Conventional Diesel Combustion Research Articles

Enhancing the usability range of acetylene in CI engines through split injection of high-reactive fuel under RCCI operation: Optimized operability using an MCDM approach

Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) has emerged as a promising solution to address the challenges of advanced combustion techniques in diesel engines, balancing combustion control and emission reduction. This study investigates the impact of split-injection high-reactivity fuel (HRF) dosing in RCCI to enhance charge homogeneity at lower injection timing advancements. It systematically explores progressive advancements in HRF injection timing, distinguishing between main and pilot injections. The main injection varied from 20° bTDC to 70° bTDC, while the pilot injection, relative to the main injection, spans 25°-40° CA ahead with a 5° progression. As an LRF, Port-injected Acetylene supplements the process with variable premixed ratios. Further, using a multi-criteria decision-making method (AHP), the study optimizes operating conditions, proposing a main injection at 20° bTDC, a pilot injection 40° CA ahead, and 70 % LRF participation. This optimized condition yields significant benefits such as 32.99 % higher brake thermal efficiency (BTE), 160 % longer premixed duration, 18.65 % lower maximum temperature, 89.41 % lower NO emissions, 91.83 % lower hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, 91.24 % lower CO emissions and 97.20 % lower smoke opacity compared to conventional diesel combustion (CDC) operation. The results highlight the advantages of multiple fuel injections in RCCI, improving blending characteristics at lower injection angles.

Impacts of pine oil and hydrogen induction with hemp oil methyl ester on dual fuel reactivity controlled compression ignition combustion in diesel engine

AbstractThe current research focuses on the impacts of pine oil injection and hydrogen induction separately with hemp oil methyl ester (HOME) in the single cylinder diesel engine in dual fuel‐reactivity controlled compression ignition (DF‐RCCI) combustion mode. The engine was tested under a DF‐RCCI mode for the different energy shares of 10% pine oil with HOME (10P‐HOME), 30% pine oil with HOME (30P‐HOME), 3‐lpm hydrogen with HOME (3‐lpmH2‐HOME), and 6‐lpm hydrogen with HOME (6‐lpmH2‐HOME) separately at 345 °CA bTDC of low reactivity fuel (pine oil and hydrogen) and 23°C bTDC injection timing of high reactivity fuel (HOME). The results showed a higher Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE) of 7.44%, 5.32%, 5.72%, and 2.46% for 6‐lpmH2‐HOME, 3‐lpmH2‐HOME, 30P‐HOME, and 10P‐HOME fuel shares, respectively, over the conventional diesel combustion (CDC) at full load. 30P‐HOME, 3‐lpmH2‐HOME, and 6‐lpmH2‐HOME fuel combinations recorded 4.08% 4.42%, and 5.69% lower brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), respectively, at full load. When comparing DF‐RCCI combustion to CDC, an increase in the heat release rate (HRR) of 2.89%–26.50% and a rise in peak cylinder pressure of 0.77%–12.99% were observed. The 30P‐HOME, 3‐lpmH2‐HOME, and 6‐lpmH2‐HOME emit less smoke in DF‐RCCI combustion mode by 13.06%, 4.84%, and 7.26%, respectively at full load condition. When using 30P‐HOME the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) decreased by 3.50% at full load condition. At part and full load conditions, the 30P‐HOME fuel share reduced oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emissions by 3.93% and 5.26%, respectively.

Experimental investigation and optimization of dual fuel combustion using diesel/gasoline and Bio-oil extracted from Co-thermal liquefaction of paint/biomass wastes: An approach towards waste to energy

