Elia Ovazza, Professor of TMM in Palermo Around the End of the 19th Century

In this paper, the figure of Elia Ovazza, professor of TMM in Palermo around the end of the 19th century, is presented, along with his valuable legacy in regard to his activities in teaching, research, design and technology transfer. Short biographical notes outline his foremost life events and an illustrated survey explains his contributions.

The Museum of Engines and Mechanisms. More Than a Century of History of Technology

The Museum of Engines and Mechanisms of the University of Palermo has preserved more than 300 pieces, which collectively narrate the evolution of science and technology in the field of fluid machines and their components and testify to the development in scientific disciplines, technologies and industrial applications over the course of more than a century. A rigorous chronological path through the various typological groups allows for a historical walk through the last 150 years, in the area of automotive, airplanes and marine engines; hydraulic machines and stationary engines; mechanical measurements and laboratory devices for scientific and educational purposes. The collection is availab…

Knock Resistance Increase through the Addition of Natural Gas or LPG to Gasoline: An Experimental Study

Bi-fuel spark ignition engines, nowadays widely spread, are usually equipped with two independent injection systems, in order run the engine either with gasoline or with gaseous fuel, which can be Natural Gas (NG) or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). These gases, besides lower cost and environmental impact, are also characterized by a higher knock resistance with respect to gasoline that allows to adopt a stoichiometric proportion with air also at full load. Gasoline, on the other hand, being injected as liquid, maintains higher volumetric efficiency and hence higher power output. As a compromise solution, it could be desired to exploit the advantages of both gasoline and gas (NG or LPG), thus…

Experimental model-based linearization of a S.I. engine gas injector flow chart:

Experimental tests previously executed by the authors on the simultaneous combustion of gasoline and gaseous fuel in a spark ignition engine revealed the presence of strong nonlinearities in the lower part of the gas injector flow chart. These nonlinearities arise via the injector outflow area variation caused by the needle impacts and bounces during the transient phenomena that take place in the opening and closing phases of the injector and may seriously compromise the air-fuel mixture quality control for the lower injection times, thus increasing both fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. Despite the extensive literature about the operation and modelling of fuel injectors, there are …

Supercharging the Double-Fueled Spark Ignition Engine: Performance and Efficiency

Internal combustion engine development focuses mainly on two aspects: fuel economy improvement and pollutant emissions reduction. As a consequence, light duty spark ignition (SI) engines have become smaller, supercharged, and equipped with direct injection and advanced valve train control systems. The use of alternative fuels, such as natural gas (NG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), thanks to their lower cost and environmental impact, widely spread in the automotive market, above all in bifuel vehicles, whose spark ignited engines may run either with gasoline or with gaseous fuel. The authors in previous works experimentally tested the strong engine efficiency increment and pollutant emi…

Model-based optimization of injection strategies for SI engine gas injectors

A mathematical model for the prediction of the mass injected by a gaseous fuel solenoid injector for spark ignition (SI) engines has been realized and validated through experimental data by the authors in a recent work [1]. The gas injector has been studied with particular reference to the complex needle motion during the opening and closing phases. Such motion may significantly affect the amount of injected fuel. When the injector nozzle is fully open, the mass flow depends only on the upstream fluid pressure and temperature. This phenomenon creates a linear relationship between the injected fuel mass and the injection time (i.e. the duration of the injection pulse), thus enabling efficien…

Problematiche energetiche e sviluppi connessi alla combustione double fuel

Experimental Determination of Liquefied Petroleum Gas–Gasoline Mixtures Knock Resistance

The results of previous experimental researches showed that great advantages can be achieved, both in terms of fuel consumption and pollutant emissions, in bifuel vehicles by means of the double-fuel combustion, i.e., the simultaneous combustion of gasoline and a gaseous fuel, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or natural gas (NG). The substantial increase in knock resistance pursued by adding LPG to gasoline, which allowed to maintain an overall stoichiometric proportion with air also at full load, is not documented in the scientific literature and induced the authors to perform a proper experimental campaign. The motor octane number (MON) of LPG–gasoline mixtures has been hence determi…

An NTC zone compliant knock onset prediction model for spark ignition engines

Abstract Pollutant emissions reduction and energy saving policies increased the production of Spark Ignition (SI) engines operated with gaseous fuels. Natural Gas (NG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), thanks to their low cost and low environmental impact represent the best alternative. Bi-fuel engines, which may run either with gasoline or with gas (NG or LPG), widely spread in many countries thanks to their versatility, high efficiency and low pollutant emissions: gas fueled vehicles, as example, are allowed to run in many limited traffic zones. In the last years, supercharged SI engines fueled with either gasoline or gaseous fuel, spread in the market. Thermodynamic simulations, widely …

