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Ford launches new EcoBlue diesel engine range

2016.01.25_Still_PantherEngine0369 3Ford has revealed the all-new 2.0-litre EcoBlue engine which it says is the first in a new range of advanced diesel power units promising improved fuel efficiency, performance and refinement.

Initially, EcoBlue engines will be seen in the Transit and Transit Custom vans but they will eventually power the company’s future passenger cars and commercial vehicles with power outputs ranging from 100PS to 240PS.

Ford says that drivability is enhanced with 20 per cent more torque at 1,250rpm compared with the outgoing 2.2-litre TDCi diesel engine, while radiated noise is reduced by four decibels at idle.

“Ford’s EcoBoost created a new standard for petrol engines – smaller, more efficient with surprising performance. That same obsession to innovate for the customer is behind our new Ford EcoBlue diesel engine range,” said Jim Farley, chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe. “This new engine lifts fuel efficiency and reduces CO2 by over 10 per cent in Transit, part of Europe’s best-selling commercial vehicle line-up, lowering costs for our customers.”

An all-new engine architecture is designed to deliver reduced friction and a clean-burning combustion system. After-treatment processes for exhaust gasses enable ultra-low emissions in line with stringent Euro Stage VI standards that will be introduced in September 2016, requiring a 55 per cent reduction in NOx emissions compared to Euro Stage V standards.

Technologies include an integrated intake system with Ford’s first application of mirror-image porting for optimised engine breathing; a low-inertia turbocharger featuring materials designed for high temperature applications; and an all-new high-pressure fuel injection system designed to be more responsive and quieter while offering more precise fuel delivery.

2016.01.25_Still_PantherEngine0382Developed by Ford’s engineering teams in the U.K. and Germany, the 2.0-litre EcoBlue engine initially will be offered with 105PS, 130PS and 170PS in commercial vehicle applications. Capable of delivering more than 200PS, the engine will later feature in Ford passenger cars alongside further new EcoBlue engines – including a 1.5‑litre variant.

The all-new 2.0-litre Ford EcoBlue engine’s clean-sheet design features multiple innovations that reduce friction, contributing to a 13 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency, including a 10mm offset crank design that minimises piston side-load, minimised crankshaft bearing diameters, a belt-in-oil design for the camshaft and oil pump drive belts, an optimised valve-train and an all-new single-piece camshaft module.

Ford is for the first time using a new mirror-image porting design for the integrated inlet manifold that precisely controls the flow of air into the cylinders – with the clockwise airflow for cylinder numbers one and two, reversed for cylinder numbers three and four.

This symmetrical arrangement ensures optimum mixing of fuel and air in the combustion chambers of all four cylinders. When fine-tuning the combustion process, computer experiments used measurements from more than 1,400 factors that affect performance of the valve lift and timing alone.

“Our first ever mirror-image inlet design in combination with an optimised combustion chamber layout helps us turn fuel into energy more effectively than any diesel engine we’ve ever produced,” Dr. Werner Willems, Ford technical specialist, Combustion Systems.

The new compact turbocharger has been specifically designed to deliver more air at lower engine rpm compared with the outgoing 2.2-litre TDCi engine, for up to 340Nm of torque at 1,250rpm.

An aerodynamically advanced turbine wheel – made from Inconel, an alloy used in extreme temperature environments such as rocket engines – is reduced in diameter by almost 10 per cent. The aerospace aluminium grade compressor wheel is reduced in diameter by 15 per cent. The reductions decrease inertia and enable faster boost performance with wheel speeds up to 240,000rpm, contributing to improved low-end torque.

“One important factor we noticed through customer feedback is a growing tendency for drivers to ‘creep’ their diesel powered vehicles by engaging the clutch while the engine is at idle – making low-down torque even more essential,” said Paul Turner, base engine technical leader, Ford of Europe.

Compressor wheels are milled from solid, rather than cast, improving tolerances to within two or three microns – around the size of a single bacterium – increasing durability and reducing noise and vibration. A new turbocharger actuator replaces a worm drive with a geared design that halves response times to 110 milliseconds – or the blink of an eye.

The new engine will meet future European emissions requirements supported by Ford’s first standardised selective catalytic reduction system. The system is close-coupled to the rear of the engine for maximum efficiency and excellent cold-driving performance. A short-loop exhaust gas recirculation channel is incorporated into the cylinder head, contributing to a more compact engine design and helping optimise cooling of gasses.

Ford says its 2.0-litre Ford EcoBlue engine will be its first diesel commercial vehicle powertrain to achieve passenger car noise, vibration and harshness criteria, contributing to enhanced driving appeal.

The new engine radiates half as much sound energy at idle as the 2.2-litre TDCi diesel engine. A noise-optimised cylinder-head, block, stiffening ladder-frame and oil pan are specifically developed to be desensitised to activity inside the engine, and non-flat mating surfaces are carefully designed to offer tight seals that trap noise within the engine.

“The basic structure of an engine can act as a soundboard for the movements happening inside it, just like a bell. So we try to develop a bell that does not ring very well,” said Dominic Evans, NVH specialist, Ford of Europe. “We’ve engineered every significant noise-influencing component of this engine to be quieter and smoother operating – resulting in the most refined diesel commercial vehicles Ford has ever built.”

A moulded acoustic cover that provides foam encapsulation of the cylinder head, and a front cover made from sound deadened steel, further prevent engine noise being transmitted to the cabin for a quieter driving environment.

The engine’s performance has been trialled through the equivalent of 3.4 million miles of durability testing including 250,000 miles at the hands of real-world customers, comprehensive analysis in laboratories and at Ford vehicle proving grounds, and CAE evaluations at every stage of development.

Ford says the oil system – including the oil specification, oil pan and filter dimensions, bore distortion tolerances and piston ring specifications – has been engineered to extend oil life, and maintenance-free components include the camshaft belt, camshaft module, and water pump.

“We developed the 2.0-litre Ford EcoBlue engine using feedback from customers around the world,” Turner said. “The versatile design even allows the same block to be used for front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive applications, and the sophisticated design and technologies deliver future-proofed fuel efficiency and emissions.”

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