advanced sub-models
catalyst light-off. Therefore placement of the catalyst
close to the exhaust ports is important. By implementing
Figure 4 Schematic image of the transformation from a 3-D heat
valve de-activation for the blowdown valve, all of the transfer, flow and chemical kinetics problem to 1-D.
exhaust gas is lead directly to the close-coupled catalyst
mounted in the scavenging exhaust system.
Consequently the emissions in terms of catalyst light-off The engine model was built by transferring the
time can be improved. The turbine is in this configuration geometrical dimensions of the engine into the model.
effectively bypassed and the turbine will not act as a Since the governing equations are only solved in 1-D, in
heat sink during cold start. the direction of the flow, 3-D effects must be taken into
account in some other manner. Flow loss coefficients
From the discussion presented above it is clear that are used in order to find the right pressure loss occurring
valve phasing and duration will have a great influence on from pipe bends, materials etc. These coefficients are
the results. In order to investigate and evaluate the DEP pre-defined in the software and usually not in need of
concept even further a number of cam profiles were much adjustment. The flow through the intake and
designed. The aim was to minimize the number of cams exhaust valves was modeled by discharge coefficients
and to have a clear strategy when evaluating the gas as a function of lift height, which was measured in a flow
exchange process for the DEP concept. The tests with bench [5]. Simulating the combustion is more
different camshafts aimed at determining the influence complicated. Due to the combination of 3-D flow and
on pumping losses, engine output and cylinder chemical kinetics it is necessary to use special
scavenging. Four key factors were identified and are combustion models or measurement data. In this project
described in Table 1. the combustion has been simulated with the Wiebe
function [4], which can be described as a curve fit to
Table 1 Identified key factors for cam timing and duration evaluation. measured heat release. The main drawback with using
such a combustion model is its dependence on
Case Parameter Objective measured combustion data, i.e. at what crank angle
Duration blowdown Investigate influence of cylinder 50 % of the fuel is burnt and the duration of the
1
valve emptying towards turbine
combustion. Hence, simulating unknown engine
Duration scavenging Investigate required energy to concepts relies on the quality of the assumptions made
2
valve drive the turbine for these combustion parameters.
Overlap scavenging Investigation of overlap influence
3
valve – intake valve between exhaust and intake valve The turbocharger is another complicated area.
Turbocharger modeling is based on performance maps
Investigate intake valve closing
4 Intake valve closing influence with constant TDC
for the compressor and turbine. These performance
overlap maps are based on flow bench measurements with
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stationary flow [6]. The experimental data is then inter- 28 mm exhaust valve diameter. The cylinder head was
and extrapolated to obtain the full-range maps. The modified to house 32 mm exhaust valves with separated
maps relate speed and efficiency to the pressure ratio exhaust runners to the exhaust pipe flange. The coolant
and mass flow over the turbine and compressor. Since channels were also modified to ensure sufficient cooling
the turbocharger models are based on stationary of the exhaust ports. Specifications of the DEP engine
measurements in a limited range, these models can are found in Table 2.
require an extensive amount of tuning [7]. In order to
simplify the turbocharger simulation it is important to Table 2 DEP engine specifications.
measure pressure, mass flow and turbocharger speed.
Bore 86 mm
The turbocharger simulation is difficult to perform when
Stroke 86 mm
no knowledge of the actual engine performance is
Compression ratio 9.5
available.
Combustion chamber Pentroof
MEASUREMENT SET-UP - Since little knowledge was Inlet valve diameter 32 mm
available of how the combustion would change with the Exhaust valve diameter 32 mm
DEP concept and how the turbine would react to the
change in mass flow when the exhaust pulse was The valve durations are quite short compared to an
divided, a prototype engine was built to run parallel to ordinary turbocharged engine, especially the scavenging
the simulations. A number of experiments have also valve. In order to handle the dynamics of the valve and
been made to determine the potential of the DEP yet obtaining maximum valve lift, lightweight materials
concept. The engine tests were performed at KTH and had to be used for the exhaust valves. TI-Al exhaust
Fiat-GM Powertrain in-house facilities. valves were originally chosen to maximize possible
valve lift area. These valves were replaced with sodium
Cylinder pressures have been measured with AVL cooled steel exhaust valves due to high thermal load on
GM12D piezoelectric pressure transducers at a sample the blowdown valve. Lightweight conical valve springs
rate of 0.1 to 0.4 crank angles. 200 or more cycles have and valve spring retainers were also used along with the
been recorded for each operating condition as a base for standard roller rocker arms and hydraulic lifters.
cycle resolved indicated statistics. [8][9] Crank angle
resolved pressures in the intake and exhaust system A number of exhaust and inlet camshafts were
have been measured at several positions with manufactured in order to evaluate different valve
piezoresistive and steel diaphragm strain gauge overlaps; between the exhaust scavenging valve and the
pressure transducers. These pressure transducers were inlet valves as well as the overlap between the
calibrated in a static test rig, obtaining a total static blowdown valve and the scavenging valve in the exhaust
measurement uncertainty of the measuring chain in the stroke. The choice of valve lift profiles is described in
range ± 3 - 8 kPa. Analogue anti aliasing filters and detail in Table 3. Continuously variable camshaft
digital zero phase shift low pass filtering was applied to phasing, with an adjustment range of 50 CAD, was
the pressure signals prior to further analysis. installed on both the exhaust and the intake camshaft.
Temperatures have been measured time resolved with The lift profiles of the different camshafts were
type K thermocouples, with a typical response time in measured when mounted on the engine to ensure
the order of one second. Emissions have been proper valve lift curves as well as proper positioning
measured time resolved at different positions in the relative to the crankshaft.
exhaust systems. A two-channel fast flame ionization
detector was used for crank angle resolved hydrocarbon EXPERIMENTS - Several operating modes has been
measurements in the cold start tests. Other identified and tested on the DEP engine. These include:
measurements include fuel mass flow rate, broadband
lambda, turbine speed and torque. Air mass flow was 1. Low speed, where the scavenging exhaust system is
estimated from measurements of lambda and fuel mass shut off with the trapping valve, see Figure 1, to get
flow. sufficient mass flow over the turbine and prevent
blow through.
Limiting factors during the maximum torque tests has 2. High speed, where both exhaust systems are open
been 980°C maximum turbine inlet temperature and assist in emptying the cylinders.
measured with a 6 mm thermocouple, minimum overall 3. Cold start, where the blowdown exhaust system,
relative air/fuel ratio of 0.77, 100 kPa maximum boost leading to the turbine, is shut off.
pressure and maximum coefficient of variance of IMEP
(COV) 5 %. Ignition was advanced towards the knock Table 3 Valve opening and closing events for the reference camshaft.
limit.
Valve Duration Opening Closing
HARDWARE MODIFICATIONS – The DEP engine was [CAD] [aTDC] [aTDC]
based on a standard 2 dm3 turbocharged port fuel Exhaust blow-down 200 120 320
injected engine. The standard cylinder head with 4 Exhaust scavenging 159 220 379
valves per cylinder had 32 mm inlet valve diameter and Intake 239 341 580
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process and power potential during cold start with only

