Investigation of the effects of oxyhydrogen gas (HHO) flow rate and injector penetration on the performance of a dual fuel CI engine

Abstract

ABSTRACT Renewable sources of energy help mitigate the environmental concerns associated with fossil fuel combustion and in meeting the ever-increasing energy demand. The use of HHO gas in I.C. Engines becomes promising in this context. HHO gas is a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio 2:1, produced by the electrolysis of water. In this research, alkaline electrolysis was used for producing HHO gas using KOH as an electrolyte. This HHO gas was introduced in the intake manifold of the C.I. engine, making it operate in dual-fuel mode. The effects of HHO gas addition on engine performance and emissions were investigated. The variation of diesel injector protrusion (DIP) by +/− 1 mm from its normal position was also studied. This was achieved using washers of varying thicknesses. Three different HHO gas injection locations, namely port, manifold, and upstream, were compared to determine the most suitable position. The simultaneous evaluation of the effects of DIP and HHO injection location makes this study unique. BSFC, peak pressure, HC, CO, CO2 and smoke emissions were observed to be lower, while BTE, NOx and O2 emissions were enhanced for the optimum condition of + 1 mm DIP, PI with 1.63 LPM of HHO gas.