Energy balance analysis of a DI diesel engine with multiple pilot injections strategy and optimization of brake thermal efficiency

Abstract

• Timing and quantity changes of two pilot injections were applied to diesel engine. • The effects of each change on total fuel energy distribution were investigated. • 2nd PiI quantity change has the strongest effect on components of total fuel energy. • 2nd PiI timing change has the least effect on components of total fuel energy. • NSGA-III optimization maximized brake thermal efficiency with an increase of 0.29%. • An increase of 0.74% was obtained in the total exhaust energy percentage which is recoverable. In this study, multiple pilot injections (MPI) strategy having two pilot injections was applied to direct injection (DI) diesel engine running at partial load which is usually within legal emission cycle. Optimization of timing and quantity of the pilot injections is a key factor in achieving performance and emission targets. Due to the advantages of pilot injections in terms of smooth and gradual release of energy from the fuel, the energy distribution in the engine has been put under scope and investigated thoroughly. The effects of varying the timing and quantity of both pilot injections within a reasonable range on brake thermal efficiency, total exhaust energy, in-cylinder heat transfer and friction were investigated and results were presented using a well calibrated and validated thermodynamic model. Relative sensitivity analysis and Spearman correlation coefficients analysis were performed to show the effects of each MPI parameter on the total fuel energy components. The variation of 2nd pilot injection quantity determined the most influential parameter on brake thermal efficiency with a relative sensitivity value of 0.4612, on in-cylinder heat transfer with a relative sensitivity value of 0.4708, on total exhaust energy with a relative sensitivity value of 0.4757 and on friction power with a relative sensitivity value of 0.4677 respectively. Similar to the variation in the 2nd pilot injection quantity, the variation in the 1st pilot injection quantity affected these responses in the same way but with less effect. Timing variations in both pilot injections were found out to be the third and the fourth parameters affecting responses. Especially the variation in 2nd pilot injection timing has the least effect on components of total fuel energy. Retarding both pilot injections increased the brake thermal efficiency and the variation of both pilot injection timing has similar effect on brake thermal efficiency. Retarding the 1st pilot injection timing augmented the total exhaust energy while reducing the in-cylinder heat transfer to coolant and friction power. Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-III (NSGA-III) optimization tool was used for finding the optimal timing and quantity of both pilot injections to maximize brake thermal efficiency. A growth of 0.29% at a rate of %1 in the brake thermal efficiency was achieved. Additionally, an increase of 0.74% at a rate of 2.4% in the total exhaust energy has the potential to be used and recovered in the turbine.