engineering excellence awards

8/9/2019 Engineering Excellence Awards

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PROJECT: NATURAL GAS ENGINE TECHNOLOGY FOR CHINA

Category: Products and Manufacturing

2007 WA ENGINEERING

EXCELLENCE AWARDS


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CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

1. OVERVIEW 2

2. THE WEICHAI PROJECT 3

3. HOW THE NGVS WORKS 4

4. ADDRESSING THE JUDGING CRITERIA 6

4.1 MANDATORY CRITERIA 6

4.1.1 USE OF SOUND ENGINEERING PRACTICES AND PRINCIPLES 6

4.1.2 ORIGINALITY AND INGENUITY OF THE SOLUTION 8

4.1.3 VALUE TO THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY 9

4.1.4 ADHERENCE TO BUDGET AND PROGRAM 10

4.1.5 BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY 10

4.1.6 CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 11

4.1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF WORK AS BENCHMARK FOR AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERING 11

4.2 OPTIONAL CRITERIA 13

4.2.1 USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE DESIGN 13

4.2.2 SALES AND EXPORT POTENTIAL 13

4.2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS 14

4.2.4 QUALITY AND EXTENT OF RESEARCH 14

4.2.5 ORIGINALITY OF THE PRODUCT 15

4.2.6 SIMPLICITY OF THE SOLUTION 15

4.2.7 ATTENTION GIVEN TO THE NEEDS OF USERS 16

4.2.8 INTEGRATION OF COMPUTER AUTOMATION 16

4.2.9 MAINTENANCE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS 17


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Advanced Engine Components (AEC) is a world leader in technology which enables large capacity diesel engines to be

adapted (on the production line or in retro-t) to use compressed natural gas (CNG), liqueed natural gas (LNG) or biofuel.

2. The technology makes possible a substantial expansion in the use of natural gas as an alternative to oil. Natural gas is cheap

and environmentally-friendly, and is abundant and widely available in AECs target markets in China and other parts of Asia.

3. This submission covers AECs development of natural gas vehicle systems to enable three types of engine manufactured

by Weichai, one of Chinas biggest manufacturers of heavy duty diesel bus and truck engines, to run on CNG or LNG.

4. The systems are individually tailored to suit the geometry of each of the engines, and the clients specic performance

criteria.

5. The relationship with Weichai (and other major Chinese manufacturers) paves the way for substantial sales in China, and in

other Asian countries to which Weichai exports. AEC is now developing systems for three of Chinas ve largest manufacturers

of heavy duty bus and truck engines, and is already supplying systems on a commercial scale to two of these.

6. Engines adapted using AEC technology meet the latest global emission control criteria, and have the potential to substantially

reduce air pollution in cities by enabling buses and delivery truck eets to run on CNG.

7. In addition to its environmental benets, the use of CNG instead of oil has substantial cost benets in Asia. For example in

Thailand natural gas is about a quarter of the price of diesel.

8. By winning tenders in competition with major North American and European manufacturers of natural gas vehicle systems,

AEC has established itself as a world leader in its eld.

9. Commercial sales to Weichai commenced during the current nancial year. Over the next ve years, AEC is projecting global

sales of its NGVS systems to increase from the current level of $2.7m to more than $70m. The majority of these sales will

be made overseas.

10. The technology for the NGVS systems developed for the Weichai project, the subject of this submission, has been well

proven in Europe and Australia. In France there are 600 buses with Renault/AEC natural gas engines and these, together

with buses in Australia and Hungary, have completed over 140 million kilometres in commercial service.

11. AEC technology meets the emission requirements of the Euro 4 standard currently applied in Europe, and a substantial and

ongoing R&D program will ensure that the company continues to match or exceed all relevant global standards.


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1. OVERVIEW

Advanced Engine Components (AEC) has developed the patented Natural Gas Vehicle System (NGVS), which enables large

capacity diesel engines to be adapted (on the production line or in retro-t) to use compressed of liquid natural gas (CNG or

LNG). Acceptance of the system in Europe and Asia, and AECs success in winning tenders in international competition indicates

that NGVS has achieved the status of world-leading technology.

(Note: While CNG and LNG powered engines are the main focus of this submission, it should be noted that the NGVS can also

be used to enable engines to run on bio-fuels.)

