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EDGSN 100: INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

Locomotive Engine Evolution

Brian Getsie, Cole Hunter, Kayla Iazzetta, Andrew Kollasch

The Pennsylvania State University

Introduction to Engineering Design Class

November 17, 2015

EDGSN 100: INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES 2

Abstract

Smog, generally defined as air pollution caused by hydrocarbons and

nitrogen oxides (NOx) from emissions, threatens the inhabitants of Pittsdelphia due

to the toxic atmospheric quantities (Smog, 2015). The General Electric Company

(GE) provided data on the imaginary city, which proved that smog concentrations in

Pittsdelphia grew due to import and export traffic by locomotives with outdated

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standardized engines. In order to propose a

solution to lower Pittsdelphia’s atmospheric smog concentration, one must first

understand the reason that these locomotives produce the toxins. This research

project explores atmospheric smog concentrations in relation to the specific GE

design of locomotive engines and the evolution of these designs. The research then

concludes with a solution to high smog concentrations in Pittsdelphia through a

proposal to switch locomotive engine providers from GE to a company known as

MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH (MTU).


Table of Contents

Abstract 2

List of Figures 4

1.0 Summary 5

2.0 Introduction 6

3.0 Methods, Assumptions, and Procedures 7

4.0 Results and Discussion 9

5.0 Conclusion 10

6.0 References 11

7.0 Appendices 12


List of Figures

Figure 1 7

Figure 2 8

Figure 3 9

Figure 4 9

Figure 5 10


1.0 Summary

GE company posed a problem in reference to the imaginary city, Pittsdelphia.

Pitssdelphia is a port city that suffers from almost toxic air pollutant levels of smog,

hurting not only the economy of the city but its citizens too. Upon evaluation of

Pittsdelphia’s stakeholders, existing conditions, and preferred conditions, it was

found that the high levels of smog air pollutant were caused by the outdated design

systems of the Tier 2 locomotive fleet. In order to best understand the problem at

hand, this project explores the basics of internal combustion engine movement as

well as the historic evolution of Environmental Protection Agency Standards and

their affect on locomotive engine design.

The proposed solution to Pittsdelphia’s problem is then presented later in the

paper. MTU, a German manufacturing company, offers an alternative solution for

upgrading Pittsdelphia’s engine fleet in a cost effective and efficient way.


2.0 Introduction

2.1 SubjectInternal combustion engines, such as those used by GE in locomotives, date back to 1859, when French engineer Étienne Lenoir successfully built the first spark engine, which operated continuously (Evolution of the Internal Combustion Engine, 2012). Throughout history, these engines have been finely tuned to operate more efficiently, cleanly, and in smaller capacities. Although leaps and bounds have been achieved in the task of advancing internal combustion technology, one recurring problem has yet to resolve, smog production.

Beginning in 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency began setting emission standards for all newly manufactured and remanufactured locomotive engines in order to aid in the regulation of smog pollutant produced yearly. These standards have been constrained more every few years to encourage redesign of engines and reduce overall pollution. Beginning with Tier 0 engines, which were introduced before the creation of EPA standards, and exploring up through the current Tier 4 engines, redesigns in engine operations have become expensive and tedious. Though the cost of redesign has become greater, the need to reduce smog production and ultimately eliminate air pollution is necessary.

2.2 PurposeUpon presentation of the problem by GE, the high smog concentration effect on Pittsdelphia’s citizens and environment, it was determined that the pollution production was mainly due to locomotive traffic importing and exporting materials for the city. Every locomotive within the Pittsdelphia fleet has been operating under the Tier 2 engine scheme, a high producer of smog pollutant and an entirely outdated design. This report is an exploration of previously EPA regulated locomotive engine designs (Tiers 0-2) as well as the redesigned current EPA engines (Tiers 3-4) and their relations to smog production in the environment. The proposed, newly designed engine produced by MTU is described in this report and will offer an alternate solution to the problem posed in Pittsdelphia vice paying to upgrade each fleet locomotive engine through GE.

