CAR Project on the Development of a Low-Cost

Engine Management System for Petrol-Powered Small Vehicles

Executive Summary

Compiled by:
Shashikanth Suryanarayanan
Assistant Professor, Dept of Mech Engg
IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076
Phone: +91-22-2576-7546; Fax: +91-22-2572-6875
Email: shashisn@iitb.ac.in

On behalf of project partners:

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
TVS Motor Company

July 5, 2007

Abstract
Under the aegis of the CAR program, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB),
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), TVS Motor Company (TVS), UCAL Fuel
Systems Ltd (UCAL) and the Technology, Information Forecasting and Assessment Council
(TIFAC) agreed to work towards the development of a low-cost, engine management system
(EMS) for four-stroke, gasoline-powered small vehicles (two/three wheelers) that supports a
port fuel-injected architecture. This document presents an executive summary of the work
done, results obtained, significant conclusions and contributions of the development effort.

Between June 2005 and June 2007, IITB developed an indigenous, fully-functional, low-cost
EMS prototype supporting port fuel-injection. A Victor GLX 125cc vehicle equipped with the
IITB EMS solution was tested for fuel economy, emissions and road-force performance on an
industry-standard chassis dynamometer test stand at TVS. Test results indicate that a vehicle
fitted with the IITB EMS solution produces significantly less engine-out/tailpipe hydrocarbon
emissions as compared to when fitted with a production-quality carburetion solution. The
engine-out carbon monoxide and nitrogen-oxide emissions of the IITB EMS solution and a
production-quality carburetion solution are comparable. Further, the test results indicate the
potential for bettering the fuel economy performance of a production-quality carburetion
solution if the IITB EMS solution is developed further into a production-ready design
consuming lesser internal power.

A preliminary bill of materials computation for the

hardware required to commercially realize the IITB EMS solution indicates that a sub-USD 50
solution is achievable

1. Background and Motivation

Automobile engine management systems (EMS) refer to the collective unit comprising
of sensors, actuators, signal conditioners, power-amplifiers and a microprocessor
(usually termed as the electronic control unit or ECU) that perform the functions of
real-time engine control and diagnostics. Engine management systems are designed to
enhance fuel economy, reduce tailpipe emissions and improve overall drivability over
the range of operating conditions of interest. Engine management systems supporting
fuel-injection operation have become standard in all four-wheelers and are gaining
increasing presence in two/three wheelers. Fuel injection systems offer the benefits of
reduced tailpipe emissions, improved drivability, improved startability and the
promise of improved fuel economy as compared to carbureted solutions.

To acquire EMSs for their product lines, Indian auto businesses are dependent on
Tier-I suppliers with a global footprint (such as Bosch, Delphi, Mikuni etc). Such
suppliers have acquired the capability in component design and manufacture, control
design and embedded software development over several decades. This dependency
and associated high acquisition costs puts domestic auto companies at a disadvantage.
The Auto Fuel Policy Report, published by the Govt. of India, clearly articulates the
need for the development of innovative, indigenous, low-cost engine designs, fuel
delivery systems and control schemes to enable two/three wheelers to continue
serving the needs of the Indian market while meeting future emission norms. This
project aims at proactively addressing this need.

2. Project Objectives
The following project objectives were identified by the project partners.
i. To develop a model-based electronic engine management system for a 4stroke port fuel injection engine
ii. To develop relevant engine/fuel system models towards the creation of a
repository of validated open-source models for small engines
iii. To develop a fuel-injection subsystem
iv. Based on the achievements in the project, to develop a proposal for
engine management system for 4-stroke direct-injection small engines

3. IITB EMS Prototypes

Between June 2005 and June 2007, a team at IITB developed two concept EMS
prototypes (say) IITB EMS-I and IITB EMS-II that support port fuel-injection
architecture. The electronics of IITB EMS-I were powered externally using a DC
power supply whereas the electronics of IITB EMS-II (Figure 1) were powered by an
on-vehicle DC bank, which, in turn was charged by the engine/alternator system.

