FEV has launched its new Firing Order Investigation Tool as part of its Virtual Engine software for engine development.
As noted by the company, the selection of a firing order for engines with only a few cylinders is a rather simple task, as the alternatives are limited. However, the number of possible firing sequences increases greatly with the number of cylinders; and in engines such as the V16 or V20, there are thousands of possibilities.
Firing order influences crank train vibration (torsional or axial), overall vibration of the engine structure including NVH behavior, performance of hydrodynamic bearings, and gas dynamics at the intake and exhaust ducts.
FEV’s new tool can be used to define crankshaft-based firing order, generating an automatic list of all alternative firing orders for a defined crankshaft design, preserving the desired engine balancing concept and greatly reducing the number of firing order alternatives to only those that are technically feasible.
Using the fast solver Crank Concept Analysis tool in FEV’s Virtual Engine software, which couples torsional vibration simulation in the frequency domain with quasi-static bending analysis, a full investigation of the firing order influence can be executed efficiently.
The tool is also equipped with a unique evaluator, where results derived from external software and detailed design simulations can also be considered.
June 16, 2016