2.3 ScopeThis report delivers technical information on the chronological advances in locomotive engine evolution based upon set EPA standards. Each engine design is evaluated for its design flaws, successes, and its systematic relation to smog production in order to provide a grounded understanding of what structural changes to Pittsdelphia’s fleet must be made to eliminate air pollution. This report also shows how the alternate engine provider usage in Pittsdelphia’s trains will be less costly and more efficient than staying with GE provided locomotive engines. Not included in this report are cost analyses for upgrading Pittsdelphia’s fleet, plans to


refit each fleet train for the MTU designed engine, or benefits of other alternative company engine designs outside of MTU.

3.0 Methods, Assumptions, and Procedures

In order to understand how to fix the Pittsdelphia locomotive engine design in a cost effective and efficient way, one must first understand how a locomotives’ internal combustion engine functions and why it produces smog. The basic combustion engine in Figure 1 pictures all components involved in the engine’s four main movements: Intake, Compression, Combustion, and Exhaust (How Car Engines Work, 2000).

As shown in Figure 1, the piston, crankshaft, and connecting rod act as the main mechanisms for the combustion engine’s operation, which runs as follows (How Car Engines Work, 2000):

1) The piston begins the intake movement by moving downward and allowing the intake valve to open, filling the cylinder with air and a small amount of diesel.

2) The piston then returns to its original, upward position, compressing the air and diesel mixture.

3) As the piston fully returns to its peak, upward position, the spark plug ignites the air/diesel mixture, explosively forcing the piston downward through combustion.

4) Once the piston is forced into its fully downward position, the engine’s exhaust valve opens to release the exhaust from the engine. This cycle repeats to produce power.

Beginning with global warming awareness movement in 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency began implementing emission standards on all automobile and locomotive engines in an effort to reduce air pollution caused by these released exhausts or smog. Engines were tested using measurements found from evaluating particulate matter, NOx, and carbon dioxide within the exhaust emissions to determine their safety for the environment. At the time, the most widely used engine design for locomotives, known as Tier 0, were unregulated engines that would be mechanically controlled by a train operator to force piston injection rather than cycling automatically. This engine was an essentially non-advanced machine with only the basic version of internal combustion utilized, which produced

Figure 1: Basic Combustion Engine


exhausts containing up to 19.8 NOx grams per brake horsepower-hours (g/bhp-hr) (Locomotives, n.d.).

Figure 2 illustrates the following timeline of combustion engine improvements. After EPA regulations changed in 2002 to Tier 1, requiring no more than 11.0 NOx g/bhp-hr, each locomotive engine manufactured or remanufactured after that date had to meet these regulations to maintain licensed operation. Tier 1 engines provided the same basic structure as Tier 0 engines however, the engines were redesigned to operate electronically to reduce emissions to acceptable quantities. This electronic conversion included turbocharging the piston motion and adding a microprocessor control system (Merkisz, 2015). This massive redesign also took place in the implementation of EPA Tier 2 standards in 2005, requiring emissions less than 8.1 NOx g/bhp-hr. The Tier 2 engines improved by fine-tuning the automatic piston and microprocessor so that each component was more efficient and les likely to produce exhaust.

Beginning with the newer Tier engine requirements, Tier 3 and 4, major changes began in the overall design of the locomotive engine to drastically reduce smog production. Tier 3 presented a new technological advancement called common rail, which utilized a fuel rail to produce higher internal pressure, making combustion more explosive and powerful without increasing the size of the engine (Gable, 2015). This advancement provided the opportunity for larger, more environmentally harmful locomotive engines to be phased out and replaced with smaller, less pollutant producing engines.

Tier 4, the most current EPA standard of emissions regulation requires 1.3 or less NOx g/bhp-hr to meet regulatory standards (Locomotives, n.d.). Tier 4 engines, as produced by GE company, mimic the Tier 3 engine in every way accept for the addition of an extra specialization due to the new required type of diesel fuel utilized (Clean Diesel Technology for Off-road Engines and Equipment, 2012). The use of this ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) requires each engine to be specialized for its combustion rather than the combustion of the regular air/diesel mixture.