A higher-grade transport fuel from both non-biodegradable paint waste and biomass plant Prosopis Juliflora is obtained in the most economical and eco-friendly way by hydrothermal liquefaction process. The yielded bio-oil is experimented on a diesel engine in dual fuel combustion (DFC) strategy and compared with the conventional diesel combustion (CDC). In DFC, the secondary fuels (gasoline, bio-oil, and premixed gasoline-bio-oil blends) are port injected at different premixed ratios (10, 20 and 30%), while the primary diesel fuel is directly injected into the cylinder. DFC of diesel - bio-oil (DB) exhibited higher brake thermal efficiency than premixed gasoline at all power outputs and performed closer to neat diesel. Lower smoke emission is observed in DB than neat diesel and the DFC of diesel-gasoline (DG) at all conditions. At 30% premixed ratio, the smoke opacity of DFC of diesel and premixed bio-oil - gasoline (DGB) is 65.7% and 68% respectively compared to that of CDC (76.4%). At all loads, average NOx emission of DGB (20% gasoline) is abated by 23.2, 7.8 and 12.9% than CDC and 20% of DB and DG respectively but almost equal to neat diesel at full load. The experimental data are used to train an artificial network (ANN) and the trained ANN is used to generate sufficient data for optimizing the fuel concentration using TOPSIS algorithm to realize an overall improved performance and emissions. The optimized combustion modes arrived from this study are: CDC for 25% load, DFC of DGB (D90G2B8) for 50% load and DFC of DB for 75% (D89B11) and 100% (D86B14) loads.

Experimental study of peripheral fuel injection for higher performance in diesel engines

In conventional diesel combustion (CDC), a centrally located multi-hole injector supplies fuel radially outwards. This study introduces and explores the concept of peripheral fuel injection (PeFI) to supply fuel from multiple locations on top of the combustion chamber using several single-hole injectors. The PeFI concept is designed to eliminate flame-wall and jet-wall interactions, and, ideally, to produce independent flames without any interference. PeFI is also intended to increase air entrainment in the near field and thus, reduce equivalence ratio at the lift-off length and subsequent soot formation. PeFI reduces wall heat transfer compared to CDC although this feature is not considered in the present study. The two methods of fuel injection are compared in a non-reacting optical chamber via high-speed imaging of the jets. N-heptane fuel at 1500 bar supply pressures is injected into a test chamber filled with nitrogen at engine relevant ambient densities of 23.0 and 18.5 kg/m3. Four configurations are trialed including a six-hole central injector and six, single-hole PeFI injectors with holes oriented at a layout angle, defined as the angle between the center of the fuel jet and chamber radius, of 0°, 15°, and 30°. Flow visualizations show jet-to-jet interactions at small layout angles for PeFI, but little to no jet-to-jet (or jet-wall) interference as the layout angle increases to 30°. Image analysis reveals that PeFI provides faster rate of injection, longer jet penetration length, greater width near the jet tip, and larger jet volume compared to those for the central injector. Overall, results demonstrate the potential of PeFI to simultaneously improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions in diesel engines.

A relative comparison of HCCI, PCCI, and RCCI combustion strategies: an alternative fuels perspective

Low temperature combustion (LTC) strategies have the potential for simultaneous reduction in oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and soot emissions while achieving higher thermal efficiency. Commercial widespread implementation of LTC strategies demands addressing several challenges, including narrow operating load range, lack of ignition timing control, and reducing high unburned hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. These challenges could be because the conventional engine design and fuels cannot adapt well to LTC modes. Thus, replacing conventional diesel fuel with suitable alternative fuels for LTC strategies is essential. In the present work, three LTC strategies, Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), Premixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI), and Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI), are compared with conventional diesel combustion in a production, light-duty diesel engine from an alternative fuel perspective to come up with a befitting strategy and fuel to achieve wider operating range and lower emissions. The fuel selection strategy based on the fundamental fuel property requirements of the three LTC strategies has been discussed in detail. The baseline reference data is fixed by comparing three LTC strategies with conventional diesel combustion using diesel and gasoline as reference fuel at 40% load, the maximum common achievable load among the three LTC strategies. This is followed by an investigation of the effect of alternative fuels across three LTC strategies to address the shortcomings of the LTC strategies. The results show that the engine operating load range could be extended, and HC and CO emissions are reduced significantly with alternative fuels in the three LTC strategies.

Effect of Fuel Injection Strategies on Performance, Regulated and Unregulated Emissions of a Gasoline Compression Ignition Engine

Abstract Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) mode engines are characterized by partially premixed charge combustion, leading to significant and simultaneous reductions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions. However, gasoline compression ignition engine operation suffers from a limited operating window. Air preheating and low-research octane number fuels are required to improve the engine performance. This experimental study used a blend of 70% (v/v) gasoline and 30% diesel as test fuel in a direct injection medium-duty compression ignition engine. Experiments were carried out at 5- and 10-bar brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) engine loads at 1500–2500 rpm engine speeds using a triple injection strategy (two pilots and one main injection) for all test conditions. The combustion phasing was kept constant with respect to crank angle to produce a high power output. The investigations examined engine performance and regulated and unregulated emissions. The test engine was initially operated in conventional diesel combustion mode with diesel for baseline data generation. Gasoline compression ignition mode operation demonstrated a remarkable 16% increase in the brake thermal efficiency and a substantial reduction of 65% in nitrogen oxide emissions compared to the baseline conventional diesel combustion mode. The GCI engine exhaust showed higher concentrations of regulated emissions, namely hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, and unregulated trace emissions, such as methane, acetylene, toluene, inorganic gaseous species, and unsaturated hydrocarbons.

