Miftah Rizky Ananta

Studies Recap

Week 1 Conversation with ChatGPT regarding thermal energy conversion

Week 2 Internal Combustion Engine simultion using OpenModelica

Personal Project

My project will be regarding the difference in performance before and after a tune on my car, a Honda Stream RSZ.

The Honda Stream RSZ is powered by the Honda R18A engine, a 1.8 liter four cylinder gasoline engine with variable valve timing (VTEC). In stock form with no modifications, it produces up to 140 horsepower and 174 Nm of torque with a minimum requirement of RON 91 gasoline fuel in Japanese specifications.

However, my car has been fitted with some modifications, including a cold air intake, Iridium spark plugs, and a custom exhaust. To take advantage of these modifications, the car has to be tuned, preferably with the aid of a dynamometer. There are multiple ways of tuning a car, which can be achieved by remapping the original ECU or using a piggyback ECU. I have gone for the piggyback ECU, using a Dastek Unichip Q.

Before the tune, the car made 152 engine horsepower and 173 Nm of torque. After the tune, the car made 157 engine horsepower and 193 Nm of torque. All figures were obtained using RON 90 gasoline fuel (Pertalite), and the tune was performed by RS Tuning on a dyno.

Most naturally aspirated engines, especially smaller displacement ones, only gain up to 15% power after just a tune. My car made a 3% improvement in power and 11% improvement in torque.

The car was tuned in September 2022, and since then I have been driving it daily in a combination of city and highway driving, using RON 90 and 92 gasoline fuel from different brands such as Pertamina, Vivo, Shell, and BP. I find that the car has more power in lower RPMs after the tune, and can merge with traffic and overtake more easily.

An added benefit of tuning my car was, surprisingly, fuel economy. Before the car was tuned, I averaged, at worst, 6.4 km/liter in city driving. Currently, I have yet to drop below 8 km/liter even with a lead foot, and can sometimes achieve over 10 km/liter in city driving.

Similarly, in highway driving, my record was 16.3 km/liter before, and the current record after the tune was 17.8 km/liter. All this was achieved using Pertalite fuel, which some sources claim have dropped in quality around the time the car was tuned, and has since been improved.

I would like to study this further, as in how a relatively simple tune with the initial aim of improving power can simultaneously decrease fuel consumption. My current theory is that less throttle input is required to move the vehicle to a set speed, and as a result less fuel is burnt in the process. The advantage of using a piggyback ECU is the ability to set the ECU to its standard parameters, so it is relatively easy to see the difference first-hand.

ChatGPT Conversations

17 February 2023

Miftah Rizky Ananta: what is thermal energy conversion in engineering?

ChatGPT: Thermal energy conversion in engineering refers to the process of converting thermal energy, which is the energy that comes from the heat of a substance, into other forms of energy, such as mechanical or electrical energy.

There are various ways to convert thermal energy, including:

Steam turbines: The steam produced by boiling water is used to turn a turbine, which in turn generates mechanical energy.

Gas turbines: Combustion of fuel produces hot gases that are used to turn a turbine, which produces mechanical energy.

Internal combustion engines: The fuel is burned inside the engine, and the heat produced is used to create a high-pressure gas, which moves a piston, generating mechanical energy.

Thermoelectric generators: When there is a temperature difference between two materials, an electric voltage is produced, and this voltage can be used to generate electrical energy.

Heat exchangers: Heat exchangers transfer heat from one fluid to another, such as heating water with waste heat from an industrial process.

These methods are used in a variety of applications, such as power generation, transportation, and heating and cooling systems. The efficiency of the thermal energy conversion process is an important consideration in engineering, as it affects the overall performance and cost-effectiveness of the system.

Miftah Rizky Ananta: what are the applications

ChatGPT:Thermal energy conversion has a wide range of applications in engineering. Here are some examples:

Power generation: Thermal energy conversion is used to generate electricity in power plants. For example, steam turbines are used in coal-fired, natural gas, or nuclear power plants to generate electricity.

Transportation: Internal combustion engines, gas turbines, and fuel cells are used in various vehicles, such as cars, trucks, ships, and airplanes, to convert thermal energy into mechanical energy for propulsion.

Heating and cooling systems: Heat pumps and refrigeration systems use thermal energy conversion to move heat from one location to another, either for heating or cooling.

Industrial processes: Thermal energy conversion is used in various industrial processes, such as furnaces, boilers, and kilns, to heat materials for processing or to generate steam for other applications.

Renewable energy systems: Solar thermal energy systems use thermal energy conversion to convert solar energy into heat, which can be used to generate electricity or for heating purposes.

Overall, thermal energy conversion is a crucial technology for many industries and applications, as it allows us to efficiently and effectively use the energy stored in heat.

Miftah Rizky Ananta: explain like i'm 5

ChatGPT:Thermal energy is the heat energy that comes from something that's hot. It can be used to make other kinds of energy, like electricity, or to move things like cars, trains, and planes.

For example, when you boil water on the stove, the heat from the stove makes the water hot, and the steam that comes off the water can be used to turn a turbine, which can make electricity. Or, when you ride in a car, the engine takes the heat energy from burning fuel and turns it into the energy that moves the car forward.

Thermal energy conversion is like a magic trick that turns heat into other kinds of energy that we can use for lots of things!