Kinetic modeling and experimental study on the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a PCCI engine fueled with ethanol-diesel blends

Abstract

The combustion process in the Premixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI) engine is basically restricted by the in cylinder charged mixture components. Also, the homogeneity of the charged mixture is determining the quality and process of the chemical reaction during the first stage of combustion which establish the auto-ignition process. In the present work, the engine experimental setup is equipped with a new suggested modification on the original fuel system device in order to produce a perfect commixture of diesel/ethanol at different blends ratio with the charged air. The obtained laboratory results are used to validate the simulation's data of the PCCI engine ignition. The prediction is performed using a detailed kinetic reaction mechanism. The simulation study has been achieved to predict the auto-ignition timing and the combustion characteristics of the PCCI engine fueled with different blends of ethanol and diesel at different volume percentage. The obtained results show that the premixed ratio of the ethanol in the ethanol/diesel fuel blends can be used to control the auto-ignition timing and the combustion characteristics at different engine air/fuel ratios. Also, the main pathway of this work is to establish the influence of the engine operating parameters which including the premixed ratio, fuel–air equivalence ratio on the engine performance, combustion and emission characteristics of the PCCI engine. These effects are studied and traced through the simulation result data of the in-cylinder pressure, temperature, and gas phase heat release at different a premixed ratio of ethanol-diesel fuels blends of 0, 10, 20, 30,40 and 50% (by volume).