posted 04-14-2014 11:29 AM ET (US)        

This award and recognition from SAE is the second time BRP has been honored in the past ten years. In 2004 four BRP/Evinrude engineers also received a Colwell Award for work done in development of the E-TEC engine related to optimization of performance with computation fluid dynamics.

An abstract of the 2012 paper from the SAE Technical papers library describes the work in more detail:

quote:

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Early implementations of direct injection technology were primarily adaptations of fuel systems to existing loop scavenge carbureted engines that did not leverage the strong interaction between the scavenge flow and fuel distribution in the cylinder. Emissions reduction techniques have been limited to engine calibration strategies using injection timing to minimize lost fuel at the expense of mixture preparation and power. This work focuses on manipulating the scavenging pattern to reduce lost fuel while improving mixture preparation and trapped oxygen.

The project goals were to design an intake porting specifically for a 3.4 liter V6 2-stroke DI outboard engine that meets EPA 3 star NTE [Not To Exceed] emissions regulations while increasing power by 10 percent and increasing fuel economy 10 percent over production baseline. Project constraints on the radial space available for the intake ports limited traditional guidance provided by the port walls and required alternative methods to target the scavenge flow.

The multi-dimensional CFD [computational fluid dynamics] code KIVA-3V2 was used to simulate and design the intake ports. The model setup is a single cylinder with pressure boundary conditions incorporating an outwardly opening hollow cone fuel injector. CFD results, both integrated and spatially resolved, are evaluated on the basis of scavenging, mixture preparation and lost fuel out the exhaust port.

Correlation of scavenging performance was achieved by comparing delivered oxygen levels calculated from emissions data to simulation results. For mixture preparation, a qualitative correlation was achieved by using experimental metrics including specific fuel consumption and power output sensitivity to injection timing.

Simulation and experimental results are presented for two compact porting designs that strike different balances between lost fuel and mixture preparation. One of these new configurations had a unique scavenge pattern that allowed for substantially increased fuel penetration while maintaining good fuel trapping. This penetration allowed for improved interaction with exhaust plug induced flow and an associated improvement in mixture preparation.

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The SAE describes itself as a "a global association of more than 138,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries." A total of 22 engineers were given a Colwell Award for engineering accomplishments in 2012.

posted 04-15-2014 02:22 PM ET (US)            

This was pure research and may not be directly applicable to the products cited above. It may be applicable to current production, and it may just as well be "data in the can" for future use. Likely it's partially both.

Dave

posted 04-15-2014 05:08 PM ET (US)            

You are probably right. Upon further reading it states "The model setup is a single cylinder with pressure boundary conditions incorporating an outwardly opening hollow cone fuel injector. CFD results, both integrated and spatially resolved, are evaluated on the basis of scavenging, mixture preparation and lost fuel out the exhaust port", though it never mentions an actual production environment oroperation on multiple cylinders.