Investigation of the effect of camshaft profiles designed with the circular arc curve method for a common rail dual fuel engine on mechanical vibration and noise emissions

In this study, the design and manufacturing of cam profiles with different valve lifts were carried out using the geometric spring curve method for a single-cylinder, four-stroke common rail diesel engine. Subsequently, the impact of the designed cam profiles on vibration and noise emissions in conventional diesel combustion was examined. The effects of the cam profiles obtained using the circular spring curve method and fitted with Fourier series on the tappet's speed, acceleration, and leap were examined, and then the cam profiles to be manufactured were determined. Experimental tests were conducted on vibration and noise emissions using the manufactured cam profiles with pure diesel fuel at five different engine loads and a constant engine speed. When the results are examined, increasing the valve lift amount compared to the original cam resulted in an approximate 24% increase in vibration level, while decreasing the valve lift amount reduced the vibration level by approximately 20%. the effect of cam profile modification on average noise emissions was quite evident.

Effects of oxygen enrichment on diesel spray flame soot formation in O2/Ar atmosphere

In this study, diesel spray combustion at oxygen-enriched conditions (oxygen volume fraction of 21–70 %) with argon dilution is experimentally investigated in a constant-volume combustion chamber. Optical diagnostics are employed to study flame development, stabilization, and soot formation at oxygen-enriched conditions. To further verify the experimental observations, two-stage Lagrangian simulations are used to analyze the effects of oxygen on the formation and oxidation of soot precursors, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Results show that replacing nitrogen in air by argon leads to a 50 % reduction of the flame lift-off length, an increased soot flame temperature by 300 K, and higher soot concentrations. Flame morphology and structure still follow the classic conventional diesel combustion model in the oxygen range of 21–40 %, while changes are observed when oxygen levels are higher than 50 %. The width and length of the soot flame are shortened, and chemiluminescence from intermediate species like CO dominates the flame natural luminosity at the spray head, where the flame temperature reaches near 3000 K. Soot reduction mechanisms at high-degree oxygen-enrichment conditions are investigated. The intrinsic mixing-limited combustion of diesel sprays leads to unavoidable fuel-rich areas locally, but the shortened flame lift-off length and sufficient oxygen supply confines soot-forming conditions to a smaller, upstream region. The residence time of fuel parcels in this confined soot-forming area is shortened due to the larger local spray velocity. Thereafter, fuel parcels enter a high-temperature fuel-lean region, where the formed soot is oxidized rapidly.

Potentials and limitations of battery-electric container ship propulsion systems

The defossilization of the open-sea ship traffic can most definitely only be achieved with alternative energy carriers. Besides synthetic fuels, battery-electric propulsion is a much-discussed measure, especially for smaller vessels and short passages. However, there is no consensus on quantitative ship characteristics that would allow for the application of batteries instead of a fuel-based solution. Therefore, limitations of battery propulsion systems are assessed for 45 vessels with a range of transport capacities. The most common marine battery technologies are evaluated both economically and environmentally by directly comparing their performances with state-of-the-art combustion engines. Mass and volume limitations of the ship are monitored, and emerging opportunity costs are quantified in addition to capital and operating expenses.The application of battery-electric propulsion systems is found not to be limited by the vessel size but mostly by the operated passage length. While distances of up to 15,000 km are technically achievable, economic limitations are effectively reducing the area of application to a maximum of 10,000 km. However, when comparing battery solutions with conventional diesel combustion engines, economic competitiveness is only observed for passages of up to 2,500 km when including a carbon tax and forecasting optimistic battery developments.

