Minimum Fuel Consumption Design of a Turbo-Charged V-6 Engine

The design of a turbocharged, gasoline fueled, four-stroke engine is considered with the goal of selecting design and operating variables to minimize fuel comsumption. The development of the engine simulation code and the effect of model assumptions on the results are presented. The optimization includes constraints on detonation, exhaust emissions, and torque. A number of observations about the interaction between the thermofluid and the nonlinear programming algorithm are made and general strategies to enhance the optimization under such circumstances are discussed. The method is illustrated by exploring the design of a turbocharged Buick V-6 engine on an IBM PC/AT personal computer. The paper clearly demonstrates that it is feasible to do relatively sophisticated engineering design and optimization on personal computers, and it sets the stage for further work in this area