Exhaust Exhaust the exhaust scavenging valve active. The second set of
blowdown scavenging Intake tests focused on optimizing the valve timing for the cold
valve valve valves
start. The second set of tests were performed in a cold
Valve lift

start rig without cylinder pressure measurements and

dynamometer, otherwise with a similar set-up as in the
Reference camshaft other cold start tests. A comparative test with a standard
Early scavenging 1 turbocharged engine was also performed. In the tests
Early scavenging 2 with the DEP engine, the roller finger follower was
removed from the blowdown valve in order to run the
90 180 270 TDC 450 540 630 engine with only the scavenging valve active.
Crank angle [aTDC]
Two different catalyst systems were evaluated in the
Exhaust Exhaust Intake
blowdown
cold start rig. One of the systems was a 400 cells per
scavenging valves
valve valve
square inch (cpsi) system that was designed for a close-
coupled installation behind the turbocharger in the
Valve lift

standard engine. The second system had two catalysts,

Reference camshaft
Late scavenging
90 180 270 TDC 450 540
Crank angle [aTDC]
Figure 5 Valve lift profile combinations that have been tested in the
Divided Exhaust Period Engine.
Full load performance – A number of camshafts were
manufactured and tested on the engine to evaluate the
performance of the DEP engine concept at full load. A
reference set of camshafts with valve lift events
according to Table 3 was selected. The tests with
different camshafts aimed at determining the influence of
divided exhaust period valve timing on pumping work,
engine output and cylinder scavenging. Continuously
variable camshaft phasing further increased the
possibility to vary the valve timing. Camshaft
combinations that have been tested are shown in Figure
5. Results from tests with varying exhaust scavenging
valve opening are reported in this paper.
Cold start catalyst light-off – In order to meet future
stringent legislation regarding emissions it is imperative
to achieve a fast light-off of the catalyst system. It is
important to heat up the catalyst substrate as fast as
possible to achieve a fast light-off. This is achieved by
running the engine with very late ignition timing [10] and
sometimes with secondary air injection to produce a
a 900 cpsi close coupled pre-converter and a 400 cpsi
main catalyst. This is a system that could be similar to a
production DEP system with the pre-converter placed in
the exhaust scavenging system and the main catalyst
630 after the junction of the two exhaust systems.
RESULTS
In this project initial testing was performed in order to
calibrate the simulation model so that it could be used in
further studies. Testing and simulation was then
performed in parallel. Tests were used for simulation
model validation and simulations helped in interpretation
of test data. Simulation model data will be presented
together with test engine performance for a number of
key parameters below. Both cycle average and crank
angle resolved results are shown.
SIMULATION MODEL CORRELATION - One of the key
parameters when simulating an engine model is the
volumetric efficiency. Air mass flow was obtained from
measured fuel mass flow and measured lambda. Since
the DEP engine has two separate exhaust manifolds
several possibilities for measuring lambda exist. The
lambda value used for calculating mass flow was an
measured simulated
1.1 800
Volumetric efficiency

