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The objective of this study was to investigate performance characteristics of a spark ignition engine, particularly, the correlation between performance, exhaust gas temperature and speed, using Kiva4. Test data to validate kiva4 simulation results were conducted on a 3-cylinder, four-stroke Volkswagen (VW) Polo 6 TSI 1.2 gasoline engine. Three different tests were, therefore, carried out. In one set, variations in exhaust gas temperature were studied by varying the engine load, while keeping the engine speed constant. In another test, exhaust gas temperature variations were studied by keeping the engine at idling whilst varying the speeds. A third test involved studying variations in exhaust gas temperature under a constant load with variable engine speeds. To study variations in exhaust gas temperatures under test conditions, a basic grid/mesh generator, K3PREP, was employed to write an itape17 file comprising of a 45˚ asymmetrical mesh. This was based on the symmetry of the combustion chamber of the engine used in carrying out experimental tests. Simulations were therefore performed based on the input parameters established in the conducted tests. Simulations with the kiva4 code showed a significant predictability of the performance characteristics of the engine. This was evident in the appreciable agreement obtained in the simulation results when compared with the test data, under the considered test conditions. A percentage error, between experimental results and results from simulations with the kiva4 code of only between 2% to 3% was observed.

Modelling of crack tip behaviour was carried out for a nickel-based superalloy subjected to high temperature fatigue in a vacuum and air. In a vacuum, crack growth was entirely due to mechanical deformation and thus it was sufficient to use accumulated plastic strain as a criterion. To study the strong effect of oxidation in air, a diffusion-based approach was applied to investigate the full interaction between fatigue and oxygen penetration at a crack tip. Penetration of oxygen into the crack tip induced a local compressive stress due to dilatation effect. An increase in stress intensity factor range or dwell times imposed at peak loads resulted in enhanced accumulation of oxygen at the crack tip. A crack growth criterion based on accumulated levels of oxygen and plastic strain at the crack tip was subsequently developed to predict the crack growth rate under fatigue-oxidation conditions. The predicted crack-growth behaviour compared well with experimental results.

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