The modeling and numerical simulation of gas flow networks

Summary.

A network formulation is introduced for the modeling and numerical simulation of complex gas transmission systems like a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine. Several simulation levels are discussed which result in different network representations of a specific system. Basic elements of a network are chambers of finite volume, straight pipes and connections like valves or nozzles. The pipe flow is modeled by the unsteady, one-dimensional Euler equations of gas dynamics. Semi-empirical approaches for the chambers and the connections yield differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) in time. The numerical solution is based on a TVD scheme for the pipe equations and a predictor-corrector method for the DAE-system. Simulation results for an internal combustion engine demonstrate the practical interest of the new approach.