Application of box-Behnken analysis on the optimisation of air intake system for a naturally aspirated engine

Abstract

Fuel price crisis has caused people to demand a car that is having a low fuel consumption without compromising the engine performance. Designing a naturally aspirated engine which can enhance engine performance and fuel efficiency requires optimisation processes on air intake system components. Hence, this study intends to carry out the optimisation process on the air intake system and airbox geometry. The parameters that have high influence on the design of an airbox geometry was determined by using AVL Boost software which simulated the automobile engine. The optimisation of the parameters was done by using Design Expert which adopted the Box-Behnken analysis technique. The result that was obtained from the study are optimised diameter of inlet/snorkel, volume of airbox, diameter of throttle body and length of intake runner are 81.07 mm, 1.04 L, 44.63 mm and 425 mm, respectively. By using these parameters values, the maximum engine performance and minimum fuel consumption are 93.3732 Nm and 21.3695x10-4 kg/s, respectively. This study has fully accomplished its aim to determine the significant parameters that influenced the performance of airbox and optimised the parameters so that a high engine performance and fuel efficiency can be produced. The success of this study can contribute to a better design of an airbox.