NGVS-adapted engines are reliable, efcient, and have very low emission levels. Engines incorporating NGVS not only conform

to the Euro III standard currently in use in Australia, and the latest requirements of Asian countries, but already meet and exceed

the emission requirements of Euro IV, now applied in Europe.

In addition to being environmentally-friendly, CNG is cheap - fuel for NGVS buses operating in Australia costs roughly one-thirdof the diesel equivalent. It is also readily available in all AECs target market countries, and reduces dependence on oil.

The system is ideally suited for vehicle eets that operate within a limited radius, returning to base regularly for refueling, for

example buses and delivery trucks operating in cities. In such cases natural gas eets can initially be introduced with a single

refuelling point, obviating the need to establish an extensive refueling infrastructurefrom the outset.

A primary marketing target has been city bus and truck eets, where low emission levels and operating economies are key

benets.

AECs main development market has been Europe, where the patented technology is in everyday use in over 600 buses using

NGVS-installed on Renault engines on the production line supplied to the major French bus manufacturer, Irisbus. Collectively,these vehicles have clocked more than 115 million kilometres. In line with the standards of reliability demanded by bus eet

operators, Irisbus engines tted with NGVS carry a standard two-year, 100,000km warranty.

Having established the performance and reliability criteria for NGVS in Europe, AEC has turned its attention to the Asian market,

primarily China, where heavily polluted cities and the ready availability of cheap natural gas provide the ideal marketing platform

for the system.

This submission deals with AECs development of a range of heavy duty bus and truck engines for Weichai, one of Chinas

largest manufacturers, from initial concept to the introduction of CNG-powered vehicles to China and some of Weichais export

markets.

In Europe, 600 buses powered byRenault engines, adapted to run on

natural gas with the AEC NGVS system,

have completed more than 115 million

kilometres in daily service.


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2. THE WEICHAI PROJECT

The decision to make China the focus of AECs main marketing thrust was predicated on that countrys need to impose stringent

emission controls in its heavily polluted cities, the ready availability of cheap natural gas, and the presence in China of a number

of major manufacturers of heavy duty diesel engines.

China is currently introducing 120,000 new buses a year, and has made a commitment that at least 20% of these will be required

to run on alternative fuels. China has 85 major cities with air quality below World Health Organisation guidelines.

A contract was signed with Weichai in September 2004, initially to develop a 9.7 litre Weichai production diesel engine to run on

CNG and LNG. An engine was shipped to AECs Malaga workshop, where an NGVS system was tailored to suit the format of the

engine and Weichais specic performance criteria. The development process took 12 months, including running the engine on a

test-bed for over 100 hours to prove the concept.

The adapted engine was then retuned to China, where it was installed in a Weichai bus for eld trials and, ultimately, certicationfor production and use in China. Certication was achieved in January 2006, representing a total development time of 16 months.

In addition, a test engine completed a 200-hour endurance test at maximum power at Malaga in April 2006, in readiness for

commercial-scale production.

While the development of the 9.7 litre engine system was in progress, contracts were signed for the development of systems for

Weichai 4.1 litre and 11.6 litre engines. Of these, the smaller engine has been completed and has achieved certication, and

development work on the other is nearing completion.

Weichai 9.7 litre engines are now being used on a commercial scale, both in China and in some of Weichais export markets, and

the company is now ordering tailored NGVS systems from AEC in quantity, on a monthly basis.

(Although this submission deals with engine systems developed for Weichai, AEC now has development and supply arrangements

in place with two other Chinese companies, First Auto Works and Dongfeng. This means that AEC has won development

contracts and preferred supplier status with three of Chinas top ve manufacturers of heavy duty diesel engines, two of which are

already placing orders for NGVS systems in commercial quantities.)

KEY POINT:

The world is seeking long-term alternate fuel technologies that will end the reliance on fossil fuels and eliminate greenhouse

gas emissions. Hydrogen cell technology is one example of the kind of solution being sought, but it is generally accepted

that such technologies will take many years to develop to the stage

where they can be produced and run on a commercially viablebasis.

AECs NGVS system is an important technology in the context

of the alternative fuel debate. Both the technology and its main

fuel sources (CNG, LNG) are available now, and affordable

now. Thus, in the 10 years or more that it is likely to take

to bring a commercially viable new fuel system to market,

AECs technology will enable heavy duty vehicles to operate

efciently and economically, using low emission fuel that will

be abundantly available throughout the likely useful life of thecurrent technology.

