Methanol Combustion Research Articles

A Study of Heat Recovery and Hydrogen Generation Systems for Methanol Engines

Biofuels are the most essential types of alternative fuels, which currently have significant potential to reduce CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuels. Methanol is a more efficient fuel than petrol due to its physicochemical properties, such as a higher latent heat of vaporization, research octane number, and heat of combustion of the fuel–air mixture. Also, biomethanol is cheaper than traditional petrol and diesel fuel for agricultural countries. The authors have proposed a new approach to improve the characteristics and efficiency of methanol diesel engines by using biomethanol mixed with hydrogen instead of pure biomethanol. Using a hydrogen–biomethanol mixture in modern engines is an effective method because hydrogen is a carbon-free, low-ignition, highest-flame-rate, high-octane fuel. A small quantity of hydrogen added to biomethanol and its combustion in an engine with a heat exchanger increases the combustion temperature and heat release, increases engine power, and reduces fuel consumption. This article presents experimental results of methanol combustion and a hydrogen-in-methanol mixture if hydrogen was retained due to the utilization of the heat of the exhaust gases. The tests were carried on a single-cylinder experimental engine with an injection of liquid methanol and gaseous hydrogen mixtures. The experiments showed that green hydrogen generated onboard the car due to the utilization of heat significantly reduced fuel costs of engines of vehicles and technological installations. It was established a hydrogen gaseous mixture addition of up to 5% by mass to methanol requires a corresponding change in the coefficient of excess air to λ = 1.25. Also, using an additional hydrogen mixture requires adjustment at the ignition moment in the direction of its decrease by 4–5 degrees of the engine crankshaft. Hydrogen gas mixture addition reduced methanol consumption, reaching a maximum reduction of 24%. The maximum increase in power was 30.5% based on experimental data. The reduction in the specified fuel consumption, obtained after experimental tests of the methanol research engine on the stand, can be implemented on the vehicle engines and technological installations equipped with an onboard heat recovery system. Such a system, due to the utilization of heat and the supply of additional hydrogen, can be implemented for engines that work on any alternative or traditional fuels.

Effects of Diesel Pre-Injection Time on Combustion Process and Emission Characteristics of Diesel/Methanol Dual Fuel Engine

ABSTRACT The traditional diesel engine not only causes the reduction of nonrenewable energy but also aggravates environmental pollution. The utilization of renewable fuels in engine can not only effectively reduce the dependence on oil sources but also effectively reduce emissions. As a renewable oxygen-containing fuel with low production cost and widely sourced, methanol holds vast potential for application in engine. The dual-fuel combustion of diesel and methanol has emerged as an important research issue in the internal combustion engine industry. This paper conducted a study on the combustion and emission characteristics of the diesel/methanol dual fuel based on the optical engine test platform and 3D numerical simulation software. The results show that the change in cylinder pressure is relatively small and the heat release rate increases with the advance of diesel pre-injection time. The pre-injection time of diesel mainly affects the mixture distribution of pre-injection diesel, and the mixture is more evenly mixed with the advance of the pre-injection time. The degree of premixed combustion becomes higher, premixed combustion will lead to more rapid combustion, so the peak heat release rate shows an increasing trend. The pre-injection time of diesel is advanced, resulting in a leaner mixture in the early stage, and the fuel is not easy to burn, so CA10 and CA50 are delayed. The soot formation decreases as the mixture becomes more uniform, and the number of pixels of KL factor in each range also decreases. The average temperature in the cylinder is reduced and the NOX shows a decreasing trend with the advance of the pre-injection time. The change in CO generation is relatively small with the advance of pre-injection time.

Energy features of CO2-cycles during oxygen combustion of methanol

The PURPOSE of the work is to determine the mass-flow characteristics of working substances and energy indicators of an installation based on a CO2 cycle with a two-stage pressure increase (Allam cycle) during oxygen combustion of methanol.METHODS. A research methodology is presented in which the mass-flow characteristics of working substances are determined based on the reactions of combustion and synthesis of methanol and electrolysis of water. These reactions are basic for ensuring operational processes in the installation. The method is based on the molar ratios of substances participating in reactions under stoichiometric conditions. Using the thermodynamic parameters of the cycle being implemented and at a given installation power, the consumption of the working fluid, the share of carbon dioxide renewal in the cycle, the amount of methanol produced in the synthesis unit, the amount of fresh methanol, the amount of hydrogen produced in the water electrolysis unit and the amount of oxygen are determined, necessary to ensure fuel combustion processes. At the same time, the amount of commercial hydrogen is determined. Electricity consumption for own needs is determined using regulatory methods and data from equipment manufacturers.RESULTS. The article shows that with similar values of thermal efficiency of CO2 cycles based on oxygen combustion of methane and methanol, the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the cycle for disposal is 11% less. It has been shown that a CO2 cycle operating on methanol is capable of producing commercial hydrogen simultaneously with electricity generation. The specific electricity consumption for hydrogen production is 22% less than for its production without combination with the CO2 cycle.