On the Birth and Growth of Pendulum Clocks in the Early Modern Era

Measuring the passage of time has intrigued humankind throughout the centuries. Ancient times witnessed the appearance and development of clepsydras and water clocks, whose place was subsequently taken by mechanical clocks in the Middle Ages. It is really surprising how the general architecture of mechanical clocks has remained almost unchanged in practice up to the present time. Yet the foremost mechanical developments in clock-making date from the 17th century, when the discovery of the laws of pendular isochronism by Galilei and Huygens permitted a higher degree of accuracy in the measuring of time.

A mathematical model for the prediction of the injected mass diagram of a S.I. engine gas injector

A mathematical model of gaseous fuel solenoid injector for spark ignition engine has been realized and validated through experimental data. The gas injector was studied with particular reference to the complex needle motion during the opening and closing phases, which strongly affects the amount of fuel injected. As is known, in fact, when the injector nozzle is widely open, the mass flow depends only on the fluid pressure and temperature upstream the injector: this allows one to control the injected fuel mass acting on the “injection time” (the period during which the injector solenoid is energized). This makes the correlation between the injected fuel mass and the injection time linear, e…

Preliminary Experimental Study on Double Fuel HCCI Combustion

AbstractThis paper regards an experimental study on a particular internal combustion engine process which combines Double Fuel combustion with Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) using mixtures of natural gas (NG) and gasoline. The tests performed on a CFR engine demonstrate that HCCI combustion can be achieved using NG-gasoline mixtures without knocking occurrence for low to medium engine load varying the proportion between the two fuels. The main advantage of this new combustion process relies on the noticeable higher engine efficiency obtained with respect to conventional spark ignition operation, and on the strong reduction of NOX emissions.

NOX reduction and efficiency improvements by means of the Double Fuel HCCI combustion of natural gas–gasoline mixtures

Abstract Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) and Double Fuel (DF) combustion represent two innovative processes sharing a strong potential for pollutant emissions and fuel consumption reduction. HCCI regards the auto-ignition of a homogeneous premixed charge of air and fuel, featuring very low NOX emissions and good efficiency. Double Fuel (DF) instead indicates the simultaneous combustion of gasoline and natural gas (or gasoline and LPG), premixed with air by the port injection of both fuels within same engine cycle. Since fuel mixtures enhances the HCCI performances widening the range of possible operating conditions, the authors tested the HCCI combustion process using natural…

A Refined Model for Knock Onset Prediction in Spark Ignition Engines Fueled With Mixtures of Gasoline and Propane

In the last decade, gaseous fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas (NG), widely spread in many countries, thanks to their prerogative of low cost and reduced environmental impact. Hence, bi-fuel engines, which allow to run either with gasoline or with gas (LPG or NG), became very popular. Moreover, as experimentally demonstrated by the authors in the previous works, these engines may also be fueled by a mixture of gasoline and gas, which, due to the high knock resistance of gas, allow to use stoichiometric mixtures also at full load, thus drastically improving engine efficiency and pollutant emissions with respect to pure gasoline operation without noticeable power los…

PROGETTAZIONE E VERIFICA SPERIMENTALE DI UNA MICROTURBINA IDRAULICA PER L’INDUSTRIA ALIMENTARE

In questo articolo sono descritte le attività di ricerca e sviluppo di una micro-turbina idraulica inserita all’interno di un macchinario che opera un nuovo processo di abbattimento della carica batterica applicabile nell’industria dell’imbottigliamento delle bevande. Peculiarità della turbina progettata è la geometria della palettatura della girante, dritta ed a sviluppo puramente assiale, che ne rende estremamente economica la realizzazione. Lo scambio di energia avviene grazie al moto vorticoso impresso al fluido (swirl) mediante opportuno posizionamento dei condotti di adduzione. Lo studio della turbina è stato condotto mediante classico approccio unidimensionale, mentre il dimensioname…

Notes on Elia Ovazza, professor of TMM in Palermo since the end of 19-th century

In this lecture the figure of Elia Ovazza, professor of TMM in Palermo since the end of 19-th century, is presented with a valuable legacy as referring to his activity in teaching, research, design and technology transfer with short biographical notes

Calibration of a knock prediction model for the combustion of gasoline-LPG mixtures in spark ignition engines

