Powertrain & Energy - January 25, 2012 - 19

designs on a computer rather than a physical prototype. The new model can shave days, weeks, or months from a design cycle to get cleaner cars more quickly on the road.” “We are especially interested in the development and application of advanced kinetic simulation tools developed by Reaction Design that have the potential to give us added flexibility in evaluating existing engine designs and new combustion concepts,” said Gary Smyth, Director of GM’s Powertrain Systems Research Laboratory. GM just recently joined the MFC. Graph depicts the typical particle-size distribution during soot formation, as predicted by new particle-tracking software. The key modeling advance is the result of six years of cooperative research and experimental validation work by the Model Fuels Consortium (MFC), a collaboration of engine manufacturers, energy companies, universities, and national laboratories that was established in 2005 to speed the development of software tools and databases that could streamline the design of cleaner-burning transportation engines and fuels. MFC members include cummins, ford, general motors, honda, mazda, mitsubishi, psA peugeot citroën, suzuki, toyota, volkswagen, chevron, conocophillips, dow chemical, ge energy, l’Institut Francais du Petrol (ifp), petrobras, saudi Aramco, and oak ridge national laboratory. The pioneering project was led by reaction design, a developer of combustion-simulation software. The San Diegobased firm is best known for its FORTÉ fluid dynamics and CHEMKIN chemical kinetics simulation products. “Automakers face a raft of compliance issues such as CAFE and Euro 5+ that add to the complexity of engine design and lengthen the design process,” said Charles Westbrook, Senior Scientist at lawrence livermore national laboratory and chief technical adviser to the MFC project. “MFC members recognize the importance of science-based soot modeling, because it can predict behavior, meaning that we can test new

Soot kills

The u.s. epA estimates that domestic diesel engines emit into the air some 333,000 ton (302,000 t) of soot annually, creating pollution that is linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths, hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks, and millions of lost work days countrywide. As many as 35,700 premature deaths could be prevented every year if the nation strengthens its health standards for soot, according to a recent report prepared by the American lung Association, the clean Air task force, and earthjustice. Besides diesel engines, soot is produced by coal-fired power plants, agricultural burning, wood stoves, and industrial combustion. Soot is technically defined as fine airborne particles with diameters that are 2.5 micron or less. “Soot forms when fuels do not burn completely,” Westbrook said. “When hydrocarbon molecules burn with adequate oxygen, they are happy to react

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January 25, 2012

Powertrain & Energy - January 25, 2012

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