Extreme engine downsizing

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Increasingly stringent regulations and rising fuel costs require that automotive manufacturers reduce their fleet CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. Gasoline engine downsizing is one such technology at the forefront of improvements in fuel economy. As engine downsizing becomes more aggressive, normal engine operating points are moving into higher load regions, typically requiring over-fuelling to maintain exhaust gas temperatures within component protection limits and retarded ignition timings in order to mitigate knock and pre-ignition events. These two mechanisms are counterproductive, since the retarded ignition timing delays combustion, in turn raising exhaust gas temperature.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">A key process being used to inhibit the occurrence of these knock and pre-ignition phenomena is cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Cooled EGR lowers temperatures during the combustion process, reducing the possibility of knock, and can thus reduce or eliminate the need for over-fuelling. It has also been shown to reduce exhaust gas temperature and improve combustion efficiency through improved combustion phasing. This paper reviews data collected on ‘ULTRABOOST’, a collaborative research project which is co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the UK's innovation agency. The project is based on a prototype, heavily downsized 2.0L DISI engine running under controlled boost conditions, featuring low pressure or ‘long route’ EGR. This allows for the EGR feed gas to be fed from either pre- or post-catalyst sampling points.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper will present data collected at equivalent operating conditions using both catalyzed and un-catalyzed exhaust gas to feed the EGR system. Some comparison of equivalent BMEP levels will be made but this is not the focus of the investigation. Current standards utilize a CO<sub>2</sub> ratio for EGR measurement, but the results presented highlight inaccuracies in this measurement method when repeatable test conditions for pre- and post-catalyst EGR routes are required due to the significant changes in gas composition pre- and post-catalyst. The test engine was artificially boosted utilizing a Combustion Air Handling Unit to simulate commercially available turbo-machinery, which allowed for the catalyst effects to be assessed in isolation. Results from the engine are presented for constant intake manifold pressure and constant EGR mass flow to highlight the effects of the EGR feed gas composition on a range of engine performance metrics.</div></div>

The sixth major <scp>IPCC</scp> assessment report and its implications: 15 September 2021

areas, such as nanophotonics. Advanced Theory and Simulations (www.advtheorysimul.com) will publish high-quality scientific results focusing on the development and application of theoretical methods, modeling, and simulation approaches in all natural science and medicine areas, including materials science, physics, chemistry, and engineering. Advanced Therapeutics (www.advtherap.com) will publish outstanding research on the next generation of therapeutics. The journal will provide an interdisciplinary forum covering key topics such as targeted drug delivery, cellular and genetic therapies, personalized medicines and theranostics, as well as pharmacology, toxicology, and drug discovery. These journals are now open for submissions and their editors would be more than happy to consider your work for publication.

David Roxbee Cox

After several years of development, the first results and papers showcasing the output from New Zealand’s earth system modelling community are now available. This represents a large body of behind-the-scenes work from multiple NIWA and NeSI staff, not to mention our international collaborators in the Unified Model partnership. This is all very well, but how are we going about turning approximately 0.5PB of raw model output into science which enables New Zealanders to ‘anticipate, adapt, manage risk, and thrive in a changing climate.’ This is the mission statement of the Deep South National Science Challenge, through which this work is funded. We are simulating three greenhouse gas emissions scenarios representative of an unknown future. From the model output, we can estimate how the world will warm. However, earth system models enable us to do a lot more than this. We can also examine changes to chemical processes in the atmosphere, biogeochemical processes in the ocean, as well as changes to the terrestrial biosphere. I will discuss the theory and practice of turning this raw data into useful science in an HPC context. I will also present some early findings from our model, which differs from its parent model – the UKESM – in its ability to simulate the ocean circulation around Aotearoa New Zealand at high, ‘eddy permitting’ resolution. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jonny Williams moved to New Zealand in 2015 after a postdoc in physical geography at Bristol University studying extreme warm paleoclimates of the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods. Before this he worked in private practice as a junior consultant at Eunomia Research and Consulting and as a climate scientist at the UK Met Office. Jonny has a PhD in molecular electronics from the University of Bath and a degree in physics from Imperial College London. Erik Behrens leads the ocean modelling project, to further improve NZESM, in the second phase of the Deep South. He has a PhD and degree in physical oceanography from the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Germany. His main interest is to understand how oceans around New Zealand and around Antarctica change due to climate change. Olaf Morgenstern is leading climate modelling at NIWA and for the Deep South National Science Challenge. Prior to joining NIWA worked for Cambridge University in the UK and the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany. His main research interest is in the linkages between physical climate change and atmospheric composition. He holds a PhD in meteorology from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and a physics degree from Freiburg University, Germany. Mike Williams has been the director of the Deep South National Science Challenge since 2016. He obtained his PhD in polar oceanography from the University of Tasmania in 1999 and was an assistant professor at the Niels Bohr Institute for Physics in Copenhagen, Denmark for three. He joined in NIWA in 2001 and has had various roles, including leading the climate observations programme and Antarctic research programmes.