Experimental study of NO emission in coal-methanol co-combustion under air-staged condition

Application of renewable methanol as an alternative fuel is a promising method for both CO2 and NO emission reduction in thermal power plants fueled by coal. This work gives the first insight into coal-methanol co-combustion from the perspective of NO emission control with a wide range of methanol blending ratio (0%–100 %) involved. Air-staged strategy commonly applied in thermal power plants fueled by coal was considered, and the effects of some key parameters, including burnout air ratio, burnout air injection position and furnace temperature, were analyzed. Experimental results show a significant potential of NO emission reduction in coal-methanol co-combustion, as NO emission from methanol combustion is less than 30 % of that from coal combustion. The correlation between NO emission and methanol blending ratio is approximately linear. Air-staged strategy is still effective for NO emission reduction in coal-methanol co-combustion, and the effects of the key parameter is similar to that in coal combustion. Increase of burnout air ratio and delay of burnout air injection are beneficial, and NO emission can be reduced by more than 70 % compared with that under unstaged condition. Furnace temperature rise is harmful, whereas the corresponding NO emission increase is lower than 30 ppm (@6 % O2).

Computational investigation of a methanol compression ignition engine assisted by a glow plug

This work explores the feasibility of pure methanol combustion in a light-duty diesel engine assisted by a glow plug (GP). The simulations represented a mild engine load with an indicated mean effective pressure of 7 bar. An extensive computational study was conducted, and the successful operation of the pure methanol compression ignition engine was demonstrated. The effects of the GP position, spray umbrella angle, the relative angle (RA) between the glow plug and jet trajectory, and the injection strategy on the engine performance were evaluated. The autoignition of methanol-air mixture was found to primarily occur at an equivalence ratio between 0.2 and 0.4. However, an even richer mixture accompanied the lower temperature due to intense heat absorption of evaporation, significantly prolonging the ignition delay. Therefore, to improve the ignition and combustion heat release processes, RA was optimized to adequately control the mixture distribution around the GP. At each position of the GP, the optimum RA differed due to the complex flow and air-fuel mixing within the combustion chamber, which became smaller (from 12.5° to 5°) when the GP was moved anticlockwise from the intake port to the exhaust port regions. Furthermore, a split injection strategy was proposed to ensure the successful ignition of the methanol jets. The engine performance exhibited a high sensitivity to the pilot and main injection timings. A small pilot mass fraction of no higher than 20% was recommended to mitigate fuel jet-GP interaction and fuel impingement in the squish region.

The combustion and emission characteristics of pure methanol as a substitute fuel for compression ignition engines

ABSTRACT Methanol, as a carbon-neutral resource, exhibits significant potential in the automotive sector. The objectives of this study are to investigate the fuel economy, emission characteristics, and combustion properties of methanol in compression-ignition engines. The research findings indicated that the combustion duration of methanol significantly extended with increasing speed and load. In comparison to diesel, methanol exhibited a relatively lower peak heat release rate under various operating conditions. With an increase in injection pressure or an advancement in injection timing, the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) decreased initially and then increased. The optimal injection pressure for methanol was lower than that for diesel, while the optimal injection timing was advanced. As the EGR rate increased, BSFC gradually decreased at each speed. When comparing optimized methanol with diesel, the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of methanol was 37.54%, slightly lower than that of diesel. Methanol’s NOx, soot, and CO emissions were significantly lower than diesel, while methanol and formaldehyde emissions were higher, especially with a methanol emission of 0.83 g/kW.h. Overall, applying pure methanol as fuel in compression-ignition engines can significantly reduce emissions while maintaining the BTE as compared with that of diesel fuel, but the methanol emissions in the exhaust increase significantly.

