Numerical study of the combustion process and NOx evolution mechanism of ammonia-hydrogen compound fuel engine under different intake conditions

Abstract

To explore the distinction between generation atmosphere of fuel NOx and thermal NOx in an ammonia-hydrogen compound fuel engine, a numerical calculation model was established based on a detailed ammonia-hydrogen oxidation mechanism. The combustion process and NOx evolution mechanism of the ammonia-hydrogen compound fuel engine under different intake conditions were studied. The researchresults for different equivalence ratios show that the in-cylinder hydrogen volume is the primary factor influencing the initial heat release. When the equivalence ratio is between 0.89 and 1.14, the mixture exhibits a higher combustion rate, leading to a shorter CD and an earlier CA50. At this point, the heat release process closer to TDC contributes improving engine combustion efficiency and indicated efficiency. Therefore, when the equivalence ratio is between 0.89 and 1.00, combustion efficiency is higher than 98 % and indicated efficiency is higher than 43 %, the ammonia-hydrogen compound fuel engine achieves relatively higher economy. Both over-rich and over-dilute mixtures induce an enhancement of fuel NOx, while the higher in-cylinder temperature caused by stoichiometric combustion leads to a boom of thermal NOx. Consequently, the total NOx emission from the ammonia-hydrogen compound fuel engine is higher at equivalence ratios between 0.80 and 1.00, and the NOx emission reaches its peak at an equivalence ratio of 0.89. Analysis of the evolution process of key N components in the cylinder shows that incomplete combustion plays a significant role in fuel NOx emissions, while thermal NOx emissions are mainly influenced by the distribution of in-cylinder components and combustion temperature. Specifically, thermal NOx emissions primarily depend on the in-cylinder components distribution in the narrow equivalence ratio range around stoichiometric ratio, and are significantly affected by in-cylinder temperature under other conditions. The in-cylinder oxygen concentration significantly affects fuel NOx emissions under most operating conditions. Further optimization of intake temperature shows that combustion efficiency exceeds 90 % when the intake temperature is above 280 K. When the intake temperature reaches 310 K, the combustion efficiency reaches up to 98 %, thus an intake temperature of about 310 K is sufficient to meet the need for improving the combustion efficiency of ammonia-hydrogen compound fuel engine. To achieve high efficiency and lower NOx emissions, appropriate lean combustion combined with an intake temperature slightly above room temperature is recommended.