The experimental investigations of recirculated exhaust gas on exhaust emissions in a diesel engine

Abstract

The effects of recirculated exhaust gas on the characteristics of NOx and soot emissions under a wide range of engine loads were experimentally investigated by using a four-cycle, four-cylinder, swirl chamber type, water-cooled diesel engine operating at three engine speeds. The purpose of this study was to develop the EGR-control system for reducing NOx and soot emissions simultaneously in diesel engines. The EGR system is used to reduce NOx emissions, and a novel diesel soot removal device with a cylinder-type scrubber for the experiment system was specially designed and manufactured to reduce soot contents in the recirculated exhaust gas to the intake system of the engine. The experiments were performed at the fixed fuel injection timing of 4° ATDC regardless of experimental conditions. It was found that soot emissions in exhaust gases were reduced by 20 to 70% when the scrubber was applied in the range of the experimental conditions, and that NOx emissions decreased markedly, especially at higher loads, while soot emissions increased owing to the decrease in intake and exhaust oxygen concentrations, and the increase in equivalence ratio as the EGR rate is elevated.