A Weichai production engine incorporating the AEC NGVS system


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3. HOW THE NGVS SYSTEM WORKS

AECs Natural Gas Vehicle System (NGVS) allows diesel engines to be adapted to run either compressed or liqueed natural gas

(CNG) or (LNG) or biogas either by being tted to new engines on the production line or retrotting existing engines.

Using natural gas instead of diesel provides vehicle operators with access to cheaper and cleaner fuel that is in plentiful supply in

most parts of the world, with long-term reserves far exceeding those of oil.

The AEC NGVS is a multi-point sequential injection fuelling system managed by an Engine Control Unit (ECU)

The major components are:

On vehicle storage of CNG in high pressure cylinders (200 bar pressure) or LNG in low pressure cold (-81degrees)

thermos ask type cylinders.

A gas pressure regulator to reduce the high pressure gas for CNG or a vapourisor for LNG so that from either source the

fuel is a gas by the time it is injected into the cylinders.

An electric manifold buttery valve that controls air (the other element of engine fuel) ow.

A suite of sensors that measure engine conditions and convey this information to the ECU.

An ECU (on board computer) that on the basis of information from the sensors manages engine operation (amount of

gas and air, spark timing etc).

A spark ignition system consisting of coils and spark plugs.

The gaseous fuel from the on board CNG or LNG storage cylinders is fed via a common rail to individual injectors that inject a

measured and timed amount of gas into the top of the cylinder. The air and gas mixture is ignited in the cylinder at a compression

ratio of around 12 to 1.

The core of the NGVS is the Engine Control Unit (ECU) which monitors the engines boost pressure, natural gas temperature,

manifold air temperature, engine speed, throttle position and other engine operating parameters. These measurements are taken

simultaneously and compared with up to 110 positions on the various engine performance maps. The microprocessor carries out a

series of calculations, and appropriate adjustments are made to the gas injected at the inlets of each cylinder to maintain the desired

engine performance. The wide band oxygen sensor adjusts automatically to accommodate any variance in fuel quality.

The NGVS provides the power and torque of a diesel engine of similar capacity, with similar drivability characteristics. As a bonus,

it provides lower fuel cost and very low exhaust emissions.


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Fuel gas ow: CNG cylinder High pressure lter Gas pressure regulator

Low pressure lter Gas Rail Gas Injector Cylinder intake

Key features of NGVS include:

Microprocessor controlled sequential fuel injection system

Operation of each cylinder at precisely the same air/fuel ratio, enabling the engine to be operated at higher power

outputs without danger of mechanical damage.

Minimal wiring and piping reduces the need to change the engines original prole.

The drive-by-wire system provides neat installation and protection from driver abuse.

The system is inherently simple all previous mechanical complexity has been converted into software.

Fuel efciency is outstanding the ECU cuts gas injection to zero during vehicle overrun, and enables a six-cylinder

engine to operate on three cylinders at idle (so-called skip re, which reduces idling fuel consumption by 18%, at the

same time reducing cylinder bore glazing)

Engine integrity is protected at all times.

Full data collection and speed governing is standard, whilst radio data transmission can be incorporated.

The precision of the ECU ensures low emission levels. The NGVS has satised the current Euro 4 gas emission

standards for carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, non-methane hydrocarbons and particulates.

NGVS engine can be congured to meet or exceed the power and torque outputs of the original diesel engine.


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All new NGVS engine systems are

mapped and endurance tested on

a dynamometer at AECs Malaga

workshop.

4. ADDRESSING THE JUDGING CRITERIA

4.1 MANDATORY CRITERIA

4.1.1 USE OF SOUND ENGINEERING PRACTICES AND PRINCIPLES

All AECs engine development work on behalf of clients observes the basic engineering principle of working to achieve a predened

outcome by following the classic Specication/Control/Verication sequence.

The AEC NGVS is a generic set of natural gas fuelling and electronic engine management components. While broadly similar for

every engine the system has to be customised to suit the shape and size of the particular base engine and to achieve the performance

required by the OEM. In other words each make and model of engine has a unique set of components and a unique le in the

ECU specically tailored for the required performance (power, torque, emissions etc).