Study on optimization characteristics of methanol combustion cooker based on porous media

This research initially presents an internal structure optimization technique through numerical investigation with the intention of addressing the issues of unstable and poorly adjustable combustion flame of porous media methanol furnace. The entire premixed combustion technology and the flue gas waste heat evaporation technology are then combined in a combustion technology that is based on this stove structure. As a result, this resolves substantially the issues with methanol stove tempering, misfire, and uneven temperature. The fully premixed methanol cooker was eventually created and put into wide production. According to the findings, the flow rate was between 0.25 and 0.7 m/s before the cooker structural improvement and around 0.45 m/s after. More crucially, by eliminating the low temperature zone of approximately 300 °C and raising the temperature to about 500 °C, the temperature field at the cooker's exit porous medium was much improved. Additionally, the methanol cooker in the typical diffusion combustion mode was outperformed by the full premixed combustion technology and flue gas waste heat evaporation technology in this trial in terms of complete fuel combustion with no pollutant emissions. The study's findings indicate that the cooker's overall thermal efficiency is 68.2%, which has clear financial benefits.

Laminar flame speed measurement and combustion mechanism optimization of methanol–air mixtures

AbstractLaminar flame speeds of methanol/air mixtures at 338–398 K are measured by the heat flux method, extending the range of equivalence ratio up to 2.1. And a new optimized methanol mechanism with 94 reactions is proposed by using the particle swarm algorithm, adjusting 20 Arrhenius pre‐exponential factors in their uncertainty domains. The optimized model is compared with eight methanol combustion mechanisms and experimental data published in recent years, covering a wide range of initial temperatures (298–1537 K), pressures (0.04–50 atm) and equivalence ratios (0.5–2.1). The results show that the optimized mechanism not only improves the accuracy of ignition delay time with rapid compression machine at low temperature but also moderately improve the description of laminar flame speed in lean and stoichiometric conditions. Meanwhile, the optimized model significantly enhances the prediction accuracy of CH3 and CH2O radical, and perfectly captures the evolution trend of HCO radical in laminar flat flame. Overall, the optimized mechanism provides the best overall description of the currently available measurements, leading to more accurate and comprehensive prediction of ignition delay time, laminar flame speed and species concentration.

Measurement of Energy Expenditure by Indirect Calorimetry with a Whole-Room Calorimeter.

Energy plays a vital role in biological processes. To assess energy metabolism status in a large population cohort, the standard operating procedure for measuring energy expenditure measurement using a whole-room calorimeter was purposed in this study. This protocol illustrates the procedure and specific details for validating methanol burning and evaluating the metabolic status of volunteers. In metabolic status evaluation, the (1) O2 consumption, (2) CO2 production, (3) energy expenditure, and (4) respiratory exchange ratio were first measured at resting and provided as basic phenotype items in Human Phenotype Atlas. Besides, it includes the procedure and results for measuring exercise-related activity thermogenesis and evaluating the impact of environmental temperature on energy metabolism. These results demonstrate the broader utility of the whole-room calorimeter. The implementation of this protocol is expected to enhance the data comparability in Human Phenotype Atla and provide a valuable reference for metabolism-related studies.

Experimental study on microwave ignition of ADN-based liquid propellant droplets doped with alumina nanoparticles

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles on the evaporation, ignition, and combustion of ammonium dinitramide (ADN)-based liquid propellants under microwave irradiation. The alumina nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed in the ADN-based propellant at mass ratios of 25, 50, and 100 ppm, resulting in the formation of nano-fuel. Experimental methods were employed to examine the influence of alumina nanoparticles on the micro-explosion intensity, ignition delay time, combustion duration, critical ignition power, and emission spectra of the nano-fuel droplets. The experimental findings revealed a significant increase in the intensity and frequency of micro-explosion events with the inclusion of alumina nanoparticles. Compared to pure propellant, the nano-fuel with a concentration of 25 ppm exhibited a reduction of 33.5% in ignition delay time and a decrease of 9% in critical ignition power. Furthermore, the emission spectra characteristics of the pure propellant and nano-fuel were analyzed, indicating that alumina nanoparticles notably enhanced the thermal decomposition of ADN and the exothermic reaction of methanol combustion. This study provides an effective approach to improve the evaporation and combustion performance of ADN-based liquid propellants, offering potential possibilities for future applications.