Introduction Sepsis is potentially life-threatening, requiring rapid identification and treatment. ‘Sepsis Six’ (1) has become the recognised treatment pathway and has traditionally been taught to our undergraduate pharmacy students in didactic fashion. Interactive teaching methods, such as simulation, are the most effective forms of education to improve patient safety (2). Such approaches might be beneficial in the teaching of sepsis management. Aim To evaluate the effect of adding simulation-based teaching to an existing didactic lecture on the management of sepsis. Methods Year 4 students at the University of Bath (n=92) attended a sepsis lecture given by a teacher practitioner with experience in managing sepsis in March 2020. Students completed an online survey that used Likert scales to evaluate understanding of sepsis and confidence in managing it (see table). One week later, small groups of students completed a 30-minute simulation using a SimMan ALS ‘patient’ programmed to show physiological signs of sepsis. Simulations were facilitated by a teacher practitioner with experience of operating SimMan ALS. Each group had a brief outlining the required tasks: reviewing the patient; assessing sepsis risk; summarising a treatment plan and priority actions. After the simulation, students underwent de-brief and completed the same online survey a second time. Changes in students’ responses between surveys were analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests in SPSS, therefore data from students who completed only one survey were not included. Results 26 students completed both surveys (response rate: 28%). Likert scores for questions 1, 2, 4 and 5 were significantly higher following the simulation, indicating improved confidence and knowledge (see table). Conclusion Adding a high-fidelity simulation to an existing didactic lecture increased student confidence in identifying and managing sepsis. Self-reported knowledge of sepsis red flags also increased (indicated by the responses to Statement 1). This study should encourage future sepsis teaching to include a blend of didactic and simulated learning. Limitations include the low response rate, evaluation at only one university and reliance on student self-assessment of knowledge. References (1) Daniels, R, Nutbeam, T. et al (2019) The Sepsis Manual 5th Edition. UK Sepsis Trust. www.sepsistrust.org (2) Yu A, Fontana G, Darzi A (2016). Evaluation of Education and Training Interventions for Patient Safety. A report by the Centre for Health Policy at Imperial College London, an academic partner to Health Education England and the Commission on Education and Training for Patient Safety. London.

SCHOTT Solar, DE.E-mail: sinke@ecn.nl, Project website: www.ipcrystalclear.info.ABSTRACT: CrystalClear was an EU co-financed Integrated Project aimed at developing technology for wafer-based silicon solar modules at 1 € per watt-peak manufacturing costs and a strongly improved environmental profile. The project consortium has selected a number of technologies that potentially comply with these aims as well as research that serves as basis for further developments (beyond the project aims). These technologies have been demonstrated in the form of demonstrators, i.e. full-size modules featuring all innovations necessary to comply with the aims. The project has shown that wafer-based multicrystalline-silicon solar modules can be produced at 1 € per watt-peak at a world-record efficiency of 16% and an energy pay-back time of less than 2 years in Southern Europe.Keywords: back contact, c-Si, cost reduction, manufacturing and processing, module manufacturing, multicrystalline silicon, silicon solar cell, LCA, energy pay-back time.1 GENERAL PROJECT OVERVIEWCrystalClear [1-4] was a 5½-year Integrated Project carried out in the 6th Framework Program of the EU. It started in January 2004 and was finished in June 2009. The project was a joint effort of a consortium of 16 European companies, research institutes and university groups involved in wafer-based crystalline silicon PV technology.Companies: BP Solar (ES), Deutsche Cell (DE), Deutsche Solar (DE), Isofoton (ES), Photowatt (FR), REC (NO), REC Wafer Norway (NO), SCHOTT Solar (DE), SolarWorld Industries (DE).Universities: Utrecht (NL), Konstanz (DE), UPM-IES (ES);Research institutes: InESS-CNRS (FR), ECN (NL, project coordinator), FhG-ISE (DE), IMEC (BE).Within CrystalClear an average of over 50 researchers from 6 European countries have worked together.The project aims have been divided in three main blocks.1. Availability of innovative manufacturing technologies which allow solar modules to be produced at a cost of 1 €/watt-peak (which is a reduction by more than 50% compared to state-of-the-art at the start of the project). This objective is very ambitious, but essential to get world-class technology. Manufacturing cost reduction is essential to bring prices of modules and turn-key complete systems down.2. Improved environmental profile of solar modules by reduction of materials consumption, replacement of undesired materials and designing for recycling. This will strengthen the position of solar energy as a clean and sustainable alternative to conventional electricity generation.3. Enhanced applicability of modules by tailoring to customer needs and by improving product lifetime and reliability. Since solar modules will be used in very different situations (e.g. on buildings) flexibility of use is crucial. Assured quality is a prerequisite for large-scale, professional use.The CrystalClear project has tackled all aspects from the raw materials up to the completed solar module. Key activities concerned:• strongly reducing the consumption of expensive materials (especially silicon, but also others) as well as introducing the use of cheaper materials;• increasing the electricity output of solar modules;• developing highly automated, high-throughput, low-cost manufacturing processes;• screening materials, processes and products in relation to sustainability and suitability for large-scale use.Since many combinations of options for cell and module design, processing and materials potentially fulfill the project aims, a selection of 6 distinctly different overall technologies has been developed, underlining the many faces of wafer-based silicon PV and the variety of approaches found within the industry. The feasibility of these technologies to comply with the projects aims has been verified by detailed cost and environmental analyses. CrystalClear has chosen technologies which might be demonstrated as full-scale modules already at the end of the project as well as technologies which stillneed to be developed further after the project.The project has been organized in Subprojects (SPs), covering the parts of the value chain as well as integrating aspects (environmental analyses, cost calculations, etc.), see Figure 1. In the following, the final project results achieved are summarized per Subproject:

