The studies carried out within the NextICE project cover a wide range of methods. Starting with the fundamental research on the combustion process of oxygenated fuels and blends, the creation of mathematical models for the the purpose of emission control, up to the commissioning of a new valve drive. All of these sub-projects have contributed to possibility of using renewable fuels in an efficient and cost-effective way. With the experimental work in the WP1 that was conducted on both a constant volume cell as well as a single cylinder heavy-duty Diesel engine, several highly oxygenated fuels belonging to the poly(oxymethylene)dimethilethers family were investigated. It could be demonstrated that pure oxygenated fuels are characterized by a nearly smokeless combustion and when used in a blend with Diesel, a massive reduction in soot formation is achieved by adding a relatively little amount of oxygenated fuel. In addition, the particulate matter in oxygenated fuels is characterized by far smaller dimensions with respect to those from commercial Diesel combustion probably because of an oxidation effect on nucleation cores. In the second work package, WP2, we examined the conditions under which methane can be used efficiently in a dual-fuel engine within the legal pollution limits. Based on mathematical models we were able to point out reasons behind the limitations in the aftertreatment system and further to introduce a methodology for finding optimal operation strategies. In WP3 an electrohydraulic valvetrain could be invented and build that allows a fully flexible actuation of the intake and exhaust valves in an internal combustion engine. The prototype shows excellent performance, e.g. it outperforms a classical camshaft in terms of the required energy.
