摘要: |
In the quest for better fuel mileage and emission production from the internal combustion engine, new technologies have emerged. One such technology is Displacement on Demand (DoD), also referred to as Variable Engine Displacement. DoD is a system that extracts more thermal efficiency from the fuel stock used by the internal combustion engine. This is accomplished by the deactivation of cylinders within the engine. Multi-cylinder engines that produce high power are commonly used in modern vehicles. These types of engines are necessary to provide rapid ac- celeration and/or towing capacity for the vehicle. The problem is that these high engine power demands are only used by the driver for a small percentage of the vehicle's overall life. For example, a vehicle at highway speed will require less than 40 horsepower to overcome the parasitic losses. These losses occur from such things as aerodynamic drag, rolling friction, and accessories such as air conditioning, alternator, power steering, etc. |