Figure 1: Victor GLX vehicle equipped with on-road IITB EMS-II prototype
4

The development of these prototypes involved:

a. Retrofitting a candidate carbureted engine with requisite sensing and actuation
elements to support port fuel-injected operation. Specifically, an intake
manifold was fabricated with space for an injector and manifold pressure
sensor. The carburetor hardware was retained as purely an air-path from the
air-filter to the manifold. All vents and openings in the carburetor that were not
required for the air-path were plugged in. A universal exhaust gas oxygen
sensor (UEGO) was fitted in the exhaust for monitoring purposes.
b. Development of an in-house concept wiring harness which includes
conditioning circuitry that process signals from different sensors, driver
circuitry to drive the fuel injector as well as an indigenously developed CDI
(Capacitive Discharge Ignition) unit to charge the ignition coil.
c. Development of control algorithms (ECU code) responsible for orchestrating
the functioning of the engine. The architecture of the ECU code was motivated
by considerations common in model-based control design.

Tables 1 and 2 respectively indicate the sensing and actuation architecture of the EMS
prototypes developed.

Sensors

Carburetor

IITB EMS-I

IITB EMS-II

Solution

(externally

(self-powered)

powered)
Indutive pick-up (Sensing
Yes

Yes

Yes

Manifold air pressure

No

Yes

Yes

Throttle position

Yes

No

No

Exhaust Gas Oxygen Sensor

No

Optional

Optional

Engine oil temperature

No

Yes

Yes

crank position)

Table 1: Sensor configuration of IITB EMS prototypes vis--vis production quality

carburetion solution
5

Carburettor

Actuators

IITB EMS-I

IITB EMS-II

(externally

(self-powered)

powered)
Fuel Injector + Pump

No

Yes

Yes

Capacitive discharge ignition

Yes

Yes

Yes

Secondary air injection

Yes

No

No

Table 2: Actuator configuration of IITB EMS prototypes vis--vis production quality

carburetion solution

Figure 2 shows a schematic of the IITB EMS-II solution.

Engine Oil
Temperature

Figure 2: Input-output schematic of IITB EMS

4. Chassis Dynamometer Experiments and Inferences

To ascertain the performance of EMS prototypes developed by IITB, a Victor GLX
125cc vehicle was retro-fitted with the prototype(s). The vehicle was subject to the
following tests.
(a) Drive Cycle tests: A drive cycle is a prescription, usually specified by regulatory
bodies, of vehicle velocity as a function of time. A vehicle undergoing drive cycle
tests is driven on a chassis dynamometer bench along the prescribed vehicle
velocity profile. Emissions from the test vehicle are collected in bags and analyzed.
This analysis is used to arrive at estimates for fuel economy and emission
performance of the vehicle.
(b) Road-load tests: To ascertain if the road feel is good, test vehicles are driven on a
chassis dynamometer test stand at various constant speeds to emulate on-road
driving conditions. Vehicle emissions as well as wheel force measurements are
made during these tests.
(c) Wide open throttle tests: To determine if torque/wheel force production meets
specification, the vehicle is driven in wide open throttle (WOT) conditions at
different vehicle speeds. This is made possible by the imposition of an appropriate
fictitious road load.

Tables 3 (a), (b) and 4(a), (b) present comparisons of emissions, power and wheel force
performance of the IITB EMS-II (self-powered) prototype against that of the
production-quality carbureted solution.

Table 5 presents sample results of the fuel economy and emissions performances of
the vehicle equipped with the IITB EMS prototype(s) vis--vis that of a productionquality carbureted solution. The vehicle was subjected to an Indian Drive Cycle.
7

Speed
(km/hr)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
WOT

CO (%
vol)
3.71
2.19
1.10
1.25
0.32
0.30
0.13
0.08
0.15
0.85
1.84
3.30
2.60
3.70
4.40
7.30
8.13
10.9

HC (ppm)
569.00
520.00
2850.00
580.00
2040.00
542.00
741.00
240.00
166.00
207.00
225.00
261.00
245.00
247.00
259.00
277.00
297.00
316