Experimental investigation of the plasma-assisted spray combustion of methanol/water mixtures

To achieve the goal of net zero by 2050, carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced using carbon–neutral fuels, and methanol is a feasible choice for gas turbines, IC engines, and furnaces. Methanol can be prepared by bio-process or thermal catalytic processes, but the crude product contains much water. Crude methanol must be dehydrated into high-grade methanol to enable its use as fuel. The dehydration process is the most energy-intensive step in methanol production. Therefore, this study investigated the feasibility of adding different proportions of water to methanol as a fuel for plasma-assisted spray combustion by using low-power gliding arc plasma. Based on the current sprayer setup, using plasma to sustain water-content methanol is more energy-efficient than refining it. The results delineate that plasma can sustain the combustion of methanol in a spray, even when the methanol contains 60 % water. The length and lift-off height of the flame are related to the water content of the fuel. To illustrate this distinguishing phenomenon, this study used CH and OH fluorescence to conduct a more in-depth analysis. The distribution of CH* radicals indicated that the gliding arc plasma enhanced the flame heat release rate, which may be why the flammability limit extended to greater proportions of water with methanol. It's fascinating to observe that blended fuel with higher water content can result in higher OH chemiluminescence signals. This suggests that the dissociation of water vapor, caused by the thermal effect of the gliding arc, plays a crucial role at the flame base locations. In addition, the flammability limits, emissions, and combustion efficiency of methanol/water spray combustion with and without plasma assistance were all examined.

The sensitivity of pressure-based knock threshold values to alternative fuels: A comparison of methanol vs. gasoline

The heavy-duty industry typically uses a high cetane fuel to power their vehicles, currently typically fossil diesel. Switching to renewable fuels such as methanol requires a major changeover in engine technology. Due to the high octane number of methanol, the diesel engines will have to be replaced by more suitable spark-ignited engines. An accurate knock control system will then be needed to accommodate the high power density requirements of this sector. However, current pressure-based knock detection methods were primarily developed for gasoline fuel operation. Blindly copying these methods for a fuel which has vastly different knock properties can lead to suboptimal engine operation with an efficiency and power loss as result. In this work, experiments were conducted on a single cylinder port fuel injected spark-ignited CFR engine. The applicability of five different pressure-based knock metrics was reassessed for methanol fuel and their performance was compared to each other. Knock threshold values were established for both gasoline and methanol for the MAPO (maximum amplitude of pressure oscillations), AE (average energy) and MVTD (minimum value of third derivative) methods. The results show that the performance of the single peak metrics MAPO and IMPO (integral of modulus of pressure oscillations), and the time-averaged metrics AE and HRR (heat release rate) remains identical between methanol and gasoline operation. For the MVTD method however, the suggested low sampling rate of 1 sample/°ca is insufficient for methanol combustion since the fuel by nature already shows a narrow pressure peak. Overall, the HRR method outperforms the others through the addition of a noise constraint. The calculated knock threshold values, however, are drastically different between both fuels. Compared to gasoline, the thresholds for methanol were 1.25, 2.40 and 5.45 times higher for the MAPO, AE and MVTD methods respectively. This highlights the need for dedicated, fuel-specific, knock threshold values.

Methanol Combustion Characteristics in Compression Ignition Engines: A Critical Review

Methanol has been identified as a transition fuel for the decarbonisation of combustion-based industries, including automotive and maritime. This study aims to conduct a critical review of methanol combustion in compression ignition engines and analyse the reviewed studies’ results to quantify methanol use’s impact on engine performance and emissions characteristics. The diesel and diesel–methanol operation of these engines are comparatively assessed, demonstrating the trade-offs between the methanol fraction, the key engine performance parameters, including brake thermal efficiency, peak in-cylinder pressure, heat release rate, and temperature, as well as the carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter emissions. The types of the reviewed engines considering the main two combustion methods, namely premixed and diffusion combustion, are discussed. Research gaps are identified, and recommendations for future research directions to address existing challenges for the wider use of methanol as a marine fuel are provided. This comprehensive review provides insights supporting methanol engine operation, and it is expected to lead to further studies towards more efficient use of methanol-fueled marine engines.

Injection strategy of methanol for high loads and low NOx emissions in a neat methanol LTC engine

Methanol is a low carbon and clean burning renewable fuel. Though low temperature combustion (LTC) of neat methanol results in almost no smoke with ultra-low NOx, the extremely low cetane number poses challenges. This experimental study demonstrates LTC of neat methanol at full load by combining direct and port injection of this fuel with controlled intake air temperature (IAT). The effects of important variables including IAT and port (premixed) and direct-injected methanol shares on combustion, performance, regulated and unregulated emissions were investigated. The timing of the direct-injected methanol had to be retarded with an increase in the premixed methanol share and IAT in order to limit the pressure rise rate without affecting the ITE. At high IATs, the premixed methanol burned first, followed by the directly injected methanol, at low IATs, these phases merged, resulting in a high rate of heat release. Employing the lowest possible IAT and the highest possible premixed methanol share led to high ITE. Increase in the MDIP to 450 bar was advantageous due to better fuel evaporation and enhanced combustion. Negligible smoke, very low NOx of 2.7 g/kWh, high ITE of 45% and unburned HC and methanol emissions lesser than 3 g/kWh could be achieved.