The OEM supplies the base engine and the performance specication for the proposed NG engine. Typically the NG engine will

be expected to perform to the same power and torque as the equivalent diesel engine and must meet specied exhaust emissions

standards.

The development engine is sent to Malaga, where pistons (to reduce compression ratio) and cylinder heads (to replace the diesel

injector with a spark plug) and intake manifold are then designed in collaboration with the OEM and a tailored AEC NGVS is

designed to suit the engine.

The newly designed NG engine is installed on an engine dynomometer and mapped with a unique le to suit the OEM

specication, at which point it is ready for certication for exhaust emissions to Euro 3 or Euro 4, as applicable, at a certied

laboratory (EMPA in Zurich, Switzerland or one of the certied laboratories in China).


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The certied engine is subjected to 1000 hour endurance and thermal shock testing on an engine dynamometer, and built into

vehicles for 30,000 km of road testing. At all times development and testing complies with AEC QA testing requirements and

OEM production requirements for specication, control and verication.

An OEM engine is retained at Malaga for future performance upgrades particular eld requirements, and to facilitate fast and

accurate diagnostics.

Each NGVS system is designed and tested to meet specic OEM performance criteria.


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4.1.2 ORIGINALITY AND INGENUITY OF THE SOLUTION

The AEC NGVS is an electronically controlled multipoint sequential gas injection system. Compared with traditional technology

that relies on carburetted or single point injection systems, NGVS offers the benets of superior performance, lower emissions and

lower fuel consumption.

Electronic control and multipoint injection allows the engine to skip re - that is, run on three cylinders when the vehicle is

idling, thus further reducing emissions and fuel consumption. A wide band oxygen sensor in the vehicle exhaust pipe allows a

closed loop management of the vehicle thus enabling the engine to accommodate varying NG quality.

The AEC NGVS is a lean burn combustion system which means that excess air above that required for full NG combustion is

used in the process. The system operates within a narrow air/fuel ratio window. The benets are:

Low NOX exhaust emissions

Lower exhaust temperatures

Improved engine efciency

In order to make the system affordable, an increasing number of components are sourced locally in the country of use

of the vehicle.

Some AEC components are already being sourced and assembled at a new plant established by the company in China.

To date the ECU, injectors, coils, gas rail and wiring loom are AEC designed and built and the manifold valve and gas pressure

regulators are in process of design, prototyping and localisation.

KEY POINT:

Many competitive products in the global market offer features that can be found in AECs NGVS, but no

product incorporates all of them. Thus we feel justied in describing the overall system as original and unique.

The NGVS and individual components designed by AEC are novel in the patent meaning of the term and

are protected by accepted patents.


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4.1.3.2 Oil replacement:While AECs current focus is on the Asian market, where our strategic plan is to develop a

substantial sales base and dominant supply position in a market with enormous potential, the Australian market is very

much a part of our planning.

We already have a number of NGVS-powered buses running in Perth, Canberra and Adelaide, and have a joint venture

with Perth company to capture a share of the delivery truck eet market in all major Australian cities using Isuzu trucks.

This has the potential to reduce Australias need for - and reliance upon - oil, which is important as oil supplies peak

and prices steadily increase. It is predicted that over the next 20 years Australias oil self-sufciency will fall from 84%

of consumption to about 20%. This will put enormous pressure on Australias trade balance and therefore its current

account decit, so converting a percentage of the nations energy consumption to CNG, from its abundant and well-

distributed natural gas reserves, will make a positive economic contribution.

4.1.3.4 Training and Opportunity: Commercialisation of NGVS has created new jobs for local people employed at the

Malaga facility and also for the 90 subcontractors who supply components and services for assembly and nal testing by

AEC. AEC takes staff mentoring and development very seriously and encourages staff to increase their qualications by

giving them time off work to attend classes.

Because most of AECs work is overseas, staff have regular opportunities to travel and work overseas thus further

broadening their work and personal horizons.

Sales of AEC engines and systems will escalate dramatically All these factors will impact positively on direct and

outsourced employment opportunities in Australia.

4.1.4 ADHERENCE TO BUDGET AND PROGRAM

The development of the Weichai 9.7 litre engine took 16 months, compared to the agreed contract to complete the work within

two years. The work was carried out within a predetermined fee that had been negotiated with Weichai.