CO2 (%
vol)
13.16
14.12
11.84
14.62
12.82
15.16
15.38
15.84
16.08
15.60
15.02
14.04
14.58
13.88
13.22
11.26
10.54
8.76

AFR
13.27
13.31
14.41
14.00
15.27
14.81
14.92
14.89
14.57
14.18
13.86
13.29
13.69
13.16
12.98
12.05
11.79
10.8

Engine Oil
Temperature
o
( C)
63.00
65.00
70.00
72.00
75.00
77.00
79.00
81.00
82.00
84.00
86.00
90.00
93.00
96.00
99.00
102.00
107.00
112

Power
(kW)
0
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.08
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.45
0.60
0.90
1.10
1.40
1.80
2.30
2.80
3.50
4.30

Wheel
Force
(N)
0.00
7.00
10.00
10.00
13.00
19.00
25.00
33.00
40.00
49.00
62.00
73.00
86.00
98.00
116.00
136.00
153.00
182.00

Table 3(a): Road-load test performance of TVS Victor GLX vehicle equipped with
production-quality carburetor solution (without secondary air injection)

Speed
(km/hr)
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
WOT

CO (%
vol)
2.15
1.92
0.46
0.45
0.42
0.42
0.33
0.40
0.52
0.79
1.45
2.56
3.28
3.96
7.26
9.05
9.62

HC (ppm)
280
262
241
200
256
194
246
226
176
180
186
202
200
195
237
276
261

CO2 (%
vol)
14.52
14.78
15.04
15.12
15.10
15.22
15.20
15.48
15.64
15.44
15.20
14.50
14.00
13.54
11.28
9.98
9.60

AFR
13.80
13.90
14.80
14.80
14.80
14.80
14.80
14.70
14.60
14.50
14.20
13.70
13.50
13.30
12.10
11.30
11.00

Engine Oil
Temperature
o
( C)
45
48
50
52
54
58
60
62
64
67
70
74
76
80
84
92
96

Power (kW)
0
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.50
0.60
0.80
1.10
1.50
1.80
2.30
2.90
3.40
4.00

Wheel
Force
(N)
8.00
10.50
13.00
18.00
23.00
31.00
42.00
51.00
59.00
75.00
87.00
101.00
120.00
138.00
155.00
171.00

Table 3(b): Road-load test performance of TVS Victor GLX vehicle equipped with IITB
EMS-II self-powered solution (without secondary air injection)
8

Speed
(km/hr)
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85

CO (%
vol)
2.39
3.31
6.35
9.7
10.8
11.52
12.31
11.95
11.42
11.18
10.43
10.05
10.64

HC (ppm)
526
509
441
464
458
465
442
460
414
387
420
367
328

CO2 (%
vol)
14.18
14.14
11.58
9.56
8.82
8.2
7.76
7.94
8.46
8.54
8.98
9.28
8.98

AFR
14.1
12.96
12.38
11.38
10.73
10.69
10.58
10.45
10.83
10.7
10.94
11.1
11

Engine Oil
Temperature
o
( C)
58
63
68
74
79
84
89
91
95
102
109
113
119

Power
(kW)
1.35
1.7
2
2.3
2.6
3
3.3
3.6
4
4.2
4.5
4.65
4.6

Wheel
Force (N)
192
203
205
203
207
213
214
218
220
215
215
208
193

Table 4(a): Wide-open throttle test performance of TVS Victor GLX vehicle equipped
with production-quality carburetor solution (without secondary air injection)

Speed
(km/hr)
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85

CO (%
vol)
5.77
6.28
6.58
6.71
6.73
6.87
7.10
7.40
7.27
7.59
7.82
7.84
7.83

HC (ppm)
544
485
374
328
314
319
321
315
298
260
267
257
225

CO2 (%
vol)
6.02
6.48
6.66
6.78
6.78
6.86
7.00
7.20
7.38
7.48
7.68
7.74
7.86

AFR
10.80
10.90
11.10
10.90
10.80
11.10
10.90
11.20
10.90
11.20
11.10
11.00
11.20

Engine Oil
Temperature
o
( C)
41
44
46
50
52
56
60
63
66
69
74
79
85

Power
(kW)
1.20
1.50
1.80
2.00
2.40
2.80
3.10
3.40
3.80
3.90
4.10
4.10
3.90

Wheel
Force (N)
177.00
180.00
185.00
180.00
192.00
201.00
203.00
206.00
208.00
200.00
196.00
181.00
164.00