Gaseous fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas (NG), thanks to their good mixing capabilities, allow complete and cleaner combustion than gasoline in spark ignition (SI) engines, resulting in lower pollutant emissions and particulate matter. In a previous work the authors showed that the simultaneous combustion of gasoline and LPG improves an SI engine efficiency with respect to pure gasoline operation with any significant power loss. The addition of LPG to the gasoline-air mixture produces an increase in knock resistance that allows running the engine at full load with overall stoichiometric mixture and better spark advance. In order to predict both performance and ef…

Octane Rating of Natural Gas-Gasoline Mixtures on CFR Engine

In the last years new and stricter pollutant emission regulations together with raised cost of conventional fuels resulted in an increased use of gaseous fuels, such as Natural Gas (NG) or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), for passenger vehicles. Bi-fuel engines represent a transition phase product, allowing to run either with gasoline or with gas, and for this reason are equipped with two separate injection systems. When operating at high loads with gasoline, however, these engines require rich mixtures and retarded combustions in order to prevent from dangerous knocking phenomena: this causes high hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions together with high fuel consumption. With t…

The Rotary Aero-Engine from 1908 to 1918

The rotary aero engine is a special type of air-cooled radial engine, where the cylinders are arranged like the spokes of a wheel and turn around the crankshaft. The propeller is connected to the cylinders, while the crankshaft is fixed to the frame. The rotary aero engine, developed in 1908, set new standards of power and light weight within the aircraft industry. It was adopted by many pioneer aviators and widely used to set records of endurance, speed and height. Many aero engine manufacturers produced different models and variants of this type of engine, which was extensively used until the end of the First World War. The latest evolution of the rotary engine was the counter-rotary arra…

On the birth and growth of pendulum clocks in the Early on the History Modern Era

Measuring the passage of time has intrigued humankind throughout the centuries. Ancient times witnessed the appearance and development of clepsydras and water clocks, whose place was subsequently taken by mechanical clocks in the Middle Ages. It is really surprising how the general architecture of mechanical clocks has remained almost unchanged in practice up to the present time. Yet the foremost mechanical developments in clock-making date from the 17th century, when the discovery of the laws of pendular isochronism by Galilei and Huygens permitted a higher degree of accuracy in the measuring of time.

Knock onset prediction of propane, gasoline and their mixtures in spark ignition engines

Gaseous fuels, such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Natural Gas (NG), thanks to their excellent mixing capabilities and high knocking resistance, allow complete and cleaner combustion than gasoline in Spark Ignition (SI) engines, resulting in lower pollutant emissions, above all if particulate matter is considered. In previous works [1,2] the authors proved how the simultaneous combustion of gasoline and gaseous fuel (NG or LPG) may strongly reduce both fuel consumption and pollutant emissions with respect to pure gasoline operation without a significant power loss. These very encouraging results were obtained thanks to the strong knock resistance increase obtained adding gaseous fuel …

Three-mode pneumatic management of marine U-tank systems

Abstract This paper deals with a new pneumatic control strategy for the roll damping enhancement of marine U-tank stabilizers. The proposed technique consists in a three-mode operation, where the control is active only within a limited resonant range around the ship natural frequency, whereas the control valves are kept closed in the remaining frequency range. Moreover the connection valve between the two air chambers is either closed or partially opened for the low or high frequencies, respectively. The pressurized air for the active control is fed by a turbo-blower set aboard and operates accelerating the motion of the water mass in the U-duct. The theoretical analysis is conducted in the…

The Rotary Aero Engine from 1908 to 1918

The rotary aero engine is a special type of air-cooled radial engine, where the cylinders are arranged like the spokes of a wheel and turn around the crankshaft. The propeller is connected to the cylinders, while the crankshaft is fixed to the frame. The rotary aero engine, developed in 1908, set new standards of power and light weight within the aircraft industry. It was adopted by many pioneer aviators and widely used to set records of endurance, speed and height. Many aero engine manufacturers produced different models and variants of this type of engine, which was extensively used until the end of the First World War. The latest evolution of the rotary engine was the counter-rotary arra…

On the isochronism of Galilei's horologium

Measuring the passage of time has always fascinated the humankind throughout the centuries. It is amazing how the general architecture of clocks has remained almost unchanged in practice to date from the Middle Ages. However, the foremost mechanical developments in clock-making date from the seventeenth century, when the discovery of the isochronism laws of pendular motion by Galilei and Huygens permitted a higher degree of accuracy in the time measure.