Mass air flow [kg/h]

secondary reaction in the exhaust manifold [11]. Ideally 1.0 600

all of the heat that is generated in this manner should be

transferred to the catalyst substrate. A major cause of 0.9 400
heat losses for turbocharged engines is the
turbocharger. With the DEP system, the turbocharger is
excluded during the cold start and a significant 0.8 200
improvement in cold start emissions was anticipated.
0.7 0
Two separate tests were performed to evaluate the cold 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
start performance of the DEP engine with active Engine speed [rpm]
catalysts installed in the exhaust scavenging system.
The first tests were focused on the gas exchange Figure 6 Comparison of volumetric efficiency and mass air flow
between simulation and measurement.
 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of California Berkeley, Saturday, August 04, 2018

average from measured values in both the blowdown the DEP concept. At low engine speeds all of the energy
system and the scavenging system. For some cam in the exhaust has to be transferred via the turbine to the
settings a significant amount of blow through was compressor in order to reach the boost pressure target.
obtained, this will inevitably influence the measured However, with the DEP concept a part of the exhaust is
lambda value in the scavenging system. Hence the bypassed the turbine and as a consequence it is difficult
lambda measurement does not necessarily represent to reach the boost target. With the DEP engine concept
the combusted mixture. This will effect the calculation of it would be possible to use a smaller turbine without
mass flow. Figure 6 show a comparison between suffering from increased residuals, as the amount of
measured and simulated values of air mass flow and residual gas is not directly related to the exhaust
volumetric efficiency. The model does not show pressure before the turbine. Even with a considerably
particularly good accuracy over the speed range, which smaller turbine it would be very difficult to reach the
is surprising since most other engine calibration target with some of the exhaust energy lost through the
parameters show good agreement with measurement. scavenging system. A thorough matching of the
This discrepancy might be due to the previously turbocharger was not carried out and the tests were
mentioned difficulty in mass flow calculations from performed with a standard turbocharger with a smaller
measured lambda. Another explanation to the inlet area.
discrepancy in volumetric efficiency is related to the
modeling of residual gas. The DEP concept has In order to increase the boost pressure at low speed the
asymmetrical scavenging of the cylinder since only one trapping valve has to be closed, which forces all of the
exhaust valve is open during the scavenging phase. This exhaust past the turbine. Thereby the required boost
will affect the residual gas content. If the residual gas pressure can be obtained. With the trapping valve
content is not modeled correctly, this will affect the closed it is beneficial to have a very early scavenging
simulated volumetric efficiency. However, 3-D simulation exhaust valve opening, denoted early scavenging 2 in
was not available at this stage and 0-D simulation data Figure 8, thereby obtaining large overlap between the
was considered sufficient. blow down valve and the scavenging valve. (See Figure
8, compare early scavenging 1 and 2 at 1500 rpm.) A
MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURES – Simulated BMEP large overlap is necessary in order to have mass
and IMEP, shown in Figure 7, correlate well with transfer from the scavenging system into the blowdown
measurements. The engine model targets a specified system and subsequently through the turbine. The
BMEP by adjusting the wastegate diameter. IMEP does exhaust scavenging system is emptied into the exhaust
not correlate exactly due to uncertainty of simulated blowdown system via the following cylinder in firing order
FMEP values. during exhaust blowdown/scavenging overlap. The
power delivered to the compressor is increased with an
Looking at BMEP obtained in engine tests with different increased mass flow over the turbine. By charging the
camshafts in Figure 8, reveals that the DEP reached exhaust scavenging system with intake pressure the
slightly higher power than the standard engine in the mass flow across the turbine can be increased further,
tests. However, low speed BMEP was in fact below the hence the boost pressure can be increased as well.
standard engine when the trapping valve, see Figure 1, Camshaft phasing tests with closed trapping valve
was open. The reason for the low BMEP can be found in

2.2
measured simulated
2,4
2.0
IMEP
2,2 1.8
IMEP and BMEP [MPa]

