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LOBAL experts have hailed the work of a University of Huddersfield professor and his collaborator – an innovative engineer – who are developing technology to boost the performance of engines while improving fuel economy and lowering emissions.

John Allport, professor of alternative engineering at the university – where he heads its Turbocharger Research Institute (TRI) – has formed a research partnership with engineer Chris Whelan, co-founder of UK company Air Cycle Technology Ltd, which provides a cooling system that gives additional power to vehicles by lowering the charge air temperature in a turbocharged engine.

Current systems of charge air cooling and heating are passive.

Now Prof Allport and Mr Whelan have developed an active, controllable system which, following computer modelling, has been successfully tested in a production car.

The technology could help manufacturers – some of whom have been mired in controversy over emissions – to comply more easily with legislation designed to cut vehicle pollution.

The collaborators described their research – including the thermodynamic principles behind it – in a paper that was delivered at the IMechE Vehicle Thermal Management Systems Conference in London.

The international event featured 30 scientific papers and a panel selected the contribution by Prof Allport and Mr Whelan as the best of the conference.

They now hold a trophy inscribed with previous winners who include some of the world’s most famous vehicle manufacturers and universities.

The authors of the prize-winning paper, titled Active Charge Cooling, said customer and legislative demands meant that manufacturers had been evaluating the potential benefits – in engine performance, fuel economy and emissions – of charge air temperature modulation. The paper demonstrates the benefits of active charge air temperature control.