Federal-Mogul Powertrain is displaying the new strategy at this year’s IAA Commercial Vehicles show

Diesel engines are highly efficient in a steady state but are substantially less efficient during transients (changes in torque request). Instead of trying to replace or supplement the internal combustion engine (ICE) with an electric traction motor, Federal-Mogul Powertrain engineers are using electrification to further enhance the efficiency of the ICE, both during steady-state operation and particularly to improve the fuel-economy and emissions impact of challenging transient conditions.

In the new approach, the engineering team around Nick Pascoe is supplementing kinetic energy recovered through an engine or driveline-mounted generator by electricity generated from a carefully-controlled exhaust-driven generator. Energy is then returned either through an electric motor supporting the engine/driveline or by electric supercharging.

Federal-Mogul's engineers are seeing further opportunities for waste energy recovery by electrification of the air-loop system. While turbocharging recovers some of the 20-30 percent of the fuel's energy that leaves the engine in the exhaust gas, there is still more to be captured and returned. "Simple, cost-effective exhaust gas energy recovery requires a control system that avoids harvesting events that are harmful to the performance of the base engine or damaging to the generator itself or to the aftertreatment system," said Pascoe.

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