BMEP [MPa]

2,0
1.6 closed
trapping
1,8
1.4 valve
BMEP
1,6 standard t/c
1.2 reference cam
1,4
early scavenging 1
1.0 early scavenging 2
1,2

1,0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Engine speed [rpm]
Engine speed [rpm]
Figure 8 Obtained brake mean effective pressure with different exhaust
Figure 7 IMEP and BMEP comparison between test and simulation. valve lift curves compared to the standard engine. The solid markers
Values for BMEP are on the same curve since the engine model indicate closed trapping valve in the scavenging exhaust system.
targets BMEP.
 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of California Berkeley, Saturday, August 04, 2018

50 opening, denoted early scavenging 2 in Figure 9, results

in pumping work similar to the standard turbocharged
0
engine at low speed. However at high engine speeds the
pumping losses are significantly reduced. The power
improvement from the reduced pumping losses in the
-50
DEP engine is up to 10 kW at 5000 rpm, which is about
PMEP [kPa]

6 % of the engine rated power.

-100
RESIDUAL GAS CONTENT - One of the reasons for
-150 standard t/c designing the DEP engine was to decrease residual gas
reference cam content in the cylinder at full load in order to improve
-200 early scavenging 1 knock resistance and volumetric efficiency. The
early scavenging 2 simulation model proved to be helpful in estimating the
residual gas content. Figure 10 illustrate the difference in
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 residual gas content between the DEP engine and a
Engine speed [rpm] standard turbocharged engine, showing a difference
Figure 9 Comparison of pumping mean effective pressure at full load over the entire speed range. At 5500 rpm the residual
with different divided exhaust period valve lift profiles and standard t/c gas content is decreased with 14 %. However in the
operation. lower speed range the decrease is over 60 %.

showed that increased overlap between the scavenging Residual gas content was not measured in the engine
exhaust valve and intake valves boosted the engine tests. However, the pressure difference from intake
output significantly. A 20 % increase in available torque system to exhaust system at the gas exchange TDC
was observed at 1500 and 2000 rpm when the overlap gives a hint to how well the exhaust gases are
between exhaust scavenging valve and intake valves scavenged from the cylinders. Figure 11 shows this
was increased by 40 CAD. pressure drop obtained from engine tests with reference
camshaft and with early exhaust scavenging valve
The DEP engine exhibits positive PMEP over an opening. The standard turbocharged engine barely
extended speed range compared to a standard reaches a positive pressure difference in the mid speed
turbocharged engine, i.e. work is added to the range whereas the DEP engine has a large positive
crankshaft during the gas exchange. In addition, high pressure difference at all speeds up to 4500 rpm for the
speed negative PMEP is reduced compared to the reference camshaft. Increasing the scavenging exhaust
standard t/c engine. Figure 9 shows PMEP over the valve duration by early opening, denoted early
engine speed range with three different camshaft scavenging 1 in Figure 11, gives more time and valve
combinations, varying the opening of the scavenging area for evacuating the exhaust and also a higher
exhaust valve and blowdown/scavenging valve overlap, pressure difference at higher speeds. A very long
see Figure 5 top graph. Advancing the scavenging exhaust scavenging valve duration, denoted early
exhaust valve opening 15 CAD, denoted early scavenging 2 in Figure 11, gives a lower pressure
scavenging 1 in Figure 9, extends the range of positive difference at lower speeds, primarily due to loss of
pumping work and decreases high speed pumping available energy in the exhaust blowdown system and
losses even further compared to the DEP reference
camshaft. A very early scavenging exhaust valve
100 standard t/c
reference cam
80 early scavenging 1
cylinder at 360 aTDC [kPa]

