A comparative study on the premixed ammonia/hydrogen/air combustion with spark ignition and turbulent jet ignition

Abstract

Turbulent jet ignition (TJI) is an advanced ignition mode that can enhance ignition and combustion performance, and it is a potential ignition strategy for ammonia/hydrogen internal combustion engines. This study aims to investigate the ignition and combustion characteristics of lean ammonia/hydrogen/air ignited by TJI, and the different ignition modes were compared. The results indicate that active TJI with auxiliary hydrogen injection in the pre-chamber improves the ignition and combustion performance of ammonia/hydrogen/air, and the appropriate shift of the pre-chamber equivalence ratio towards the rich side is considered optimal. As the ammonia fraction increases, the ignition mechanism in the main chamber changes from flame ignition to jet ignition. The advantage of TJI is mainly shown in high ammonia fraction mixtures, which is reflected in significantly lower ignition delay and combustion duration. In addition, TJI reduces the sensitivity of combustion to ammonia fraction compared to SI, due to the high ignition energy, initial flame area and turbulence provided by the hot jet. In TJI mode, the increase in jet velocity seems to be detrimental to the radial development of flames near the orifice, which may result in an increase in the duration of the final stage of combustion.