Table 4(b): Wide-open throttle test performance of TVS Victor GLX vehicle equipped
with IITB EMS-II self-powered solution (without secondary air injection)
9

Performance Attribute

Vehicle: TVS Victor GLX

Fueling: Carburetion

Catalytic converter: Yes

Sec. air injection: Yes

Vehicle: TVS Victor GLX

Vehicle: TVS Victor GLX

Fueling: Fuel Injection

Fueling: Fuel Injection

supported by IITB EMS-I

supported by IITB EMS-

prototype; EMS powered

II on-road prototype;

externally

EMS self-powered

Catalytic converter: Yes

Catalytic converter: Yes

Sec. air injection: No

Sec. air injection: No

CO emissions (g/km)

0.48

0.98

0.98

HC emissions (g/km)

0.41

0.02

0.03

NOx emissions (g/km)

0.31

0.33

0.31

CO2 emissions (g/km)

32.04

27.81

34.51

Fuel economy (kmpl)

68.45

76.5

64.5

Table 5: Performance Comparison on Indian Drive Cycle

The following observations and inferences based on test results documented above
are significant.
(a) The engine-out carbon monoxide (CO) emissions of the IITB EMS solution is
comparable to that of the production-quality carburetion solution. This conclusion
is made based on CO emission observations from road load tests which were
performed without the presence of secondary air injection. Tailpipe CO emissions
of the IITB EMS solution on drive cycle tests is worse than that of the carburetion
solution because secondary air injection was not used for the IITB EMS solution
during drive cycle testing whereas it was used for the carburetion solution.
(b) IITBs EMS solution(s) supporting fuel injection operation produced significantly
lesser un-burnt hydrocarbon (HC) engine-out emissions as compared to the
production-quality carburetion solution. This fact is corroborated by road-load test
data. Further, an order-of-magnitude reduction in HC emissions at the tailpipe is
observed during drive cycle tests even in the absence of secondary air injection. A

10

plausible reason is that the IITB EMS solutions operate closer to stoichiometry than
its carbureted counterpart consequently improving catalyst conversion efficiency.
(c) The IITB EMS solution(s) produces nitrogen oxide emissions that are comparable
to that of the production-quality carburetion solution. Since NOx emissions
primarily depend on operating temperatures reached, this observation indicates
that the mean operating temperatures of the engine fitted with the IITB EMS
solution are comparable to that of the production-quality carburetion solution.
(d) The IITB EMS solution provided about 10% improvement in fuel economy in
comparison to the production-quality carburetion solution when powered
externally. Given the facts that the power consumed by the sparking circuitry is
small and that the operating temperatures were similar in both the productionquality carburetion solution and the IITB EMS solution, the IITB team is of the
opinion that the superior fuel economy performance of the IITB EMS-I externallypowered solution may be attributed, partly, to better atomization, mixing and
consequently improved combustion performance of the fuel-air mixture.
(e) The IITB EMS-II vehicle-powered solution fared between 5-7% worse in the sense
of fuel economy in comparison to the production-quality carburetion solution. The
IITB team attributes the drastic reduction in the fuel economy performance of the
vehicle-powered IITB EMS-II prototype in comparison to the externally powered
IITB EMS-I solution to the following reasons.
i.

