FAMAC

The FAMAC program is proposed in a context of CO2 emissions reduction, in order to get an average of 95g CO2/km in the European fleet by 2020. This project is part of the EURO 6c reduction of pollutant emissions from 2017 and in respect of the forthcoming EURO 7 to be defined for after 2020. The downsizing of spark ignition engines associated with the diluted combustion is one of the main areas identified for gains in CO2. The implementation of high EGR rates at medium and high load allows to increase the compression ratio and to push the knock limit in order to improve engine performance over the entire operating range. Stratified combustion is an additional lever to envisage the high rates of EGR down to very low loads, while maximizing energy efficiency. The state of the art shows that the stability of combustion initiation is the limiting factor for these combustion modes, greatly reducing the expected gains in CO2. Continental's research confirms the difficulty of initiation and demonstrates that the needs in terms of initiating combustion are very different and depend on the combustion system considered. It also shows the potential of arc-initiated combustion. The size and duration of the spark are as relevant as the temporal evolution of the energy transmitted by the spark to the gas. In order to develop an efficient ignition system at an acceptable cost for the automotive industry, it is important to avoid any technological breakthrough by maintaining arc systems. It is therefore essential to understand the energy chain of power electronics through the arc until initiation of combustion. Currently, this knowledge remains insufficient both in industry in basic research. FAMAC is a fundamental research project dedicated to the understanding of the arc’s physics, the heat transfer to the flammable gas and the combustion initiation, in an approach that integrates different levels of modeling, simulation and experimental validation. This project consists of three main tasks strongly related to one another: - Characterization and validation of an efficient ignition system requirements; - Fundamental research in simplified geometry; - Fundamental research in complex geometry. Some innovative activities of fundamental research conducted as part of a PhD project impose of 4-year project. The total FAMAC budget is $ 3.6M€. The association of an industrial partner (Continental) with an applied research institute (IFPEN) and key experts of plasma and ignition in France (LAPLACE, EM2C, CORIA, CERFACS) guarantees to reach the final deliverables of the program, meaning significant progress in: - the detailed modeling of the arc, the plasma (in-and off-equilibrium) and the mechanisms of transfer to gas (heat and radicals) versus time; - the understanding of the key factors in the optimization of the ignition functions in automotive engines.