Optimal Protection from Impact, Shock, and Vibration

Developments in the connected fields of optics, optoelectronics and photonics have had a profound effect on the emergence of modern technologies and their influence on our lives. In all of these fields, understanding and improving the basic underlying materials is of crucial importance for the development of systems and applications. The International Conference on Optical, Optoelectronic and Photonic Materials and Applications (ICOOPMA) has successfully married these fields and become a regular feature in the conference calendar. The 6th conference in the series, held at the University of Leeds from 27th July – 1st August, 2014, continued the ICOOPMA tradition and attracted 220 international delegates with a diverse range of disciplines and interests. The 59 papers in this Proceedings provide an excellent overview of the topics presented. The conference consisted of four thematic areas in the fields of inorganic semiconductors, carbon and polymeric materials, inorganic glasses and crystalline materials, and metamaterials and plasmonics where each theme area included research on basic materials through to device applications. The conference began with a Workshop organised by Professor Dan Hewak (University of Southampton) with speakers covering Organic Optoelectronic Complexes (Dr Richard Curry, University of Surrey), Metamaterials (Dr Vassili Fedotov, University of Southampton), Graphene (Dr Monica Craciun, University of Exeter) and Amorphous Semiconductors (Dr Jiri Orava, University of Cambridge and Tohoku University). This provided an excellent overview of a representative range of the important topics that were discussed further at the conference. The conference included a banquet which successfully combined excellent food with a relaxing opportunity for the conference delegates to socialise and network. The pinnacle of the evening was the after dinner speech given by our distinguished guest, Professor Sir David Payne (University of Southampton), who gave a highly informative and humorous history of the development of photonics and the important role played by optical fibres, of which he was one of the key pioneers. Emerging scientific talent was also given a platform, with a particular feature of the conference being the Young Scientists Forum, organised by Dr Senthil Ganapathy (University of Southampton), consisting of a series of themed sessions providing up-and-coming researchers a opportunity to present and discuss their work.Each technical theme of the conference was introduced with Plenary lectures delivered by leading international figures in their respective fields. Professor Jim Harris (Stanford University) discussed the development of epitaxially grown dilute-nitride semiconductors and the important role that they play in high efficiency solar cells. This theme was continued by Professor Wolfgang Stolz (Philipps University, Marburg) who described the use of novel III-V semiconductors for the development of lasers on silicon. Dr Jerry Meyer (Naval Research Laboratories) and Dr Kumar Patel (Pranalytica) discussed the important field of mid-infrared devices highlighting the significant developments that have been made in inter-band cascade and quantum cascade based devices, respectively and which have wide-ranging applications in sensing. Professor Neil Greenham (University of Cambridge) discussed solution-based semiconductors based on conjugated polymers and nanocrystals offering low cost routes to the wide-scale deployment of photonics. Professor Ortwin Hess (Imperial College) gave an overview of the physics and fascinating technological potential of negative refractive index materials. Professor Stephen Elliott (University of Cambridge) discussed the optoelectronic properties of phase change materials for memories. These areas were expanded upon in over 70 invited talks from international speakers highlighting recent developments in each of these areas. Further detailed discussions were presented in many parallel Oral and Poster sessions. This Proceedings provides an exciting and wide-ranging discussion of the topics presented at ICOOPMA 2014. We are very grateful to the many people who helped with the organisation of the conference, with particular thanks to Alison Whiteley and her team who enabled the smooth running of the conference, Dr Senthil Ganapathy for his many and wide ranging contributions to the conference and finally Professor Safa Kasap for his wisdom, advice and strong support. The conference could not have happened without the commitment of the Local Organising Committee, who helped in many ways to assemble and run the conference, and for the International Programme, Advisory and Steering committees who guided the technical direction of the conference and assisted with the conference programme and proceedings. We are also extremely pleased to have received generous sponsorship from a large number of organisations and companies. Finally, we are also very grateful to Sarah Toms and the Editorial staff at the Institute of Physics, and the many contributors and reviewers for helping us to put-together this proceedings.Stephen Sweeney, Guildford, UK Animesh Jha, Leeds, UK