The vehicle-powered IITB EMS-II prototype consumes, a significant 60-75W

at all times during its operation. An SCR was used to rectify the magnetos
alternating supply and provide a regulated 14.6V to the electronics of the
IITB EMS-II prototype. The on-board electronics that was powered included
a dSpace MicroAutoBox prototyping facility consuming about 1.2A of
current, a fuel pump consuming about 0.9-1A, an Universal Exhaust Gas
Oxygen Sensor (UEGO) with conditioning circuitry consuming about 1.5A
11

and CPU fans (to cool the ignition driver circuit) consuming about 0.4A. In
addition, the battery was constantly charged due to the 2.6V (14.6V 12.0 V)
between itself and the DC bank and the regulator. Battery currents were of
the order of 1.0A. All-in-all, a total of between 4.5-5.2A was being supplied
to the IITB EMS-IIs electronic circuitry at 14.6V amounting about to a
consumption of between 60-75 W of power.
Given that the average power delivered to the crankshaft of the engine
during an IDC is about 3kW, a 60-75W EMS load imposes an extra 2-3%
load on the engine which adversely affects fuel economy.
ii.

The IITB EMS-II drive cycle test results reported above were performed
with the imposed constraint that at no point during the drive cycle should
the battery discharge. The motivation of the constraint was that the state-ofcharge of the battery is always maintained. However, this constraint
implied that the idling speed during the start of the drive cycle tests was
kept high (about 1800 rpm). The correlation between high idling speeds and
its adverse effects on fuel economy is well-known.

Much of the power consumption of the IITB EMS-II vehicle-powered prototype

was due to the use of components extraneous to production-ready designs. If
the solution is further developed into a production-ready design, the dSpace
control prototyping card will be replaced by a micro-controller consuming a
maximum of about 200-300mA, the pump would be necessary and would
consume about 0.9-1A, the UEGO will not be necessary at all. Further, a
regulator can be chosen such that its output is about 12.5-13V so that the
differential between its output and that of the on-board battery (12V) is small.
Based on these arguments, the IITB team believes that the IITB EMS-II vehiclepowered prototype can be developed to realize a design that consumes about
12

1.5-2A of current resulting in a power consumption of between 20-25W. It is

therefore estimated that such a low power version of the IITB EMS-II prototype
is likely to yield fuel economy benefits of about 5% in comparison to a
carbureted solution.

5. Cost Estimate
A significant aspect of IITBs development work is the claim that it is a low-cost EMS
solution. Table 6 provides a bill-of-materials estimate of the cost of realizing the EMS
solution proposed by IITB.

Hardware Component

Sourcing Cost Estimate

(in USD)

Fuel pump

15

Fuel injector

Manifold air pressure sensor

Inductive pick-up

0.5

Atmospheric pressure (altitude)

0.5

Engine oil temperature

0.5

Ignition driver + Coil+ Circuitry

Fuel injection driver + Circuitry

1.5

Microcontroller (HCS12) + peripherals

Heat Sink

Throttle body + Manifold

Total

35

Exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) sensor - Optional

Total (Including EGO)

43

Table 6: Bill of Materials (based on expert opinions)

The following comments are in order:
a) The costing estimate indicates that the EMS architecture proposed by IITB may
be realized for less than USD 40 assuming that the exhaust gas oxygen (EGO)
13

sensor is not used. It should be mentioned that as of today, two-wheeler EMS

solutions being explored/deployed in India do not use the EGO.
b) The air-flow path in a fuel-injection solution is substantially less-involved than
in the case of carbureted solution. Consequently, the throttle body becomes
much simpler in design. The cost estimate for the throttle body mentioned
above factors this simplification.
c) The claim that a sub-USD 50 EMS solution equipped including an EGO may be
indigenously realized gains significance if placed in the current market context
where EMS solutions are provided by global players (to Indian two-wheeler
vehicle manufacturers) for between 65-70 USD. These solutions typically do not
include an EGO.

6. Project Progress and Task Execution Status

A defining feature of the project was the speed of execution. Figure 3 shows a chart
indicating the pace of project progress and significant milestones achieved. Table 7
shows the task execution status.

Jun 05

Start
from
scratch

Jan 06

Fuel injection +
independent
sparking + controls
at idling

May 06

EMS-I proto
ready. Tests
done on
reflected steadystate points for
Indian drive
cycle

Oct 06

Jun 07

EMS-I proto
chassis dyno EMS-II ontests performedroadproto
ready. Chassis
yield good
results. EMS-I dyno tests to
proto powered characterize
from external performance.
supply.