early scavenging 2
8% 60% 60
Pressure drop over
Residual gas content at IVC

40
DEP improvement

6% Standard 40% 20
t/c engine
0
4% 20%
-20
DEP engine
-40
2% 0% 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Engine speed [rpm]
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Engine speed [rpm]
Figure 11 Pressure drop over cylinders (from intake runner to exhaust
Figure 10 Comparison of simulated values of residual gas content in runner in the scavenging exhaust system) at 360 aTDC for several
the cylinder for the DEP engine vs. the standard turbocharged engine. tested divided exhaust period exhaust valve lift profiles.
 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of California Berkeley, Saturday, August 04, 2018
subsequent loss of boost pressure. Tuning of the
scavenging exhaust system also has an effect on the
pressure difference. When the exhaust scavenging valve
duration is increased the optimum pulse reflection
behavior shifts towards higher speeds.
GAS EXCHANGE IN THE DEP ENGINE – Ideally, the
exhaust scavenging system and the cylinder pressure
has reached atmospheric pressure when the intake
valve opens. However, a very large pressure difference
also produces large amounts of blow-through, i.e. fresh
charge goes straight through the engine. Excessive
blow-through gives poor trapping ratio, especially at low
engine speed when valve overlap time is long. Blow-
through can however also be of benefit to increase
possible boost pressure when the compressor operates
close to the surge limit. To increase the trapping ratio,
the trapping valve in the exhaust scavenging system has
been introduced after the close-coupled catalyst, see
Figure 1. By increasing the pressure in the exhaust
scavenging system at low engine speed, the blow-
through can be limited.
Figure 12 shows an example of the cylinder pressure
and both exhaust system pressures together with intake
pressure in the DEP engine during gas exchange at
2000 rpm with open and closed trapping valve in the
exhaust scavenging system. The initial behavior of the
blowdown pulse is similar in both cases. The top figure,
where the trapping valve is completely open, shows a
Cylinder
Intake
(open trapping valve)
180
Pressure [kPa]
160
140
120
100
Intake
(closed trapping valve)
system Cylinder
180
Pressure [kPa]
160
140
120
100
Exhaust
Valve lift
blow-down
valve
180 270
Crank angle [aTDC]
Figure 12 Pressure in cylinder, exhaust blowdown system, exhaust
scavenging system and intake as a function of crank angle after
combustion TDC during gas exchange at 2000 rpm with open (top) and
closed (middle) trapping valve in the scavenging exhaust system.
Valve lift curves are shown in the bottom.
significant pressure drop in the cylinder when the
exhaust scavenging valve opens at 230° aTDC. At the
same time, the pressure in the exhaust scavenging
system rises to the pressure in the cylinder. The cylinder
pressure has reached atmospheric pressure a little after
270° aTDC, i.e. after half the exhaust stroke. During
overlap between intake and exhaust scavenging valves,
there is a 30 kPa pressure drop over the engine, causing
large amounts blow-through and poor trapping ratio.
There is no evidence of pulse interference between
cylinders at blowdown with the 200 CAD duration of the
exhaust blowdown valve. However, only moderate
34 kPa boost pressure is produced with open trapping
valve.
With closed trapping valve, the boost pressure reaches
57 kPa, an increase of 23 kPa compared to open
trapping valve. All of the exhaust is forced through the
turbine causing a higher pressure in the exhaust
blowdown system in the second half of the exhaust
stroke. The exhaust scavenging system acts as a buffer,
filling at the end of the exhaust stroke and during
exhaust scavenging/intake valve overlap and emptying
its contents into the cylinder during exhaust
blowdown/scavenging valve overlap of the following
cylinder in firing order. This can be seen in Figure 12
where the pressure in the exhaust scavenging system is
higher than the blowdown system pressure shortly after
the exhaust scavenging valve has opened. The
measured hydrocarbon content in the blowdown system
at 2000 rpm with closed trapping valve is 6500 ppm CH4
equivalent, supporting the theory that fresh charge is
transported to the exhaust blowdown system via the
Exhaust blow-down
Exhaust scavenging exhaust scavenging system. By closing the trapping
valve, BMEP increases from 1,60 MPa to 1,71 MPa and
Blow-down
brake specific fuel consumption decreases 16 %,
system suggesting better trapping ratio.
LIMITING FACTORS – Two key limitations have been
identified in the DEP engine; the engine exhibits high
turbine inlet temperatures and exhaust valves are
choked during the exhaust stroke.
Scavenging
system Exhaust temperature - As mentioned previously,
simulation of the turbocharger is based on performance
maps. By comparing measured turbine speed to
simulated, the performance of the simulation can be
checked. Figure 13 show comparison of turbine inlet
temperature and turbine speed between simulation and
measurement. As can be seen in the figure the turbine
Exhaust Intake
speed correlate well.
scavenging valves
valve The exhaust gas temperature limit in the engine test was
set to 1253 K due to material constraints. For the DEP
TDC 450 540 engine this temperature was reached already at
2250 rpm both in the tests and in the simulation, which
can be seen in Figure 13. This is a very low speed
compared to a standard turbocharged engine. The most
likely explanation to the comparatively high temperature
before the turbine can be found in the temperature and
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measured simulated
1400 mass averaged 0.3
1300 150 temperatures
Turbine inlet temperature [K]

Turbo speed [1000 rpm]

1200 130

Temperature [K]

Mass flow [kg/s]

DEP: 1249 K
1200 Std: 1195 K 0.2
1100 110
DEP
1000 90
1000 0.1
900 70

Standard t/c
800 50 800 0.0
90 135 180 225 270 315 360
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Crank angle [aTDC]
Engine speed [rpm] Figure 14 Temperature and mass flow in the turbine inlet in the DEP
Figure 13 Comparison of turbine inlet temperature and turbine speed engine compared to a standard turbocharged engine at 2500 rpm.
between measurement and simulation.