4.1.5 BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY

AECs technology produces three important benets to the communities in which vehicles powered by NGVS-converted engines

operate.

4.1.5.1 Emission of pollutants is substantially decreased

4.1.5.2 Low cost and ready availability of CNG enables the development of efcient and affordable transport systems in cities,

even in Third World countries

4.1.5.3 Reduced dependence on oil, usually imported.


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Introduction of gas-powered buses in busy Asian cities is helping to reduce air pollution levels.

4.1.6 CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The whole of AECs focus is on sustainability by developing technology to enable the use of natural gas as an efcient and cost-

effective long-term alternative to oil. Natural Gas is abundantly available and well distributed around the Asian region, which is

our main marketing focus, in contrast to oil, which is being depleted rapidly and becoming progressively more expensive.

NGVS technology is also applicable to engines running on methane, from naturally occurring sources and commercial production

from garbage sites (biogas). Biogas is already used as a vehicle fuel in many countries, including Europe, thus the potential for

natural gas to be a truly renewable fuel.

Many countries around the world are setting targets for or mandating the use of natural gas as a transport fuel. For example the

European Union has targeted 20% of all vehicles to use alternate fuels by 2020, of which 10% would use natural gas. In India

the High Court has ruled that all public transport vehicles in Delhi must be powered by natural gas, a decision that has already

produced a measurable improvement in the air quality of that city.

4.1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF WORK AS A BENCHMARK FOR AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERING

It is extremely rare for an Australian company to achieve global pre-eminence in the transport eld especially in the heavy

duty engine market for buses and trucks. AEC was the rst technology to achieve the Euro 4 emission standard when Renault

engines with AEC components were certied in Zurich in December 2000. At that time Europe only required Euro 2 emission

standards.

The acceptance of AEC technology by top tier European OEMs like Renault and Iveco, and currently by three of the ve

leading heavy duty engine OEMs in China, conrms that the technology is world class and has global market potential.

KEY POINT:

China is already exporting these engines to Myanmar and Thailand and trialling them for use in

Olympic Games vehicles in Beijing.


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AECs technology is enabling Weichai to market gas-powered heavy duty trucks in China and export markets.

In the contract negotiation process with another leading Chinese engine manufacturer, First Auto Works,

AEC competed successfully against bids from Bosch (Germany) and Alternative Fuel Systems (Canada).

KEY POINT:

AEC has struck a strategic balance between quality and affordability by using global

outsourcing while retaining quality control via nal assembly and testing of components.

The Companys major competitors, principally located in Europe and North America, are:

Alternative Fuel Systems (2004) Inc (Canada)

AVL Group (Austria)

Bosch (Germany)

Centre de Recherche en Machines Thermiques (CRMT) (France)

Westport Innovations Inc of Canada (with Cummins of the USA)

Woodward Governor Co. (USA)

The majority of these entities are large suppliers of fuel injection systems and components in the alternative fuels market. AEC has

proven its ability to compete with these entities and is condent that it will continue to do so. A key competitive factor is AECs

strategy of tailoring every NG system to the engine on which it will be used, and the performance requirements of the OEM. AEC

does not market off-the-shelf conversion kits.

The agreement with Weichai was granted to AEC following an international tender process including

the AVL Group (Austria), Woodward Governor (USA) and CRMT (France).


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4.2 OPTIONAL CRITERIA

4.2.1 USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE DESIGN

AECs success in international and domestic markets depends on continuing focus on applied Research and Development. Vehicle

emissions contribute about 20% of all greenhouse gas and as this topic grows in importance so vehicle emission standards become

progressively more stringent. This is particularly true in developing countries in our region with large polluted cities.

AEC has spent over $27million on Research and Development since its inception in 1984, including over $2million last year.

While the generic natural gas fuelling and engine management system has not changed substantially in concept or function in

recent years, it is important to appreciate that each NGVS system has to be customised to the individual make and model of base

engine to suit engine geometry and the clients performance requirements. AEC has completed over 20 engine types, includingengines from top tier engine manufacturers in Europe, Japan and China.

AEC strongly recognise the necessity for providing training in commissioning, maintenance and repair of engines with its new

technology and thus provides comprehensive classroom and on the job training for engine manufacturers, vehicle builders and eet

owners and operators including real time, wireless eet operations monitoring.