An experimental study on droplet-scale combustion and atomization behavior in pure ethanol, methanol, and trimethyl borate, and their blends

The combustion and atomization behavior of pure ethanol (EtOH), methanol (MeOH) and trimethyl borate (TMB) fuels and their blends prepared at 20 wt%, 40 wt%, 60 wt% and 80 wt% ratios were determined by processing videographs recorded with a high-speed camera and temperature data recorded with a thermal camera during droplet-scale combustion experiments performed at atmospheric pressure. EtOH and MeOH are good alternatives for transport due to their high oxygen content and relatively short carbon chains. TMB, an organoboron derivative in the liquid phase, is unique to creating a low-carbon emission and high-energy alternative fuel blend with boron, oxygen, and short carbon chains. This study focuses on the preparation of EtOH, MeOH, and TMB fuels and homogenized fuel mixtures with high energy values and the characterization of their combustion behavior. The experiments were carried out by suspending ethanol-trimethy borate (EtOH-TMB) and methanol-trimethyl borate (MeOH-TMB) fuel droplets on SiC wire and igniting them with an electrode producing an arc of 1 ms duration at 20 ms intervals with 6 kV energy. The results showed that EtOH and TMB formed a homogenized fuel mixture at all mixing ratios and the largest and most homogeneous green luminescence flame envelopes (depending on boron oxidation) were formed, indicating BO2 formation in almost all fuel mixtures. On the other hand, the droplets of MeOH-TMB fuel mixtures containing 20 wt%, 40 wt%, and 60 wt% MeOH exhibited the most favorable trend to the D2-law of diameter reduction during combustion. EtOH-TMB fuel droplets containing 60 wt% TMB exhibited the highest maximum flame temperature of 631 K. In this study, it has been shown that new-generation hybrid transportation fuels with no phase separation, low ignition delay times despite increased oxygen content, and high calorific value can be produced with hybrid fuel blends to be formed with TMB and alcohols. The results obtained will shed light on the literature for the solution to the problematic combustion characteristics of boron, which is tried to be used in many areas of the transportation industry.

Improving the lean burn performance of a high compression ratio methanol engine by multiple-injection

Methanol is a promising fuel for achieving carbon neutrality in sectors requiring internal combustion engines. The multiple-injection approach is effective in reducing cycle-to-cycle variations and improving the performance of methanol engines under lean burn conditions. This study proposes a concept for transforming diesel engines into methanol engines with flexible injection and lean burning capabilities. This study fills the research gap in the study of lean methanol combustion in swirl combustion chambers. The effects of 22 different multiple-injection strategies on combustion characteristics, emission performance, and combustion stability are experimentally assessed in a direct-injection spark ignition engine with an excess air ratio (λ) of 1.35. Each multiple-injection strategy is comprehensively evaluated using a merit function and compared with the baseline case that uses single injection. The results show that the double- and triple-injection strategies substantially shorten the durations of combustion and flame development. Therefore, a higher effective expansion ratio is obtained. Meanwhile, the cycle-to-cycle variation in the IMEP decreases from 4.2% of the baseline to 1.49% at T8. CO and HC emissions deteriorate; however, NOx and CO2 emissions under triple injection are lower than those under the baseline. The T7 case with triple injection achieves the highest thermal efficiency, which is 6.8% higher than that for the baseline case. Overall, triple injection achieves higher merit function values, which indicates a better capability to improve lean-burn performance than double injection.

