Combustion in Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engines: Experiments and Detailed Chemical Kinetic Simulations

Abstract

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines are being considered as an alternative to diesel engines. The HCCI concept involves premixing fuel and air prior to induction into the cylinder (as is done in current spark-ignition engine) then igniting the fuel-air mixture through the compression process (as is done in current diesel engines). The combustion occurring in an HCCI engine is fundamentally different from a spark-ignition or Diesel engine in that the heat release occurs as a global autoignition process, as opposed to the turbulent flame propagation or mixing controlled combustion used in current engines. The advantage of this global autoignition is that the temperatures within the cylinder are uniformly low, yielding very low emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx, the chief precursors to photochemical smog). The inherent features of HCCI combustion allows for design of engines with efficiency comparable to, or potentially higher than, diesel engines. While HCCI engines have great potential, several technical barriers exist which currently prevent widespread commercialization of this technology. The most significant challenge is that the combustion timing cannot be controlled by typical in-cylinder means. Means of controlling combustion have been demonstrated, but a robust control methodology that is applicable to the entire range of operation has yet to be developed. This research focuses on understanding basic characteristics of controlling and operating HCCI engines. Experiments and detailed chemical kinetic simulations have been applied to the characterize some of the fundamental operational and design characteristics of HCCI engines. Experiments have been conducted on single and multi-cylinder engines to investigate general features of how combustion timing affects the performance and emissions of HCCI engines. Single-zone modeling has been used to characterize and compare the implementation of different control strategies. Multi-zone modeling has been applied to investigate combustion chamber design with respect to increasing efficiency and reducing emissions in HCCI engines.