Under the TLTP initiative, the Mathematics Departments at Imperial College and Leeds University are jointly developing a CAL method directed at supplementing the level of mathematics of students entering science and engineering courses from diverse A-level (or equivalent) backgrounds. The aim of the joint project is to maintain — even increase - the number of students enrolling on such first-year courses without lowering the courses' existing mathematical standards. A CAL tutor for matrix theory is presented in this paper, in the form of Mathematica Notebooks. This constitutes one of a list of specific A-level mathematics core options required by science and engineering departments. The module has been written so as to recognize students' errors and advise accordingly. Questions are generated randomly, at run time, in order to preclude copying between users. The module incorporates automated performance indicators so as to impinge minimally on existing staff resources. As an aid to other CAL authors considering the use of Mathematica Notebooks, idiosyncratic difficulties encountered within Mathematica Notebooks are catalogued and discussed in detail.DOI:10.1080/0968776930010204

Notes on Contributors

HECTR (Hydrogen Event: Containment Transient Response) is a lumped-parameter containment analysis code developed to model the containment atmosphere during a nuclear reactor accident involving the release, transport, and combustion of hydrogen. A new set of flame speed and combustion completeness correlations has been included in HECTR. The combustion model in HECTR was assessed against a simple two-compartment problem, as well as the NTS (Nevada Test Site) and VGES (Variable Geometry Experimental System) experiments. The example using the two-compartments problem demonstrates that the combustion model in the modified HECTR code is capable of locating the flame position in a compartment with a hydrogen burn, and convecting material with the proper composition instead of a mixture gas through flow junctions. HECTR predictions compare reasonably well with the measured peak pressure ratios for 12 NTS premixed hydrogen experiments. It is concluded that the capability of the new correlations for flame speed and combustion completeness is sufficient for the NTS experiments. Based on the analyses of the NTS and VGES experiments, using a single room as a node is recommended for the nodalization in the HECTR combustion calculation. 16 refs., 17 figs., 7 tabs.

Advances in Computational Combustion Research in China: A Brief Review

Although internal combustion engines display high overall maximum global efficiencies, this potential cannot be fully exploited in automotive applications: in real conditions, the average engine load (and thus efficiency) is quite low and the kinetic energy during a braking phase is lost. One solution to this problem is to switch to a new hybrid pneumatic-combustion engine concept, which is able to store energy in the form of compressed air. This energy can be issued from a braking phase or from a combustion phase at low power. The potential energy from the air tank can then be restored to start the engine, use the stored air to drive the engine as a pneumatic motor at low load or charge the engine at full load. Optimization of the compressed air tank maximum pressure and volume as well as the operating mode switching strategy provides an improvement in terms of fuel economy as high as 31 per cent if combined with engine downsizing.

This paper discusses the advantages of non-weight-based cost models and uses launch vehicle rocket engine cost modeling as an example. Top level parametric cost models were generated for pump-fed liquid bipropellant booster and upper stage rocket engines in the 20 Kilopounds (Klbs) to 2,000 Klbs thrust class. The models cover production and full scale development costs and are based on thorough engineering analysis, not regression analysis, using data from historical rocket engines, potential engine derivatives, and proposed new engine concepts. The models depend on thermodynamic cycle, propellant type, thrust level, engine complexity, engine maturity, and other design parameters. The models are simple cost estimating relationships (CERs) with a transparent rationale and an accuracy of between 10 to 30%, depending on the engineering expertise used in the generation of the input variables. The format of the models and the rationale behind them are given in this paper. The cost models make use of a...