Figure 2: Timeline of EPA Standard Improvements in Combustion Engines


4.0 Results and Discussion

Figure 3: EPA Standard for Locomotive Emissions

Each of these improvements in engine design by Tier as well as reduction in smog pollutant production is extremely costly and would require overhaul of almost every fleet engine. As stated previously, each engine within the Pitssdelphia fleet operates on the Tier 2 engine design, meaning its NOx g/bhp-hr is too high to meet the currently set EPA standards as shown in Figure 3.

The problem then established is, what is the most cost efficient way to reduce smog emissions within Pittsdelphia? The answer is simple, look outside of GE for less costly solutions. MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH, a commercial manufacturer of internal combustion engines, headed a program in 2012 that was able to create a 320-ton capacity combustion engine without the need for an exhaust after treatment system or fuel recalibration as seen in Figure 4 (Carter, 2012).

MTU’s version of the Tier 4 engine has proven to reduce particle emissions through its improved turbocharged piston setup and auto-cooling system. These specific traits especially reduce emissions of NOx, the largest contributor to smog.

Figure 4: MTU Tier 4 Engine


5.0 Conclusion

Throughout time, the constant need to cater to the needs of the environment has influenced the engineering of locomotive engines. Depending highly on the specifications of each design, an engine can produce highly toxic quantities of smog pollutant, as demonstrated in the city of Pittsdelphia.

In order to reduce Pittsdelphia’s high smog concentration caused by rail traffic, the Tier 2 fleet engines must be upgraded to at least Tier 3’s. Upgrading to only Tier 3 however, will lead the locomotives to be outdated within a short period of time, requiring another costly upgrade. The clear solution remains, to upgrade each fleet engine to Tier 4 EPA standards. Because completing this upgrade through the products manufactured by GE would require not only the simple engine upgrade but also the engine revamp for use with ULSD fuel, the process would be extremely costly. It is suggested that to relieve Pittsdelphia’s high smog concentration problem, the city will upgrade each fleet engine to Tier 4 standards by outsourcing the services through MTU to save on cost (Carter, 2012). By doing this, smog production will reduce drastically within Pitssdelphia without reducing any rail traffic or effecting the citizens long-term. The proposed process for completing this action is documented below in Figure 5.

Although alternative company solutions are not included in this report, possible research can be done in other company advancements in Tier 4 engine designs. A Cost analysis could also be completed, comparing the exact costs of upgrading the fleet engines of Pitssdelphia via GE company versus doing so via MTU.

Contact MTU to set up business plan of action

Decrease rail traffic short-

term.

Disperse imports/exports

to shipping freight and trucks

Have locomotive engines upgraded in

waves to prevent total cease in rail

traffic.

Figure 5: Proposed Plan of Action


6.0 References

Carter, R. A. (2012). MTU rolls out new engines to meet tier 4 final standards.

Engineering and Mining Journal, 213(8), 58-61. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1069229766?accountid=13158

Clean Diesel Technology for Off-road Engines and Equipment. (2012). Diesel

Technology Forum, 1-12.

Evolution of the Internal Combustion Engine. (2012). Retrieved November 26, 2015,

from http://www.infopleas e.com/encyclopedia/science/internal-

combustion-engine-evolution-internal-combustion-engine.html

Gable, C. (2015). How Does Diesel Common Rail Direct Injection Work? Retrieved

fromhttp://alternativefuels.about.com/od/dieselbiodieselvehicles/a/

dieselcrd.htm

How Car Engines Work. (2000, April 4). Retrieved November 24, 2015, from

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine1.htm

Locomotives. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2015, from

https://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/loco.php

Merkisz, J., Pielecha, J., & SpringerLink (Online service). (2015). Nanoparticle

emissions from combustion engines. Cham: Springer International

Publishing.

Smog. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2015, from

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/smog


7.0 Appendices

Appendix 1: Component Diagram of Combustion Engine


Appendix 2: Effect of Engine Tier on NOx Emission

Appendix 3: EPA Standards Chart

Documents

EDGSN 100: INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES€¦ · Web view2.0 Introduction. 2.1 Subject. Internal combustion engines, such as those used by GE in locomotives, date back to 1859, when