Impact of engine control variables on low load combustion efficiency and exhaust emissions of a methane-diesel dual fuel engine

A conventional diesel engine when operated in the reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) combustion strategy faces challenges of high total hydrocarbon (THC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions leading to poor combustion efficiency at low engine loads. The oxides of nitrogen (NOx) versus smoke trade-off, encountered in conventional diesel combustion, is replaced by the NOx-THC trade-off in the RCCI operation. This work focuses on addressing the NOx-THC trade-off issue by systematically investigating the effects of engine control variables, such as, fuel injection timing, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and intake throttling, on a light duty compression ignition engine running in a methane-diesel dual fuel mode. The engine is operated at a load of 3 bar gross indicated mean effective pressure and at a speed of 1500 rev/min. Based on relationships identified between engine control variables, combustion parameters, emissions and engine performance, a bottom-up approach is used to combine the control variables synergistically to improve the NOx-THC trade-off. A combination of advanced start of injection timing of diesel (−35 degree crank angle (°CA) after top dead centre), 50% premix ratio and 55% EGR levels along with the end of port fuel injection of methane in the middle of the intake stroke (−270°CA), has resulted in a ∼34 percentage points (from 56% to 90%) improvement in combustion efficiency and a ∼9.5 percentage points improvement in thermal efficiency compared to the baseline low load dual fuel operation while maintaining good combustion stability. THC emission is reduced from 105 to ∼25 g/kWh whilst maintaining low levels of NOx (<0.3 g/kWh).

Impact of Biofuel Blending on Hydrocarbon Speciation and Particulate Matter from a Medium-Duty Multimode Combustion Strategy

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Co-Optima initiative simultaneous focused on diversifying fuel sources, improving efficiency, and reducing emissions through using novel combustion strategies and sustainable fuel blends. For medium-duty/heavy-duty diesel engines, research in this area has led to the development of a multimode strategy that uses premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) at low loads and conventional diesel combustion (CDC) at mid–high loads. The aim of this study was to understand how emissions were impacted when using PCCI instead of CDC at low loads and switching to an oxygenated biofuel blend. It provides a detailed speciation of the hydrocarbon (HC) and particulate matter (PM) emissions from a multimode medium-duty engine operating at low loads in PCCI and CDC modes and high loads in CDC. The effect of the oxygenated biofuel blend on emissions was studied at all three mode–load conditions using #2 ULSD and a bio-derived fuel (25% hexyl hexanoate (HHN)) blended in #2 ULSD. The PCCI mode effectively decreased NOx, total HC, and PM/PN emissions, with a substantial decrease in larger particles (≥50 nm). A PM/PN reduction was observed at high loads with the 25% HHN fuel. While the total HC emissions were not impacted by fuel type, the detailed HC analysis exposed changes in the HC’s composition.

Effect of early intake valve closing, exhaust gas recirculation and split injection on combustion and emissions characteristics of a HDDI diesel engine operating in PCCI combustion mode

Premixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI) combustion is an alternative to conventional diffusion-controlled combustion for Mono-nitrogen oxides (NOx) and soot emissions reduction in DI diesel engines. However, bringing the center of combustion (CoC) near top dead center (TDC) to reduce brake specific fuel consumption is challenging. In this study, for two Early Intake Valve Closing (EIVC) profiles of split injection strategy, combustion characteristics and emissions of a heavy-duty direct injection (HDDI) diesel engine are evaluated by CFD simulations. Combustion efficiency, Indicated Specific Fuel Consumption (ISFC), NOx, soot, and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are evaluated for 40 ˚CA and 80˚CA EIVC timings with respect to the base diesel combustion with 0, 30, 50, and 70% Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) rates at 3 bar Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP).CFD simulations reveal that EIVC strategy can displace the CoC towards TDC up to 5–10 ˚CA depending on the EGR rate. Moreover, up to 30% NOx reduction can be achieved in EIVC cases. In 70% EGR case, lower ISFC and near zero NOx emissions can be obtained compared to conventional diesel combustion due to CoC being closer to TDC. However, the EIVC strategy with EGR increases CO emissions due to incomplete combustion of a lower air/fuel ratio mixture.

