Investigation of Cylinder Deactivation (CDA) Strategies on Part Load Conditions

Many efforts have been invested to improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles mainly for the local consumers. One of the main techniques to have better fuel efficiency is cylinder deactivation system. In this paper, the main research area is focus on the investigation of cylinder deactivation (CDA) technology on common engine part load conditions within common Malaysian driving condition. CDA mostly being applied on multi cylinders engines. It has the advantage in improving fuel consumption by reducing pumping losses at part load engine conditions. Here, the application of CDA on 1.6 liter four cylinders gasoline engine is studied. One-dimensional (1-D) engine modeling is performed to investigate the effect of intake and exhaust valve strategy on engine performance with CDA. The 1-D engine model is constructed starts from the air-box cleaner up to exhaust system according to the 1.6 liter actual engine geometries. The model is simulated at various engine speeds with full load condition. The simulated results show that the constructed model is well correlated to measured data. This correlated model is then used to investigate the effect of valves timing configurations on engine performance. The model is then used to determine the optimum intake and exhaust valve lift and timing for CDA application at part load conditions. Also, the effects on the in-cylinder combustion as well as pumping losses are presented. The study shows that the effects of valves strategies are very significant on the engine performance. Pumping losses is found to be reduced, thus improving fuel consumption and engine thermal efficiency.