Figure 3: Project progress and milestones achieved

14

Sr. No.
1.
2.
3.

Task
Workout EMS and component target specifications

IITB Status
Completed

Modification of candidate spark-ignited small engine to

support port-injection

Completed

Baseline testing and engine mapping

Completed

4.

Development and validation of engine models for PI

small engines

Completed

5.

Development of hardware-in-the-loop set-up and

prototyping of preliminary ECU

Completed

6.
7.
8.
9.

Design and implementation of ECU control algorithms

Completed

EMS Specification Freeze

Documentation and final presentation
Organizing workshop for OEMs

Completed
To be completed
(upon closure of project)
To be completed
(upon closure of project)

Table 7: Task Execution Status

7. Contributions
The significant contributions of the EMS development effort are the following.
a) Development of a low-cost, high performance EMS solution: IITB has
developed an indigenous, fully-functional, on-road EMS prototype for a twowheeler that supports fuel-injection operation. This exercise consisted of retrofitting a Victor GLX requisite sensing and actuation elements such as the fuelinjector, manifold pressure sensor etc, implementation of fuel-injection and
ignition driver circuitry and the design of control algorithms based on
considerations common in model-based control design.
The EMS prototypes developed by IITB serve the low-cost objectives using the
twin approach of:
i.

Using a minimal number of sensing elements thereby reducing the per-vehicle

cost of the sensing hardware: The only significant addition to the sensing
architecture of the Victor GLX two-wheeler in the EMS IITB-II prototype
15

is a manifold air pressure sensor (MAP). Significantly, the EMS IITB-II

does not have a throttle position or a cam position sensor or an exhaust
gas oxygen sensor. Information about crank position vis--vis the engine
cycle is inferred by smart processing of information from an inductive
pick-up (used in the regular Victor GLX prototype) in conjunction with
that provided by the MAP. Further, the IITB EMS-II prototype does not
require the secondary air-injection (SAI) components, now standard in
two/three wheelers. Cost estimates made based on expert opinions
indicate that the IITB EMS may be commercially realized for less than
USD 50.
ii.

Using a model-based approach to design: Model-based design results in a

drastic reduction in the number of tests required to be conducted for
characterization of the engine. In addition, it provides the benefits of
flexibility and scalability of EMS designs. All these factors significantly
impact development time of EMS solutions for candidate engines/engine
architectures.

Significantly, the low-cost agenda of the project has not impacted the
performance adversely. On the contrary, chassis dynamometer tests at TVS and
a host of steady-state/transient tests at IITB have shown the following.

The engine-out CO and NOx emissions from a vehicle fitted with the IITB
EMS prototype are comparable to that of the same vehicle fitted with a
production-quality carburetion solution.

The engine-out HC emissions from a vehicle fitted with the IITB EMS
prototype is less than half of that of engine-out HC emissions of the same
vehicle fitted with a production-quality carburetion solution. Further, the
tailpipe HC emissions a vehicle fitted with the IITB EMS prototype is an
16

order-of-magnitude less than that of the same vehicle fitted with a

production-quality carburetion solution.

A vehicle fitted with the IITB EMS prototype, whose electronics was
externally powered, consumed about 10% less fuel as compared to when
fitted with a production-quality carburetion solution.

A vehicle fitted with a vehicle-powered IITB EMS prototype, whose

electronics consumed between 60-75W at all times, consumed about 5-7%
more fuel as compared to when fitted with a production-quality carburetion
solution.

Finally, the IITB EMS has been able to guarantee a one-kick start
performance both at Mumbai and Hosur (different atmospheric pressures
and temperatures). This is to be expected since startability improvement is
a tangible improvement seen in fuel-injected solutions over carbureted
solutions.