Analysis of the effect of water on methanol combustion under engine-related conditions based on a newly developed reduced mechanism

Methanol is widely regarded as an ideal alternative fuel due to its direct synthesis from carbon dioxide, ease of transportation, and excellent combustion characteristics. Due to the costly dehydration step in the methanol production process, the direct use of aqueous methanol is a good option. In this study, a reduced NT-M model with 62 species and 222 reactions for methanol/diesel blends using a decoupling methodology was developed. The validated NT-M model improves the prediction accuracy of laminar flame speeds for methanol at fuel-rich conditions compared to other mechanisms. In addition, the effect of water addition on methanol combustion was analyzed. The result shows that increasing the water content of methanol leads to an increase in IDT and a decrease in LFS. The extent of the chemical effect of water on methanol combustion is influenced by the equivalence ratio. The chemical effect of water at low equivalence ratios is almost negligible. The reaction CH3OH + HO2CH2OH + H2O2 has the most significant effect on IDT. Interestingly, the addition of water inhibits the forward progress of this reaction, leading to an increase in IDT. Moreover, the chemical effect of water leads to an increase in LFS.

Experimental study of the ignition chamber with accelerating cavity applying to methanol lean combustion

Owing to the high laminar flame velocity and broad flammability limit of methanol (CH3OH), it is ideal for lean burning. How to obtain high energy and reliable ignition is one of the biggest challenges with lean or ultra-low combustion. To gain good ultra-lean burn performance, one solution is utilizing an turbulent jet ignition (TJI)system. Moreover, the methanol can be directly used in the jet ignition chamber for its low vaporization temperature and volatile characteristics. To enhance the methanol jet ignition performance, the two-stage accelerating cavity was applied to accelerate the combustion and extend the lean-burn limit in this research. In a optical experimental apparatus, jet ignition and combustion process of premixed methanol in the main combustion chamber (MCC) were investigated using the shadowgraph and transient pressure data acquisition methods. The experiment results showed that the pressure of the MCC emerged an obvious two-stage rising process to use the two-stage accelerating cavity (SAC). In addition, when the SAC was applied in the ignition chamber (IC), the proportion and peak value of the first stage heat release in the MCC were clearly higher than those of the single straight hole (SSH). Moreover, the ignition chamber compounded with SAC exhibited a short ignition delay and long jet ignition duration. Compared to SSH, the methanol combustion duration in the MCC by using SAC shortened by approximately 28% under both stoichiometric and lean conditions. In other words, The SAC accelerated the combustion process of methanol. More significantly, it was found that the proper secondary acceleration hole diameter (SAHD) play an crucial role in the jet ignition and combustion process, especially under ultra-lean conditions. In addition, by utilizing SAC-3-4.5, the combustion duration of was shortened by 41.9% than that of using SAC-3-3 at the equivalence ratio of 0.6. Finally, the ultra-lean burn limit could be extended to 0.35 by using SAC-3-4.5, which greatly expanded the methanol lean combustion limit.

Co-optimization of injection parameters and injector layouts for a methanol/diesel direct dual-fuel stratification (DDFS) engine

Direct dual fuel stratification (DDFS) is a promising combustion mode to achieve satisfactory engine performance with the effective control of ignition and combustion processes. In this study, a DDFS engine fueled with methanol and diesel was investigated at low loads based on a four-stroke light-duty naturally aspirated engine. Both injection parameters and injector layouts of the two fuels were co-optimized by the fast nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). The results show that the fractions, injection timings, spray half-included angles, and injector positions of the two fuels all showed significant influences on engine performance. Finally, the high methanol fraction, advanced diesel injection timing, methanol injection timing near the top dead center, and large spray half-included angle of methanol were adopted in the optimal case to achieve both low EISFC and NOx simultaneously. Meanwhile, a centrally-mounted methanol injector was beneficial to shorten combustion duration, and the diesel injector can be arranged in a semicircle area with a radius of approximately 1.14 cm to provide the sufficiently high temperature for the complete combustion of methanol.

Experimental study on combustion behaviors of thin-layer methanol with lateral continuous leakage

Fire accidents caused by liquid fuel leaks occur at times. In this paper, the combustion behavior of thin layers formed by the free spread of methanol at six continuous leakage rates was studied. The results show that methanol combustion with continuous leakage can be divided into four stages according to the change of burning area. The quasi-steady burning rate of thin-layer fuel is lower than that of pool fire at the same scale, due to the rapid heat exchange between the fuel layer and the substrate. As measured and calculated, the average fuel layer thickness gradually decreases in the spread burning stage, rises in the shrink burning stage, and finally reaches stability. The average fuel layer thickness of the quasi-steady burning stage of each case is used to calculate the heat loss by substrate reflection. Based on the law of energy conservation, a heat equilibrium model of the quasi-steady burning stage of a thin layer combined with fuel flow heat transfer was established. This model explains the uneven substrate temperature found by experimental measurements. The calculation results show that the effect of flow heat transfer is more significant within 20% of the burning area near the leakage port.