High-efficiency combustion of gasoline compression ignition (GCI) mode with medium-pressure injection of low-octane gasoline under wide engine load conditions

Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) mode with medium injection pressure has the potential to achieve high engine efficiency while keeping costs low. In this study, the combustion and emission characteristics of GCI mode with medium-pressure injection of low-octane gasoline were studied and compared to conventional diesel combustion (CDC) under wide engine loads. The results showed that under low to medium loads, GCI mode had improved particulate emissions and indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) compared to CDC mode. However, at high loads, the PM emissions were much higher than CDC mode, and the ITE decreased for IMEP increasing from 10 to 12 bar due to limited injection pressure. To address this, a dual direct injection GCI mode with medium injection pressure was proposed to improve combustion under high loads. With this strategy, NOx emissions were significantly reduced, and ITE was simultaneously improved for IMEP of 10 and 12 bar. Using low octane gasoline and dual direct injection, the ITE of GCI mode can reach or exceed 50% for IMEP from 4 to 12 bar. Compared to gasoline with a research octane number (RON) of 83, gasoline with an RON of approximately 72 had higher ITE under most tested conditions and is recommended as the fuel for GCI mode.

Ducted Fuel Injection Provides Consistently Lower Soot Emissions in Sweep to Full-Load Conditions

<div>Earlier studies have proven how ducted fuel injection (DFI) substantially reduces soot for low- and mid-load conditions in heavy-duty engines, without significant adverse effects on other emissions. Nevertheless, no comprehensive DFI study exists showing soot reductions at high- and full-load conditions. This study investigated DFI in a single-cylinder, 1.7-L, optical engine from low- to full-load conditions with a low-net-carbon fuel consisting of 80% renewable diesel and 20% biodiesel. Over the tested load range, DFI reduced engine-out soot by 38.1–63.1% compared to conventional diesel combustion (CDC). This soot reduction occurred without significant detrimental effects on other emission types. Thus, DFI reduced the severity of the soot–NO<sub>x</sub> tradeoff at all tested conditions. While DFI delivered considerable soot reductions in the present study, previous DFI studies at low- and mid-load conditions delivered larger soot reductions (>90%) compared to CDC operation at the same conditions. Therefore, the DFI configuration used here has been deemed nonoptimal (in terms of parameters such as the injector-spray and piston geometries), and several improvements are recommended for future studies with high-load DFI. These improvements include employing better spray-duct alignment, a deeper piston bowl with a smaller injector umbrella angle, and a fuel injector that opens and closes faster. The study also suggests future research to make DFI ready for commercialization, such as metal-engine tests to ensure desirable DFI performance over an engine’s complete speed/load map. Overall, this study supports the continued development and commercialization of DFI to meet upcoming emissions regulations for heavy-duty vehicles. Specifically, multicylinder engine experiments and CFD simulations should be utilized to optimize the performance and clarify the full potential of DFI.</div>

Experimental Characterization of Hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides Production in a Heavy-Duty Diesel–Natural Gas Reactivity-Controlled Compression Ignition Engine

Reactivity-Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) combustion is considered one of the most promising Low-Temperature Combustion (LTC) concepts aimed at reducing greenhouse gases for the transportation and power generation sectors. Due to the spontaneous combustion of a lean, nearly homogeneous mixture of air and low-reactivity fuel (LRF), ignited through the direct injection of a small quantity of high-reactivity fuel (HRF), RCCI (dual-fuel) shows higher efficiency and lower pollutants compared to conventional diesel combustion (CDC) if run at very advanced injection timing. Even though a HRF is used, the use of advanced injection timing leads to high ignition delays, compared to CDC, and generates high cycle-to-cycle variability, limited operating range, and high pressure rise rates at high loads. This work presents an experimental analysis performed on a heavy-duty single-cylinder compression ignited engine in dual-fuel diesel–natural gas mode. The objective of the present work is to investigate and highlight the correlations between combustion behavior and pollutant emissions, especially unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Based on the analysis of crank-resolved pollutants measurements performed through fast FID and fast NOx systems under different engine operating conditions, two correlations were found demonstrating a good accordance between pollutant production and combustion behavior: Net Cyclic Hydrocarbon emission—cyclic IMEP variations (R2 = 0.86), and Cyclic NOx—maximum value of the Rate of Heat Released (R2 = 0.82).

