Piezo direct gasoline injection sets new standards
Siemens VDO passed another milestone with respect to consumption and CO2 emissions with the transfer of piezo technology from the diesel to the gasoline engine. In comparison to conventional manifold port injection, Siemens VDO piezo direct injection reduces both consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 20 percent. After piezo direct gasoline injection was introduced by BMW in a six-cylinder twin turbo engine in 2006, four- and six-cylinder models designed for stratified charge operation with piezo gasoline direct injection will be launched on the market in high-volume models in 2007. Piezo gasoline direct injection saves about 800 kilograms of CO2 per year in a luxury vehicle. Specifically in connection with direct injection, smaller, highly charged engines also offer opportunities to downsize – meaning that they replace larger combustion engines, without surrendering any of the performance. Thus, downsizing with direct injection has the potential of reducing the CO2 emissions of gasoline engines to almost that of modern diesel engines.
Siemens VDO is constantly working to further optimize manifold port injection systems with solenoid injectors. For example, new injector technologies improve the preparation of the fuel mixture. In this way, the fuel is atomized even more finely and burns more cleanly. These systems also accordingly reduce consumption and emissions.
Another way to reduce CO2 emissions is through the use of alternative fuels, such as natural gas (CNG = compressed natural gas) and ethanol in gasoline engines. Siemens VDO has designed corresponding injection systems for fuels composed of up to 100 percent ethanol. This makes further CO2 savings possible. Compared to gasoline-powered operation, burning natural gas in a gasoline engine increases the potential for reducing CO2 emissions. Siemens VDO offers manufacturers injection systems accordingly optimized for natural gas, with specifically designed injectors and engine control units.
Electronics reduce fuel consumption
Thanks to its increased modularity, the EMS 2 electronic engine management system can be used in all types of gasoline and diesel engines. It effectively utilizes the technical potential of injectors – particularly the precise dosages they can achieve. Siemens VDO designs the controls of its piezo injectors to be as variable as possible. The piezo elements are charged and discharged electrically in such a fast, controlled process that the fastest movements of the injector needle are possible and the injector needle closing is also a precise motion which results in very little noise. In addition, the needle lift can be set individually for each cylinder. Moreover, the piezo element's electrical parameters are captured and analyzed, with the result of the element’s functionality monitored over its entire lifetime. According to information from the German Association of the Automotive Industry, the advancement of electronically controlled direct diesel and gasoline injection has helped to prevent 15 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in Germany since the end of the 1990s.
Electrification of the drivetrain
While the combustion engine projected to remain the dominant drive in cars beyond 2020, one of the next important steps on the way to lower emissions is emerging: Siemens VDO hybrid drives. They unite the combustion engine with an electric motor. Purely electrical and emission-free at times, full hybrid engine driving is now possible. Even as early as 1997, the world’s first hybrid vehicle to be produced in series – the Audi duo, based on the A4 – used an electric motor and engine control unit from Siemens.
At present, Siemens VDO is focusing its hybrid development activities on high-voltage solutions for high-capacity electric motors with corresponding high-capacity energy storage. This line of development has accordingly profound effects on the entire vehicle. Here, Siemens VDO uses its more than 20 years’ experience in electric motors and high-performance electronics components interaction, as well as integrated engine and drive train management. In a hybrid vehicle, the energy storage is optimally charged while the vehicle is braking and this energy is transmitted to the drivetrain again when the vehicle accelerates. In this way, impressive consumption advantages of over 15 percent in the case of the mild hybrid and 25 percent for the full hybrid (in the NEDC), are achieved. This yields tangible CO2 savings benefits for the environment. Hybrid engines signal a long-term paradigm shift toward electric driving, because the electric engine is the drive solution of the future and meeting stringent emissions regulations.
With the acquisition of Ballard Power Systems, Inc., in Dearborn, Mich., in early 2007, Siemens VDO underscored its strategic aim of investing in technologies with bright prospects for the future and strengthening its core competencies in the hybrid sector.
Small steps with big effects
Electronic components contribute to the markedly improved CO2 balance sheet. An electrically operated steering aid, for example, needs up to two percent less fuel in comparison to hydraulic servo steering. The use of electric water and oil pumps controlled based on engine requirement saves another two percent. Systems to monitor tire pressure, alert the driver when tire pressure is too low and help to reduce CO2 emissions by up to three percent.
In the future, visual and audio recommendations for optimal shift points will indicate the most fuel-efficient engine speed to the driver. Siemens VDO currently is developing one system of this kind, an “eco-driving” system. Fuel savings of up to 25 percent can be achieved solely by enabling this kind of anticipatory driving. For sustainable drive concepts, networking among vehicle systems will also continue to increase. The expanded system solution includes an intelligent battery sensor with a battery-monitoring algorithm. The combination of this sensor and “Power Trader” from Siemens VDO, a software program to control flows of energy in the vehicle, supplies the necessary electrical power to all points of consumption according to demand.
The vision of emission-free driving – zero emissions
As one of the leading automotive suppliers of electronics and mechatronics, Siemens VDO already is thinking about innovative new technologies that contribute to the sustained reduction of CO2 emissions and setting groundbreaking technological trends that will be seen in cars on our streets in 15 years. This includes the integration of the electrical components for drive, steering and shock absorption, as well as the electronic wedge brake, directly integrated in the wheels of the car of tomorrow. This concept, called “eCorner,” forms the basis of environmentally friendly vehicles and a future free of emissions.
There is a photo to go with this press release. The image and the press release are available for downloading online at http://www.siemensvdo.com/press
Further information for readers and end customers is available at:
http://www.siemensvdo.com/contactus