is also apparent that the scavenging valve is choked

mass flow across the turbine for the DEP engine. The during almost the entire displacement phase. The DEP
gas in the blowdown phase has the highest temperature concept would benefit from increased flow area of both
due to low expansion of the gas. As the pressure exhaust valves; the increase in exhaust valve diameter
decreases, the temperature of the gas also decreases from 28 mm to 32 mm was not enough to compensate
and by the end of the displacement phase the lowest the decrease in total valve lift area. Increased choked
temperature is reached. Due to the fact that the turbine period was also seen for the blowdown valve at lower
is fed only by the blowdown phase, the comparatively engine speeds however less pronounced. The choking
low temperature exhaust gas does not cool down the of the scavenging valve is in part explained by the lower
turbine. temperature in the scavenging system port compared to
a standard engine, leading to lower speed of sound and
Comparing simulation results for a standard more choking.
turbocharged engine with the DEP concept at 2500 rpm
supports this reasoning. In Figure 14 the temperature 250
and mass flow across the turbine is shown. The load in
these simulations is around 1.8 MPa BMEP for both
engines. There is a slight difference in the position of 5000 rpm
Cylinder pressure [kPa]

200
50% mass fraction burnt, 31 and 26 CAD aTDC for the
standard and DEP engine respectively. Due to the later 4000 rpm
phasing of combustion the standard engine has a 150 3000 rpm
slightly higher peak temperature in the blow down 2000 rpm
phase. However in the displacement phase the
temperatures are comparable. Hence, the problem with 1000 rpm
100

Valve lift
the high temperature can be explained by the fact that
the mass flow over the turbine for the DEP concept is
considerably smaller than for the standard engine during
50
the displacement phase. As a consequence this phase 180 270 360 450 540 630
has a much smaller effect in lowering the mass
averaged temperature for the DEP concept. Crank angle [ATDCf]
Figure 15 Cylinder pressure during the gas exchange for increasing
engine speeds in the DEP engine at full load with early scavenging
Flow over exhaust valves - The engine works as
exhaust valve opening. Valve lift curves for blow-down and scavenging
intended at low engine speeds with a significant exhaust valve and the inlet valves are also shown.
pressure drop in the cylinder when the exhaust
scavenging valve opens. This can be seen in Figure 15
that show measured cylinder pressures at several
engine speeds. At speeds over 3000 rpm the piston
displacement phase of the exhaust stroke starts to show
in the cylinder pressure. This is due to choked flow over
the exhaust valves. Figure 16 show Mach number
across the exhaust valve at 5500 rpm. The DEP engine
shows a substantially longer period of choked flow
during the blowdown phase compared to the standard
turbocharged engine, shown by the arrow in Figure 16. It
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1.4
1.00 scavenging
1.2 DEP
valve
0.75 blow-down Standard t/c
DEP engine

valve
1.0

Pressure [MPa]
0.50
0.8 (4)
0.25
Heat release rate
Mach number

0.6
0.00 (2)
1.00 0.4 (3)
(1)
Standard engine

0.75 0.2

0.50 standard 0.0

t/c
0.25
0.00
90 180
Crank angle [aTDC]
Figure 16 Comparison of simulated Mach number across exhaust
valve between DEP engine and standard turbocharged engine at 5500
rpm.
COLD START – The power potential during cold start
with only the scavenging valve active had to be
investigated, since the engine has to run with the
turbocharger inactive until both catalysts have reached
light-off. The exhaust scavenging valve duration was
174 CAD compared to 240 CAD for the standard
turbocharged engine. The most likely scenario during
the first 20-30 seconds is low speed driving, similar to
the speeds and loads found in for example the EC2005
emission cycle. These loads are typically below 10kW.
Therefore the power demand on the engine is rather
low. In spite of the extremely short duration of the
exhaust period, the engine was capable of producing
torque in the same range as a naturally aspirated
1.6 liters engine as seen in Figure 17. Even with a low
gearing this torque is sufficient to handle a 1700 kg
vehicle.
160
155
150
Torque [Nm]
-90 0 90 180 270 360
Crank Angle [aTDC]
Figure 18 Cylinder pressure traces from cold start tests with a standard
gas exchange system and the DEP system.
270 360
The gas exchange was significantly changed during cold
start in the DEP engine compared to a standard
turbocharged engine. The combustion phasing is very
late in order to heat the catalyst. This, in combination
with the short valve duration of the scavenging valve,
leads to a rather peculiar cylinder pressure trace as
shown in Figure 18. Four observations can be seen
(numbered in the figure):
1. The exhaust emptying period is very short for the
DEP concept.
2. The cylinder content is recompressed before the
scavenging valve opens.
3. The blow down interference from the following
cylinder in firing order is eliminated.
4. The combustion is much faster with the DEP-
concept.
The short exhaust emptying period is naturally due to
the shorter cam duration, which also causes the
recompression of the cylinder content. The latter lead to
an increased pumping work, which in turn lead to an
increased inlet pressure requirement in order to maintain
the engine speed. The increased inlet pressure during
860 cold start of the DEP engine, combined with the
elimination of the interfering exhaust pressure pulse
during the valve overlap lead to decreased residual gas
820 content and increased combustion rate. The combustion
BMEP [kPa]