A numerical study of piston bowl geometry and diesel injection timing in a heavy-duty diesel/syngas RCCI engine

The current numerical study aims to examine the single and combined effects of various piston bowl geometries, diesel main Start of Injection (SOI) timing, and syngas energy ratio on the combustion characteristics, specific emissions (g/kW·h), energy distribution, and exergy of a heavy-duty off-road Reactivity-Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) diesel engine. The examined geometries include the stock chamber (baseline combustion chamber), wide-shallow chamber, dual-swirl chamber, stepped-lip chamber. The main SOI timing was varied from −20 to −5 Crank Angle (CA) After Top Dead Center (ATDC) with 5 CA steps. Also, syngas energy ratio including 0% Conventional Diesel Combustion (CDC) mode, 20%, 40%, and 60% of total fuel energy per cycle. To accomplish this goal, the SAGE combustion model coupled with a reduced chemical kinetic mechanism consists of 360 reactions, and 72 species was applied to conduct this investigation. The numerical findings showed that the use of the wide-shallow chamber extended the engine operable range under diesel-syngas combustion operating conditions. In comparison to the baseline CDC case, the application of the dual-swirl chamber under CDC conditions, and main SOI timing of −15 CA ATDC led to reduction of Carbon Monoxide ([Formula: see text]), Hydro-Carbon ([Formula: see text]), Particle Matter ([Formula: see text]), Carbon Dioxide ([Formula: see text]), Indicated Specific Energy Consumption (ISEC), Gross Indicated Efficiency (GIE), and exergy efficiency but with a Nitrogen Oxides ([Formula: see text]) penalty rate. In general, an increase in the bore to bowl diameter ratio caused a shorter ignition delay period and combustion duration. The utilization of the stepped-lip chamber at both CDC and diesel-syngas combustion operating modes resulted in a shorter ignition delay period, but a longer combustion duration. Nonetheless, the stepped-lip combustion chamber reduced the diffusive flame temperature. Also, it is noteworthy that the utilization of the stock chamber along with the main SOI timing at −5 CA ATDC under diesel-syngas 60% combustion mode is a suitable technique to pass EURO-VI [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] emissions regulations.

Quantification of φ-operating range with impact of exhaust gas recirculation under low-temperature combustion mode with polyoxymethylene dimethyl ether: A perspective study

Low-Temperature Combustion (LTC) especially Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode of combustion is a capable substitute mode of combustion to conventional diesel combustion (CDC) to provide better soot-NOx trade-off and HC-CO trade-off characteristics. The current study mainly focuses on the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) effects and equivalence ratio optimization on W20P20 (64% diesel, 16% WCO biodiesel, and 20% PODE) fuel along with exergy analysis in the HCCI mode of operation. The reason for inculcating exergy analysis in this research is to depict that low-temperature combustion provides a better heat transfer rate inside the cylinder. EGR has been varied in terms of 10%, 20%, and 30% in volume proportions along with the inlet fuel-air mixtures since, the fuel was injected through a pilot fuel injector in the inlet manifold. A novel factor in this research is considering both soot-NOx and HC-CO trade-off characteristics in optimizing the equivalence ratio with the influence of EGR over W20P20 fuel. The performance parameters such as BTE and BSEC show a mere decrement of about 6.67% and 29% of maximum with the influence of EGR while better combustion was found in terms of avoiding misfiring at a low equivalence ratio of 0.29–0.35 and knocking at a high equivalence ratio of 0.61–0.71 for W20P20 fuel. The operating range extension of the equivalence ratio was found with W20P20 fuel which further increased again with the increase in EGR addition. The emission limits of soot, NOx, CO, and HC particles were analyzed, in which the highest NOx reduction of 53% was obtained with 30% EGR irrespective of the equivalence ratio. The highest soot reduction was 61.85% with 20% EGR at a higher equivalence ratio. The highest HC reduction was 18% with 20% EGR at a lower equivalence ratio. The CO emissions seemed to reduce by 12% at a lower equivalence ratio while they increased by 47% at a higher equivalence ratio. The comparative results were studied for EGR influence with W20P20 fuel in the HCCI mode of combustion.