It should be mentioned that these performance figures were obtained using

non-optimal components that were retro-fitted. No significant optimization
exercise was carried on component sizing, placement etc. Also, the total time
spent on the chassis dynamometer test bed was less than 10 days. It is
reasonable to expect a further improvement in performance when a formal
optimization exercise is carried out.

b) Creation of state-of-the-art dynamometer test facility: The EMS project has led
to the creation of a state-of-the-art transient dynamometer test facility at IIT
Bombay. This facility consists of a test bed equipped with a high-bandwidth
synchronous machine which can act both as a motor and a generator. The highbandwidth nature of the synchronous machine allows for transient
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characterization of prime-movers that develop torques up to 200 Nm and

power up to 35 kW. The facility has been used for characterization of the
performance of the EMS prototype by coupling a TVS Victor GLX engine
equipped with the IITB EMS-I/II with the synchronous machine. The engine is
instrumented with a host of sensors that include manifold position sensor,
throttle position/servo, intake air flow meter, engine oil temperature, exhaust
gas temperature, wide-band universal exhaust gas oxygen sensor etc. In
addition, the facility has access to basic emission characterization equipment.
The following set of tests can be conducted on the engine test bed as of today.
i.

Steady-state characterization of engine torque as a function of throttle

position, manifold pressure, engine speed, air-fuel ratio and spark
advance.

ii.

Transient characterization of engine system performance around

different operating conditions

iii.

Emulation of drive cycle: A complete drive cycle (specification of vehicle

velocity vs time) can be emulated on the test set-up based on
assumptions of drag co-efficients. This feature is unique to the test setup as it provides a mean to perform drive cycle performance
characterization before taking recourse to a chassis dynamometer.

iv.

Emulation of low manifold pressures: The motoring capability of the

dynamometer can be used, in conjunction with suitable idle air-flow
settings to realize sub-idle manifold pressures. This feature allows us to
estimate the performance characteristics of the engine/EMS at highaltitudes where atmospheric pressures, and consequently operating
manifold pressures, are lower than the location of the test facility.

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Figure 4: Transient dynamometer test cell at IIT Bombay

c) Competency building: A significant contribution of the EMS project has been
the creation of a team of personnel at IITB with the requisite competence to
perform from-scratch development of quality EMS solutions of interest to the
automotive industry. The EMS team at IITB understands the range of issues
involved in the realization of practical EMS solutions and is now poised to
translate the competency into the realization of production-ready prototypes as
well as develop new intellectual property in the area of automotive (small as
well as large vehicles) engine controls.

We wish to mention that each of these contributions is in line with CARs overall
agenda of involving academia in the creation of intellectual property and competence
which may be leveraged usefully by the Indian automotive industry in their pursuits.

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8. Way Forward
IITB and TVS believe that the objectives of this CAR project have been met
satisfactorily. IITB and TVS are, therefore, of the opinion that the project be closed.

Further, TVS acknowledges that the IITB team involved in the project has valuable
expertise in the design and development of low-cost, high-performance engine
management systems. TVS and IITB intend to partner through a mutually-agreeable
arrangement to leverage this expertise towards realization of a low-cost, productionready EMS prototype that supports fuel-injection operation.

9. Acknowledgements
The results achieved would not have been possible but for a highly-motivated,
competent and committed team at IITB. Chief contributors to the IITB effort include
Siddharth Ballal, Arvind Athavale, Geetesh Gadkari, Ashutosh Juvale, Manish
Sharma, Pushkaraj Panse and the author, Prof. Shashikanth Suryanrayanan. The
contributions of Pushkaraj Panse, PhD student, IITB towards design, execution and
project co-ordination deserves special mention.

The IITB team acknowledges the contributions of Vinay Harne, Ramachandra Babu,
Capt Mohan Ram and Divya Jeevan Sahoo of TVS for their role in supporting IITBs
efforts through facilitating chassis dynamometer testing, sharing of relevant data,
providing engines and a vehicle. Finally, IITB thanks Sajid Mubashir, Secretary (CAR)
and Mukti Trivedi of TIFAC for providing great administrative support. In particular,
the installation of the transient dynamometer facility at IITB was made possible
because a request for additional funding was handled pro-actively by Sajid and his
team.
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