phasing is therefore slightly earlier in the DEP engine

145 than for the standard engine with the same ignition
780 timing. The ignition timing that was used during the tests
140 was the same as the calibration for the standard engine.
Various cam settings
Therefore the temperature in the exhaust manifold was
740
135 slightly lower for the DEP engine than with the standard
engine.
130
800 1200 1600 2000 2400
Engine speed [rpm]

Figure 17 Torque with only a 174 CAD scavenging valve activated.

 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of California Berkeley, Saturday, August 04, 2018
Std t/c 1 cat
Std t/c 2 cat
DEP 1 cat
DEP 2 cat
~38%
Time [s]
300°C 300°C <50 ppm
before cat after cat HC
Figure 19: Emissions cold start, 2 cat denotes close-coupled pre-
catalyst 900 cpsi before a main catalyst 400 cpsi. 1 cat denotes close-
coupled main catalyst 400 cpsi.
In spite of the lower exhaust temperature, the time to
300° C in front of the catalyst was reduced with 50%
compared to the standard engine. The cold start tests
also demonstrated the ability to reduce emissions with
the DEP system. In comparison to the standard
turbocharged engine the light off time, measured as the
time to achieve less than 50 ppm HC downstream the
catalyst, was reduced with 38% as shown in Figure 19.
This result was achieved solely by optimizing the
exhaust scavenging/intake valve overlap. With additional
calibration of lambda strategy, ignition timing and
injection timing the results should be improved.
DISCUSSION
High power-density engines are all limited by engine
knock. By completely emptying the combustion chamber
from exhaust gas, engine knock can be significantly
reduced. This is accomplished by creating a higher
pressure in the intake than in the exhaust system during
exhaust/intake valve overlap, thereby flushing out the
exhaust gas. However, with a PFI engine this usually
leads to high engine out HC emissions since the fuel in
the port is also blown out into the exhaust. By using
direct fuel injection this problem can be overcome. A
system such as the DEP system, which can create a
positive pressure difference over the engine and has
large blow-through, would naturally also benefit greatly
from DI.
The temperature in the exhaust blowdown system
proved to be high in the DEP engine, making some kind
of measure to reduce turbine inlet temperature
necessary. The high temperature arises since only the
hottest of the exhaust gasses are fed through the
turbine, whilst the relatively colder exhaust gas in the
late part of the exhaust stroke are completely bypassed
the turbine. This puts high demands on the materials
and cooling system in the exhaust blowdown system,
from exhaust blowdown valve to the turbine. Since the
cold start catalyst light-off is handled by the close
coupled catalyst in the scavenging system, aggressive
measures can be taken to lower the exhaust gas
temperature in the blowdown system without affecting
catalyst light off time and cold start emissions.
Furthermore, the aging problem of the catalyst, due to
high exhaust temperatures, is also of less concern. The
close-coupled catalyst is placed in the scavenging
system where the exhaust temperature is low and the
main catalyst can be placed under the floor of the
vehicle where it can be cooled by the airflow underneath
the vehicle. This in turn allows a higher temperature out
from the turbocharger.
It appears that the scavenging exhaust system plays a
major role in the gas exchange even when the trapping
valve in the scavenging exhaust system is closed. By
varying the trapping valve opening, the exhaust
backpressure during the displacement part of the
exhaust stroke and during exhaust scavenging/intake
valve overlap can be adjusted. This can be used to
control the pressure difference over the engine and limit
blow-through. Partially closing of the trapping valve can
also provide the turbine with increased mass flow and
higher enthalpy by increasing the cylinder pressure
during exhaust blow-down/scavenging valve overlap.
Variation of exhaust valve sizes might prove valuable to
decrease the choking of the exhaust systems at high
speeds seen in Figure 15 and Figure 16. Also, CFD
computation of the in cylinder flow would give valuable
information about how the spatial asymmetry in the
cylinder introduced by only having one of two exhaust
valves open during exhaust scavenging/intake valve
overlap affects the scavenging process. Introducing
temporal asymmetry in the intake valve opening could
perhaps improve the scavenging further.
The demands on valve lift profiles vary a lot in terms of
both valve lift duration and overlaps over the engine
operating range. The DEP concept would benefit from
fully variable valve mechanisms.
Tuning of the exhaust system is usually not considered
in the design of modern turbocharged engines. Exhaust
pipe tuning usually requires long pipe lengths due to the
high temperature and high speed of sound in the
exhaust gases. Compact exhaust manifolds are used in
turbocharged engines to minimize heat losses prior to
the turbine to preserve exhaust energy and also to
decrease catalyst light-off time. Another reason for
choosing compact manifolds is to improve transient
response of the engine. Introduction of the exhaust
scavenging system opens new possibilities for pipe
tuning without affecting the turbine. The lower
temperature in the exhaust scavenging system
combined with the short scavenging valve duration
enables short pipes to be used in a tuned scavenging
system, facilitating vehicle packing of the engine.
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The DEP concept is not necessarily limited to ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

