An aircraft diesel engine may be operated at a minimal fuel rate. Shaft output power of the engine may be reduced by initiating combustion during the compression stroke. Combustion may be initiated during the compression stroke by advancing fuel injection, splitting fuel injection, and/or manipulating individual injection quantities. Initiating combustion during the compression stroke may slew torque generation to the compression stroke.

An aircraft diesel engine may be operated at a minimal fuel rate. Shaft output power of the engine may be reduced by initiating combustion during the compression stroke. Combustion may be initiated during the compression stroke by advancing fuel injection, splitting fuel injection, and/or manipulating individual injection quantities. Initiating combustion during the compression stroke may slew torque generation to the compression stroke.

Embodiments are directed to boosting aircraft engine performance for takeoff and critical mission segments by reducing airflow used for cooling exhaust gases. The airflow is reduced by stopping an accessory blower or by closing an external air vent. Eliminating the cooling airflow to the exhaust has the effect of lowering the backpressure on the engine, which thereby increases maximum engine power.

A powertrain control unit may be configured to control an engine to optimize the emission of CO2 vs. criteria pollutants according to various duty cycle parameters. The control unit may identify a first operating condition is expected to fulfill a demand for output with an exhaust stream having a first amount of a pollutant (e.g., CO2, NOx, particulate matter), and a second operating condition expected to fulfill the demand with an exhaust stream having a reduced amount of the pollutant as compared to the first amount. The powertrain control unit may receive duty cycle information to control the engine to fulfill the demand per the second operating condition, yielding the reduced amount of pollutant in the exhaust. Duty cycle information may include speed, location, position, rotation, temperature, and/or other information. A vehicle, backhoe, bulldozer, crane, and/or combine harvester may comprise the powertrain control unit and an engine and aftertreatment system. An exhaust aftertreatment system may be remotely activated, which may reduce warmup time associated with emissions mitigation.

An internal combustion engine for being mounted laterally on a saddle-type vehicle includes an AC generator disposed on an end portion of a crankshaft which is supported in a crankcase. An ACG cover covers the AC generator from outside widthwise across the vehicle. The ACG cover includes an electric power transmission line cover bulging portion covering electric power transmission lines extending to the ACG cover and bulging sideways outwardly widthwise across the vehicle. A crank angle sensor is disposed behind the electric power transmission line cover bulging portion in a vehicle front-back direction. The crank angle sensor is thus protected from flying stones, etc. without an increase in the number of parts used and an increase in the weight of the internal combustion engine.

A system for monitoring the components of a skid module comprising a load driven by a motor associated with an automatic transmission using lockup technology includes a smart box associated with the skid module. Exemplary loads include mud pumps and generators. A plurality of sensors are associated with skid components and electrically associated with the smart box. The smart box uses at least some of said plurality of sensors to determine if the lockup technology is working properly and generates a warning when a lockup failure is detected. The skid module status is reported to at least one of a local display device or a remote display device in communication with the smart device over a network.

An example method includes: determining a throttle command for a servomotor configured to control a position of a throttle lever, where the position of the throttle lever indicates a commanded thrust for the first engine of the aircraft; determining a trim command for the first engine to equalize the thrust of the first engine with the respective thrust of the second engine; determining that a magnitude of the throttle command is less than a magnitude of a threshold throttle command indicative of a dead zone of the servomotor, where the servomotor is irresponsive to a given throttle command within the dead zone; modifying the trim command based on the throttle command to generate a modified trim command that compensates for irresponsiveness of the servomotor to the throttle command; and changing the thrust generated by the first engine based on the modified trim command.

An anti-theft apparatus for an outboard motor that can be mounted on a boat, comprising a comparison unit configured to compare a vibration of the outboard motor with a vibration of a portion of the boat other than the outboard motor, and a notification unit configured to make a predetermined notification based on a comparison result by the comparison unit.

An anti-theft apparatus for an outboard motor that can be mounted on a boat, comprising a comparison unit configured to compare a vibration of the outboard motor with a vibration of a portion of the boat other than the outboard motor, and a notification unit configured to make a predetermined notification based on a comparison result by the comparison unit.

A system and method for controlling the operations of a vehicle in response to an analysis of the vehicle's status and performance compared to a set of external performance parameters. The vehicle may be operable to adjust its performance in response to the analysis in order to comply with the performance parameters. The vehicle may further be operable to prevent activation or continued operation of one or more components in response to the analysis.