There has been substantial development in several areas on the AEC NGVS over recent years that have increased our competitive

advantage. The most signicant of these have been:

1. Development of lean burn closed loop. Closed loop operation in a lean burn engine is not a simple task and very few

competitors are capable of doing this. The development allows the AEC NGVS to adjust to changing qualities in gas and

changing conditions of components of the engine to maintain performance and emissions.

2. The AEC injector is believed to be the rst injector designed in Australia specically for CNG. Many other CNG injectors

on the international market are modied petrol injectors with lower gas ow rates and accuracy. The AEC CNG injector

is currently awaiting patent approval for its innovative design, following international searches by patent ofces that have

indicated the novelty of the device.

3. The AEC gas regulator - The gas regulator is currently in design, and will be using techniques never before used in automotive

CNG regulators.

4.2.2 SALES AND EXPORT POTENTIAL

Early sales of the AEC NGVS were to demonstration bus eets in Perth, Canberra and Adelaide commencing in1991.

Since these early sales AEC has installed its system on 25 Daimler Chrysler Mercedes-Benz buses and completed three

Isuzu trucks in Perth. But the real potential is overseas and after its success with 600 Renault engined buses in France AEC

has concentrated on the Asia Pacic, with buses and trucks now operating with engines with AEC components in China,

Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Iran.


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We are projecting component sales (per calendar year) as follows:

2007 3124

2008 9060

2009 13480

In monetary terms this represents an increase from $2.7m in the 2005/06 nancial year to over $40m in 2009, more than 90%

of which will be from exports.

In the longer term we anticipate exponential growth as a result of:

1. Higher emission control standards, which will become increasingly difcult and expensive for conventional engines to meet.

2. Legislation in many countries to increase the use of natural gas fuels for air quality reasons.

3. Escalating oil prices

4. The determination of many countries to lessen their dependence on oil for political as well as environmental reasons

5. The ongoing sale of spares and consumables to a steadily increasing user base of NGVS-adapted engines.

4.2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

One of the many benets of natural gas as a vehicle fuel is that it is very clean burning. Increasingly stringent exhaust emissionregulations are making it more difcult for petrol and diesel engines to comply without the addition of expensive exhaust after-

treatment systems (catalytic converters). Even when compared with conventionally powered vehicles with after-treatment, natural

gas vehicles:

Reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOX) by up to 90%

Reduce particulate matter by as much as 99%

Reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions by up to 17%

Are 50% quieter than diesel engines

This results in measurably improved local (NOX) and regional (Greenhouse Gas) air quality. The reduction in particulates issignicantly important from a health viewpoint as particulates when ingested lead to respiratory health problems.

Noise reduction is particularly important for such vehicles as buses and trucks operating in city environments.

4.2.4 QUALITY AND EXTENT OF RESEARCH

AECs NGVS system is the product of sustained and intensive research over a period of more than 20 years, representing an

investment of more than $27 million.

The company has an ongoing commitment to spend in excessive of $2 million a year to maintain global leadership in

its sector, and to continue to meet - and exceed - increasingly stringent international vehicle emission requirements.


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AEC is a quality endorsed company with national and international certication for the design, manufacture and installation of

automotive products for heavy and light duty engine applications. Endorsement covers software development, electronics and

mechanical engineering. This is a requirement for international contracts to OEMs.

Apart from the contractual requirement, quality is at the heart of AECs operating philosophy, which espouses the cornerstones of

customer focus, teamwork and decisions based on data as company hallmarks.

4.2.5 ORIGINALITY OF THE PRODUCT

The AEC NGVS is an electronically controlled multipoint sequential gas injection system. Compared with traditional technology

that relies on carburetted or single point injection systems, NGVS offers the benets of superior performance, lower emissions and

lower fuel consumption.

Electronic control and multipoint injection allows the engine to skip re - that is, run on three cylinders when the vehicle is

idling, thus further reducing emissions and fuel consumption. A wide band oxygen sensor in the vehicle exhaust pipe allows a

closed loop management of the vehicle thus enabling the engine to accommodate varying NG quality.

The electronic control of manifold valve removes the direct link between the drivers accelerator pedal and this air control valve.