turbocharged SI engines. Any turbocharged engine
could benefit from the reduced exhaust backpressure
and pumping losses in the DEP concept, especially
when wastegate controlled turbochargers are used. The
DEP scavenging system can be considered as a more
efficient wastegate.
CONCLUSION
The authors would like to thank Eric Olofsson, Emil
Åberg and Adam Rundqvist for their invaluable help and
guidance during the project.
The authors wish to thank the Green Car project funded
by the Swedish National Energy Administration for
financing parts of this investigation.

In the section on Technical concept some difficulties with REFERENCES

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improve the performance within these areas. Some Residual Gases on Knock in Turbocharged SI-
conclusions could be made from simulations and Engines; SAE 2000-01-2840
experiments: [2] Grandin B; Full load performance of a turbo
charged SI engine in the presence of EGR,
• The DEP concept succeeds in decreasing the ISSN 1400-1179, 1999:17
amount of residual gases in the engine by increased [3] British patent No. 12,227/22
pressure difference over the engine during overlap [4] Gamma Technologies, http://www.gtisoft.com/
between exhaust and intake valve opening.
[5] Heywood, J. B.; Internal Combustion Engine
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[6] Watson, Janota; Turbocharging the Internal
• Pulse interaction can be avoided by dividing the
Combustion Engine, MacMillan Press 1982
exhaust flow.
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[7] Westin F; Accuracy of turbocharged SI-engine
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in residuals gas content.
[8] Brunt, M. F. J., Lucas, G.; The Effect of Crank
The catalyst light-off time can be reduced with the DEP Angle Resolution on Cylinder Pressure Analysis;
system compared to a standard turbocharger system. It SAE 910041
was shown that the time to reach a level below 50 ppm [9] Brunt, M. F. J., Emtage, A. L.; Evaluation of
HC after the catalyst could be reduced with 38% with a IMEP Routines and Analysis Errors; SAE
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The concept also has some drawbacks. The possible Value of Ignition Retard Control on the Catalyst
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The concept will require several valves and actuators to CONTACT

control the exhaust flow path making it costly to
implement in series production. Direct fuel injection and Christel Elmqvist Möller, M.Sc.
a variable valve mechanism would be desirable to Mail: Fiat GM Powertrain, Box 636,
exploit the full benefit of the divided exhaust period SE-151 27 Södertälje.
concept. E-mail: Christel.E.Moller@se.fiat-gm-pwt.com
Phone: +46 77 506 77 414
Summarizing, the DEP concept clearly has some
positive aspects, such as decreased PMEP, residual gas Fredrik Lindström, M.Sc.
content and catalyst light-off time. However, the Mail: KTH Machine Design,
simulations and experiments have also pointed out Brinellvägen 83, SE-10044 Stockholm.
some weaknesses, like high temperature before the E-mail: fredrikl@md.kth.se
turbine and choking of the exhaust valves. The parallel Phone: +46 8 790 7867
work with simulations and experiments has proven very
valuable both for the understanding of the concept and
for the validation and refining of the simulation models.
 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of California Berkeley, Saturday, August 04, 2018

DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS PMEP: Pump Mean Effective Pressure

DEP: Divided Exhaust Period MBT: Maximum brake torque spark timing

TDC: Top Dead Center t/c: turbocharged

BDC: Bottom Dead Center SI: Spark Ignited

CAD: Crank angle degrees DI: Direct Injection

IVC: Inlet Valve Closing PFI: Port Fuel Injection

BMEP: Brake Mean Effective Pressure CCC: Close Coupled Catalyst

IMEP: Indicated Mean Effective Pressure cpsi: cells per square inch