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NEWS RESEARCH

Empa | Carcinogenic
Substances from SI Engines

Are new SI-engine cars environmentally friendly? A new study led by Empa
scientists set out to answer this question and it revealed that some direct-
injection spark-ignition engines emit just as many soot particles as unfil-
tered diesel cars did 15 years ago. The scientists selected seven direct-
injection SI engine passenger cars. All of them were tested in accordance
with WLTP method, which will be mandatory for newly registered cars from
September 2017. The results were sobering. Every one of the cars in the
© fotohansel | stock.adobe.com than the diesel Peugeot with a particulate filter that was used for compari-
test emitted between 10 and 100 times more FINE SOOT PARTICLES
son purposes. Under the microscope, the particles from the petrol engines
were similar in size to the soot particles that come from diesel engines:
primary particles 10 to 20 nm in size, which congregate into agglomerates
measuring 80 to 100 nm before leaving the exhaust system. They „carry“
numerous carcinogenic substances.

Fraunhofer LBF | Speeding up the
Development of Electric Cars

Power modules ensure that the motor and the battery of electric cars receive an
efficient supply of energy. In everyday driving situations, these power electro-
nics components are exposed to high levels of thermo-mechanical stress and to
vibrations when the car is moving. Until now, there has been no self-contained
methodology for evaluating the safety and reliability of power modules. During
the course of the joint InTeLekt project, which involved research into an integra-
ted testing environment for power modules, the Fraunhofer Institute for Struc-
tural Durability and System Reliability (LBF) has developed a new test techno- © Ursula Raapke | Fraunhofer LBF
logy that fills this gap. The EXPERIMENTAL TEST ENVIRONMENT
makes it possible to identify the combination of loads that may cause damage,
to represent them in the context of a test bench and to simulate them
numerically.

FVV | Zero-emissions Mobility
with H Fuel Cells
2

Fuel cells can make an important contribution to the goal of zero-emissi-
ons mobility, provided that they use regenerative hydrogen (H 2 ). However,
the cost of automotive fuel cells is currently still very high. This is
precisely where the research project coordinated by the new planning
group of the Research Association for Combustion Engines (FVV) comes
in. “The aim of our applied research is to lower the costs significantly
without jeopardising the fuel cell‘s practicality for everyday use,”
explains Merten Jung from BMW, who headed the FVV planning group.
He believes that a reduction in platinum content, the component
© BMW assembly process and the simulation models all offer considerable
POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT.

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