Mass-produced cleanliness: BERU Pressure Sensor Glow Plug reduces the emission of pollutants in the new VW 2.0 liter TDI
As one of the key components in the US version of the new turbo-diesel unit, the BERU PSG Pressure Sensor Glow Plug ensures the lowest CO2 and NOx emissions.
(Ludwigsburg, 18 July 2008) VDA President Matthias Wissmann prophesizes the “Clean Diesel Breakthrough in the USA“ for 2008. For a good reason: a multitude of German carmakers are bringing vehicles with extremely clean Diesel engines onto the American market this year. In mid-2008, Volkswagen will begin with a new 2.0 liter TDI engine in the VW Jetta. The common rail four cylinder fulfils the strictest Tier 2 Bin5 exhaust values in the world. In line with the US emission legislation, only 70 milligrams of nitrogen oxide per mile are allowed instead of 200 milligrams.
“The new VW TDI thereby achieves these demanding technical limits amongst other things, because its untreated emissions are already extremely low", explains Dipl.-Ing. Hans Houben, Vice President En-gineering of BERU AG. “The intelligent pressure sensor glow plug from BERU is one of the key components here with which the combustion processes of the Diesel engine can be controlled extremely precisely.“ The PSG, which has received many awards, consists of an especially robust steel heating rod of the BERU ISS Diesel Instant Start System and a piezo-resistive sensor. It determines the quickly changing pressure in the combustion chamber by selecting the cylinder and reports it continuously to the engine control electronics.
A constructive advantage of the BERU solution: the PSG has the same dimensions as an ISS instant start glow plug. For this reason, VW was able to use the cylinder head of the EU5 engine with an appropriate thread dimension (M10) without any problem for the new US version of the TDI unit.
BERU PSG: key components for optimum combustion
But the technical possibilities of the BERU PSG are far from exhausted. “Through an exact recording of the cylinder pressure, especially in the new downsized engines as well, higher peak pressures can be implemented and thereby standard combustion procedures brought closer to their limits. Consequence: higher engine performance, greater efficiency“, explains BERU Head of Development, Houben. Houben and the engine developers at VW see another advantage in the selective cylinder optimization of the combustion. In this way, they can compensate, for example, for inaccuracies in fuel admeasurement, component tolerances or different operating conditions during the service life of the engine. Houben: “With the BERU PSG, long-term stabile control of the emissions is finally possible. Especially for US applications as well with a wider spreading of the cetane number of the fuel.“
BERU produces the pressure sensor glow plugs for the new VW TDI by using sophisticated process technology on a mid-volume line at the headquarters in Ludwigsburg. It consists of a total of twelve functional stations with complex joining, casting and laser welding processes which correspond to the latest state-of-the-art of technology and is designed in an extremely flexible way. Accordingly, optimizations can be implemented as fast and economical as is reasonable. Further series start-ups for the North American and the European markets have also already been planned.
