JLR goes back to basics to meet impending EU 2020 vehicle emission limits

Its Gaydon Design and Engineering Centre is every bit world class and, like its automotive brands, it is careful to pay homage to the past while keeping an eye firmly on the future. Indeed, the building's roof sports a distinct aerofoil profile that reflects the site's former life as RAF Gaydon. JLR has become a huge UK manufacturing success story since the recession in 2009. The company has gone from nearly being lost to history to being a showcase of British ingenuity and engineering that demonstrates that UK manufacturing can still be world class. Like the rest of the automotive industry, JLR is particularly concerned about emissions. The tough European cap on average fleet emissions by manufacturer has hit everyone hard. But JLR which produces 4x4 vehicles and high-end sport cars is at a particular disadvantage, as its vehicles are generally at the upper end as regards fuel consumption and corresponding emission output. This has not, however, deterred JLR from producing vehicles for the luxury markets, or persuaded it to develop a low emission 'token' vehicle as other manufacturers have done to bring down the overall fleet average emission output. Instead it is relying on ingenuity and engineering and is confident in doing so. "Our target is a reduction in emissions from 2007 to 2020 of 45%," says Dr Wolfgang Ziebart, director of group engineering at Jaguar Land Rover. "The regulation depends on the size of the vehicle and what each individual car manufacturer is offering. In our case, we have to reduce emission output from 242g to 132g of CO2 per km. Currently, we are at 180g per km, so there is still a way to go. "There is no silver bullet, but powertrain is a major contributor, probably 50% of the overall reduction. The second contributor is weight. The third is getting rid of – or minimising – all those other parasitic losses." The company's investment in aluminium and the development of aluminium chassis has been well documented and one JLR has seen as essential in taking weight out of its structure. However, it now feels it has the engine platform to support this in Ingenium. The Ingenium engine platform is to be used across JLR's diesel and petrol vehicles, meaning it will sit on Jaguar sports cars and Land Rover 4x4 vehicles alike. It uses a modular approach and is therefore highly configurable depending on its role. Engines can be mounted in both a north-south or east-west configuration, and may be used for all wheel drive, rear wheel drive or front wheel drive vehicles, as well as manual, automatic and hybrid transmissions. And while the cylinder block will be the same, engines will use different oil sumps and engine mounts, depending on the vehicle. Ingenium's modular design enables both petrol and diesel engines to share more common internal components than before. This is to reduce complexity and simplify manufacturing. Paul Whitwood, chief engineer of engines, engineering and programmes at Jaguar Land Rover, explains: "We pretty much started with a clean sheet of paper not just from a design perspective, but also from a manufacturing perspective. So we had no constraints in terms of engine layout, engine size, engine capacity, and cylinder placement. They have all been clean sheets of paper for us to decide the optimum. And that has allowed us to really dial in what we need in every aspect. "If we were working on an existing engine development, we might have a set of machine tools that only take a block of a certain length and width. We haven't had that constraint and it has helped us optimise this engine immensely." The Ingenium engine follows the general trend of downsizing the capacity while beefing-up the turbocharger. The engines need to have the same amount of air forced through them in the new 2-litre configuration as the old 4 litre engines. Likewise, the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system has had to grow. Downsizing the engine and making the turbocharger bigger means that for a Range Rover, for example, the 2 litre Ingenium engine will produce the same horsepower and torque as the existing V6 3.0 diesel engine, but will weigh as much as 80kg less. This in turn leads to all sorts of other benefits. "The engine is probably the single most dense part of the car," says Whitwood. "So the smaller it is, the better it is for overall packaging and design. So if you can deliver that, but have the same level of performance, it is a massive improvement. "Weight is one of those key attributes that has so many knock-on benefits. If you get the weight out, you get improvements in emissions, fuel economy, handling, and then you also get cost out. It is a snowball effect. Downsizing the engine, all-aluminium construction and reducing friction together all have a huge benefit." JLR's engine designers have also been able to utilise many component efficiencies to bring down the overall friction inside the engine by 17%. That leads to significant efficiency increases elsewhere, and also benefits driveability, as response is faster and low end torque tends to be better. The company targeted all parasitic loses within the engine and engine systems. These included the use of roller bearings on the cam and balancer shafts which were previously machined-in bearing surfaces. In addition a computer controlled variable oil pump saves energy by delivering the optimum amount of oil at all speeds, engine loads and temperatures. It also uses a similar principle of precise control over the whole operating range with the water pump, which adjusts the amount of coolant flowing through the engine, from none at start-up to gradually phasing in cooling to the cylinders and then the block as required. Mark Heaton, a principal engineer for engine design at JLR, says: "It is finding that delicate balance between appropriate sizing and optimum friction. And a lot of the work is fine tuning these parameters. "The camshaft roller bearing, for example, makes a big difference to the engine efficiency. You also don't need to pump oil on them as they just work on splash, so that reduces the size of the oil pump. Again, it's taking out parasitic loss and improving efficiency. It is looking for any chance to save energy." The result with all these individual savings and efforts by JLR is an engine platform that offers more saving than the individual sum of the savings. It now has the power train to accompany the lightweight chassis that will enable it to offer the kinds of efficiency gains that are being required. "We will have no issue with 2020 and this is the engine to take us up to that point," concludes Dr Ziebart. "And if you add in to this plug-in hybrid technology, and all electric technology, like we plan to do, we'll be able to improve even further beyond that until we reach zero emissions."