A Variable Displacement Engine (VDE) improves fuel economy by deactivating half the cylinders at light load. The actual fuel economy benefit attained in the vehicle depends on how often cylinders can be deactivated, which is a function of test cycle, engine size, and vehicle weight. In practice, cylinder deactivation will also be constrained by NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness).
This paper presents fuel economy projections for VDE in several different engine and vehicle applications.
Sensitivity to NVH considerations is quantified by calculating fuel economy with and without cylinder deactivation in various operating modes: idle, low engine speed, 1st and 2nd gear, and warm-up after cold start. The effects of lug limits and calibration hysteresis are also presented.
All projections are based on engine dynamometer data with and without cylinder deactivation, in conjunction with a second-by-second computer simulation of various test cycles (EPA City and Highway, European NEDC, and Japanese 10-15 Mode).