Development of the Control and Aftertreatment System for a Very Low Emission G-DI Vehicle

A project has been carried out to develop a practical G-DI vehicle with very low emissions; primarily assessed over the European EUDC cycle, but with emissions consistent with ULEV, Euro Stage IV and Japan 2000 legislation whilst maintaining acceptable driveability. A combined test bed and vehicle programme was conducted. Vehicle benchmarking established target emissions reduction areas and testbed work characterised the combustion system. The programme was based on a Mitsubishi Carisma GDI™ vehicle. The vehicle used a prototype Lean NOx Trap (LNT) based aftertreatment system. The Ricardo Vehicle Engine Management Prototyping System (VEMPS) Control System replaced the OEM ECU giving control of drive components and strategies to regenerate LNT of stored NOx were developed. Constant torque during regeneration spikes was achieved. The fuel economy penalty of different regeneration strategies was investigated.