The result is that there is more control over engine performance and the engine is thus protected from poor driving.

In order to make the system affordable, an increasing number of components are sourced locally in the country of use of the

vehicle. To date the ECU, injectors, coils, gas rail and wiring loom are AEC designed and built and the manifold valve and gas

pressure regulators are in process of design, prototyping and localisation.

KEY POINT:

Many competitive products in the global market offer features that can be found in AECs NGVS, but no product

incorporates all of them. Thus we feel justied in describing the overall system as original and unique. The NGVS and

individual components designed by AEC are novel in the patent meaning of the term and are protected by accepted

patents.

4.2.6 SIMPLICITY OF THE SOLUTION

The system is inherently simple in that all mechanical complexity has been transferred to the software in the ECU. Once the

appropriate software le has been loaded into the ECU it manages the performance of the engine using information from a suite

of sensors. These systems do not drift and do not need constant adjustment, as in the case of mechanical controls.

The AEC NGVS as a fully electronic system is an example of modern engine management systems. It improves reliability and

lowers costs by replacing mechanical linkages with wires. New customer driven requirements and features can be added by simply

loading new software into the ECU. Diagnostic tools are developed to assist maintenance and repair staff to make accurate

assessments quickly and simply.


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4.2.7 ATTENTION GIVEN TO THE NEEDS OF USERS

Every NGVS is designed to meet client specications in terms of engine performance, exhaust emissions and the proposed vehicle

duty cycle. Nothing is bolt on, off the shelf.

For example the duty cycle of trucks in Inner Mongolia, China, required the truck-trailer combination to haul 40 tonnes from the

mine oor up a steep gradient before carrying the load 150 km on public roads to the steel mill. The AEC engine development

team devised a unique le to specically cater for this demanding duty cycle.

AEC also provides after sales customer training and support to OEMs, vehicle builders owners and operators.

4.2.8 INTEGRATION OF COMPUTER AUTOMATION

From the outset the AEC engine management system for heavy duty NG engines was developed as a highly electronicallycontrolled system. This was distinct from many other systems, not only in the NG market but other fuels as well, that have started

life as mechanically based and evolved into partially electronically controlled systems.

The AEC ECU (Engine Control Unit), is the heart of the AEC NG engine management system, and the key to its simplicity. With

the exception of the gas regulator, all components of the system are directly controlled by the software in the ECU. This approach

has given AEC signicantly greater exibility and controllability, the ability to be feature packed and adaptive to customer needs,

has simplied our system and has give us a competitive advantage with exhaust emission regulations.

We are currently developing an electronically controlled gas regulator to complement our predominantly computer automated

system.

Not only have we employed computer automation extensively within our product but we have also applied it in our end-of-line

(EOL) testing facilities. We have automated:

EOL software programming and serial number assignment

24 hour testing of the ECU

Thermal compensation of some internal components

EOL conguration and sign off of the ECU

EOL calibration of the CNG injector

Most of these test rig equipment has been custom developed for our products.

Software automation has also been employed in the self calibration of some sensors while in operation. An example of this is the

wide band oxygen sensor, which calibrates itself to the known oxygen concentration in fresh air during the period of over run

- the condition in which the throttle is returned to zero and the engine speed is above ideal speed due to vehicle inertia. During

this period the gas is cut off and only fresh air is passed through the engine and into the exhaust.


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4.2.9 MAINTENANCE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS

The maintenance requirements of NG engines are different from those of diesel engines. Therefore AEC provides specialised

training to all personnel involved in the assembly, commissioning, operation maintenance and repair chain. This includes the

provision of specially designed laptop computer based diagnostic tools that provide commissioning and maintenance staff with fault

logs and reports in the event of an engine malfunction. Maintenance efciency is enhanced because of the speed and immediacy

of the fault reporting and effectiveness is guaranteed because of the accuracy of results and detailed nature of the report.

Diagnostic tools help to avoid complete failure. Timely intervention and engine derating can result in a minor repair rather than a

future costly major repair. Electronic diagnostic tools also reduce the time taken in troubleshooting by assisting service technicians

to diagnose the symptom and go directly to the source of the problem.

We are in the concept stages of creating a wireless GPRS eet monitoring system for our product to automate the maintenancescheduling and pre-emptive call back.

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