A model combustion: from art to science

Analysis tools, advanced hardware provide insight into combustion process, refining the cylinder's ‘big bang.‘

High fuel costs and extremely tight emissions regulations are forcing engine designers to look deeply into the combustion process in hopes of making even fractional percentage improvements in efficiency. Modeling and simulation play a major role, and research labs are using faster data-acquisition systems to gain insight into the combustion process.

Engines still put diesel fuel into a cylinder and ignite it, but there's little else that remains the same in equipment designed to meet looming U.S. and European environmental regulations. Every aspect of an engine's operation is being broken down into more precisely managed steps, making designers' jobs more complex.