IFP Energies nouvelles resources

With more than 50 years of experience in engine design and fuels for cars, commercial vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles, IFPEN is an expert in the fields of combustion, modeling, new engine and fuel technologies and engine pollution reduction.
 
IFPEN offers a scientific approach to problems: understanding the basic phenomena, development of exploratory tools, capitalization of knowledge thanks to training and to high a scientific and technical level maintain of its experts and digital modeling (with experimental validation).
 
IFPEN benefits from advanced facilities, divided between two locations: Rueil and Lyon.
With a range of services extending from standard tests to tests on specific benches, IFPEN offers its customers innovative solutions and high-quality diagnostics.

• Efficient project management
• Computation solutions
• Software for the design department
• Engine test benches
• Specialized laboratories
• Specialized equipments

Efficient project management

All work is organized into projects that draw on IFPEN's interdisciplinary synergies. The customer is kept regularly informed of progress and the results obtained.
Each project is steered by a project manager responsible for meeting the technical, budget, time, quality, and confidentiality targets set for the project. Progress project meetings are regularly organized by the project manager and the management.

Computation solutions

Codes used

The computation solutions used by IFPEN are equipped with the following codes:

• LMS Imagine.Lab simulation platform with the tool libraries dedicated to the engine environment developed by IFPEN:
  
  • IFP-C3D (3D combustion),
  • IFP-Engine (1D engine),
  • IFP-Drive (vehicle),
  • IFP-Exhaust (after-treatment),
     
• AVBP large eddy simulation code, in partnership and joint ownership with the Cerfacs (European Center for Research and Advanced Training in Scientific Computation),
   
• Internal and functional:
  
  • combustion analysis,
  • driving cycle simulators,
     
• Hexa mesher from the software publisher ICEM CFD,
   
• EnSight post-processing from the software publisher CEI.
   

Computation resources

IFPEN has extremely powerful computation resources at its disposal for its research projects:

• IBM SMP and PC/Linux Cluster supercomputers,
• latest-generation Linux workstations.
• 114 AMD Barcelona 4-processor, 4-core servers, offering a peak computation power of 17 TFlops.
   

Engine and vehicle modeling and simulation

• engine and vehicle simulation,
• Engine CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics),
• Engine LES (Large Eddy Simulation).
   

Software for the design department

Abacus, Nastran

• structural calculations,
• strength of materials.
   

CAO Euclid, Catia

These software programs are coupled to the codes of the IT department.

Engine test benches

IFPEN has a comprehensive set of heavy-duty equipment dedicated to engine R&D:

• 29 engine test benches
• 1 transient bench for the performance of high-dynamic tests
• 3 chassis dynamometers
• 3 chassis dynamometers equipped to measure vehicle emissions of regulated and unregulated pollutants over complete driving cycles (standardized or specific)
• 1 high power test bench for traction batteries and supercapacities.
   

This new high power test bench for traction batteries and supercapacities Digatron EVT 500A/500V (+/-120kW) which includes an electric bench, a large climatic chamber and a supervisor allows IFPEN to cover a large range of research activities in the field of electrochemical storage systems, from experimental battery diagnosis to full scale testing and from battery modelling to Battery Management System development.
 
Main bench applications:
- Power and thermal characterisation of full-scale battery/supercapacitor pack in simulated operating conditions (temperature, charge)
- Long-term cycling under predefined profile to simulate ageing
- Data base collection to define and validate models of energy storage systems
- Characterisation of Battery Management System
- Validation of new control strategies.
 

Dedicated tool for post-mortem analysis:
- 2 gloves box under argon atmosphere

Electric motor test benches:

A small-scale test bench (1/20 power) for testing hybrid powertrains enabling:

• real-time simulation of the IC engine and the vehicle
• validation of electric and IC power distribution in real time and over standard driving cycles
• control of the electric motor and its power electronics
   

A test bench - 120 kW and 400 Nm - for validation of the electric traction systems of hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles:

• validation of the stabilized operation of electric systems in an environment similar to real vehicle conditions
• validation of behavior over standardized cycles with real-time simulation of the rest of the vehicle
• development and calibration of low-level control of electric motors
   

Specialized laboratories

IFPEN has laboratories specialized in:

• electronics and the development of engine control systems,
• physico-chemical analyses and characterization of unregulated pollutants
• formulations and analyses of after-treatment catalysts,
• analysis and development of materials.
• thermodynamics
• optical diagnostics (transparent engine benches, pressurized chambers).
   

Specialized equipment

IFPEN's equipment includes, in particular:

• an X-ray scanner that covers all steps from the engine part to the computation - scan, digitizing, CAD reconstruction, meshing, and computation,
• an injector test bench,
• a Hardware in the loop (HIL) platform.