Change in power and fuel consumption when engine cylinders are partially disabled in a wheeled vehicle [Тext] / A. Molodan, O. Polianskyi, Ye. Dubinin [et al.]
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The provided calculation methodology enables the evaluation of how disconnected cylinders affect engine power, overall efficiency, and fuel consumption. The study establishes that disconnecting cylinders leads to a proportional decrease in engine power. This means that an engine generating 154,5 kW power reduces to 113,4 kW with two disabled cylinders and goes down to 70,3 kW when four cylinders are disconnected. Reducing fuel consumption is especially notable at idle, showing a 27% drop after disabling half of the cylinders. However, fuel efficiency declines as the engine load increases until it reaches zero at the engine load factor. Discrepancies between the experimental and calculated data on fuel consumption and power are minimal, at around 7-8% during maximum load. Diesel engines have the potential to improve efficiency by shutting down certain cylinders, but the actual fuel savings depend on several factors, including the number of active cylinders, engine configuration, load, and mechanical losses incurred by the shutdown cylinders.