Parametric evaluation of ducted fuel injection in an optically accessible mixing-controlled compression-ignition engine with two- and four-duct assemblies

Ducted fuel injection (DFI) is a strategy to improve fuel/charge-gas mixing in direct-injection compression-ignition engines. DFI involves injecting fuel along the axis of a small tube in the combustion chamber, which promotes the formation of locally leaner mixtures in the autoignition zone relative to conventional diesel combustion. Previous work has demonstrated that DFI is effective at curtailing engine-out soot emissions across a wide range of operating conditions. This study extends previous investigations, presenting engine-out emissions and efficiency trends between ducted two-orifice and ducted four-orifice injector tip configurations. For each configuration, parameters investigated include injection pressure, injection duration, intake manifold pressure, intake manifold temperature, start of combustion timing, and intake-oxygen mole fraction. For both configurations and across all parameters, DFI reduced engine-out soot emissions compared to conventional diesel combustion, with little effect on other emissions and engine efficiency. Emissions trends for both configurations were qualitatively the same across the parameters investigated. The four-duct configuration had higher thermal efficiency and indicated-specific engine-out nitrogen oxide emissions but lower indicated-specific engine-out hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions than the two-duct assembly. Both configurations achieved indicated-specific engine-out emissions for both soot and nitrogen oxides that comply with current on- and off-road heavy-duty regulations in the United States without exhaust-gas aftertreatment at an intake-oxygen mole fraction of 12%. High-speed in-cylinder imaging of natural soot luminosity shows that some conditions include a second soot-production phase late in the cycle. The probability of these late-cycle events is sensitive to both the number of ducted sprays and the operating conditions.

Comparative evaluation of combustion, performance, exergy and emission characteristics in hydrogen-biodiesel dual fuel engine under RCCI mode

The present work focuses on the impact of combustion phase shifting from CDC (conventional diesel combustion) to RCCI (reactivity controlled compression ignition) mode of operation under various premixed ratios of hydrogen on the combustion, performance and exhaust emissions of a partially modified CI (compression ignition) engine. The hydrogen premix ratios are varied from 10% to 60% with 10% increment and the engine is tested at 0.9 kW, 1.8 kW, and 2.7 kW. The experimental results have shown that the hydrogen participation up to 40% premixed ratio improves the homogeneousness and stability of the combustion, resulting in 8.19% increase in cylinder pressure and 27.81% increase in heat release rate (HRR) at 2.7 kW brake power. It is also observed that the premix phase of combustion is faster with up to 40% hydrogen participation as the 50% mass burn is found to shift towards TDC. At the same operating point, the combustion is also found to be more stable with 72% reduction in COVIMEP. The brake thermal efficiency (BTE) increases by 10.07% when operating at 2.7 kW brake power with a 40% premix ratio, compared to diesel CDC operation. The unburned hydrocarbon (UHC), carbon monoxide (CO), and PM emissions are reduced by 9.17%, 21.68%, and 9.51%, respectively, for the hydrogen premixed ratio of 40%, with a marginal increase in the oxide of nitrogen (NOX) emissions.

Partially premixed combustion of diesel-di-ethyl ether blends in light-duty commercial engine

Diethyl ether (DEE) has evolved as a potential alternative for partial diesel replacement in compression ignition (CI) engines. In this study, a light-duty commercial diesel engine was operated in partially premixed combustion (PPC) mode. This work investigated the engine characteristics with lower and higher DEE-diesel blends in PPC mode. The split ratio and the start of the main injection (SoMI) timings were maintained at 70:30 (Main: Pilot) and 9° bTDC, respectively, while the start of the pilot injection (SoPI) timing was varied from 25 to 40° bTDC. The performance, combustion, and regulated emission characteristics of the PPC engine were compared with the conventional diesel combustion (CDC) mode as a baseline. The PPC mode exhibited higher/ comparable brake thermal efficiency (BTE) than the baseline CDC mode. The DEE-diesel blends exhibited higher BTE than the diesel in PPC mode generally. The DEE40 showed greater improvement in BTE than DEE20 at lower brake mean effective pressure (BMEP). PPC mode fuelled with diesel and diesel-DEE blends showed lower brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) than baseline CDC mode at lower BMEP, but it was comparable at higher BMEP. PPC mode showed higher carbon monoxide (CO) emissions than baseline CDC mode. CO emissions increased with advancing SoPI timing for all BMEPs, except 5.6 bar. Although, the PPC mode exhibited higher hydrocarbon (HC) emissions than the CDC mode. Diesel-DEE blends showed slightly higher HC emissions than diesel in PPC mode at lower engine BMEPs. NOx emissions in the PPC mode were 1.5 to 2 times the baseline CDC mode. This indicated that the PPC mode engine performance requires further optimization similar to CDC mode, which had optimized exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), and significantly reduced the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.